We All are the Lord’s

Daily Reading:  Romans 14:1 – 14

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

                        Romans 14:12

Across Christianity, there is a spectrum of beliefs genuinely held by sincere brothers in Christ.  Often those beliefs are in error and are the result of confusion due to a failure to see and apply the truth of II Timothy 2:15. A failure to rightly divide can lead to a lot of problems.  In those instances, we have a duty to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) so that those in error might, “Come to the knowledge of the truth” (I Timothy 2:4).      

With that duty also comes great responsibility.  This is a responsibility that is often ignored among believers; even among believers who claim to understand the grace of God.  Our duty to be right overrides our responsibility to be loving, gracious, and accepting of a brother in Christ who holds a different conviction.  Among the Roman believers, there were apparent differences regarding what could be eaten and what days were important.  These differences had the potential to divide brothers in Christ.  Some were walking in liberty, while others were clearly allowing aspects of the law to limit their liberty.  If we are to lead others into that liberty, we must avoid driving out brothers.  

To avoid condemning those with different beliefs, while at the same time speaking the truth in love, we must apply the key truth of Romans 14:8 to our life and to our view of their life.  We ALL are the Lord’s!  

Obviously then, leading others does not require creating perfect duplicates of yourself unless you are insecure or prideful.  God can and truly does work through our differences, even doctrinally, for His honor and glory.  In fact, is it possible that God can work though a humble servant with some doctrinal problems more that a prideful person who has all his doctrine “perfect” by someone’s standards?