Some Key Words (12/29/00-12/30/00)

Judge (krino [2919]):

to divide, separate, make a distinction, come to a decision, to try in judicial manner, pass sentence, discern, form an opinion, to esteem, determine, condemn to punishment, to give cause for condemnation, to be called into judgment; to put asunder, pick out, select, choose, to approve, prefer, to be of opinion, to think, determine, resolve, decree, to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong, to pass judgment on the deeds and words of others, to rule, govern, to contend together, dispute, go to law; to decide, to try, condemn, punish

Determine (krino [2919]):

see above

Obstacle (proskomma [4348]):

a stumbling block, an obstacle against which one might strike his foot and fall, that over which the soul stumbles, that which causes one to sin; an occasion for apostasy

Stumbling block (skandalon [4625]):

the trigger in the trap, the enticement leading to ruinous conduct, the course of sin leading to ruin, that which turns another from God's salvation; a trap stick, a snare, an impediment that causes one to stumble or fall, anything or anyone causing another to be drawn into error or sin; a snare, a cause of displeasure or sin

Know (oida [1492]):

to perceive, to know intuitively rather than experientially, to perceive with the senses, understand, acknowledge; to notice, discern, discover, to turn the attention to, observe, to experience a condition, to know of, to understand, to be skilled in;

Convinced (peitho [3982]):

to entice or persuade, to be persuaded, believe, to trust, be confident of, to depend upon, trust in; to persuade by words, to win one's favor, to be induced to believe, to have faith in a thing, believe, to listen to, yield to, comply with, to trust, have confidence, be confident; to convince by argument, to pacify or conciliate, to assent to, to rely on with inward certainty

Unclean (koinos [2839]):

defiled, common, open to all, belonging to several, partaken of by several, unclean of hand, common to other nations but avoided as polluted by the Jews; ordinary, belonging to generality, unhallowed, profane, Levitically unclean; shared by all

Thinks (logizomai [3049]):

to reckon, to impute, to esteem as of no account, to value or esteem, to conclude; to compute, calculate, take into account, having like force and weight to another thing, to weigh the reasons, deliberate, to gather, infer, to meditate on, to suppose, deem, judge, determine, decide; to take an inventory, estimate

Hurt (lupeomai [3076]):

to cause to grieve, to be grieved, to be sorrowful, inward grief; to make sorrowful, to affect with sadness, throw into sorrow, to offend, to make one uneasy, cause pangs of conscience; to distress

Walking (peripateo [4043]):

to make one's way, progress, make good use of opportunities, to regulate one's life, conduct oneself; to walk at large, to deport oneself

Love (agape [26])

benevolent love that is shown in doing what is deemed necessary for the loved one as opposed to simply fulfilling their desires; brotherly love, good will, affection; benevolence

Destroy (apollumi [622]):

to kill, destroy, to be destroyed, perish, to lose, to be lost; to put out of the way entirely, to abolish, put an end to, to render useless, to pass the death sentence, to devote to eternal misery in hell, to be lost, ruined, destroyed; to destroy fully

Good thing (agathos [18]):

good, benevolent, profitable, constitutionally good; of good nature, pleasant, agreeable, excellent, distinguished, upright, honorable;

Spoken of as evil (blasphemeo [987]):

to revile, to hurt one's reputation, to speak with irreverence concerning God or that which relates to Him; to speak reproachfully, to be reviled; to vilify, to speak impiously

Kingdom (basileia [932]):

royal dominion, royal power, dominion, rule, the right or authority to rule over a kingdom, the territory subject to the king's rule; royalty, rule, or realm

Righteousness (dikaiosune [1343]):

the essence of that which is just or righteous, that which fulfills the claims of God, conformity to the claims of authority; the state of one who is as he ought to be, the condition acceptable to God, integrity, virtue, purity of life, correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting, justice; equity of character or act, Christian justification

Peace (eirene [1515]):

rest, the absence or end of strife, a state of untroubled, undisturbed well-being; exemption from the rage of war, harmony, concord, security, prosperity, Messiah's peace, the state of a soul assured of salvation, fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot;

Joy (chara [5479]):

to rejoice, the cause of joy; gladness, the joy received from you; calm delight

Serves (douleuo [1398]):

to be a servant, to act as a servant, to be subject, to have one's actions directed by another, to obey; to serve as a slave, to submit to, to yield obedience, to give oneself up to; to be a slave - be it voluntarily or involuntarily

Acceptable (euarestos [2101]):

well-pleasing, agreeable, that which God wills and recognizes;; fully agreeable

Approved (dokimos [1384]):

to recognize, to be proved, tried as metals are tried by fire and so purified; accepted - as with coins or money; assayed and found acceptable

