God gave us ears so that we could hear and eyes so that we could see. So, let’s USE them! That means listen to what people say and pay attention to what we see.
Paul tells us not to argue with other believers over “disputable matters”. Some people believe that we may eat any food, others, whom Paul characterizes as having weak faith, believe that we should only eat vegetables. He tells us that we should not argue over such things. Paul tells us not to judge one another over such things. There are those who argue that we should accept those who practice things which have traditionally been considered sins (usually, sins which are sexual in nature) without condemning them (I think that what Paul writes about the man sleeping with his stepmother in 1 Corinthians suggests otherwise, but that is another point).
However, if this passage were to apply, those who believe those sexual behaviors are not sin would be in the same class as those who believed it was OK to eat anything. Paul tells us that if your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat (or in this case, who you have sex with), you are no longer acting in love. He goes on to say, “So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.” Paul says that it is better not to do anything which might cause your brother or sister to fall. So, you should not do things which your fellow believers think is sinful where they might find out. If there is any chance they will find out about it, you should not do it at all.
When Hezekiah took the throne he immediately began to reverse the evil which his father, Ahaz, had done. He called on the Levites to first purify themselves and then purify the Temple. When they had purified the Temple, they purified the people. This should serve as a model for us. I believe our nation has fallen into the sort of situation which Judah was in when Ahaz was king (although, I do not believe the U.S. is God’s chosen nation, unlike Judah). If we want to turn that around we need to first purify ourselves. Then we need to purify the Church (and I do not mean the building). Only then will we be able to purify the people of this nation.
The earth, along with everything in it, belongs to God. We should treat the things we have accordingly. Let us remember to use everything we have in order to serve God and bring glory to His name. All of the people on the earth are God’s as well. Let us remember that we are not special in being God’s possession and treat others with the love, honour, and respect that they deserve as being God’s people.
The psalmist asks, and answers, who may approach God? Here I prefer the NIV. He tells us that only those who have clean hands and a pure heart, those who do not rely on something other than God, those who do not swear falsely, or by false gods. If we truly seek God, we will allow His Spirit to transform us into such people. His Spirit will cleanse our hands and our hearts. If we trust in Him, He will remove sin from our lives and keep us from sullying our hearts by trusting in that which cannot save us. We cannot enter into God’s presence and truly worship Him until we fully rely on Him.
Once again, I prefer the NIV for this passage. Paul tells us to accept those whose faith is weak. We are not to quarrel over disputable matters, such as whether to observe certain days (Is Christmas really a pagan holiday?), or whether or not it is OK to eat meat (Was this meat dedicated to an idol?). The phrasing chosen by the NIV is important. Other translations use the term argue rather than quarrel. The problem is that arguing can be a logical discussion, laying out the reasons for holding a particular position, and I cannot imagine Paul having a problem with that. It is when arguing becomes quarreling that problems arise. Quarreling is divisive and angry. Quarreling is what happens when we allow our emotions to enter into a disagreement. Paul tells us not to condemn those we disagree with. We are not to hold them in contempt. Ultimately, what each one of us believes is between ourselves and God. God will judge us according to how responsive we are to guidance by His Spirit. If we allow emotions to enter into our arguments (debates) with our fellow believers, we may convince them to change their actions, even though we have not convinced them that such changes are not sinful. Let us not ridicule others so that they change their behavior, even though they still think it is wrong.
There is another clause in what Paul says that is worth noting, he tells us not to quarrel over “disputable matters”. He gives examples of disputable matters (what types of food we eat, what days are holy). It would be helpful if he gave examples of what is not disputable. However, we can get a sense of that from his writings elsewhere: sexual immorality, the importance of faith in Jesus and His death and resurrection, a few other matters. More importantly, if we remember to not let our emotions become entangled in our efforts to convince others (except possibly our concern for them), we will not go far wrong. It is not wrong to disagree, nor to discuss our disagreements. It is wrong to condemn our fellow believers because they disagree with us. Let us seek to allow the love God has for each person influence the way we approach those we disagree with.
When Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, became king, the first thing he did was reopen the Temple of God for worship. He summoned the priests and Levites and instructed them to purify themselves and then purify the Temple. They were to remove everything that was defiled from the Temple, all of the implements of pagan worship. It took them sixteen days to cleanse and purify the Temple. When this was done, Hezekiah called the people of Judah to rededicate and reconsecrate themselves to God. The people responded to his call with such fervor that the priests were overwhelmed trying to keep up.
Let us remember that Jesus has made our bodies the Temple of God. Let us purify our bodies and consecrate ourselves to serving God. Then, when we have done this, let us call on those around us to do the same. Perhaps if we do so, trusting in the Spirit to move them, we will get a response similar to that which Hezekiah got. Perhaps we can get the people of this land to respond to God in such a manner that the Churches are overwhelmed and do not know what to do with the people who come to Him.
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Hezekiah succeeded his father Ahaz on the throne. His first act was to reopen the Temple and repair its doors. He summoned the priests and Levites and instructed them to purify themselves. He asked them to cleanse the Temple and resume the worship of God there. Hezekiah determined to restore the worship of God in the Kingdom of Judah. It took the priests and Levites sixteen days to clean and purify the Temple. At the end of that time they reported to Hezekiah that the Temple was ready for people to resume worshiping in it.
The following morning Hezekiah summoned the city officials and went to the Temple to worship the Lord. Hezekiah and the city officials brought animals to sacrifice as sin offerings for both themselves and the people of the kingdom. Hezekiah commanded the priests to sacrifice the animals as sin offerings for all of the people of Israel. As the offerings were being presented to the Lord, Hezekiah instructed the Levites to lead the people in songs of worship. When the priests were done sacrificing the animals which he had brought, Hezekiah told the people that now that they were consecrated they could bring their sacrifices and thank offerings. The people responded by bringing so many animals as sacrifices that there were not sufficient priests to prepare all of the animals for sacrifice. So, the Levites helped prepare the animals for sacrifice.
Paul tells us to accept those who are weak in faith. He instructs us to avoid quarreling over disputable matters. Paul gives us a couple of examples of things we should not argue over. He tells us that some people believe that it is OK to eat anything, while others believe that Christians should eat only vegetables. Paul states that no matter which side of that debate you find yourself on, you should not only not condemn those on the other side, but you should remember that they are honoring the Lord as they practice the position they are taking. Another issue that Paul brings up is that some people believe that we should worship God on a particular day, while others hold that it does not matter what day we choose to worship God since we should worship God every day (Paul was probably referring to a debate over keeping the Sabbath). Paul tells us that we should not condemn another believer over issues such as this. It is up to us to judge our fellow believers, we should leave that up to God (although we need to remember that Paul was not saying we should ignore all types of sin. I will discuss the other side of this when I cover the passage where he talks about it in Corinthians).
Paul continues by saying that he is convinced that there is no food that it is wrong to eat. However, if someone else believes that it is wrong to eat something, than it is a sin for them to eat it. He tells us that we should not encourage someone to do something which they believe to be a sin. If we do we are causing them to sin.
***
In this passage Paul addresses both sides and says that they should not be judgmental of those who feel differently. However, it appears to me that he puts the greater burden on those who feel that things are not a sin than on those who think that they are. He tells those who think that eating meat is not a sin that, if by eating meat they might cause someone who believed it wrong to stumble in their faith, they should not eat meat. My reading of this is that those who believe that certain activities are not sin are under obligation to avoid pushing that belief on those who believe those activities are sin.
This is NOT catnip
I read this psalm and the opening verse really struck me. Not as something new, but just as the theme for me today.
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him.
Everything and everyone on this earth belong to God. I have nothing that does not belong to God. He is merely allowing me to use it. I need to treat this earth like it belongs to someone else, someone who will hold me accountable for any damage I may do to it. But more than that, I need to remember that every person on the face of the earth, no matter what I may think of them, belongs to God. I should treat them with the respect that a servant of God deserves, even if they are not willingly doing so. It is up to God to mete out any punishment that may be due, not me.
Magrat by the fire pit
God has given us ears to hear, so we should listen to what God has to say. He has given us eyes to see, so we should actually look at what is in front of us. God has given us the gift to judge for ourselves what we hear and what we see.
