FUTILE ARGUMENTS

Rom. 14:1 Accept Christians who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.  NLT

       I went through my argumentative stage.  I was so sure of what I believed that I was more than willing to proclaim it to whoever would listen.  It didn’t matter much that others had similar convictions about what they believed.  I was on a mission to convince the world that I was right.

      Fortunately, I outgrew that stage of my life.  I am just as sure of my beliefs as I was then, but I have matured in my thinking.  Most of the time all that arguing accomplishes is a division of fellowship.  Rarely does it change anyone’s convictions.

     One of the real dangers of arguments is that many times we don’t really know what we think we know.  Understanding is gained over time through much prayer and study.  The Lord often has to tweak our understanding as we mature in faith.  Some things are revealed to us as time goes on when we are more able to comprehend it. 

      Some things we understand totally differently later on in life than we do when we are younger in faith.  And, some things simply fall under the category of the unknown that must be believed by faith because the Lord does not give us clear answers on it.

       Imagine how damaging it could be to a fellow believer who is weak in faith if we were to persuade them to believe something that later on we no longer know to be true.  Let the Lord guide others to a proper understanding of truth.  It is the Holy Spirit who gives understanding. We can preach and teach until we are blue in the face, but unless the Lord does the convincing, our efforts are in vain.  A much better approach would be to pray that the Lord would help us and others to understand the things we need to know.  

      Those who are weak in faith need our fellowship more than anything else.  They need others to come alongside of them to encourage them and spur them on to greater and stronger faith.  They need others to love them, not condemn them.  Speak the truth, but always do it in love.

WEAKER IN FAITH

Rom. 14:1 Accept Christians who are weak in faith, and don't argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.  NLT

       Some Christians are stronger in faith than others.  There are many reasons why it is so.  New believers tend to live on emotions more than Biblical understanding.  Most of them are not grounded in truth and have not had time to develop an understanding of it.  Many are in the process of developing disciplines that will help them to grow, but they are not firmly established yet and so their growth is sporadic.

       There are also many of us who simply never grow up; they remain weak in faith.  They lack commitment to the disciplines of faith and so they just sort of wander through life knowing Christ on a very weak foundation.  They struggle greatly in their ability to resist temptations.  They are sporadic in their commitment to church life.  They believe, but have a difficult time with applying what they believe to their living.

      Weak Christians tend to be more reactive than more established believers.  They are quicker to argue over things because they are more defensive.  They have little understanding of how some things can be understood by others in different ways and lived out differently.  They are not prone to be gracious with those who they don't agree with. 

       But, just because they may be weak in faith and don’t get things right doesn’t mean they are not Christians.  We need to be patient and gracious with them and do what we can do to help them grow stronger instead of finding fault with them and arguing with them over how they may act or think.

       We accomplish nothing by being argumentative.  We aren't always going to agree with one another on everything we know to be true.  We aren't going to persuade very many people by arguing with them over details.  Instead, we should be gracious towards one another and agree to disagree agreeably and serve the Lord together in peace.  We are to love one another and not be at odds with one another over things we don't agree on.  Let the Spirit of Christ guide into all truth and do your best to serve the Lord with your best for His honor and glory. 

LET JESUS CONTROL YOU

Rom. 13:14  But let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you, and don't think of ways to indulge your evil desires.  NLT

      We are naturally born with a tendency to love and long for the things of the world.  Chasing after evil is what we want to do.  We like it when we are engaged in the pleasures of sin.  We sin naturally and easily.

       But, for the child of God, we must move beyond our natural instincts.  Jesus changes our natural desires into longings for God.  We no longer are satisfied by evil desires.  They are empty and delusional.  We discover that only God can satisfy the soul.  Therefore, we must work hard at staying away from our evil desires and let Christ control us.

      Jesus can only have control of us with our permission and cooperation.  He will not make us into a people after His own heart that pleases God unless we give Him full control over our lives.  What we must do is engage ourselves in those things which help us to stay surrendered to Him.  We must faithfully and consistently be students of the Scriptures.  We must stay in constant touch with Him through prayer.  We must put feet to our prayers and seize opportunities given to us daily to serve Him.  We must develop a grateful spirit and learn to praise Him often in our lives. 

       In other words, we must discipline our souls so that we have a mindset for godly things.  We must shun those things which pull us away from God.  We must refuse to participate in sinful practices.  We must strive to keep our thoughts off of evil and onto those things which are wholesome and good for our souls.  It's not always easy to do, but try we must.  We will stumble and fall, but we must never give up. 

      Let the Lord have control of you; great will be your reward in heaven.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT

Rom. 13:11  Another reason for right living is that you know how late it is; time is running out.  Wake up, for the coming of our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.  NLT

     We need a wake-up call.  I don't believe that we believe that it is late, that time is running out.  Life goes on and we give very little serious thought to the fact that things are going to change.  Life as it is known today just cannot continue.  Mankind is out of control.  Weapons of mass destruction are available and in the hands of unstable people.  We have lost our sense of what is good for the common good.  Self-interests are the rule of the day.  We are lost and don't even know or care.  Time is indeed running out.

       We have been lulled to sleep by our modern world.  We have the mindset that things will get better than they are simply because we are more knowledgeable and have the capabilities to do things that no previous generation has ever had. 

