The law of love in Romans 14 is also the law of liberty in James 1:25, preventing judgment of others, for God’s perfect love (1 John 4:7-8, 12-13), within Christians should eliminate judging or prodigies in any form—what a person wears, eats, skin color, social status, education, or doctrine; because Proverbs 10:11-12 says, 11 The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked. 12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.
Acts 17:22-34 emphatically states God created every human being the world over from one blood (of our original parents—Genesis 3:20-24; 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45)), appointed our boundaries, times of existence, and places to live, so we would seek Him, find Him, and live totally for Him, because in Him is delightful life here, which also includes eternal life either with Him or separated from Him. We judge others because we judge the God who created them.
We have our individual preferences, for God created us with different DNA, fingerprints, likes, and dislikes, because He wanted our differences to become our need for loving unity, striving to understand each other and our individuality, but never to judge one another (Matthew 7:1-6), or indulge in another’s sinful behavior (1 Corinthians 15:33-34), but to love them the way God loves us without prodigies, praying constantly for the relationship of God, them, and us.
When members of our physical body war with each other, we may tolerate it for a while, but if it continues, we find ways to unify the body members, so we have peace of mind, and this is the way Christ and His body, the church, work; thus, if Christians, members of His body, the church, war, Christ may permit it briefly, but if we do not settle our differences, He finds ways to unify us or remove us, the same way we surgically remove waring body parts that refuse to unite.
Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 13 should be read and thoroughly studies regularly, until these truths become a loving lifestyle to others the same way God, through Christ, by the Holy Spirit, loves and works in perfect harmony with His body, the church, so His body, the church, will also work in perfect harmony with Him and all the other members of Christ’s body.
Christianity is not a religion, denomination, experience, or fellowship, for Christianity is a Person. Christianity is Christ, the Head of His body, the church, working in unified growth into Christ’s fullness, as we understand from Ephesians 4.
Close, Holy Spirit anointed four part harmony in a southern gospel quartet or choir, singing hymns, gets the Holy Spirit’s attention and blesses those listening, praising, thanking, and worshiping the Lord, and this is the same way holy harmony in Christ’s body, the church, works, for the good of every member of His body (1 Corinthians 12:26-27).
Members of Christ’s body, the church; Christians should exemplify the love of God, through Christ (John 13:35), by the Holy Spirit to everyone, so God’s goodness causes them to repent (turn around, go back the way we came, until we find Jesus—Jeremiah 29:11-13; Luke 2:39-50; Romans 2:4).
Christianity is the totality of Christ; thus, Christians must represent Christ in everything—in our thoughts, words, actions, attitudes, intentions, and integrity (Matthew 5:43-47), and this truth helps Christians mature and make the Person of Christ complete (Ephesians 4; Colossians 2:8-10), which actually means we allow Christ to live His life out through us (Galatians 2:20).
But each of our days are not the same; some are super and some are duds, but we are still Christ’s body members, and Christ our Head determines how each of our days are lived out.
Jim Nabors
