While John was praying, he prayed,
Lord, make us weak and make our pastor weak. I thought, I wonder
how many churches a prayer like that would be prayed. And I thought, oh, how I want
us to be weak. What a blessed thing is if the
Lord makes us weak. I've entitled this message, What
To Do With The Week. What To Do With The Week. Now, we're going to spend several
weeks in this 14th chapter of Romans. I trust it'll be a blessing
to this church. And actually, the thought doesn't
end to the 7th verse of the 15th chapter. Some of these chapter
divisions in the Bible are just unfortunate. They're man-made,
not inspired, and some of them don't even make sense. And this
chapter division between 14 and 15 doesn't make sense. If there
would have been a chapter division, it should have been after the
seventh verse of Romans chapter 15, because all the thoughts
go together. In verse 1, Paul says, him that
is weak the faith. Now the first thing that I would
want to point out about this weak brother is that he is in
the faith. That's a good place to be. He is in the faith. He really
believes the Gospel. This weak brother has only one
righteousness, the righteousness of Christ. This weak brother
believes what he believes, even if it's in error, he believes
what he believes from the Word of God. He may have taken something
in the Word of God and misapplied it, but what he believes is from
the Word of God. This weak brother really does
believe that salvation is of the Lord. that it's all of grace. He has what Paul calls, I love
this in Titus 1.1, the faith of God's elect. The faith which all of God's
elect possess, the acknowledging, the recognition, the embracing
of the truth. That's what faith does. It acknowledges, it embraces,
it recognizes the truth, which is after Paul said godliness.
Not only does acknowledging the truth lead to godliness, it comes
from godliness. where there's true godliness,
where there's the life of God in the soul, there will be the
faith of God's elect, the acknowledging of the truth, which is after
godliness. It's also called the common faith. I love that. The
common faith. That which is common to all,
as opposed to that which is peculiar to the few. It's what every believer
possesses. This weak brother is in the faith. Now, how often does the Lord
say to his disciples, O ye of what? Little faith. One time he said, where is your
faith? I know you have it, but it sure
can't be seen. Where is it? And the apostles
cried out, increase our faith. So I want my faith increased,
don't you? I want it enlarged by the Spirit of God. I want
to have increased faith. But there is such a thing as
weak faith. He that is weak in the faith,
receive him. Now, let me tell you something
that's glorious about weak faith. Weak faith saves just as surely
as great faith does. You know why? Because it's the
object of faith that saves. Whether it's weak or whether
it's strong, it's not the faith itself that saves, it's the object
of faith. And that's what weak faith believes
and that's what strong faith believes. I was in a plane yesterday
and right across me from me was an annoying baby crying. Now,
your old babies aren't annoying. Anybody else's, they can be annoying.
And it was crying, screaming, and I was wanting to sleep, and
just a weak infant baby. Now, question. I know I'm a lot stronger and
know a lot more than that baby does. And at the time, we were
flying over the Rocky Mountains. I was looking at the Rocky Mountains,
and I think that's what they were. They were snow-capped at
any rate. That weak baby, was it less likely
to get to the destination than I was? No. Me being an adult and stronger
and more intelligent and learning more, was I more likely to get
to the destination than that little ignorant baby was? No. You see, if the plane gets there,
we both get there. If the plane doesn't get there,
neither one of us get there. It wasn't my maturity or that
baby's babiness that had anything to do with anything. If the plane
gets there, we both get there. Totally dependent on the plane.
So we see that, it's an illustration, if Christ is successful, That
person with weak faith is just as saved, just as secure, just
as complete as that person with strong faith. Aren't you thankful
for that? Him that is weak in the faith. Now, what is this
weakness in the faith? What's he referring to? There's
a lot of things you could say about weak faith. I dare say
everybody in here, when they think of weak faith, they think
that's me. You think that about yourself? You think you have
strong faith? I've heard people say, I've got strong faith. I
don't remember feeling that way about myself. Weak in the faith. Well, what
does Paul mean here by weak in the faith? Well, look in verse
2. For one believeth that he may
eat all things. Another who is weak, he eats
vegetables. He will not eat meat sacrificed
to idols. He's believed all of his life
that it was wrong to eat meat sacrificed to idols. He feels
like it would be a sinful practice and he refuses to do it. Now
what Paul calls that is weakness in the faith. That brother is
wrong. He's weak in the faith. Now, since he believes, since
he was raised up believing it would be sinful to buy meat that
was used in pagan sacrifices, would it be wrong if he ate it?
