"For the Kingdom of God is not meat or drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. Let us, therefore, follow after the things which make for peace, and thing wherewith one may edify another."
Romans 14:17-19
Part 3
Yesterday:
“But righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.”
These are priorities in the Kingdom.
“For he that in these things serveth Christ, is acceptable to God and approved of men.”
Our humble service for Christ is acceptable to God. Do not “grow weary in well-doing!” In our service for Jesus, we are striving to reach all peoples for Him.
Today:
Because the Kingdom priorities are our priorities,
“Let us, therefore, follow after the things which make for peace.”
As obedient believers, we are pursuing “after the things which make for peace.” We are not going to divide believers and destroy God’s work for selfish nothings (like food and personal preferences). We do not walk around poking our brothers and sisters in the eye. We are trying to build up each other in the faith. The Romans were told “to lay aside their causes of contention and to live in harmony”[1] (Barnes).
Believers, we are striving to keep the “unity of the Spirit” between the brethren.” Paul said it this way,
“With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:2-3).
There is an essential thought that we need to cling to here. Did you notice that the Word of God does not say that we are to “make the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace?” The reason for this is easy to understand. We cannot make what Jesus has already done. This is what Jesus prayed to His Father in His great High Priestly prayer before His crucifixion,
“And now I am no more in the world, but these [His believers] are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those [believers] whom thou hast given me, that they [His believers] may be one, as we are” (John 17:11).
Jesus made us one, we need to strive to keep that accord as Jesus made it.
We are not after “peace at any price” for the sake of unity. Jesus never sacrificed the truth for unity. In His same prayer, Jesus said to His Father,
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17).
Our unity in Christ is based upon the truth He has given us in His Word. We, believers, rally around Jesus Christ’s Word, because of our love for His truth!
Sometimes it is a slow process to help our brethren understand and obey the truth. We are to be “forbearing one another in love.” In Luke 9:41, Jesus used the same word when He asked, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you?” He was asking, “how long will I put up with this generation?” But Jesus was longsuffering and patient with them. We need to be longsuffering and forbear our brethren; we are discipling them in the truth.
How long do we work at trying to “keep the unity of the Spirit?”
“Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).
We keep trying for peace together until we see Jesus!
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1).
As we try hard to maintain peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ, what can we do to help each other? Come back tomorrow and let’s talk more.
Quote: “Peace that Jesus gives is not the absence of trouble, but is rather the confidence that He is there with you always.”[2]
[1] Albert Barnes, Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
[2] Source is unknown. Downloaded: Monday, June 29, 2020.
From: https://bible.org/node/13163.