Unity in Diversity

Romans 14:6-13

6 He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.  7 None of us lives to himself [but to the Lord], and none of us dies to himself [but to the Lord, for] 8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For Christ died and lived again for this very purpose, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.  10 Why do you criticize and pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you look down upon or despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.  11 For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God [acknowledge Him to His honor and to His praise]. 12 And so each of us shall give an account of himself [give an answer in reference to judgment] to God. 13 Then let us no more criticize and blame and pass judgment on one another, but rather decide and endeavor never to put a stumbling block or an obstacle or a hindrance in the way of a brother.

In Romans 12, Paul in no uncertain terms reminds us of the fact that the body of Christ is a diverse community with different ways and different convictions regarding, for example, feast days and food, etc.  And Paul's point is that there are certain things and times where each believer has to act according to their own convictions, because it is that believer that will stand before God and give an account of their own convictions.  Paul is quite adamant that we are not to judge our brother within the community of believers on these things, but leave it to that believer and God to sort out between themselves.  

Paul was giving direction here to the congregation in Rome, that was a diverse congregation of Jews and Gentiles, yet they were all believers.  His advice to them was to not judge or criticize each other but to respect each other, be humble and allow for differences in opinions and ways of doing.  I think we can learn much from this in our time, because 2000 years later it is as relevant as it was in the times of Romans.

Point to ponder:

Let's ask the Lord to give us wisdom to have more mercy with each other. James 2:13 says "Mercy triumphs over judgement"

Christ Tomlin - Goodness love and mercy follow me wherever I go

Wake up! Get dressed!

Romans 13:11,12 and 14

11 Besides this you know what [a critical] hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep (rouse to reality). For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Christ, the Messiah).

12 The night is far gone and the day is almost here. Let us then drop (fling away) the works and deeds of darkness and put on the [full] armor of light.

14 But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and make no provision for [indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature] to [gratify its] desires (lusts).

Ephesians 5:14

14 Therefore He says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine (make day dawn) upon you and give you light.

Revelation 3:1-2

I know your record and what you are doing; you are supposed to be alive, but [in reality] you are dead.  
2 Rouse yourselves and keep awake, and strengthen and invigorate what remains and is on the point of dying; for I have not found a thing that you have done [any work of yours] meeting the requirements of My God or perfect in His sight.

Many years ago my parents had a very unique experience at our home.  My father used to host a Bible study group once a week and a neighbour started attending the Bible study.  One morning early her husband just about hammered down our front door, looking for my father.  He wanted to know what kind of  'power' my father was worshipping in this house, because he used astral travelling to visit our house while his wife was attending the Bible study, and according to him there was a light around our house and no matter what he did, he could not find a place to come in!  This verse in Romans has become one of those life-verses for me.  There was an armour of light around our house that night - and the word says we can be dressed in that armour of Light.  Who is the Light?  It is Christ Himself, thus just a few verses later Paul reminds us that we need to get dressed in Christ and not be spiritually asleep.    

In scripture there is a spiritual state described as being 'asleep' and the Holy Spirit calls us to wake up in no uncertain terms.  He calls us awake and encourages us to get rid of the works and deeds of darkness and corruption - not giving any place to it - not even in our thoughts.  He admonishes us to not make any provision for indulging in the flesh or gratify its desires in any way.  In our culture today, that very much lives by the notion that we have the right to do whatever pleases us, yes whatever pleases the flesh - it is an increasingly fierce battle to not feed the flesh but to be intentional about feeding the spirit with God-ordained thoughts and actions.  Paul admonishes us to get into the opposite spirit by dressing ourselves in the Armour of Light, and since Christ is The Light it also means that we clothe ourselves with Christ.  This is the clothes of the Bride of Christ - Christ the Messiah, our Armour of Light!

Point to ponder:

Let us ask the Holy Spirit this week to reveal to us the state of our spirit.  Are we in a spiritual sleep?  In which areas do we feed the flesh instead of the spirit?

Let us ask him to raise us from the dead and from this spiritual sleep we are in.  Ask him to give us His Light and dress us in Christ and His Armour of Light.  

Armour of Light - Park Church Music - Album 'The autumn chapter"

Responsible Citizens

Romans 13:1-7

1 Let every person be loyally subject to the governing (civil) authorities. For there is no authority except from God [by His permission, His sanction], and those that exist do so by God’s appointment.2 Therefore he who resists and sets himself up against the authorities resists what God has appointed and arranged [in divine order]. And those who resist will bring down judgment upon themselves [receiving the penalty due them]....... 6 For this same reason you pay taxes, for [the civil authorities] are official servants under God, devoting themselves to attending to this very service. 7 Render to all men their dues. [Pay] taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due.

In Romans 13, Paul addresses an issue that is as relevant to us 2000 years later as it was during his lifetime - our conduct towards government and authorities appointed over us. I think firstly it will serve us well when we read this chapter, to remember that Paul wrote this during a time when his own people were oppressed by the Roman government, which was a foreign, corrupt government that made laws with the purpose to subject people to their own rule of law that served their own agenda. Thus it will not help us to look at our government today and excuse our lack of respect for our government with the attitude that Paul could not have foreseen the circumstances and problems we face in our time. He wrote against the background of very similar situations, all very familiar to us today. Yet, even in facing this, he admonished the Roman congregation to subject themselves to the rules and regulations and law of the day.

