Category: Abide in Him

Today’s sermon for all


Romans 15 & 16

Taking up where we left off last week, at Romans 15: 17 and following through chapter sixteen, Paul is writing his message to those in the Roman church but he is also writing to us as well. The Roman church was soon to undergo some terrible persecution as were many Christians in the Roman empire. Paul’s words of encouragement and hope helped those who were weak or new in their faith to bear up under the horrible ways which Emperor Nero would kill those who would not worship him.

17 I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation:

21 But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.

22 For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.

Paul’s Plan to Visit Spain and Rome
(1 Corinthians 16:5-9)

23 But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; 24 Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. 25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. 26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. 27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. 28 When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain. 29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.

30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; 31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; 32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. 33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Paul is writing here as an evangelist with a purpose and it was Jesus Who gave him that purpose. The same Savior who saved us all, if we will only believe, saved the chief persecutor of “the Way” as it was called to begin with. Jesus uses some of the most unlikely ministers at times, God has used a donkey in the past to bring a word to a stubborn prophet as well, so nothing is impossible for God. Even when we try to limit Him with our own ideas about Him in this life, at some point God will show you Who He is and what He can do, if that is what it takes to get your attention.

Chapter 16 is the end of Romans as a book, but what a book it is. Written by a persecutor turned evangelist and one which wrote more than half of the New Testament which we all have today, most of it written from a prison cell.

In this final chapter of the book of Romans, Paul is giving credit to all of those in Christ who have helped him is his ministry. He salutes them with words like a brother or a proud father might, and in a way he is. Many of his helpers come from people or house-churches which  his preaching had started, or were members of those small congregations.

Paul ends his epistle with words of encouragement and love brought out in his soul by Christ:

Beginning with verse 17 we see this:

Avoid Divisions
17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. 19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Greetings from Paul’s Companions
21 Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.

22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.

23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother. 24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Doxology
(Romans 11:33-36; Jude 1:24-25)

25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, 26 But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: 27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen. {Written to the Romans from Corinthus, and sent by Phebe servant of the church at Cenchrea.

So, you see in the ending of this epistle that Paul had many helpers who wrote for him when his hands could not. They carried the epistle to the churches which he could not go to in person due to chains or other restraints laid upon him. God used all of those around Paul who had been converted by his preaching very likely, God used them to further His Kingdom and these letters are still being used in the 21st century to bring others to Him. We are the fruit of much of Paul’s labors in Christ, the church today would not be what it is without God’s choosing of Paul to be His voice to the gentiles…us.

We are supposed to carry on this work in our lives, whether we are preaching to a congregation or to our families and friends with our life in Christ and the labor which we do in this life just by living out the ways taught in the Bible. This is the way of life, which so many early Christians who died for their faith, lived in front of those around them. It is also the life which we are called to live in Christ Jesus. Not living as if tomorrow is just a day, but that it may be the day that Jesus calls us home!

God uses even those of us who are weak in our faith, or believe ourselves to be, to carry out His purposes in our lives for Him and His Kingdom, not for our own gain in this life. We are to trade our life in Christ for bringing other lives into the Kingdom of God. How?

By living our Christian life as a reflection of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit one day at a time. People will notice, and whether they ask of you or not, if your walk with Christ is sincere then they will be drawn toward Him. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but when the Spirit touches their heart, they will because your witness for Christ doesn’t have to be in the sanctuary of a big church, but the sanctuary of life itself. Living our salvation and our walk with Jesus out one day at a time and one step at a time.

Which in truth is all that we can do.

Where are we in our lives?


Strange title, huh? Well, I wanted to name it as such so that we who read it might think about where we are. Are you in a relationship, personally with God or do you despise Him and His laws? Maybe you don’t believe that He exists at all! You are one of those foolish people who thinks that everything in our universe, all of the trillions of galaxies and stars and planets came from a compact singularity long ago and just “evolved” from that big bang.

mygodisawesomeMaybe you even believe that we come from a pond of proteinaceous soup which formed from a random comet impact billions of years ago and all life on Earth came from those proteins. If our planet had more time than it is estimated to exist, it may have happened this way, but it did not happen like this.

