Chapter # 14 Paragraph # 1 Study # 4
February 28, 2021
Humble, Texas
(104)
1769 KJV Translation:
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day [
alike]. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth [
it] unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard [
it]. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
11 For it is written, [
As] I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
1901 ASV Translation:
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day [alike]. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind.
6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord: and he that eateth, eateth unto the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, unto the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
7 For none of us liveth to himself, and none dieth to himself.
8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
9 For to this end Christ died and lived [again], that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 But thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or thou again, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of God.
11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall bow, And every tongue shall confess to God.
12 So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God.
- I. Paul's "Next" Issue: Dealing With The Brother Who Has "Crippling Faith" [See Notes (097)/Message Outlines (098)].
- II. The Issue Involved.
- III. "Not Unto Judgments Of Reasonings".
- IV. The Forbidden Attitude/Actions [See Notes (099)/Message Outlines (100)].
- V. The Primary Question and Principle [See Notes (101)/Message Outlines (102)].
- VI. Paul's Fundamental Principle.
- A. The "decisions" men make.
- 1. One "decides" to "judge" one day above another.
- 2. Another "decides" to "judge" all days alike.
- 3. Likewise one "decides" to "eat" all manner of foods.
- 4. Likewise another "decides" to "refrain from eating" some types of foods.
- B. The underlying principle(s).
- 1. Each individual is to be brought to full measure in his own mind.
- a. A critical question here is this: how does a person become "fully persuaded in his/her own mind" sans the direct revelation of the Word of God?
- 1) It is not as if there is no direct revelation in the Word of God regarding these things: both the "eating" and the "observing of days" have specific "words of revelation" that address them.
- 2) The problem is not the absence of "words of revelation"; it is the presence of significant misunderstanding because men do not know how to properly apply the "words" to their own circumstances and personal attitudes.
- a) As there was a major upheaval in the established "way" of God in His dealings with His creation, there came to be a major confusion in the minds of men regarding that apparent "change of direction".
- b) Thus, those who were steeped in dietary code and special days of religious observance were particularly hard hit in terms of "making choices and taking actions" because they were so deeply settled into their particular grasp of what God "required" of them.
- c) And, those who had never been subjected to that dietary code or to observances of "days of special significance" were only guided by the "new theology" of those sent by God to produce a new and better "way" of relating to God.
- d) So that the "outcome" was confusion and conflict made more difficult by the inherent tendencies of men to look down on all those who disagreed with them: some "rejected" those who did not grasp the "change in divine actions" and treated them with disdain; others "reacted" to those who did not embrace "the old paths" and "judged" them as unworthy of the blessings of God.
- b. The resolution to these faults lay in the "requirement" that each one, in his/her own mind, be "fully persuaded".
- 1) Paul only used this verb in two places in Romans: 4:21 and 14:5.
- 2) He used this verb in three other New Testament letters: Colossians 4:12, 2 Timothy 4:5 and 4:17.
- 3) Luke is the only other New Testament writer to use this word, and his use is singular: Luke 1:1.
- 4) The meaning is fairly obvious when looking at these six texts: "bring a thing to its completion".
- a) In Romans 4:21, Abraham "was brought to a condition wherein he no longer entertained any 'doubts' regarding whether God would keep His promise". The verb there is in the passive voice, indicating that he was "acted upon" in order for him to come to this condition. The record in Genesis is clear: he was past his own physical abilities, by reason of age, to father a child, and his wife had never been capable of conceiving a child, but was "made strong" (another "passive voice") "in the faith". However, he was brought (by divine intervention) to a mindset of confidence that God would fulfill His promise. Paul's point: Abraham no longer had any 'doubts' regarding God's intention to fulfill His promise. The author of Hebrews 6:13-18 gives us an indication of how this occurred: God "made the promise" and then "interposed with an oath" so that those aware of these things "would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us". Thus, being brought to a place of "no doubts", Abraham was "brought to completion" in respect to the development of his faith.
- b) In Colossians 4:12 Paul told his readers that Epaphras was "always laboring earnestly...in his prayers that you may stand...fully assured in all the will of God". This means that, at root, it is a work of God for a person to "be brought to a condition wherein he/she no longer entertains any 'doubts'" in his/her own mind.
- c) In the texts of 2 Timothy, Paul used the word to refer to "fully accomplishing some task". The meaning is not vague: it is "to bring a task to completion".
- d) Thus, the word Paul used has to do with the "problem" of mental indecision being "settled".
- c. The problem is this: how does a person come to a point of "completion" when the issue that is causing the problem has a firm resolution in the Word of God, but men are either unaware of that resolution in the Word, or their cultural experience has so conditioned them to a practice that has now become a non-issue that they cannot accept that resolution?
- 1) At issue is this fact: a person does not "bring himself" to this condition; he/she "is brought" to it.
- 2) The outcome, then, is this: a person has to operate at the level of his/her own internal "comfort level" and not do anything that puts him/her "on edge" about whether he/she should act in a given way.
- a) This principle is established by Paul's insistence that each of us "let the peace of God rule in our hearts" (Colossians 3:15) and "let the word of Christ richly dwell within you" (Colossians 3:16).
- b) God "brings" His people to their own "comfort levels", or they do not have any, and He does it so that we may live "comfortably" in our own minds as to whether we are pleasing Him.
- c) Underlying this entire concept is Romans 13:5 where Paul pulls the function of "conscience" into play.
- 2. Each is to give thanks to "The God" in the practice of his "decisions".