Paul in actual fact goes as far as saying that there is no authority unless God gives it to man. That is quite a sobering thought. Of course this does not mean that God institutes and condones corrupt governments - my understanding is that God appoints people into positions of authority and expects them to do the job according to His Kingdom rules. If they do not, then He will hold them accountable for their use or misuse or abuse of the authority and they will suffer the consequences thereof.  However, just as God holds them responsible, he will also hold responsible the citizens for their conduct.  God holds us responsible for our lack of respect and our downright rebellion against authority.  Both these principles - responsible authority and respect for authority - are important in His Kingdom.

What happens when authority is ungodly and expects you to do things that are ungodly? I believe the Bible also gives us direction in these cases. In Acts 5:29-42 we read the following:

7 So they brought them and set them before the council (Sanhedrin). And the high priest examined them by questioning,  28 Saying, We definitely commanded and strictly charged you not to teach in or about this Name; yet here you have flooded Jerusalem with your doctrine and you intend to bring this Man’s blood upon us. 29 Then Peter and the apostles replied, We must obey God rather than men....

The disciples' response infuriated the Sanhedrin to the point that they wanted to kill them.  The main reason for them being so angry with the disciples was because the members of the Sanhedrin were regarded as the voice of God on earth, and therefore the disciples' response implied that their instruction to them were not of God.    

In verse 34-42 Gamaliel responded by saying there were others in history that regarded themselves important and had a following, but when their leader died, the rest of the following dissipated.  Gamaliel expected this to happen to the disciples as well - unless their mission was of God.  In which case he understood that no man would be able to stop the mission of the disciples.    

We read again from verse 39-42

39 But if it is of God, you will not be able to stop or overthrow or destroy them; you might even be found fighting against God!  40 So, convinced by him, they took his advice; and summoning the apostles, they flogged them and sternly forbade them to speak in or about the name of Jesus, and allowed them to go.  41 So they went out from the presence of the council (Sanhedrin), rejoicing that they were being counted worthy [dignified by the indignity] to suffer shame and be exposed to disgrace for [the sake of] His name.  42 Yet [in spite of the threats] they never ceased for a single day, both in the temple area and at home, to teach and to proclaim the good news (Gospel) of Jesus [as] the Christ (the Messiah

I think it is fairly clear that the disciples did not adhere to the request of these authorities to stop preaching, but interestingly enough they still submitted themselves to the consequences these authorities decided on - in this case being flogged.  What is also remarkable is that nowhere do we read that they were disrespectful nor did they slander or incite people to violence and rebellion against these authorities.  They did not lead their followers into a revolution nor a disregard of the governmental laws that allowed the Sanhedrin the powers to mete out consequences like flogging at their own will and discernment.  In fact we just read that they left the presence of the Sanhedrin rejoicing that they we counted worthy of suffering for the sake of the Name of Jesus.   

Likewise did Paul.  He adhered to the law and even admonished his followers to make sure that they pay their taxes to government - this same government eventually jailed and killed Paul.  

Point to ponder:

God holds kings and governments responsible for their conduct and they will suffer the consequences of their bad governance, or they will receive the benefit of their good governance.  However, likewise God holds us responsible for being good or bad citizens, and we will suffer the consequences of being bad citizens or receive the rewards for being good citizens.  So the question is - are you and I the best citizens we can be?  Are we living according to godly principles in our conduct to the authorities God appointed over us?  

For King and Country - Ceasefire

Recreate us

Directly after encouraging us with the discussion on the different gifts and functions we are called to in the body of Christ, Paul gives us an ethical conduct statement.  Paul knew very well that we are imperfect and that in spite of being endowed with these wonderful gifts, we still need to be admonished to be aware of our own selfish and fleshly ways of doing.  He wanted us to be intentional about overcoming our 'weak points' or battlefields.  In a 12-point statement, Paul underpinned our conduct with each other with godly principles of what I would like to call a Statement of Ethical Conduct in the body of Christ.  In our day and time where corruption is rife in the world and even in the church, it would serve us well to revisit these guidelines from Paul.  If we conduct ourselves in this manner it will greatly assist us in living above reproach in a world of decaying ethics, morals and righteousness.  

Romans 12:9-21

9 [Let your] love be sincere (a real thing); hate what is evil [loathe all ungodliness, turn in horror from wickedness], but hold fast to that which is good.

10 Love one another with brotherly affection [as members of one family], giving precedence and showing honor to one another. 

11 Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.

12 Rejoice and exult in hope; be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation; be constant in prayer.

13 Contribute to the needs of God’s people [sharing in the necessities of the saints]; pursue the practice of hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you [who are cruel in their attitude toward you]; bless and do not curse them.

15 Rejoice with those who rejoice [sharing others’ joy], and weep with those who weep [sharing others’ grief].

16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty (snobbish, high-minded, exclusive), but readily adjust yourself to [people, things] and give yourselves to humble tasks. Never overestimate yourself or be wise in your own conceits.

17 Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is honest and proper and noble [aiming to be above reproach] in the sight of everyone.

18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for [God’s] wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is Mine, I will repay (requite), says the Lord.

20 But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.

21 Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with good.

Point to ponder

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us when we are not conducting our lives in accordance to these biblical principles, and ask His Wisdom to be able to change our attitudes and way of living around so that we can honour and glorify our God with the way we live, and move, and have our being. Let us ask Him to recreate us into His image.  

Recreate - Urban Rescue