Well, the answer to that is yes and no. Yes and no. How can you say yes and no to
the same thing? Well, look in verse 14 of this same chapter. I know and am persuaded by the
Lord Jesus that there's nothing unclean of itself. There's not
a thing wrong with him eating that meat that was used to be
sacrificed to idols. It's not unclean. It's just as
good as any other kind of meat. I'll take steak. However, I don't care if it was
used to be sacrificed to idols. If it tastes good, I'll eat it.
I'm thankful for it. Nothing wrong with it. There's
not a thing wrong with that man eating that meat. But let's read
the rest of the verse. But to him that esteemeth anything
to be unclean, to him it is unclean. If he feels like it would be
wrong, you could take that with regard to alcohol, can't you?
Alcohol. People make a big issue out of
alcohol. Some people think it's wrong
to drink alcohol on any level. Some people think there's nothing
wrong with it. Well, if you believe it's wrong, you ought not do
it. And there's nothing wrong with it. The Lord drank wine. Somebody says, no, he drank grape
juice. No, he drank wine. And he was accused of being a
wine-bibber, a drunk, a gluttonous man, a friend of publicans and
sinners. The Lord drank wine. Wine maketh
glad the heart, the scripture says. Paul said to Timothy, drink
a little wine, not a lot of wine, but a little wine, for thy stomach's
sake, and not often infirmities. There is not a thing in the world
with drinking alcohol. I think it's ridiculous, the
issue religious people make over that. Now, it's wrong to get
drunk. Intoxication is wrong, you know
that. But as far as the use of alcohol,
there is not a thing wrong with it. However, if you feel like
it's wrong, don't do it. Don't do it. If you believe it's
wrong, don't you touch it. Because to you, it is sin. Maybe to that other fella, it's
not. But to you, it is. However, don't sit in judgment
over that one who eats that meat. Don't set in judgment over that
one who drinks. Don't say, well, he's wrong.
Paul says not to do that. Look at what he says in verse
3 of Romans chapter 14. Let not him that eateth despise
him that eateth not. Let not him which eateth not
judge him that eateth. For God hath received him. Turn
over to 1 Corinthians chapter 8 for a moment. You know, I love the way he says,
let not the one who knows it's okay to eat despise that one
who has these ridiculous religious scruples. Don't despise him.
And that one who feels like it's wrong to eat that meat, don't
sit in judgment on that one who sees no problem with it. Mind
your own business. I love Hank Williams' song, if
you mind your own business, you wouldn't be minding mine. And
there's some things, places, we just shouldn't go. Mind your
own business. If you feel convicted about something,
go for it. Fine. But don't look down on
somebody who doesn't. Leave them be. Let them alone.
Receive them. Look here in 1 Corinthians chapter
8. Paul's talking about this same
subject and he says, Now as touching things offered unto idols, We
know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up. I know
something you don't know. I have more understanding than
you. I have more knowledge than you. You know what that does?
That puffs somebody up with pride. That's it. Knowledge puffeth
up, but charity builds up. It edifies. And if any man think
that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.
But if any man love God, the same is known of him. That's
what God recognizes. As concerning, therefore, the
eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols,
we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there's
none other God but one. You know, that idol they're worshiping
is a non-existent entity. Doesn't even exist. False. For though there be that are
called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, and as there be
gods many and lords many, but to us there is but one God, the
Father, of whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. Howbeit there
is not in every man that knowledge, for some with conscience of the
idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol,
and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. They feel guilty
for eating it, and they defile their own conscience when they
do, because they believe it to be wrong, and they do it anyway.
But meat commendeth us not to God, for neither if we eat it
are we the better, neither if we eat it not are we the worse.
