Pathways For Sojourners

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038) Rom 13:8 . . Owe no man anything.

Some have construed that verse to mean it's a sin to have a mortgage, a car
payment, and/or a credit card balance. However, the Greek word for "owe" is
ambiguous with a number of meanings, one of which is to fail in duty; viz: fail to
meet your obligations.

In today's world; debt is nigh unto impossible to avoid; but debt is acceptable for
Christians just so long as they pay their bills on time. Christ can be neither pleased
nor honored when his followers are known as deadbeats.
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039) Rom 13:12 . . Put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

In the first chapter of Genesis, God made a distinct difference between light and
darkness. I think it is very notable that God labeled the light "good" but He didn't
label darkness good.

I believe that chapter set the tone; in other words: from that point on in the Bible,
darkness typically represents something harmful, distasteful, and/or unbecoming;
while light always represents something tasteful, becoming, and/or beneficial. So
then we could label the deeds of darkness as deeds inappropriate for Christ's
followers, and we could label the armor of light as deeds befitting his followers. In
other words: deeds befitting Christ's followers are their first line of defense in a
world gone mad with evil.

● 1Pet 3:10-12 . .Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue
from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he
must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and
his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who
do evil.
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040) Rom 13:13 . . Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and
drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and envy.

"in the day" could be construed to mean "in that day" which would indicate life and
society as it will be in the kingdom God. Well; needless to say, people then
probably won't be acting like they do now, so maybe we should start preparing for
that day by putting these instructions into enough practice to make them become a
habit.

The Greek word translated "envy" is somewhat ambiguous. It includes-- along with
envy --jealousy, indignation, and outrage.

The Greek word for "strife" is somewhat ambiguous too. It includes-- along with
strife --quarreling, wrangling, contention, debate, and a whole other bunch of ugly
stuff associated with variance, e.g. recriminations, toxic rejoinders, and caustic
sarcasm.
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041) Rom 13:14 . . .Clothe yourselves with The Lord Jesus Christ

Clothing one's self with a personage was a figure of speech many years ago which
would correspond in our day to "emulation" which Webster's defines as trying to be
like someone or something you admire.

They say that imitation is the highest flattery. Well; if you'd like to flatter Christ;
then adopt his integrity, his principles, and his core values. But don't guess at
them; learn them, by instruction, from someone that The Lord has empowered for
teaching his ways. (Eph 4:11-15)
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042) Rom 14:1 . . Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on
disputable matters.

The components of a strong faith consists of knowledge, confidence, assurance, and
conviction, whereas a weak faith is vacillating; viz: it's not all that sure whether
something is wrong for a Christian; or even whether something is right.

Disputable matters are matters of opinion rather than matters of fact. Opinions are
often subjective, biased, and arbitrary, rather than objective, unbiased, and by-the
book. Opinions inevitably invite perpetual debating that never really gets to the
bottom of anything; which, in matters of spiritual significance is strictly forbidden
within the context of the 14th chapter of Romans; because debatable matters are
not matters of doctrine; but rather; matters of conscience.

We're not talking about black and white doctrines and principles here. Those are
not open to debate. We're talking about gray areas.

"Thou shalt not commit adultery" is black and white; whereas issues like video
games, music, fashions, foods, cosmetics, movies, self defense, gambling, swim
suits, politics, alcohol, tobacco, firearms, fasting, religious art, crucifixes, couture,
and holy days of obligation are debatable. In regards to those areas; let every man
be fully persuaded in his own mind rather than somebody else's mind.

Those are things about which each has to decide for themselves according to the
dictates of their own conscience; and God forbid they should impose their personal
dictates upon others and thus become bossy because that's playing God and
usurping Christ's sovereign prerogative to make the rules for his own church.
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043) Rom 14:2-4 . . One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another
man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must
not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything
must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.

If there's a Christian out there sincerely believing in their own mind that fast food,
GMO, high fructose corn syrup, non organic produce, processed foods, grain-fed
beef, raw oysters, sushi, and/or anything fried in lard is sinful; well, more power to
them: but God forbid they should criticize a fellow believer who disagrees because
there are no hard and fast black and white rules regulating those issues for Christ's
followers. Each has to decide for their own self where to stand on things like those.

NOTE: Christians are exempt from Jewish dietary laws because the church's
association with God is by means of a different covenant than the covenant that
Moses' people entered into with God per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy.
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044) Rom 14:5 . . One man considers one day more sacred than another; another
man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

Common Christian holy days are The Lord's Day (Sunday), Solemnity of Mary the
Mother of God, the Epiphany, Solemnity of Saint Joseph Husband of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, the Ascension Trinity Sunday, Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul,
Good Friday, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, All Saints, the Feast of the
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ash Wednesday, the Nativity of
our Lord Jesus Christ (Christmas), Easter, and the Sabbath.