I know, evolutionists will want to argue this point but according to God’s Word, He created all of these things with His Words. He placed the stars and galaxies in their places. God created all of these in His time, not ours. Life is sustained by Him, the stars are sustained by His strength, your strength is given to you by His Grace for you each day.

God does all of these things because He loves us, whether we love Him or acknowledge Him or not. Although, He did provide a way for our salvation and our life in Jesus and through Jesus Who gave Himself for us and for our eternal life, if we will only believe in Him. Seek Him while there is time and don’t delay because we are not guaranteed tomorrow. Please, for your eternity and your life in it, believe in Jesus and the atonement that He paid for with His blood and He did it willingly for all who would believe.

themissingpieceBut don’t just take my word for it, read it from God’s Word in the New Testament. The gospels all tell the story of His ministry and His birth, death and resurrection, some tell different aspects of it or from a Jewish perspective and one from a Greek perspective in Luke’s gospel. He was a physician who traveled with Paul and he gathered the story of Jesus meticulously, as a physician would.

God uses each of us with our own voice or talent in telling a story to get the Word out and tell it in the unique way that He gifted each of us with. Some of us can tell it better or maybe more to the point, and some tell it like we see it through our eyes of faith in Him. To each of us, God gives a unique voice because He knows who will listen to that voice and what they will get from it.

That is why Jesus went to common fishermen who were devout Jews. He didn’t go to the Pharisees or the others who were sanctimonious in their faith, because they were “safe” in their blood lineage of being Jewish. They were “sons of Levi and Abraham”, they didn’t need some carpenter telling them how to serve God!

Many of us live our Christian lives this way today. We create god in our image and we give him aspects which we are comfortable with him having and we convince ourselves that this is the God of the Bible. But our “god” is nothing like God and we would know this if we read and studied His Word and prayed to Him to reveal Himself to us in it! How many of you do that? Would you do that? Are you brave enough to ask God to show up in your prayer life? What would you do if you actually heard His voice in your spiritual ears while praying?

Many of us would fall over wondering just what or Who that was which spoke to us! Many others would think they were imagining it and just ignore Him. Until He spoke again. In the Old Testament God usually called to someone three times. Sometimes it took that many times to get their attention, but often it was because God wanted to impress a point on them.

Make sure of whom you are hearing and know that it is God. The only way to do this is to get to know His voice by reading His Words in the Bible. The more familiar you are with His Words and His Word, then you will be able to accept that the Voice speaking to you is Him.

He makes me lie down….


Psalm23Today I am speaking from a position not so unlike the title. I had a doctor visit this morning because of some allergies and a possible chest infection, so I am taking meds for it and I am writing to you from a bed. Before anyone asks or thinks about this, I am not in such health that I can’t get around but I am trying to listen to my doctor’s advice.

God does the same thing to us at times and just as the Psalmist wrote in the 23rd Psalm, He does make us lie down at times. Usually it is for our own good but sometimes it is to get our attention or to get us to hear Him like we should. God enjoys hearing our prayers and our needs, although He already knows what they are, but He also enjoys it when we are willing to listen to Him. Why did I put some of those words in bold-face? Because, many times we really DON’T listen to Him or even listen for His voice!

We say our prayers and end it with “in Jesus’ name, Amen” and then go about our business. I am not saying that we shouldn’t expect an answer when we pray sincerely about a need in our life or someone else’s, but ending it like that is like calling your Mom or Dad telling them what is happening, how you feel, and could you send me some money or help, thank you, goodbye!

How would you feel? I don’t know how you would feel but I wouldn’t answer that prayer or request at all, but I am only human. If you don’t ever let God speak to you when you pray, that is what it seems to me would possibly happen. Of course, that is looking at it from our point of view and our way of thinking and that is not how God thinks or feels at all. He knows what we need and when we need it, so He will likely answer that prayer anyway, but it may not be when you want it answered.

He is our Creator, our Redeemer and our Father in Heaven and just like fathers here on Earth, He likes to hear from us but He also likes to speak to us as well. Give Him a chance! You wouldn’t pick up the phone and call your Dad and tell him all the stuff that isn’t working in your life and ask for help in fixing it and then just hang up would you? It is likely that you wouldn’t get a very good call back after that either.