It doesn't make any difference what you eat, But if you believe
it to be wrong, to you it is wrong. A dear man wrote me recently
and he wanted to know about sports. He said, very sincerely, he said,
I hear you refer to sports quite often. And he said, I want to
know. I believe sports is a sin. And he said, I think competition
is a sin. I think the way people act in
sports, athletic events, is sinful. How can you justify that? I want
to know. I've got a daughter that's getting
ready to be the age to be able to play soccer, and I want to
know, is this a sinful practice? And I let him know that I have
no doubt the Apostle Paul was a sports fan. He alluded to sports. He made examples of it. And those
fellows in the Old Testament that would run races and so on,
there's nothing wrong with sports. I love sports. I love being a
fan. It's my diversion. I enjoy it. I said, I believe
it's good for your kids. It enables them to learn to work
in the framework of teamwork and so on. Sure, sports is good.
But if you feel it's seen, you ought not do it. Now, don't press
that on your daughter. If she wants to play sports,
go ahead, let her. I mean, it'll be good for her.
But you can't prove what you're saying from the Scriptures. But
if you believe it's sin, you shouldn't do it. And he shouldn't. He shouldn't. If you believe
you shouldn't eat that meat sacrificed to idols, you think it's sin,
don't do it. Let's go to reading in this chapter, verse 9. But take heed, lest by any means
this liberty of yours, this understanding of yours, you realize that there's
not a thing in the world wrong with eating that meat sacrificed
to idols. If you eat it, you're no better from it. If you refrain
from it, you're no worse from it. You understand that. But
take heed, lest this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling
block to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which
hath knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, Shall not
the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those
things which are offered unto idols? And through thy knowledge
shall thy weak brother perish for whom Christ died? Now that's
not saying he's going to hell. It's not saying he's going to
hell, but he's sinning. He's sinning. And you're leading him
in that sin by not being sensitive toward what he believed. You
ought to refrain from the meat. If somebody feels like drinking
is a sin, don't drink around them. Don't refrain from it,
is what he's saying. Stay away from that for your
weak brother's sake. Verse 12, but when you sin so
against the brethren, now that's what he calls it. When you sin
so against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, you sinned
against Christ. Now look at Paul's attitude.
Wherefore if me make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh
while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
Isn't that admirable? He loves steak. He loves filet
mignon. He loves ribeye. He loves all
those things. But if it's going to offend his
brother, he's not going to eat it. He's going to deny himself
that liberty to keep from emboldening his brother to act against his
conscience and sin against God. Now that's love, isn't it? I
just so much admire. I want to practice that by the
grace of God. That's the person I want to be. Go back to our
text in Romans chapter 14. Look in verses 5 through 8 of
Romans chapter 14. One man esteems one day another,
another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded
in his own mind. I'm talking about days, talking
about days. Now they're talking about those feast days and so
on and Sabbath days and as long as that man doesn't believe Well,
I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me go on reading. Verse 6,
He that regardeth the day, let's make this contemporary. Let's
talk about Christmas. Let's talk about Christmas. It's
a good time to talk about Christmas. I love Christmas. I'm like my
uncle. He said, I don't believe in Christmas,
but I receive presents. I put no religious significance
to Christmas at all. Now, I love to think about the
birth of Christ. I love to think about Luke chapters 1 and 2.
I love all that. And as far as the time of Christmas,
families getting together, a warm time, it's good. I love Christmas. I don't believe there's any religious
significance to it at all. Now, there's some people who
think it's a day that you should not observe at all. They are
against it. They think it's religiously wrong.
I mean, look, Christmas, the mass is in the word. It's a heathen
holiday, and you ought not have anything to do with Christmas.
Now, I respect your opinion. I respect your opinion. Don't do it. But don't judge
someone who observes Christmas. They're not observing it religiously.
They just like to get presents, like to give presents. They like
the warmth of it. They like the way kids are about
it. So don't judge somebody who believes
that they want to observe Christmas. Somebody who doesn't want to
observe it, you persons who do, don't judge them. Let every man
be fully persuaded in his own mind. This is a thing of indifference. It's not something clearly taught
one way or the other in the Word of God. So let every man, let
everybody else alone. Mind your own business. Do what
you want to do. Let him do what he wants to do. Don't go getting
in other people's business about that. Just respect them. They're
your brother. You might not agree on everything.
So what? So what? Actually, I want you to think
about this. That weak brother, that doesn't eat that meat, he
doesn't eat that meat because he loves Christ and he doesn't
want to sin against him. You can criticize him for that.
