The weak and the strong, Part 2
Romans 8v7-13a
13th September 2014
Last week we read Romans 14v1-6, where Paul warns us not to risk damaging our brothers and sisters in Christ by arguing with them about disputable matters. Things like whether we eat meat, and whether one day is more holy than another are, Paul says, a matter of individual faith, not a matter that we should dispute.
They're certainly not matters that should cause us to think less of those who have different beliefs about them. In verse 4, Paul asked, Who are you to judge someone else's servant? Starting at verse 7, he discusses that question:
Romans 14v7-13a
For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.
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.
For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the
living.
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.
It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'Every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess
to God.'"
So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.
If we're Christians then we live to the Lord. We're servants of God. We belong to Him. He is the focus of our lives. Now, we're not the servants we should be. Both our conduct and our doctrine are imperfect. All of us sin (1 John 1v8) and all of us misunderstand some things about God (1 Corinthians 13v9-12). We let God down, we don't serve Him as we should. But we are, nevertheless, servants of God.
One day our bodies will die, but our selves will never die, and we'll receive new, resurrection bodies. And we'll be with Jesus in glory for ever. Then we'll be free from sin, and we'll see Jesus as he truly is. Then, we'll be perfect servants of God.
And that's true of all Christians, including the rather irritating and frustrating ones in your church, and including the ones in all the other denominations across the world. If they've been born again through repentance and faith in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, then they're servants of God, too. They don't have to agree with you or me. They're not without sin, and they're not right about every point of doctrine, but nor are we.
It's a humbling thought that I can't know what doctrine I'm wrong about. If I realised I was wrong about something, I'd change my mind, and then I'd be right about it. I'm not arrogant enough to believe that I or my denomination is uniquely gifted by God with absolute knowledge, any more than we live in absolute sinlessness. Any individual or denomination who thinks they're absolutely sinless or absolutely right about every doctrine seriously needs to repent.
And even if we were perfect, never sinned and understood doctrine as well as God Himself, we'd still have no right judge our brothers and sisters in Christ. They're God's servants, not ours.
Some Christians imagine that only non-believers will stand before God's throne of judgment but Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says that we will all stand before God�s judgment seat and each of us will give an accunt of himself to God. That includes you and me. And we will all find it an uncomfortable experience.
God is my judge, and He's your judge, and He's everybody else's judge. May we never judge or look down on another Christian. Only God has the right to do that.