God, thankfully, isn’t like us with our petty hurts and feelings. He loves us so deeply that He sent Jesus to take the punishment for ALL of mankind, so we, meaning everyone, could have a relationship with Him IF we will believe in Jesus and His atoning work on the cross! He did it for us, all of us, and yet we as the human race have rejected Him for a long, long time. Even Christians make up their own “god” and rules which he will follow, thinking that by going to church their “god” will allow them to get into Heaven one day.

Of course the problem with that thinking is: we have made an idol in our own minds to be our god. It is not fashioned with gold or silver or carved from wood, but we have placed god in a box which limits him to a being which is more to our liking and comfortable. But…that is NOT God! He won’t share the throne or any of our worship and praise with that puny idea in our heads!

The Bible is God’s written Word and His way of speaking to each of us and we need to take it as literally the Truth from the Holy Spirit which is part of the Trinity. God did not mince words when He spoke the world and all of the animals into existence nor did He mumble when He gave the Ten Commandments to Moses! If you want to know God, read the Bible and learn from Him about Himself!

Seeking your Savior


Have you thought about your need for a Savior? Has it ever come up in discussions around the house or with other family members? In much of the world’s cultures, individuality is expressed and encouraged more than a need for a savior so many people never search for one.

themissingpieceUntil that day comes when you feel that there is something missing and you can’t put a finger on what it might be. Sometimes this feeling hits us when we are teens or young adults and we try to fill that space with many things. Sometimes we try to fill it with sex or drugs, other times we try drinking, but eventually (if we survive all of the experimenting) we begin to look for something or someone meaningful to fill that void.

The problem rises up again when we find that people can’t fill that area of our lives. The only Person Who can is Jesus. “I’ve been down this road before, I don’t want to go again.” or something like it is what many of you are thinking right now.

The problem with that kind of thought pattern is that it doesn’t come from you, it is coming from a demon or another spirit which is trying to lead you away from Jesus. Following those thoughts can lead you to a life with many rewards, as far as the world can see. Like money, fame, a good marriage maybe, prestige but all of these are also patches or things which make you feel good about yourself and your place in the world but they have no lasting benefit.

What do you mean “lasting benefit”? If I had a million dollars in the bank, what else would I need?

See…that is the focus which Satan and his demons try to get you to focus on! Money is just a tool and it is mostly a tool of Satan because he can dangle all sorts of bills in your face and they look really good for a while, but just like the prodigal son, when the money runs out so do many of your friends. In spite of what you think about your friends, if you are wealthy to any degree, many of them are only there because of the money and the good times afforded to them by your money.

So, what can you do? Money can’t give your life meaning on its own and people can’t or won’t do enough for you, particularly in a time of trouble. Even your spouse can’t help you when you truly need his or her compassion and support, even though they will give you both of those if they love you truly. Who can help in these desperate times then?

Jesus can!

Jesus came to take God’s punishment on Himself for ALL of mankind, past, present and future. He did this on the cross and then was raised again on the third day, finalizing the victory for us! When the Holy Spirit convicts you of your need for Jesus, listen to Him and seek out a Bible teaching church and read your Bible! If you don’t have one, there are quite a few online but you can buy one easily enough, if you don’t live in a country where religion is restricted. Find out about His sacrifice for you and believe in Him for your salvation. All you have to do is ask Him to save you and He will!

God loves you more than you can realize and He doesn’t leave you in the cold when you need Him! He is always there, even if you can’t feel Him, pray to Him that He will be near you in a stressful situation and ask for His help in every situation and He will always be near you. He said that “I will never leave you or forsake you”; He is always near those who believe in Him and will give them strength to get through whatever is in your path, amen?

Do you enjoy life?


joySome of us do, but many don’t. Oh, we tolerate everyday ups and downs and we go to work and come home. Living or existing as the day permits and allows. So, what do you enjoy in your life? Your children or grandchildren likely give you some enjoyment and joy. But…what about your life with Jesus? Does being a Christian bring joy and fulfillment in your worship and study of God’s Word?

