Romans 14 - 1.15.26
SCRIPTURE: Romans 14:1 - 18
Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for 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 sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt? 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 acknowledge God.’”
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves 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 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.
Summary of Romans 14: Don’t judge each other in doubtful things.
(1-2) Receiving the weaker brother.
(3-4) Judging our brother is inappropriate because we are not their masters.
(5-6) Judging our brother is inappropriate because these are matters of conscience.
(7-9) We live and die to the Lord.
(10-12) Judging our brother is inappropriate because we will all face judgment before Jesus.
(13) Don’t stumble each other over doubtful things. Meaning: don’t make it an issue of judging, but don’t use your liberty to stumble another brother.
(14-15) Destroying a brother makes a privilege wrong.
(16-18) Pursuing the higher call of the Kingdom of God.
OBSERVATION
The Author: It was this glorious encounter with Jesus himself that changed Saul’s life. After his conversion, God appointed him to be an apostle, not to the Jews but to the Gentiles. It was this same Paul who once persecuted and destroyed the church, and who wrote Romans for the benefit of the Jewish and Gentile believers living in Rome. He would eventually write 13, possibly 14 of the books in the New Testament. Though he was a great apostle, he suffered greatly for the kingdom of God and the cause of Christ,
God likes it when we think of others.
Receive the one who is weak in the faith: These are words to take seriously. Paul warns us to not make spiritual maturity a requirement for fellowship. There are many reasons why a Christian might be weak.
· They may be a babe in Christ (babies are weak).
· They may be sick or diseased (by legalism).
o What is legalism? Christian legalism, in common usage, refers to a focus on strict adherence to rules and laws as the basis of righteousness or acceptance before God. This emphasis can overshadow or even replace dependence on grace through faith.
· They may be malnourished (by lack of good teaching).
· They may lack exercise (needing exhortation).
o What is exhortation? To exhort is to develop relationships with other believers for the purpose of encouraging them in their spiritual growth.
(19-21) Use your liberty to build each other up, not to tear each other down.
(22-23) The concluding principle of faith.
o What is the principle of faith? Faith, as a living principle, is a foundational concept in Christian theology, representing a dynamic and active trust in God and His promises.
APPLICATION
This is a wonderful check on our tendency to justify ourselves in the things we permit. If we are troubled by something, it likely isn’t of faith and likely is sin (transgression of the law/commandments) for us. And to be cautious in NEVER TEARING DOWN ONE ANOTHER which is one of the principles of our Faith in Jesus Christ. There are “numerous” scriptures on the impact of the words of our mouth: https://www.openbible.info/topics/the_tongue. It’s our words not thought out before speaking that cause us trouble if they are misunderstood. We are to guard our words.
PRAYER
Lord, my goal for 2026 is for you to show me how to live a righteous life…and in my pitiful natural state I can find fault with myself and others…and I am asking for red flags to let me know when my mind is finding fault AND if I have self-doubt. And what I love so much Jesus is the “family” you’ve placed me in—they do not “bad mouth” one another. Each one is so precious. Jesus, I want to be a woman after your own heart who builds others up not tearing anyone down. My precious family! If there is trouble, they are the first ones up to defend one another…and Jesus, I am so blessed that my church family builds up one another! I have never once in the years I’ve been at DSC (2012) heard gossip, or “bad mouthing” (each one has a heart for others). I cherish who you are Jesus, and I gotz tears…and this precious Paul, who knew the glory of the “mouth” in telling others of who YOU ARE, the Messiah. And he and many of the apostles/disciples died proclaiming you. TO KNOW YOU JESUS gives us strength to “watch our tongues” and live a life that reflects who you are; Jesus I truly have tears thank you for calling me out of the darkness to walk with you; and I PRAY that ALL My family KNOWS YOU. And let me acknowledge the “red flags” to watch my words, and speak your truth. AMEN
AND this is who I want to be.