He's wrong. He's wrong. I mean he's taking
a position that the scripture won't support, but he really
believes in his heart for him to eat meat would be displeasing
to the Lord. And it's not a work with him. He doesn't believe in salvation
by works. He believes in salvation by grace just like you do, but
he feels uncomfortable with that. Are you going to criticize him
for that? Well, he's doing that out of love for Christ. You know,
motive is everything. Motive. I mean, that man's motive.
And here's something else. Motive is something you and I
can't see. You and I cannot see somebody's motive. We can't see
why they're doing what they were doing. And I caught myself just
this week thinking about somebody and I'm saying, their motive
was this. And I thought, you're going in a place you have no
business going because you have absolutely no idea what their
motive was. You ought not be doing that.
God is the only one who knows the motive. But I couldn't help
but think of the Apostle Paul With Titus, he wouldn't let Titus
be circumcised. Remember the Judaizers were coming
and they said, he needs to be circumcised to be saved. No,
we didn't give place for them for even an hour. We didn't,
we wouldn't obey what they wanted, but yet he takes Timothy and
he has Timothy circumcised. And Timothy was a grown man,
he was half Greek, he'd never been circumcised, and he had
Timothy circumcised, which, that's amazing that Timothy would subject
himself to that as a man, knowing he didn't have to, but he did
it because he knew the Jews would be more likely to hear him preach,
because they just couldn't see themselves listening to a man,
what he had to say if he hadn't been circumcised. So you see,
in one position, he refused. In another position, he let it
take place. Motive is what counts. So that
brother may be a weak person, but here's the attitude that
I should have. In reality, that weak brother
may be a better person than me, with more love to Christ than
me. And I might have some understanding that he doesn't have, but he
has some understanding that I don't have in some other places. So
what am I to do with that weak brother? Receive him. Receive
him. Embrace him with open arms and
welcome him. How many different convictions
about many things believers have. Now here's another thing I thought
about. Brother Scott Richardson, when he was the pastor there
in the Katie Baptist Church in Fairmont, all the women there
wore head coverings. All of them did. They had head
coverings. And in 1 Corinthians 11, you
know, it says something about head coverings, but it seems
to me it says the woman's hair is given for a covering. That's
the way I look at it. But people said to Scott, why
do all your women wear head coverings? He said, there's something in
the Bible about that. How do you answer that? How do
you answer that? There is something in the Bible
about it. And if you feel like you ought to wear a head covering,
wear a head covering. And if any woman comes in here
wearing a head covering, don't judge her. Don't despise her
if she's doing what she thinks the Lord would have her do. There
is something in the Bible about that. You might have a different
interpretation, but Don't judge. See, there's so many things that
we ought to just receive people rather than judge them and despise
them and get mad at them. Receive one another as brethren. Do they believe the gospel? Do
they look to Christ only as everything in their salvation? Do they rejoice
in election by the Father, redemption by the Son, and regeneration
by the Holy Spirit? They really believe that Christ
is all. They love the sovereignty of
God. They love the grace of God. What
am I to do? Receive them. Welcome them. They're brethren. There's no
reason to not receive someone even if he doesn't share the
same convictions with you about matters of indifference like
eating and drinking. I like what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 8,
8, meat commends us not to God, neither if we eat it are we the
better, neither if we eat it not are we the worse. Him that's
weak in the faith, receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. And my marginal reading here
says not to be a judge of his doubtful thoughts. Though I believe him to be wrong,
he's a better man than me. My job is not to straighten him
out, but to receive him. May God give us that spirit,
that spirit of receiving. not trying to strike people out.
Verse 3, let not him that eats despise
him that eateth not, and let not him which eateth not judge
him that eateth, for God hath received him. Now here is a beautiful
thing to not judge and to not despise. If you know something
that somebody else doesn't know, don't look down your nose at
them and despise them because they haven't reached your level
of understanding. And if you see someone doing something that
you think is sinful, but because of your own peculiarity, really,
don't you judge that person. Don't sit in judgment upon them.