For some Christians it does exactly that, but for many who think they are Christians and are not, the worship service and study of the Bible is confusing and frustrating. It is that way for many that I call “casual Christians” as well. The biggest problem with this is that you can’t be a casual Christian, claiming Jesus on Sunday or when a loved one dies and then living as you please the rest of the time. Jesus is not a hero which you call on when you need Him and then send Him away until the next time!

He is our Savior and yes, He is our Hero and our Creator but He is not on-call some days and not on others. God and His Son are available at all times, not exactly for your convenience or at your time or on your schedule. God works according to His timing and His schedule. Don’t turn away from Him, especially when you need Him! Not just on bad days or at times when trouble is making your day feel like a week, but call to Him and lean on Him every day!

God loves each of us and wants the best for us, but His best and our idea of best are sometimes very different. His idea of a mansion and no debts may be your home in Heaven, not a beautiful home and no bills here. God’s ideas for us are not the same as our ideas of Who He is, thankfully. If our salvation was no better than our idea of what salvation is, then we would never see Heaven at all!

Don’t close the door on an opportunity in your life to get to know Jesus because the moment that you give your heart to Jesus your name is written down in the book of Life. After that, your life here and into eternity will never be the same!

Times and times and half a time


So many meanings, hard to understand, only metaphors and not literal prophecy, these are the interpretations of the book of Revelation or at least the way that many Christians have looked at it and declared it too hard to understand. Why? The fig tree blooming is the nation of Israel coming back into their country after nearly 2,000 years. The time of the gentiles being over in the city of Jerusalem came about after the 1967 war. Now, we are fifty years past that time and the generation is about to see many other prophecies coming true in that land.

What are the people of the world seeing in these things? Not much actually. Nobody is paying any attention to what is coming about, nobody is noticing that prophecy is coming true before them. Why is that? Because few people believe that the Bible is the Word of God and His promises and prophecies always happen at the time that He chooses.

The book of Revelation is not a fantasy and none of the prophecies in the Bible are wishes, they are foretold by God Who lives outside of time as we see it. He can know what day you and I will die, and He also knows when you will read this post or if you will just scoff at the first few lines and leave. God loves each of us and the Bible is His way of telling us that He knows all that is knowable about us and about our world. It is also His way of telling us that He loves us and He doesn’t want us to go down the wrong pathway!

Learn about Jesus and read the Bible, regardless of which version that you read it tells the same story if you open your mind and ask Him to reveal it to you. Your life is special to God and He knows exactly what you can do for His Kingdom, if you will give your heart to Jesus and follow Him the rest of your life. Jesus taught His disciples that the Old covenant only pointed to Himself, His covenant was ratified by His blood that was shed for you and me on the cross. When He rose from the grave three days later, He proved Who He was and when He left after forty days, He said that He would return to take His church with Him.

It is true that you can choose not to believe this and go on living your life without Him, but when you breathe your last breath here and stand in judgement without Jesus as your Savior….what can you say about your life? Were you righteous in all of your ways? Did you manage to live a sinless life as Jesus did? If you told one lie, no matter how big or small you thought it was, then you are a wretched sinner and will pay with your eternal life in hell.

Sounds harsh? Yes, but the only decision which was needed and necessary was the one of belief in Jesus as your Savior and giving your heart to Him, turning from your “old life” and living as well as you can with His Spirit guiding you each day. Learning more about Him through study of His Word. Is living with the Holy Spirit as your guide easy? No! Because you are now an enemy of Satan and he will try to make your life worse, but through Jesus you have defeated him and you have the victory.

Sermon for today


Romans 15                         10/8/2017

Beginning where we left off last week in chapter 14, we read what Paul was exhorting the Christians in Rome to do:

13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.

19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall.

22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

We are to keep our faith in Christ Jesus and follow His teaching. Doing those things which would build up anyone who may be young or new in their faith. If you don’t drink, don’t start. If you do, then don’t do it in front of someone who is new in their faith toward Jesus. Anything which we do in front of our children or in front of someone who is “weak” in their faith, can cause them to stumble because they saw or heard us say something or eat or drink something. If your spirit hasn’t condemned you for drinking or eating certain things, that’s fine. But if it could cause a child in the faith to stumble, make sure that you don’t do it in front of them, for their sake at least.

