“Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.” (Romans 14:22)
To adequately explain and apply this verse, you and I must first understand the context of the book and chapter. The book of Romans is written to a group of Christians living and worshipping in Rome where they are outcast and hated. They are seen as different and they are completely different form the pagan world in which they live. They are not just thinking times are tough, they are being beaten openly, fed to lions, or killed outright for following Christ rather than the Emperor. In Chapter 14, we are answering the question of Christian liberty. Closing in further to verse 22, we read about the question of eating meat offered to the Roman gods. To which Paul, through the inspiration of God, would conclude the statement of verse 22.
Do you have faith? – The idea given in this statement is: Do you have a scruple? To define scruple, biblically, is a conviction based on a through study of the Word of God. In reality, everyone has a scruple over something. That is not a bad thing. That is a studied opinion; the key word being studied.
Keep it to yourself before God. -To keep it to yourself has nothing to do with the Gospel. It does have EVERYTHING to do with the fact that I must keep my scruple to myself. In reality, I am to keep my opinion to myself. Live by that scruple- YES! Bind my scruple on another- NO WAY!
Happy is the man that does not condemn himself by his scruple. -What a head turning thought! I can condemn myself? Yes, if you have a studied opinion and turn your back away from God’s studied Word, you find yourself in violation of your understanding of His Law. (cf. James 4:17, Matthew 5:16)
How do I apply this verse to my life? Due to the w orld in which we live now, scruples are everywhere, all the time and these scruples are exposed to everyone. We all have an opinion. We all think our opinion is the right opinion by which to live. Because of the freedoms afforded to us in the United States, we are misguided in the fact that we think everyone wants to (or needs to) hear my opinion. Our nation (and world) is in an upheaval over shots, social injustice, and social media. Listen to God as He advises us to prove the Christian life by the way we live not by how loud we can be. There is wisdom found in being silent. As far as I have seen, there is not a profitable “discussion” for the Kingdom of God over social media. This is in part due to the way people view the Authority of God. It is also the sad fact, when we find ourselves in this scenario, others could begin to question our subjection to God also.
We must realize as citizens of the Kingdom of God we are subject to God over all things. Our concern is not in this world. Our concern is an eternal concern for ourselves and other souls. May God bless us with a laser focused mindset on Him and His Kingdom. May God bless us with eyes to see the lost. May God bless us with hearts of compassion to teach the lost.
Let’s focus in on God’s duty for us and forget ourselves.
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