June 02, 2021: SOAP #4199:  Proverbs 22-24; Romans 14

SCRIPTURE:  Romans (NIV) 14:15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 16 Do not allow what you consider good to 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 approved by men.
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 man 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 to fall.

OBSERVATION: In the first part of this chapter, Paul deals with what day is appropriate for public worship.  In the passage above He deals with whether or not it is ok to eat food that has been offered to an idol. 

APPLICATION:  Being free in this matter means that I am free to eat AND free not to eat.  I am to love my brothers and sisters in Christ more than my freedom in what to eat.  I should “make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification.”  When I am with those who are offended, I am free to eat what has their approval.  When I am not with those who are offended, I am free to eat what I like. 

I can look at this passage and say to myself, “This does not apply to me.  I am not with people having a problem with which day we worship, or with we are eating food that has been offered to an idol.”  Then I read verse 21:  “…or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall!”   My love for my brother is to be greater than my love for my freedom! 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I can only imagine the freedoms you willingly surrendered for Jesus to come to earth to die for my sins.  Jesus, I can only imagine the freedom of heaven you surrendered to take on the limitations of the earth and humanity. If my freedoms need to be surrendered for my ministry to be accepted, I surrender them willingly. Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!