Wouldn't you get a bunch of people getting along real well together
if you got people that aren't judging one another and not despising
one another, but receiving one another with open arms, welcoming
them? Verse 4, now here's, this statement
is so powerful. Who are you that judgest another
man's servant? Now that person is the servant
of Christ. Who are you to judge his servant? To his own master
he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holding up For
God is able to make him stand. Brother, you're judging? God
is able to make him stand on Judgment Day. What about your
judgments then? He shall be holding up. God is
able to make him stand. Now I have to say this because
this is something that is greatly abused in our day. Probably The
verse of Scripture that people know that are better than any
other Scripture in the Bible is judge not. Judge not. That's a Scripture everybody
likes. Somebody may be espousing heretical
views of salvation by works, or living in a way the Word of
God forbids, and then they say, don't judge me. Don't judge me. There was a fellow that was telling
me his pastor was a woman. Doesn't the Bible say women aren't
to preach? He said, you're being awful judgmental. No, I'm not. That's not being judgmental.
That doesn't have anything to do with what, that's not passing
judgment on someone. Now, there is right and wrong. There is truth and error. There's
that which the word of God clearly forbids. And if I'm living in
a sinful practice, say like that man in 1 Corinthians 1, verse
5, he was, having relationships with his dad's wife, his stepmother,
something that's so clearly forbidden. And you come up to me in love,
in concern, and say to me something about that. What if I said, you
don't have any right to judge me? I'd be wrong, wouldn't I? What if I started preaching salvation
by works? and my message was contrary to
the scripture, and you in love confronted me about it, and wanted
to bring me to repentance, and you prayed about this, and my
response with you, you got no right judging me. I'd be wrong,
wouldn't I? You see this thing of, don't
judge me. If somebody uses it in that light, don't be judgmental
of me. They don't even know what it means. That has absolutely
nothing to do with... You know, as far as that goes,
the Lord said, judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous
judgment. And we're always called upon
to make judgments. Every time I hear the gospel, I'm judging
whether it's the truth from the scriptures. I'm not just taking
it in hook, line, and sinker. I'm to see if this is what the
Bible actually teaches. You know, when the Lord said,
Judge not that you be not judged, the next thing He said was, Cast
not your pearls before swine. That means I'm going to make
some kind of judgment of somebody I'm not to cast my pearls before,
and I'm regarding them as swine. There's a judgment right there.
We make judgments all the time. And, well, we should. So this
judge not doesn't mean a fellow is preaching a false gospel and
he's preaching a false gospel, then you shouldn't be so harsh
and judgmental toward him. Yeah, you should. Yeah, you should.
That's not right if he's preaching a false gospel. Yes, I'm to judge
what I'm hearing in that sense. And people will take this and
try to make us lenient toward that which is contrary to the
gospel. No, you're not supposed to do that. yet. So let's get that straight. I
don't want us to go in the wrong view of men with regard to this
thing of judging. But what does Paul say about
our attitude toward this weak brother, this brother who is
in the faith? He's in the faith. He says, who are you to judge
somebody else's servant? He belongs to Christ, not you.
And he answers to Christ and not you. I like this statement. Who are you? Who are you? Who are you to set in judgment
and condemnation on your brother? Who are you? What do you think
about yourself? Do you really believe that you're
fit to stand as a judge? Who are you? Look in James chapter
4. Verse 11. Speak not evil one
of another brethren. James chapter 4 verse 11. Speak
not in harsh, critical, judgmental ways of one another. Don't do
that. Speak not evil, one of another brethren. He that speaketh
evil of his brother, and judges his brother, speaks evil of the
law, and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you're
not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, there's
one judge who's able to save and destroy. Who are you to judge
another? What a question. Who are you? Romans chapter 2, this is so
final on this thing. Romans chapter 2 verse 1, Thou art inexcusable, O man,
whosoever thou art, that judges, that passes judgment, that sits
in judgment as being a moral superior with regard to somebody
else. For wherein thou judgest another,
you condemn yourself, for you that judge doest. That's in the
present active tense. You presently, right now, while
you're judging that person, you're presently actively doing the
same things you're judging them for. You know what that's called?
Hypocrisy. Hypocrisy. For me to judge you,
all it is is hypocrisy. Because according to the Bible,
I'm doing the same things. I'm not doing what he's doing.
Yeah, if God says you are, you are. If you don't see it, it's
just because you don't see it. It's not because it's not real.