I don’t mean for you to live in a “do as I say and not as I do” way, Paul wasn’t meaning that either. But, if your life has anything in it which might cause a child in faith or in age to stumble in their following of Jesus, then don’t do it! If you wouldn’t do something in front of Jesus Himself, then it isn’t right to do it in front of anyone else either!

Romans 15

1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. 3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. 4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. 5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.

Christ the Servant of Jews and Gentiles
8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:

9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.

10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.

11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.

12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.

13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles
14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. 15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, 16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.

We are to be Jesus’ example to those around us, even when we don’t feel like it. God sent Jesus to us to give us an example of how to live as He did and with His strength guiding us. Because only with His Spirit giving us direction and strength can we be like Christ. In our human-centered thinking, we can’t be like Jesus, we can’t love those who hate us, we can’t give our life for others if we don’t have Jesus giving us the power and His will to do so.

These attributes of Christian living aren’t the normal way that Christians live, but it is the way that we should live our lives through Jesus.

Is living this way easy? No, it isn’t because every day your old spirit, the you which was there before Jesus came into your heart and changed you, is still being used by Satan to tempt you away from being like Christ. To take you away from being the example that everyone SHOULD see because you have been transformed into a “new creature in Christ”. 2 Cor. 5:17

We are not supposed to allow our “old self” to control our life after giving our heart to Jesus. We are supposed to live and be like those who came from the upper room on during Pentecost. Boldly speaking the truth of Jesus and His saving grace for us, regardless of who hears it or what they may say about us. Be the Christian which God intended for you to be, not the one which hides on the back row and keeps your salvation a secret from your so-called “friends”! They need Him too, but if you don’t tell them about Him….how will they find out if they don’t go to church or read the Bible?

That is our job, our purpose in this life to be more like Jesus and less like us.

Decisions, decisions….


Almost from the time we are born we are making decisions, whether we know it or not. Sometimes, getting up in the morning is a decision and depending upon your health it could be a big decision! Making decisions about choices in life or most any other thing which is happening in your life takes time, prayer, and seeking guidance from someone whether it is your pastor or a family member.

Reading the Bible can sometimes help, but more often than not it seems to either cloud the issue or the passages don’t address your particular situation. Many times I have been frustrated with seeking God’s counsel in making a decision but He stays silent. Then, there are times when you seek out a friend or someone who you trust and they can’t or don’t give you good advice either.

So at this point, most people give up or make a decision on their own and sometimes it is the wrong decision but they may not find that out until months or years down the road of life. I have made some decisions in my life which didn’t work out very well and I have paid for them. In the end, I learned from them but you might say it was a hard lesson.

Decisions can be good or bad depending upon the circumstances and your state of mind at the time. Many times we need time, which is in short supply. Other times we need space between us and the object of the decision, at least for a while. In many areas of life, our decisions can make our lives better but sometimes, if we rush those decisions too much due to anxiety or circumstances, they could make things worse.

Seek out the counsel of God through prayer and reading His Word to give you some insight into the decision which will be in His will for your life. It is hard to wait on His timing and I am not going to tell you that it is easy, but it is the best idea. Rushing into a decision without God in the process is always a bad idea.

Our Savior


Jesusdiedforme

The most wonderful part of this bit of information is the part that is not in the image. He rose again on the third day! Jesus came to Bethlehem as an infant, with His deity poured out into the life of a human babe. His Father was and is God and through the Holy Spirit He was formed in the womb of Mary.

Jesus came to us, not to prove that God can do this thing of bringing a child into the world by a virgin, but to prove His love for ALL of us. Thirty-three years later, He went to the cross after being nearly whipped to death and He hung on the cross for a few hours and then He said, “It is finished”.

Heaven and hell and all of creation felt His passing. It was celebrated by the demons and Satan and it was likely questioned by the angels in Heaven, but God knew the reason and the timing of it all. It had to happen that way. He gave His life for each of us because He loved us and He did it because only He could accomplish what God had wanted to do since the Garden.

Our country and the world needs Jesus in their life because He is the Way to our salvation and eternity. You can believe it or not if you wish, but when you are standing in front of God one day without His righteousness covering your sins…you will wish that you had given your heart to Him. At which point…it will be too late.