Pursue (dioko [1377]):

to put to flight, drive away, to run swiftly in order to catch, to press on, to run swiftly to reach the goal, to pursue, to harass, trouble, molest, persecute, to run after or follow someone, to seek after eagerly, earnestly endeavor to acquire;

Building up (oikodome [3619]):

the act of building, building as a process, that which is built, edification, advancement; the act of one who promotes another's growth in wisdom, piety, or holiness; a structure, confirmation

Tear down (kataluo [2647]):

to unloose what was bound or fastened, to refresh oneself, to loosen one's burdens during a stopover on a journey, to dissolve, demolish, destroy; to disunite what has been joined together, to overthrow, render vain, deprive of success, subvert, to halt on a journey; to disintegrate

Clean (katharos [2513]):

pure, clear, lawful to be eaten or used, ceremonial cleanness, spiritually pure; purified by fire, pruned and fitted to bear fruit, Levitically clean, free of corrupt desire, free of falsehood, genuine, blameless, innocent;

Evil (kakos [2556]):

wicked, one who retreats in battle, one who puts others in danger by his own evil; of a bad nature, not such as it ought to be, wrong thinking, feeling, or acting, troublesome, injurious, destructive; intrinsically worthless, depraved

Offense (proskomma [4348]):

see 'obstacle' above.

Faith (pistis [4102]):

being persuaded, belief, knowledge of, assent to, and confidence in divine truth - leading to good works, false faith that does not lead to good works, faith producing miracles, to believe or give credit to; conviction of the truth of anything, the conviction that God exists as creator and ruler of all things, and as the source of salvation, conviction that Jesus is the Christ, and the means of salvation, belief combined with trust or confidence in God or Christ, fidelity, faithfulness, the character of one who can be relied upon; persuasion, credence, moral conviction of religious truth, reliance upon Christ for salvation, constancy in profession of that reliance

Happy (makarios [3107]):

blessed, possessing the characteristic of deity, indwelt by God and fully satisfied, to have God's kingdom within one's heart, one who is independent of the world while in it, one satisfied by God rather than circumstance;; supremely blessed, fortunate, well off

Condemn (krino [2919]):

see above (judge)

Doubts (diakrino [1252]):

to distinguish, decide, judge, discern, to make a distinction, to determine, to contend, dispute with another, to be divided in one's mind; to discriminate, prefer, to determine, to withdraw from one, to separate oneself, to oppose, to be at variance with oneself, to hesitate; to separate thoroughly

Condemned (katakrino [2632]):

to judge against, to pronounce sentence against, to furnish occasion for condemnation, to show worthy of condemnation, to weaken, repress; to judge worthy of punishment, to render another's wickedness more evident by one's own good example;

Sin (hamartia [266]):

missing the true scope of our lives - which is God, an offense in relation to God with emphasis on the guilt; to be without share in, to miss the mark, to wander from the path of uprightness, to do wrong, to violate God's law, that which is done wrong, an offense in thought or act;

 

Paraphrase: (12/29/00)

3 So no more judging each other. Instead, make it your decision not to give your brothers any cause to struggle with their faith by your actions. 14 I am quite certain that nothing is unclean in itself. But if somebody considers a thing unclean it is so for him. 15 Now, if your choices regarding your food are hurtful to your brother, then you have violated the law of love. Don't do that! Don't allow such issues to destroy one for whom Christ died. 16 Don't allow what you know as good to become an evil thing by your actions, 17 for God's kingdom is not defined by freely eating and drinking, but rather by righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 God finds those who practice these things acceptable, and such actions also find man's approval. 19 So work at those things that promote peace amongst the brethren; 20 don't detract from God's handiwork over issues of food. Yes, you are correct in declaring all things clean, but if your eating them offends another, they are made evil. 21 It is far better to refrain from any actions which cause moral offense to a brother. 22 Hold fast to your faith before God, but don't condemn yourself by flaunting your freedom to another's injury. 23 If there be any doubt at all, refrain from eating, for to eat in such an instance would not be an act of faith; and any act that does not come of faith is sinful.

Key Verse: (12/29/00)

14:19 - We ought to pursue those things that promote the peace and wellbeing of our brothers.

People Mentioned: (12/29/00)

N/A

Some Parallel Verses (1/1/01)

14:13

Mt 7:1 - Don't judge others, for in it you may bring judgment on yourself. 1Co 8:13 - I would rather set aside meat forever than to cause a brother to stumble by insisting upon eating it.

14:14

Ac 10:15 - What God has cleaned cannot be considered unholy. 1Co 8:7 - Those who continue in their practices even though they consider them wrong are defiled by their actions.

14:15

Eph 5:2 - Walk in the same love Christ had for you, giving yourself up for one another as offerings to God. 1Co 8:11 - If we insist on our more knowledgeable ways, we are destroying our weaker brethren in doing so.