If your denomination, or your church of choice, rules that days like the above are
sacred, then for you they are. Whether God himself sees them as sacred is
irrelevant. What matters is whether you are convinced in your own mind that He
does because the focus of the 14th of Romans is upon matters of conscience rather
than matters of fact.
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045) Rom 14:13a . .Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.

Within the context of the 14th of Romans, "passing judgment" pertains to criticizing
and/or scorning others when they refuse to accept and/or comply with your own
personal gray-area beliefs and practices.
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046) Rom 14:13b . . Make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle
in your brother's way.

The Greek word translated "stumbling block" basically means a stub. For example:
one year I cut down a troublesome bush in my front yard and left a bit of a stump
sticking up out of the ground that later damaged my lawn mower when I
accidentally ran over it while cutting the grass; which had grown tall enough to
conceal the stump. In that respect, stumbling blocks are hazards not easily
detected.

Within the context of the 14th of Romans, I would equate stumbling blocks to the
clever sophistry that silver-tongued Bible thumpers employ to persuade people to
accept things contrary to their convictions and their conscience. Should you get
pulled into a debate with one of those thumpers you'll be frustrated because no
matter how skillfully defended your position, they will continue to oppose it with
one rebuttal after another; so the best track is: put on your best poker face and
decline to argue, i.e. if you've declared your position, then you're done: you're not
required to defend it; in point of fact, you're required to remain silent. (Rom 14:1)
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047) Rom 14:14-16 . . I know and am perfectly sure on the authority of the Lord
Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is
wrong, then for that person it is wrong. And if another Christian is distressed by
what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don't let your eating ruin
someone for whom Christ died. Then you will not be condemned for doing
something you know is alright.

For example: We may be convinced that there is nothing wrong with eating freaky,
barbarian foods; but our Christian dinner companion might feel very strongly about
it. Well; sure, we can get by with eating freaky, barbarian foods; but Christ expect
his own to restrain themselves from eating distasteful stuff in front of our Christian
companions in thoughtful and sympathetic regard for their personal sensibilities,
i.e. as a courtesy.

I'm pretty sure this principle isn't restricted to diet, but can be applied to any
debatable issue with the potential to drive an unnecessary wedge between
ourselves and other Christians. For example; if you have friends over for an
evening of entertainment, and know they're uncomfortable with movies saturated
with crime, cruelty, obscenity, vulgarity, deviance, indecency, and violence; then
accommodate their feelings by selecting something else.
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048) Rom 14:19 . . Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace
and to mutual edification.

The Greek word translated "edification" is somewhat related to the building trades;
and in this instance pertains to structural improvements like a new wing, or a
bedroom, or another floor; and in many instances adds square footage to an
already-existing structure and/or improves its appearance, its value, and it's utility.
Edification then, is just the opposite of demolition, i.e. it builds up instead of tearing
down.

Webster's defines "peace" as a state in which there is no war, struggle, or fighting;
viz: it's a state of harmony and mutual concord. In other words: there are times
when it's appropriate to accommodate people's feelings about certain things for the
sake of us all getting along together.
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049) Rom 14:20-21 . . Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All
food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else
to stumble.

The critters that God lists as unsuitable for human consumption in the covenant
that Moses' people agreed upon with God per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy, aren't intrinsically unsuitable. They're only designated unsuitable for
the Jews because that's how God wants it for a particular people. But outside the
covenant, for everybody else, whatever they'd like to eat can be eaten; and that
dates all the way back to Noah. (Gen 9:3)

But still; we wouldn't want to invite someone over for dinner serving foods that
they sincerely believe are wrong for them to eat; and thus lead them to
compromise their own personal convictions about what's right and what's wrong for
Christians. So the best course of action is to prepare something that you both
together can eat without guilt.
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050) Rom 14:22a . . So whatever you personally believe in debatable areas keep
between yourself and God.

The old adage "Let sleeping dogs lie." is certainly apropos in gray-area beliefs and
practices. For example; some folks are comfortable with having a picture of Jesus in
their homes while others think it's wrong. I think it best to consider issues like that
a sort of DMZ wherein neither side initiates conflict.
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051) Rom 14:22b . . Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he
approves.

The Greek word translated "blessed" means fortunate and/or well off. The opposite
of that would be like deprived and/or missing out on something worth having.

● Rom 14:23 . . But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his
eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

Where there's doubt; it's possible to be wrong even when you're right because it's a
sin to forge ahead when one's sensitivities aren't sure it's okay to do so.

I once knew a Christian who felt guilty just setting foot inside a BlockBuster Video
store. Was he silly for feeling that way? Not in his mind because it's your own
personal moral compass that counts in gray areas.

Some Christians can't permit themselves to dine in a restaurant that serves
alcohol; while others see nothing wrong with it. If those two kinds of Christians
should perchance dine out together, it's the more sensitive conscience that
determines where to eat.