It's what God says. Now, You'll be hearing this for
the next several weeks because of the subject of Romans chapter
14, but when we pass judgment and criticize our brother, even
in disagreement with some kind of scruple that he has that we
don't have, number one, Christ says not to do it. Judge not that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge,
you shall be judged. And with what measure you meet,
it'll be measured to you again. Matter of fact, Paul said in
Romans chapter 14, let us not judge one another anymore. Wouldn't that be a blessing if
you and I never judged anyone critically again? For us to pass judgment on anybody,
I've already read Romans 2.1, is hypocrisy. We do the same
things. Number three, we don't have a
right to do this. He's another man's servant. He's
not my servant. He doesn't answer to me. He answers to the Lord. Number four, whenever we judge
like that, we arrogate to ourselves a position that belongs to God
only. He's the only judge. Number five, any judgment we
make, we don't have enough information to pass an accurate judgment.
We don't know the facts behind it. All we make these criticisms,
well, we don't know the facts. We don't know why he did what
he did. We don't know what he's going through. We don't know
what she's going through. We lack the accurate information
to pass a correct judgment. Number six, it sure is hard to
judge somebody when I've got a log sticking out of my eye.
It's hard to pick out those splinters in my brother's eye when I've
got a log. And as long as you have these logs, somebody says,
do we ever get them all out? Well, I haven't. I haven't. As long as we have these logs,
you don't need to be trying to help your brother out with the
splinters in his eyes. You can't see them. You'll only
drive them in deeper. Seven, this kind of attitude
is contrary to love. Paul said, now walkest thou not
charitably with thy brother. It's contrary to love. And let
me use a little self-interest in this thing of judging. When
you judge somebody, all you do is make things harder on yourself.
With what judgment you judge, you shall be judged. With what
measure you meet, it shall be measured out to you again. Anytime
you judge your brother, man, he's going to have the most critical
eye toward you, he's going to, everything you do, he's going
to tear down, he's going to see flaws in it, he's going to be
upset, he's just going to see everything differently. If you
judge your brother, that's how he's going to be toward you,
ten times worse. Ten times worse. He's going to make you miserable. But if you don't judge your brother,
he overlooks everything about you. All the stuff that would
irritate him, he just overlooks it. In love. Now, there's a good
reason to not judge anybody. You just make things better for
yourself. You make things easier for yourself. Now, I love what,
and I love the way we sang, thy God is able to deliver thee.
Turn back to our text. Here's what we'll close with. Verse 4, Who are you that judgest
another man's servant? To his own master he stands or
falls. Yea, he shall be holding up, for God is able to make him
stand. He's talking about Judgment Day.
God is able to make him stand. Now this is everything about
what we believe. We believe in the ability of
God, don't we? We believe in the ability of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Here's why this brother will
be made to stand, for this one singular reason, God is able
to make him stand. The disciples said when they
saw the rich young ruler turned away, who then can be saved? And the Lord replied with men,
it's impossible, but not with God. For with God, all things
are possible because of His ability. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1.12,
I know whom I have believed and I'm persuaded that He is able
to keep that which I've committed to Him against that day. Now,
I believe as weak and sinful and helpless as I am I believe
He is able to keep that which I've committed to Him. And what
have I committed to Him? I've committed to Him everything
in the salvation of my soul. I'm not looking to myself for
a thing. I'm wholly and completely dependent
upon Him. If what He did is not enough, If there's any
contribution I have to make, I will not be saved. I'm putting
all my eggs in that basket. Christ and Christ alone. Now he is able. He's able to
save me. He's able to save you. He's able
to save that weak brother. So what do we do with him? We
receive him, don't we? We receive him. We receive each
other. Look what the last thought of
verse 7 of chapter 15 is. Wherefore, receive ye one another
as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Let's pray
together. Lord, how we thank you for the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. How we thank you that he is able
to keep that which we've committed to him against that great day. How we thank you for your ability
to save without our help. Lord, we believe your ability.
Lord, give us the grace to not be judgmental people. Lord, cause us to be where the
only one we judge and criticize is ourself and nobody else. Lord, that's above the strength
of this flesh, but that's, oh Lord, we ask that we might be
merciful, gracious, receiving, nonjudgmental men and women. Enable us to be that way. Lord,
we're so prone to looking down our nose, self-righteous, haughty
thoughts about ourselves, looking down on others, despising others. Lord, deliver us from that. Cause us to be like Paul where
we'll eat nothing while the world stands if it would make our brother
to offend because we love our brother so much. I bless this
message for your glory and for our good. In Christ's name we
pray. Amen.