      God has made it very clear in His Word that things are going to change big time.  He has the day set in heaven for Christ's return for the Church.  Each day draws us closer to that day.  We have no guarantee for another breath, another tomorrow.  The Lord's coming is a lot closer now than we can even imagine.  World events and the mindset of mankind all point to His soon return. 

      We need to be very serious about this, lest He comes and catches us unprepared.  We need to take good care of our souls and reach out to as many people as possible before He comes.  Today is our day of salvation.  If we wait until it's more convenient for us, our day of salvation may never come.  Wake up!  The day of salvation is soon upon us.  Are you ready?

THE DEBT OF LOVE

Rom. 13:8-10 Pay all your debts, except the debt of love for others. You can never finish paying that! If you love your neighbors, you will fulfill all the requirements of God's law. For the commandments against adultery and murder and stealing and coveting---and any other commandment---are all summed up in this one commandment: "Love your neighbor as yourself."  Love does no wrong to anyone, so love satisfies all of God's requirements.  NLT

       Jesus loved us enough to go to the cross and stay there on it for us. His love led Him into the pits of hell to overcome death's grip on us. He took the full fury of God against sin upon His own heart so we wouldn't have to on ours. His love for us was stronger than His love for himself.

       No matter what we do, we can never repay the debt of love we owe Him. It is impossible for us to fully grasp the price Jesus paid for our sins simply because He loved us and wanted to spare us the agonizing consequences of sin.

       We are compelled to love Him in return. How can we not? We can't love Him as much as He loves us, but we can love Him more than we often do. One of the proofs of our love for Him is how we love each other. Loving others is the heart of Christian living. We cannot truly claim to love God if we don't love one another. So the issue becomes how that love is played out in our lives.

       If you love someone, you will not do them wrong. You will not purposely do anything that will harm another. Love seeks the good of another. It takes on the character of love found in I Corinthians 13:4-8a. This has a twofold application for us.

       We will be diligent about how we act so that we will not be guilty of leading someone astray. Love dictates that we will be godly examples so that no one will be driven away from the Lord by what they see in us.    

       We will not treat others with anything but God's love. We will weigh carefully our speech and actions so that we can do that which is good and not harm to those around us. We will treat others with grace and mercy instead of condemnation.

       If we do these things, we will fulfill God's requirements of love.  We will also discover a new found respect for others and ourselves.  We show our love for God by obeying Him in the matter of loving others.

LOVE DOES NO WRONG

Rom. 13:10  Love does no wrong to anyone, so love satisfies all of God's requirements.  NLT

     Love does no wrong.  Think about this for a few moments today.  Love does not hurt others.  Love does not withhold forgiveness when it is asked for.  Love does not demean others.  Love does not let others suffer when we can do something about it.  Love does no wrong.

       How often have you truly been loved by those who say they love you?  Probably not as often as you should be.  Loving one another should be the norm in the family of God.  We are told in I Corinthians 13:4-8a just what this love is like in practical terms.  Godly love builds others up; it does not tear them down. 

       To love one another God's way is demanding.  It demands of us thoughtful effort.  We must purposely strive to act in a godly way towards one another.  We must set aside our personal agendas and emotions and act like God acts towards us.  God loves us unconditionally and sacrificially.

       God gave His all for our salvation.  He who knew no sin became sin for us so that we can be set free from sin's condemnation and have eternal life with Him.  He died for everyone who has ever lived and does not withhold His love from anyone who would receive it.

       All of God's demands for holy living can be met by loving one another with godly love.  If we put forth the effort and truly try to love one another as we should, all will be well with our souls before God, for love satisfies all of God's requirements for eternal love.  If you truly love the Lord you will obey His commandments and all of His commandments are summarized in loving God with all that we are and loving one another as ourselves.

BE BETTER THAN YOUR SIN

Rom. 12:21 Don't let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.  NLT

       The emphasis on this verse is you and I. We determine whether or not evil overcomes us. We choose whether or not we fall into sin. We cannot make the claim that we had no choice in the matter that "the devil made me do it."  We cannot escape our responsibility for sin in our lives. We can conquer sin. How? By doing good.

       Goodness is a quality of character. It is the desire and striving to live a godly life. When we strive to do that which pleases God and is acceptable to Him, we put a nail in the coffin of sin in our lives. The more we live to do that which is good, the less desire we will have to sin.

       Our goodness before God does not depend on our doing good, but our ability to do good depends on our goodness. Jesus makes us good. He changes our hearts and motivates us to live godly lives. You will never overcome evil in your life on your own. Your only hope is to live near to the heart of God, to live in Jesus.

      It is when we fail to keep close to the Lord that we fail in our battle with sin. Evil will creep in and get the best of you whenever you fail to call upon the Lord to help you get out of temptation's way. It is always a good thing to first call on the name of the Lord before you try to handle what tempts you. 

       And, when you ask the Lord to help you, mean it.  Be willing to do your part and the Lord will give you what you need to do that which is good for you instead of your falling down into sin.

       If you are not a victor over your sin, it’s by choice.  You have all the help you will ever need to overcome sin in Christ Jesus our Lord.