Latest / The Daily Word / June 2 – Pursue Peace and Build Others Up
Transcript
- Cory Barnes: Happy second day of June. It's Pastor Jenny here and we are almost completed with our roam of Rome. Not really, but ⁓ we've been roaming through the book of Romans. We are in chapter 14 today, and there's a full 16 chapters. So I love chapter 14 ⁓ because it's a really great chapter that's going to pull together some things that we've even looked at. and studied so far this year. In fact, ⁓ it brought to mind a passage that I specifically shared with you all earlier this year, back in February, that while Paul is talking in Romans, ⁓ it was actually a ⁓ passage in Acts ⁓ about a a vision that God gave Peter and something that God spoke to Peter. So I love when we can pull together when God reveals his word to us. So let's just kick off with ⁓ chapter 14, verse one. It starts right out and it says this as for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. Goes on to say this one person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Now listen, this is not a jab at anyone who's a vegetarian, right? So just to again create context. If you're joining us for the first time today, ⁓ or maybe you haven't caught this thus far as we've been going through Romans, but ⁓ Paul is writing the book of Romans, and you have to remember he's his audience. His audience is he's writing to both the Jew and the Gentile. And so in this theological masterpiece, he's really breaking down ⁓ some conversations that are taking place, no different. Than what you and I might perhaps find ourselves in, where I would say maybe you find yourself in a conversation with someone, or maybe you don't find yourself in the conversation. Perhaps you find yourself observing a conversation between someone who has been around the church for quite some while, knows their Bible pretty well, and maybe someone else who is new to this thing, but has some questions and is asking some pretty good questions. but regardless. Paul's finding himself in the middle of some things where there's some discussions taking place, and it sounds like there's some quarrels taking place, but it's not over ⁓ topics that would be regarding what we would consider primary doctrine, issues regarding our salvation and core theological beliefs, but rather over opinions. Paul goes on to talk about. That he talks about not only the foods we eat, but he talks about in verse five how one person esteems one day is better than another, while another esteems all days alike. And he says this each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. There's another scripture that we find in the New Testament that says every person is responsible to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. Verse six says, The one who observes the day observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. This is the key, the one I really want to lean in on today. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. Everything we are doing is unto the Lord. We're not here to live for ourselves and ⁓ I said I was gonna tie this back to a reading from earlier in the year back in Acts. ⁓ and it was actually in Acts chapter eight, where the Lord gave Peter a vision. Remember, Peter was a Jew, and at the time there were a lot of foods that were ⁓ taboo that they were not supposed to eat. The law had forbid it. And remember, God gives, you can go back and read it if you don't remember, but God gives Peter a vision and he kind of drops essentially all of these foods down on a blanket, and he's like, Hey, I want you to kill and eat. He does this three times. And each time, Peter's like, no, no, no, I'm not supposed to eat that. ⁓ and in the final part of the vision, God says, What God has cleansed, you must not call common. And so not only does this revelation to Peter show that actually all foods are now clean for him to eat, but it actually gives Peter further revelation when he goes to Cornelius to help him see that. There God shows no favoritism. ⁓ God begin or Peter or Peter begins to perceive that ⁓ God's showing no partiality, not just in food, but also to man. And so that's why we're not it's not our job to judge what God is speaking to individuals. And why Paul here is encouraging us, not just encouraging us, but he's exhorting us that We're not to get into arguments over these things. Sure, we could have conversations. We should absolutely we can have conversation. But if you find yourself fighting and bickering and dim especially demanding, you really need to evaluate your heart. I've really been challenged ⁓ in my daily time and my worship to the Lord. ⁓ really feel like the Lord's been talking to me lately just about the heart and all things, everything starts. With our heart. Lord, give me a clean heart. Give me a pure heart. I'll give you this last ⁓ scripture that Paul, ⁓ encouragement that Paul shares with us in this passage. And then I want to pray for us today. but he goes on to talk about the reason that this matters and that it's so important for us to understand this ⁓ concept, to not even not just argue, but we want to understand. ⁓ this principle of not really not just arguing, but we also want to be aware that everyone is working out their own salvation with fear and trembling, because we would never want to do something that's gonna cause someone else to stumble. Because we want to walk in love. Verse 15 says, For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you're no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, and so this is why it's not about our opinion. But the kingdom of God, it says in verse seventeen, is of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Wow, is what I'm doing today, especially as I'm with others, pursuing peace? Is it for mutual upbuilding? Or am I fighting for my own way? Am I fighting to get what I want? Because I have had a revelation. Because like Peter, God has spoken to me and shown me that God has cleansed this, that this is this is good. But Peter knew when he walked into certain homes, I'm sure he abstained from eating those foods that were not clean to others because he wanted to walk in love towards others. So we have to be aware of while we may be able true freedom is not just doing what we feel the Lord has released us to do, but it's true freedom is walking in love towards those around us, pursuing peace and building others up in Christ. Pursuing righteousness and joy through the Holy Spirit. So let's pray. God, we come before you today. Lord, we're so grateful for your word. Thank you that your word continues to reveal to us more and more of who you are and how we can walk fully into who you've called us to be. Thank you, Lord, that your word is shaping and transforming us, that through the power of your Holy Spirit, we can step into all you've called us to be. Lord, I thank you for the freedom that we have to walk out who we are in Christ, that we are no longer slaves to sin, but Lord, we are adopted as sons and daughters into the sonship and daughtership of your family. Lord, we thank you that your kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness and peace and joy through the Holy Spirit. So may all we do today and in the days to come be that which pursues for peace and mutual upbuilding towards those around us. In Jesus' name, amen.