Lawal, J. O. (2025, April 13). Based on the word only (b). See to It.
We have been looking at how important it is for us to watch over one another based on the instructions we have in Hebrews, chapters 3 and 12. And there we are told to see to it that none of us develops a sinful heart that turns away from the living God and that none of us falls short of the grace of God. Then, in the last lesson, I began to talk to us about relating to one another only on the basis of the word of God. If we are relating to ourselves on this basis, we will not condemn ourselves or judge ourselves contrary to the will of God.
Now we may want to relate to one another on the basis of our experiences, traditions or idiosyncrasies. But where these things do not align with the word of God, we must drop them. We must draw the lines between the demands the word of God is making on us and the demands we are making on ourselves. People must not be taken as having fallen away from the grace of God or as being on their way to falling away from His grace simply because they are doing things that are contrary to our traditions or experiences in life. We can only take people to be walking in the path of error, if the word of God says so.
As I pointed out before, there are demands placed on us by the word of God. And these are the demands we must place on ourselves. The things that the word of God tells us to do are the things we must command and encourage ourselves to do. Then the things the word of God commands us not to do are the things we must command and encourage ourselves not to do. And as long as we stick to these rules, we will be able to help one another remain in the faith.
But then, there are things the word of God is silent about. And how we handle these things, of course, is what will determine whether these things are right or wrong for us to do. For instance, the things we eat, the things we wear and our attitude towards days, times and seasons do not affect our relationship with God. How we use them, however, is able to affect our relationship with one another. So, we have guidelines in Scriptures on how to handle those things that God is silent about. That way, we will not end up condemning or judging ourselves contrary to the will of God.
In Romans, chapter 14, verse 1, Paul says this to us: “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.” (NIV) Can you see that? There are disputable matters. These are matters that we cannot have a final word on them. That is because God is neither for them nor against them. Therefore, none of us can have a final say about them. Yes, we may argue back and forth on whether it is right or wrong for us to do them. But none of us can have a final say over them, for God has not given any final word about them. He has only given us guidelines on how to handle them so that we do not through them destroy ourselves or our relationship with one another.
Well, from verse 2, Paul goes on to say:
“One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Rom 14:2-8NIV)
What is the point Paul making here? It is that what we think about certain things that God has not given any word about is up to us. And what we think about such things should not be our basis for judging or condemning anybody. For instance, in handling food matters, you may eat whatever you please, as long as you are convinced it is alright to do so. So, no one should judge you for choosing to eat certain food, just as no one should condemn you for choosing not to eat certain food. That decision is up to you.
Your attitude toward days, times and seasons is also up to you. If you want to be celebrating your birthdays, it is up to you. And if you choose not to celebrate birthdays, it is up to you. So, no one should judge or condemn you on the basis of what you do or do not do, as far as this matter is concerned. Celebrating birthdays or some other days or times or seasons does not bring us near God, just as not celebrating them does not drive us away from Him.
Look at what Paul says in 1Corinthians, chapter 8, verse 8:
“But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.” (NIV)
That is a rule to pay attention to in our walk with God. There are things that do not bring us near God. In other words, our doing such things does not make us better, just as our doing them does not make us worse. And food happens to be one of such things. We can eat anything we like to eat. That is not going to bring us any closer to God or take farther away from Him. Food is meant for the body, just as the body is meant for food. So, whatever goes into the body will come out of it. And that has nothing to do with our relationship with God.
However, what we eat or drink may destroy our body. Now our body does not belong to us but to God, as we are shown in Scriptures (1Corinthians 6:19-21). If we, then, are putting into our body what destroys it, we are not taking God seriously but are sinning against Him. So, we need to know those things we will put in our body that will destroy it and stay away from them. That is what makes drunkenness a sin. Nothing is wrong with the consumption of wine or alcohol in itself. But when you take it to the point that it takes charge of your mind and begins to control you, you are sinning against God. The same thing is applicable to gluttony. Nothing is wrong with eating well. But when you begin to eat so much that your health or finances or relationship with others is being affected, you are already sinning against God.
What I am saying is that nothing is wrong with eating or drinking. It is the way we handle what we eat and drink that may make the consumption of certain foods wrong for us. In the same vein, our celebration of certain days is not wrong. Those who celebrate birthdays, Christmas, Easter and so on are not wrong to do so. And those who do not do so are not wrong not to do so. The point is simply that those who do not do so are not closer to God than those who do so, just as those who do so are not farther from God than those who do not do so. Therefore, do not think that because you do not eat certain food, you are closer to God than those who eat it. That is not so. It is never going to be so.