Follow Jesus


Romans 14   Disagreement between believers.

In Rome believers squabbled over whether or not to eat meat or whether to observe Jewish holy days and customs. If they had kept their convictions to themselves, there would’ve been no problem but they began to criticize and judge one another. The squabbling hasn’t abated even today. We argue over many more things, such as the color of carpet or which flowers to put out on a certain day or week. Some churches argue over even less important things than these, but the point is…we are supposed to be united in Christ! Regardless of our denomination or doctrine, yet the collective church is very divided in many ways.

Verses 1-12

In this section of the chapter, Paul begins and ends it with an admonition. He addressed those who were strong in their faith and did not waver toward holy days or diets but kept their freedom in Jesus Christ. He also addressed those who were worried about their diet or the Law and told them that they were immature in their faith. Many people think that Christians who follow strict rules in their faith are the more mature, when it is really the other way around. In the Roman church, the weak and immature Christians were judging the more mature Christians and the strong Christians were despising the weak Christians.

Paul told them to welcome one another and gave four reasons why they should. We are only focusing on one today.

The first reason is: God has received us into His family

It is not our individual responsibility to decide the requirements for Christian fellowship in a church, only the Lord can do this. To set up man-made restrictions or rules based on the personal prejudices or convictions is to go beyond the Word of God. Perhaps St. Augustine got it right when he said: “In essentials-unity; in non-essentials-liberty; in all things charity”. We are free in Jesus Christ to do that which brings honor and respect to the church and to the Word which we hold as the Truth.

When God sent Peter to take the gospel to the gentiles, the church criticized Peter because he ate with these new Christians. But God revealed His acceptance of them because He gave them the Holy Spirit just as He had done in Jerusalem at Pentecost. Peter did not stay in this freedom because later he refused to fellowship with the Gentiles at Antioch, where Paul had to rebuke him.

God showed both Peter and Paul that Christian fellowship was not to be based on food or religious calendars, but on their faith in Jesus and the freedom that we are given through Him.

In every church there are some who are more mature in their faith and some who are weak. The weak and the strong, young Christians in the faith and those who have been studying God’s Word for many years, are not to look down on each other because one feels freedom through Jesus and the other sees being a Christian as “following the rules”.

Peter asked the Lord, “Lord, what shall this man do?”; the Lord’s reply was, “What is that to you? Follow thou me!”

In other words, the Lord told him this: “Peter, make sure you have made Me Lord of your life. Let Me worry about John” or any other believer. When other Christians are criticizing other Christians for what they do, we are being judges. Don’t worry about what someone else is doing, follow Jesus and let Him be your Lord!

Paul emphasized this in verse 8 when he said: “Whether we live, therefore, or whether we die, we are the Lord’s”. Our responsibility is to the Lord and following Him in our life, not worrying about other Christians and their lives. If your brother in Christ is still drinking beer, don’t chastise him. If Jesus hasn’t convicted him of this, let him be. The same goes with smoking or any other so-called “vice”, follow Jesus in your life and let Jesus take care of other Christians.

Paul asked those who were young in their faith, the weaker Christians, “Why are you judging your brother?”; then he asked the same question to the stronger more mature Christians in the church. Both of them will stand at the judgment and be judged by the Lord in their walk with Him, so what is that to you or me?

All of our works, good or bad, will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ by the Lord Himself. It is not our place to do so in this life and it has nothing to do with our sins or our salvation since Christ paid the price for all of them and as believers our sins cannot be held against us anymore. In 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 Paul compares our ministries in Christ with the building of a temple. If we build with cheap materials, the fire will burn them up. If we use precious, lasting materials, then our temple (works) will last. If our works for the Lord pass the test, we receive the reward. If they are burned up, we lose our rewards but we are saved “yet so as by fire”.

Anything that we do in this life for the Lord and through His Strength will last, we should make sure of our faith in Him and our belief in Him. Your life is your witness just as every word and deed which others see you do. If it is done to please Jesus and would be approved by Him, then you are secure in your salvation. Don’t worry about what others say or do in their walk with Him, because Jesus is the final Judge and it is His approval which we should seek!