Bible verse of the Day Thursday March 7th, 2024

Romans 14:16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil.

Christians live under grace and not the law. We are not obligated by food laws as the children of Israel were, nor are we under a dress code, as were the priests of Jehovah. But neither should we criticize people who follow their consciences in some issues. God does not require us to worship on any specific day, nor does he command us to keep certain festival days or the many ordinances imposed by humans, for as believers in the age of grace, we are free from the bondage of the law.

In one respect, we should avoid being critical of people who worship and behave in a way that is foreign to us, but on the other hand, we should also be cautious that neither our actions nor our abstinences force us to fall back under the law!

Christians should remember that although everything is permissible, not everything is helpful. As followers and believers in Christ Jesus, we realize the law was for those people before Jesus came to the earth. Jesus' life, death, and resurrection fulfilled the law that no human could ever keep. Although we are not under the law, the way of life that we choose should build up our other brothers and sisters in Christ, even if we do not understand their form of worship.

This verse reminds us not to allow what God instructs us to be good to be spoken of as evil. We are to be very cautious that we do not allow our freedom in Christ to cause a brother or sister to be spoken of negatively.

But sometimes, we're tempted to think that God gave us this spiritual life and liberty from sin so we could pursue our happiness. Satan tempts us to believe it's all about us, our preferences, our needs, our ideas, and our values. Satan will also tempt us to make ourselves the center of our Christian devotion rather than realizing that genuine faith in Jesus leads us to pursue a life of love.

I read of a pastor who decided to let his beard grow out. One of the sisters in the congregation informed the Pastor she was going to buy him a razor for his birthday. This disgruntled member suggested that his facial hair was distressing and causing her to stumble. She meant that she didn't like facial hair, but it was cloaked spiritually. The Pastor decided it would be best to shave his beard off. I suggest that the shaving of his beard had nothing to do with our text today. It is highly doubtful that the Pastor's beard was damaging this sister's relationship with her Lord and Savior and somehow causing her to want to grow a beard herself.