September 9, 2022

Passage Read: Romans 14-15
Meditation Verses: 14:20-21

Thought

There are those who believe certain foods to be wrong to eat, like the Hindus. If they were to come to Christ, they might have a difficult time accepting those who eat meat, especially cows. In sensitivity to them, until they became convinced in the Lord that eating any meat was acceptable to God, I would need to refrain from eating beef, at least in their presence. It would be challenging for someone like that to suddenly throw off everything they believed from their youth. Certain things, like idol worship and any other sin, would need to be cast off immediately, but other practices can and should be given time. Anything that is not sin can be tolerated. Indeed, let only sinful things be stumbling blocks, not those things that are not sin.

Application

Paul says not to let what I understand to be good be spoken evil of. There is a need for teaching, to help others become free of untruths that bind them, but there is no need to force an issue that is not sin. Nor does every non-sin issue need to be tackled right off the bat. Sin issues need to be confronted as quickly as possible, other things are far less important, and only need to be dealt with if they become a stumbling block to fellowship with one another.