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
- Charleen Zakarian
Romans 13 - 1.14.26
Scripture
Romans 13:8-10
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Observation
Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
In Romans, Paul reiterates Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew. But he also reminds us of the debt we owe to God.
Colossians 2:13-14
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we are not slaves to sin, but slaves to God.
Romans 6:18
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
Application
God gave the Ten Commandments, and as Jesus points out, we wouldn’t have to worry about the last eight if we would put all our focus on loving God and loving others.
God wants to make it simple, but somehow we think we know better. Did you know that instead of just the Ten Commandments, the Jews made over 600 laws in the Old Testament? It is easy to fall into the trap of checking off items on a list instead of surrendering to God and sitting at his feet. It is easy to feel like we are better than others because we are “obeying” the laws instead of loving others and putting them above ourselves.
God says, serve me with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. Will we become true slaves to the most high God?
Prayer
Lord, may I become a slave to righteousness, a slave to serving you. And out of that, help me to see others with the same love that you have for them. Help me to put others before myself. Thank you for cancelling my debt due to my sin. Help me to fulfill my debt to you, to walk in obedience - not by my own might, not to earn my salvation, not to check things off a list - but simply because of my great love for you.
- Debbie Dunn
Ezekiel 26 - 1.13.26
Scripture: Ezekiel 26:1-6
In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’ therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations, and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
Observation:
Tyre is a kingdom with ties to the Israelites as far back as King David. We know that King Hiram of Tyre made a covenant with King Solomon in 1 Kings 5:10-12 the scripture says:
“ So Hiram gave Solomon all that he wished of the cedar and juniper timber. Solomon then gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty kors of pure oil; this is what Solomon would give Hiram year by year. And the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.”
We later see in scripture how this covenant was broken by Tyre in two places in the pre-exilic scriptures of Joel and Amos.
Joel 3: 4-7 “Moreover, what are you to Me, Tyre, Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you repaying Me with retribution? But if you are showing Me retribution, swiftly and speedily I will return your retribution on your head! Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious treasures to your temples, and sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their territory, behold, I am going to stir them up from the place where you have sold them, and return your retribution on your head.”
Amos 1: 9-10 “For three offenses of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment, Because they turned an entire population over to Edom and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood. So I will send fire on the wall of Tyre, and it will consume her citadels.”
Tyre was a place of commerce with towering walls surrounding it’s cities. They rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem thinking they would be able to get the business that was going to Jerusalem now that she had fallen and been taken over by Babylon. Little did they know this prideful boasting would cause their ruin and they would never return to their former glory.
Application:
We can learn much from this scripture about rejoicing over others when they fall. Even when we have people in our lives that may seem like enemies to us or seem to have been in the way of us getting what we wanted we should seek justice and restoration for them not gloat over their fall. We must remain humble and rely on God, ultimately vengeance is His and repays each person accordingly. Proverbs 16:18 reminds us Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Another lesson I see in this is God’s sovereignty because though the people of Tyre did not serve Him, He was able to destroy them because He IS GOD. Psalm 33: 10-11 “The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” this applies to us today to remind us that though we may be in a world surrounded by people who do not choose to serve the Lord they are all inevitably under His lordship whether they submit to it or not. In the parable of the wheat and the tares the Lord allows all of us to grow together but ultimately in the end He will separate out those who were faithful till the end from the others and they will not escape His wrath. We would do well to remember that we serve an almighty, all-knowing God and by His name every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord. Gloating over those who fall will never bring us any joy but may make us look like fools in the end if we don’t remain humble.
Prayer:
Lord, Thank you for your divine protection that guards us on every side. Remind us every day to remain humble and help us to guard our hearts from pride and seeking the downfall of others. Help us to pray for our enemies and seek the good of others even when they don’t seek it for us because our blessings flow directly from you no one can take them away and our treasures are stored up in heaven where no thief can take them. Let us therefore pray for our enemies with fervor resting in the knowledge that the precious treasure we hold is more valuable than our pride. Amen.
- Shanese Hamilton