Romans
The Astonishing Power and Beauty Of It
Snowed in. After a night of “attack” and writing all morning what I know about "spiritual warfare,” and “portals,” I came again upon Romans and stopped in awe of its majestic, simple beauty.
Romans 14
The Weak and The Strong
NIV
1
Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.
2
One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.
3
The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.
4
Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
6
He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
7
For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.
8
If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
9
For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10
You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.
11
It is written: "`As surely as I live,' says the Lord, `every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'" [1]
12
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
13
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.
14
As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food [2] is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
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.
22
So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
23
But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
[11] Isaiah 45:23
[14] Or that nothing
“Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.”
(Here is a short, drawn, educational video.)
Via The Epistle to The Romans Wikipedia page:
Anglican bishop N. T. Wright notes that Romans is:...neither a systematic theology nor a summary of Paul's lifework, but it is by common consent his masterpiece. It dwarfs most of his other writings, an Alpine peak towering over hills and villages. Not all onlookers have viewed it in the same light or from the same angle, and their snapshots and paintings of it are sometimes remarkably unalike. Not all climbers have taken the same route up its sheer sides, and there is frequent disagreement on the best approach. What nobody doubts is that we are here dealing with a work of massive substance, presenting a formidable intellectual challenge while offering a breathtaking theological and spiritual vision.[5]
“He commands them to welcome those with weaker faith into the full life and community of the church. More, he tells them not to welcome them with an ulterior motive of convincing them they are wrong.”
[BibleRef.com]
Richard, in heaven, now I know why you so loved Romans. Did you send it, this morning?
And: Here we have an answer to the spirit of “woke,” which has led us into so much infinite misery. Wow, I thought: Jesus set down for us what to do about Woke. When Woke tries to steal Jesus, (as they are very busy with) they will not be able to, for obvious reasons. Nothing he said would work for them, at all. Hence he is Christ and can not be stolen, infiltrated, corrupted, used, or misrepresented. This at least we can be sure of.
I find the way Saul/Paul addresses dietary prohibitions to be very amazing.
Regarding food, Rudolf Steiner the originator of biodynamic agriculture, said that if one is vegetarian without spiritual work it can lead to bestiality. He also said that every "special" diet is anti-social. He said that the best diet is the one in which one is grateful for whatever is given to them to eat.
I just subscribed because you keep saying things that are helping me. It’s important that you know this (everyone likes a compliment). Regarding “night of attack and spiritual warfare” do you write about this anywhere? I’ve seen this firsthand with a friend.