Chapter # 14 Paragraph # 2 Study # 9
July 4, 2021
Humble, Texas
(130)
1769 KJV Translation:
18 For he that in these things serveth Christ [
is] acceptable to God, and approved of men.
19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed [
are] pure; but [
it is] evil for that man who eateth with offence.
21 [
It is] good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor [
any thing] whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
22 Hast thou faith? have [
it] to thyself before God. Happy [
is] he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because [
he eateth] not of faith: for whatsoever [
is] not of faith is sin.
1901 ASV Translation:
18 For he that herein serveth Christ is well-pleasing to God, and approved of men.
19 So then let us follow after things which make for peace, and things whereby we may edify one another.
20 Overthrow not for meat's sake the work of God. All things indeed are clean; howbeit it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
21 It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor [to do anything] whereby thy brother stumbleth.
22 The faith which thou hast, have thou to thyself before God. Happy is he that judgeth not himself in that which he approveth.
23 But he that doubteth is condemned if he eat, because [he eateth] not of faith; and whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
- I. Paul's "Repetition" Of His "Kingdom" Principles.
- A. The aforementioned "chiastic" structure of Paul's words (see (127)) made the essence of The Kingdom of The God his major subject of interest.
- B. Now we are "into" a look at Paul's second half of his chiasm.
- 1. The "other side" of the essence of The Kingdom of The God is presented in the words of 14:18.
- a. Since 14:18 is Paul's next thought we must see that it is following immediately upon the heels of 14:17. This makes the content of 14:17 critical to the meaning of the words of 14:18.
- 1) Paul's last words in 14:17 are "...by [the] Holy Spirit...". This makes the essential characteristics of The Kingdom "productions" of the Holy Spirit and not the spirit of man.
- 2) In 14:17 Paul's focus upon The Kingdom was its "mechanism" called "righteousness" and the downline impact of that mechanism: "peace" and "joy". This focus arises out of the nature of the conflict in Rome: one group looking down their noses at another group because that second group was "diseased in The Faith" (having a flawed grasp of Grace); and the other group setting themselves up as judges of the members of the first group for their "perceived" fleshly appetites (what they allowed themselves to eat) and liturgical ignorance (their refusal to observe "days"). Neither group is "walking according to love" and, thus, not acting as "Kingdom People" whose interest is in "righteousness" (doing to each other what is "righteous"). Rather, their interest is in exalting themselves over their "brethren".
- 3) Thus, when Paul writes about "rendering service to The Christ", his focus is upon "doing righteousness by the Holy Spirit out of the Love that dominates God's Kingdom".
- b. In 14:18, Paul immediately switches from "righteousness, peace, and joy" to "acting as a bondservant to The Christ".
- 1) The focal Person to Whom this service is rendered is identified as "The Christ" because Paul is writing about "The Kingdom of The God" and "The Christ" is The King of that Kingdom.
- 2) In every kingdom there is a "king" and there are "bondservants". No one can call him/her self "a member of the Kingdom" who does not regard him/her self as the King's slave.
- a) "Kings", by definition, set the "Love" system of the kingdom in place as well as the "Method" system for the pursuit of that "Love" ("Values" and "Beliefs").
- b) "Bondservants", by definition, yield themselves to the King's "Love" and "Truth".
- i. Paul's use of the verb "douleuo" in Romans.
- i) His first use is in 6:6 where he teaches that the intention of the crucifixion is to remove us from "slavery" to Sin. In this context, he says that "slavery" is not the issue; the issue is the identity of the master/Master and his/His methodological agenda: slaves to Sin/slave to Righteousness (6:16-18). The very first of the issues involved in this transition is the overcoming of a person's reluctance to be a "slave". This is particularly pertinent for North American "Christianity".
- ii) His second use is in 7:6 where he makes "the newness of Spirit" the fundamental methodological issue of this "slavery".
- iii) His third use is in 7:25 where he links this "slavery" to the "mind"; a concept that he develops further in 12:2 where "transformation" comes by a renewal of the "mind".
- iv) His fourth use in is 9:12 where he illustrates his meaning in a prophecy of Esau becoming a "slave" to Jacob because of God's deliberate purpose that exists by reason of divine election so that "works" would not enter the picture.
- v) His fifth use is in 12:11 where "service as a slave" is to arise out of a clear and intentional focus upon The Spirit.
- vi) And his fifth and sixth uses are in our current text (14:18) and his final one (16:18) where he deliberately denies "slavery to the Lord Christ" to those who "serve their innermost appetites".
- ii. Paul's "slavery" focus is totally consumed with an embrace of "slavery" to The King by means of a clear-eyed dependence upon The Spirit of Holiness.
- 3) Paul's "in this thing" deliberately ties the "thing" to the bondslave's activities of service to The King.
- a) The "thing" is the pursuit of "righteousness" with its downline impacts.
- b) The "righteousness" to which he points is fundamentally relational as the context insists. At issue is the way the believers are treating one another, each attempting to exalt him/her self over the others. This may seem a small thing, but it is the very essence of the Luciferian rebellion. The worst part of it is that each is using "The Faith" as the instrument of such self-exaltation. Imagine using the words of The King to attack His People.
- c) The line is exceedingly "fine".
- i. Paul, himself, strongly opposed the wayward insistence of "observing days, months, seasons, and years" in his letter to the Galatians (4:10).
- ii. He, personally, confronted and embarrassed Peter for his hypocrisy in respect to his treatment of Gentile believers (2:11-14) for not being "straightforward about the truth of the Gospel" (2:13).This "truth" is the True Grace of God.
- iii. But in this letter he insists upon each believer's "tolerance" of the convictions of "others", even those who observe the dietary restrictions of the Law and the mandates of that Law in regard to memorial days, whom he identifies as "diseased in The Faith".
- iv. His "bottom line" is the believer's attitude: if his/her observable behavior indicates the actions are done "for the Lord", he/she is to be "received" and left alone in regard to the practice of those actions. What gives away the motivations of the actions is the attitude of "thankfulness". [Clearly, it is impossible to be "thankful" while simultaneously being at odds with a "brother" over "things that do not matter"].
- v. His "final word" in regard to this "fine line" is Romans 16:17-18. In that text, the "reveal" in respect to "attitude" is whether, or not, a person is causing "dissensions and hindrances" over non-issues. And, in that text, he posits the reality of "deceit" through "smooth and flattering speech". He demands that those deceivers be shunned because they are "slaves" of their own innermost appetites ("glory" from men -- exaltation above men).