The same thing is applicable to our use of dresses. How we dress and the things we wear differ from place to place, based on the culture of where we find ourselves. We can wear whatever we like. What is important is moderation. What is important is modesty in the way we handle whatever we hear. So, we should not argue on whether people can wear a particular kind of dress or not. What we should focus on is modesty. As long as we are modest in the way we dress, as long as what we wear does not expose private parts of our body, it is fine. What we wear may not be acceptable in our culture. But is it modest? If it is, then, we should not judge or condemn anybody for it. We must be careful not to make our culture take the place of the word of God in our dealings with one another. That is because there are things that are acceptable in every culture that are not acceptable by God.
Well, Paul, in this chapter of the book of Romans, is telling us that whether we do certain things or do not do them is up to us, if God has not given any final word on those things. So, we should not condemn anybody for not doing what we do or for doing what we do not like to do, as long as God has not given any word for or against it. The point is that we must respect the right of every believer to live in liberty. The Lord has set us free so that we can be free. We, therefore, must respect that and not seek to put any yoke of slavery on anybody.
However, we are also warned in the Scriptures not to destroy other believers through the exercise of our liberty. God may not have condemned an act. But we need to be careful that we do not destroy other believers through that act. So, first, we need to watch that what we are doing is not destroying us. God has not condemned what you are doing. But is it destroying you? If it is, then, you need to watch it.
For instance, smoking of cigarettes is not condemned anywhere in Scriptures. So, you are not to judge anyone for smoking tobacco. However, we know from experience that the smoking of tobacco is capable of destroying your body and also the health of others around you. So, out of respect for your body, which belongs to God, you should not be smoking. Then, out of consideration for others’ welfare, you should not be smoking. That is how the consumption of tobacco can become a sin.
Paul explains these things in this manner, from verse 13 of Romans 14:
“Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.” (Rom 14:13-16NIV)
Did you see that? Paul says I am convinced that no food is unclean in itself. Why does he say this? He says this because everything God created is good. It is the fall of man that has made some things bad for us to use or enjoy. Yes, it is the fall of man that has deprived us of the understanding of how to use all the good things God has created and put at our disposal. So, we must not pass judgment on one another or condemn one another in relating to things God has not condemned. What is important is that we do not become the reason someone will stumble and fall in their walk with God.
For example, I said before that nothing was wrong with taking alcohol, as long as you do not get drunk. I do not say that because I drink alcohol. I do not drink. Rather, I say that because the word of God says so. And His word is truth. However, if a brother that had just be rescued from drunkenness by the Lord should see you drinking alcohol, will he not be offended or even emboldened to want to drink it? Then, he may just find himself trapped again in drunkenness. And your lack of consideration in this matter will make you responsible for his fall. When you do so, you are not acting in love, for you are destroying someone for whom Christ has died.
So, Paul goes on to say this to us:
“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” (Rom 14:19-23NIV)
I do not have the time to explain everything Paul is saying to us here. But the point of it all is that we must be considerate and must also aim for mutual edification in all that we do. We must not just be concerned about pleasing ourselves; we also need to be concerned about how what we do will affect our brethren. Here is something similar said by Paul from verse 9 of 1Corinthians 8:
“Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.” (1Corinthians 8:9-13NIV)
You can see that consideration is key in the way we relate to one another. So, even though God has not condemned what we are doing, we must be considerate in doing it. That way, whatever we are doing will not result in the fall of another brother or sister.
Mind you, what we are dealing with is how to keep one another in the faith. And we are saying that we are to do so only on the basis of the word of God. The word of God, then, tells us that even in matters where God has not given a final word on what is right or wrong, we must be considerate and do everything for mutual edification. That way, we will not expose our brethren to any kind of spiritual fall.
But then, we must also be careful not to judge or condemn people where God has not condemned them. That you like to do something that someone else does not want to do does not mean that something is wrong with you or with that person. If God has not condemned you for what you do, then, you are not condemned. And if what you are doing is not hurting anyone’s faith, you should not allow anyone to judge for doing it. That is because there are people who get irritated about what other believers are doing. And they want them to stop doing those things because they are irritated. But that you are irritated does not mean that your faith is being hurt or injured. So, don’t judge or condemn anyone merely on the basis of what irritates you. If what they are doing is not contrary to the word of God, you should let them be. And you should apply the same rule to your life.
Let us pray.
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