In other words; it makes good spiritual sense to avoid insisting upon your freedoms
and rights sometimes in order to prevent dragging your fellow Christians into
something that makes them feel guilty and/or uncomfortable.

● Rom 15:1-2 . . We may know that certain things make no difference, but we
cannot just go ahead and do them to please ourselves. We must be considerate of
the doubts and fears of those who believe certain things are wrong.

Webster's defines "considerate" as thoughtful of the rights and feelings of others,
i.e. deferential, gallant, chivalrous, sensitive, yielding, and diplomatic.
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052) Rom 15:7 . . Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order
to bring praise to God.

Christians begin as sinners alienated from God.

● Rom 5:10 . . .When we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through
the death of His son

● 1John 4:10 . .This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent
His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

The thing is: God takes sinners under His wing even when they are as stubborn and
rebellious as conceited adolescents. So then; I think we may take it that
disagreement over matters of conscience-- i.e. gray issues --is never a valid reason
to disown one's fellow believer. This calls for benevolence, i.e. the graces of tact,
diplomacy, courtesy, and tolerance.

NOTE: Bringing praise to God speaks of appropriate conduct as opposed to conduct
unbecoming, i.e. avoiding embarrassment to God as bad-boy Christians instead of
Christians that He can be proud of.
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053) Rom 15:27 . . For if the Gentiles have shared in the Israelite's spiritual
blessings, they owe it to the Israelites to share with them their material blessings.

Within the context of Rom 15:25-27, the Israelites to whom Paul refers are not
those who believe and practice Judaism; but those who believe Jesus is the
Messiah. (a.k.a. Y'shua)

It is unbecoming for Christians to support religions that undermine Christ;
especially when it's taken into consideration that 1Cor 16:22 requires Christ's
followers to regard the followers of religions opposed to his as cursed.

NOTE: The Jews' original beliefs and practices were primarily biblical. By the time of
Jesus' day, their religion had become rabbinical, i.e. defined by the Talmud; which
incorporates the Bible but isn't strictly limited to it.
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054) Rom 16:17-18 . . I urge you, brothers, beware of those who cause divisions
and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.
Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their
own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people.

Naïve folk can be characterized as credulous, i.e. easily convinced by slight or
uncertain evidence, viz: non-critical thinkers.

"smooth talk" is the practice of sophistry; defined as a reason or an argument that
sounds correct but at its core is actually false; viz: subtly deceptive reasoning or
argumentation. Sophistry is typically rational, reasonable, and sensible; but the
thing to keep in mind is that faith believes what's revealed to it rather than only
what makes sense to it.

According to Eph 4:11-14 the very reason that Christ endows some of his followers
to speak for him is so that the rest of his followers may have access to true
premises upon which to build their faith and thus achieve the unity for which he
prayed at John 17:20-21.

NOTE: Rom 16:17-18 contains somewhat universal instructions because, with a
little adjustment here and there, they can be incorporated as counseling for just
about every ideology known to man, e.g. Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Baha'i,
Protestant, Catholic, Democracy, Communism, Socialism, etc. It's kind of
humorous, in an ironic sort of way, that everybody's ideology warns its adherents
about the dangers of everybody else's ideology.
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055) 1Cor 1:10 . . I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you
and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

Official belief systems-- e.g. the Nicene Creed and/or proprietary church covenants
and statements of faith --are very effective for achieving the unity required by 1Cor
1:10; and should always be imposed upon new people applying for membership in
a local congregation. A church composed of a variety of beliefs and practices isn't a
unified church: it's a forum.

NOTE: I would have to say that after belief in God and His son, the next thing that
church members need to believe in is each other; and if they can't believe in each
other, then I really think they ought to disband. I'm not kidding around about this;
without trust and loyalty a church is just as dysfunctional as any other maladjusted
family.
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056) 1Cor 1:26 . . Brethren, think of what you were when you were called. Not
many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many
were of noble birth.

In other words; those among the elite who've been called, weren't called because
they're special. They were called because they're sinners no different than the rest
of us. It's that simple; and they should never forget it.

● 1Cor 1:27-30 . . But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise;
God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly
things of this world and the despised things-- and the things that are not-to nullify
the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.

● 1Cor 1:30-31 . . God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our
benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself; he is the one who made us acceptable
to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom.

NOTE: Were he able to exercise a free hand, no doubt the Devil would make it
impossible for anybody to be in Christ. However; that's not to be because God's
free will trumps the Devil's free will.
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057) 1Cor 3:9-11 . .We are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's
building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master
builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each man be
careful how he builds upon it. (For no man can lay a foundation other than the one
which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.)

Most Christian endeavors at least begin with Christ as their base. That's a good
start. However, not all build something upon him that's eternally useful to either
him or his Father; for example things like faith healing, political activism, civil
disobedience, and tongues are mostly harmful to his cause rather than helpful.
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