Romans 14

Romans 14:13-23

"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 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."

Ok so I know I shared a huge chunk of scripture here but I underlined the two verse that really stuck out to me.

Paul is addressing an issue in the early church.  Some believers believed that it was ok to eat meat from unclean animals (such as pigs) while other believers believed that it wasn't.  Paul's said that the people who did eat meat shouldn't do it if it causes those who didn't eat to stumble.

What I got out of it was this:
Other people's salvation should be more important than our personal convictions.

If a friend of mine only listens to Christian music, I'm not going to get into a huge theological debate and then force them to listen to John Mayer.

Paul says that we should be respectful of other peoples personal convictions, also, causing them to compromise would be a sin.

Verse 22 says that we should keep our personal convictions PERSONAL.  Now that doesn't meant I can't let people know what they are, it means I can't hold everyone else to that standard.

well that's it tonight

I'm going to bed now, g'night and thanks for reading
-JDWayt