14:16

1Co 10:30 - Why should one speak badly of me if I am giving thanks to God for that which I partake of? Tit 2:5 - Women are to be sensible workers at home, pure, and subject to their husbands, to the end that God's word not be dishonored through their actions.

14:17

1Co 8:8 - Food will not impact our standing with God for good or ill. Ro 15:13 - God is God of hope, filling us with joy and peace in believing, abounding in hope by the Holy Spirit. Gal 5:22 - Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness stand among the fruits of the Spirit.

14:18

Ro 16:18 - Those who contradict sound teaching are slaves of their own appetites, not servants of Christ. 2Co 8:21 - We respect that which is honorable to both God and man. Php 4:8 - We are to dwell on what is true, honorable and right, whatever is pure and lovely, whatever is excellent and worthy of praise. 1Pe 2:12 - We are to be on our best behavior amongst unbelievers, so that their own testimony of our deeds will bring glory to God when He comes.

14:19

Ps 34:14 - Depart from evil, do good, and pursue peace. Ro 12:18 - To the best of your ability, live at peace with everybody. 1Co 7:15 - If an unbelieving spouse departs let them go, for God has called us to peace. 2Ti 2:22 - Pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace along with all who truly call upon the Lord. Heb 12:14 - Pursue peace and sanctification. Ro 15:2 - Please your neighbor by your good actions, and so edify him. 1Co 10:23 - Although all things are lawful to the Christian, not all things are edifying. 1Co 14:3-4 - The prophet speaks to edify the church, whereas the one who speaks in tongues only edifies himself. 1Co 14:26 - When we gather, all that we do ought to be for edification. 2Co 12:19 - All that has been written was to build us up. Eph 4:12 - The work of the ministry is to equip the saints and build Christ's Church. Eph 4:29 - Our words ought to be edifying and graceful to their hearers.

14:20

Ac 10:15 - What God has cleansed is clean. 1Co 8:9-12 - If you insist on your freedoms and a weaker brother is enticed into joining you because of it, you lead him into what is for him a sin, and so you yourself sin against God and that brother.

14:21

1Co 8:13 - Better to never eat meat again, than to cause my brother's stumbling.

14:22

1Jn 3:21 - Where are heart doesn't condemn us, we can be confident in God's sight.

14:23

 

New Thoughts (1/2/01)

How hard it is to set aside our freedom out of love. It goes against all that this world teaches us. The laws of the land are "look out for Number One", and "just do it." But God declares a different rule. Yes, it's an acceptable thing to do, but look; you're offending somebody else's sensibilities with that action, so stop! What a contrast to the attitude that sees only that it should flaunt its decision in the face of all objectors! This is the everything goes spirit of the age. I find that this particular bit of teaching is perhaps the most dangerous truth of Scripture, for it's the easiest to get twisted all out of shape. It's very easy to come through this book of Romans and see only that our freedom has been declared. It's very easy to come away from here with an attitude that declares every attempt to place limits upon our freedoms as legalism.

But through Paul, God is declaring a higher law than either the Levitical or even that of the Spirit. He declares the law of love. This law, when obeyed, will cause all that God commands of us to be fulfilled. Love will not allow us to be offensive to another. Love will not allow us to cause hurt to another by our actions. Love will not allow us to demand our rights. Love knows only how to give of itself selflessly, not how to take for itself selfishly. That latter is simply lust, and should be recognized as such despite its disguise.

The overall instruction of this passage of Scripture is clear, and concurs with all of Scripture. We have one purpose here, to bring glory to our God. If we are more interested in our freedoms and rights than in His glory, we have failed in our purpose. We are called to stand as examples. The world is supposed to look at us and see what love truly is about. The world is supposed to look at us and see righteousness. Too often, what it sees is something completely other. How often are we locked in a contest of wills even within our own family, each one insisting on his or her right? How many days do we manage to stand amongst the unbelievers around us as an example of righteousness that doesn't falter? How many days do we manage to avoid getting into conflicts over violations of our rights?

Father, I know I fail of this every day of my life. I fail my own daughter when I offend her sense of how a man of God ought to behave, because I'd rather have my rights. I fail when I allow anger to run me, because of some perceived offense. I fail when I allow the pride of superiority to color my treatment of people. I cannot excuse my actions, and I find myself incapable of change. But God, You are able to forgive me. You are able to cleanse me. I have seen what You can do in my life, and I trust You to continue those changes that You desire. I have Your word in many places to tell me that You desire me to be an open display of Your love. I pray to You that You empower me to so live. Help me, today as a starting point, to walk through the day in service, rather than demand. Help me to put an end to offense and pride and all that would demand my rights over Your love.