Thoughts on Romans - Day 41

                                             Romans 14:17-23
 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

              This is my 3rd blog on Romans 14 which is the chapter where Paul deals with debatable areas in the Christian walk. We have experienced many episodes of this coming to the forefront throughout my and my wife's Christian walk. We went to a church when we first moved to Tennessee for 15 years. There were many unique nuances in this church but one of the areas that it seemed everyone except us was on board with was homeschooling. We felt just as strongly that the way to make an impact in our schools and community was not to withdraw but rather get totally involved with the schools. Because of this we often felt judged and left out. Our kids enjoyed such things as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which according to homeschoolers was filled with Eastern Religion. Our kids enjoyed Harry Potter which the group avoided like the plague. We loved trick - or - treating and dressing up which of course made the Druids happy and Satan squeal with delight. Because of all these freedoms we experienced, often our kids were left out because they might say Cowabunga, dude, and lead the other kids into Eastern Meditation. What eventually happened was that our kids were instructed not to talk about TMNT in other kid's presence and stop calling our conversion van the "party van". When kids came over they were to hide their Harry Potter books and we no longer celebrated Halloween. Eventually our kids ended up going to another church's youth group because they fit in with those kids better.

             So how does Romans 14 address these controversial areas? First of all Paul said earlier in the chapter to stop judging each other. We aren't into a who can be holier competition, we are in this together. God is the One we answer to and if He has led us to be in the public school and you to homeschool, we should see ourselves as a team attacking the kingdom of darkness from two different fronts. Next Paul said not to put stumbling blocks in other people's way. We needed to quit flaunting our freedom in the faces of these other believers because it was making their child raising difficult. Halloween became a casualty due to Romans 14 but it was one of those things we could live without. Turtles and Harry were watched and read in the privacy of our own homes. Eventually, if your life seems to be consumed with avoiding things rather than living in freedom, however, you may rightly ask yourself, "do I really belong here?" and without hard feelings find another group of believers who have more similar philosophies on living the Christian life.

       Lastly, in this passage, Paul gives one more word of advice. He basically says that we should study the scriptures to make sure this behavior or activity that we are participating in, truly is one of these personal freedom areas. It is possible that we are butting up against other Christians because we are behaving in a sinful manner, while thinking that it is condoned. Take a ridiculous example - you might be smoking marijuana and justify it by saying, "God created plants and said they were good" or "All things are given to us for our enjoyment" or "All things are permissible..." and this is beneficial because it treats my anxiety, etc. Meanwhile you are neglecting the verses saying we need to obey the government which to date says it is illegal. Here is a less clear example regarding the violation of the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Let's say that you want to buy a summer lake house up north. You have the money. You tithe and give offerings well above the tithe. There is nothing in the Bible against owning 2 homes and you tell yourself that it is a good investment. However, the Holy Spirit is telling you this is a waste of kingdom resources just like owning a yacht or an expensive car. Yet you tell yourself, "Abraham, David, Solomon were some of the richest men on Earth and owned extravagantly.  So you buy the house with a guilty conscience. What's wrong with that? James 4:17 says
      " If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them."
  In this sense I would think Paul is also saying,
  " Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves"
   Meanwhile, your fellow Christians should not be judging you by saying "you should be storing up your treasures in Heaven" or "Didn't Jesus say sell all you have and give it to the poor and then follow Me". Rather they should be saying, "When can we come over?"

 Lord, help me to listen to Your Holy Spirit and not approve of personal actions that you aren't approving. Give me a sensitive heart and eager obedience. Amen