Who are we to judge fellow sinners?- Surrendering to my Shepherd

Hello friends and welcome back to The Book of Romans Series. Today we are exploring chapter fourteen. Yesterday, we talked about setting a side the deeds of darkness and putting on the armor of light. Today we will read about the weak and the strong.

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 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. 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. (Verses 1-4)

This one I’ll leave up to the Lord who is speaking in my heart:

I am the one who does the judging; the one who keeps the score. You are not in charge of your fellow servants. You are to keep doing your work that the Master has assigned you to do and keep your nose out of the other servant’s business. The one who you judge, Christ died for; as much as He died for your sake, He also died for their sake. So, who you are you to judge? You aren’t in charge of anything servant, but your own two hands and your own two feet and what you do with them in your allotted time. Don’t waste that allotted time dirtying your hands with the business of others. Keep your work up for it is between you and God.

The Almighty says as the Almighty does. I keep my promises and my tribulations alike. So, if I keep my promises of grace, I also keep my promises of wrath. For the one who stepped foot on the earth that wasn’t of the earth is the only righteous one of all who have touched the dirty ground. So, who are you to put your two cents into the discernment of others? For is it God alone who discerns judgement. Who are you to judge? Who are you to act high and mighty over your fellow sinners?

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. 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. For none of us lives for ourselves alone. 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. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. (Verses 5-9)

When it comes down to it, so long as you do it for the Lord and give thanks for Him, it doesn’t matter. I am reminded of the question I try to ask myself every day:

“Does this praise God or bless others?” If the answer is no, I have to seriously rethink my actions.

You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgement seat. For it is written:

“As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.”

So, then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. (Verses 10-12)

The Lord is the shepherd of all. I leave behind the sheep that refuse to follow me and I lead the ones who accept me. If one strays, I look desperately for the one. It isn’t the sheep that lead the sheep, but the shepherd. So, if it is indeed I alone who guides them, it isn’t for you to judge where I lead them.

So, just as we keep in mind that we are fellow servants and it is not our job to judge, but the Master’s job; we should also remember that when we judge others, we put judgement on ourselves. That means that we are judging someone for sin, and in doing so, we ourselves are sinning. So, as you judge others for dragging their name through the mud; you are dragging your own name through the mud and you will have to be judged by the Master for it.

Therefore, let us stop passing judgement on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother and sister. 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. If our 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. Therefore, do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. (Verses 13-18)

So, if someone who doesn’t eat meat because of religious reasons (they are doing it for the Lord), you shouldn’t eat meat in front of them because that puts a stumbling block in front of them and therefore are not acting in love. Christ died for everyone, so you should treat everyone with purpose and value and respect.

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person that eats anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall. (Verses 19-21)

Another example of this: you wouldn’t drink in front of an a newly sobered alcoholic. So, we can take this example of food and drink and add it to other situations too.

So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. (Verses 22 & 23)

Whatever it is that you believe is sacred or clean, don’t make it so it outshines someone else’s beliefs. Now a days, everyone has an opinion about everything, and the new philosophy is “if you don’t have the same opinions as me, we cannot be friends.” That is not the case, my friends; we can respect each other’s boundaries. And don’t worry about other’s actions; just worry about yours and whether or not you are living for God.

“Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” Stop making excuses for sin. Sin cannot be measured or weighed. Sin is sin. So, you cannot say, “Well, they are doing worse sins than I am.” Because that isn’t the case. So, judgement doesn’t need to be a factor here because we are all sinners.

Friends, go out and live for God. You aren’t a slave to sin or the law anymore. Let faith shine and let grace burn bright – and SMILE! Today, I surrender to my shepherd and will focus on following Him instead of focusing on what my fellow sheep are doing.