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Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP000052S
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00:01 The Bible tells us
00:07 It says to 00:21 Join us now for the 00:25 Our study today is 00:29 The book of Romans. 00:33 And we welcome you once again to 3ABN's Sabbath School Panel. 00:39 My name is C. A. Murray, and it my privilege and pleasure to 00:42 welcome you with some amount of sadness to what has been a 00:47 wonderful study in the book of Romans. 00:49 We come now to the last of our studies in this wonderful, 00:53 God breathed, God blessed book. 00:57 And we invite you again to join us, because we've got a lot to 01:00 talk about as Paul continues in his pivot from a purely 01:04 theological treatise to the practicality of being Christians 01:10 and walking in the love and way of Christ Jesus. 01:13 We've got a wonderful panel with us today. 01:15 And I'm happy to introduce Ms. Mollie Steenson, 01:19 Pastor John Lomacang, Shelley Quinn, and Jill Morikone. 01:23 And we've been studying together. 01:24 And the Lord has blessed us to all be together 01:27 for most of this study. 01:28 Many times with people who have different things to do; 01:30 people are in, people are out, but we've been able to be 01:34 together for the most part, for most of this study. 01:36 And God has shown us some wonderful things. 01:39 We sort of fed off of each other. 01:40 And sometimes we've even called during the night season to kind 01:44 of make sure everybody's on the same page. 01:46 And we found that by the grace of the Holy Spirit that we have 01:49 on the same page as we study the Word of God together. 01:51 And it is my prayer, and my hope that you have been blessed 01:55 in studying this book. 01:56 And may I encourage you to take some time apart from the 01:59 Sabbath School Lesson to go back and walk through 02:02 the book of Romans. 02:03 It will establish, and re-establish, 02:05 and reaffirm your faith in Jesus. 02:07 It will free you from some things, maybe, that have been 02:11 going in your mind as to how to get right with God, 02:14 as to how to stay right with God, as to work and labor in the 02:18 cause of God, as to legalism and righteousness, 02:21 as to grace and faith, and justification and 02:24 sanctification, and then finally how to walk with your brothers 02:26 and sisters in Jesus Christ. 02:28 So take some time and revisit this book. 02:30 It will do you good, and I guarantee you, 02:32 you will be blessed. 02:34 Pastor John, my friend of, Oh, I hesitate to say, 02:38 forty plus years. Would you please open up this particular 02:43 seating in prayer for us? 02:44 Sure. Loving Father in Heaven, what a blessing it is 02:47 to open your Word. 02:48 We pray that You open our hearts and our minds. 02:50 Those who are watching and listening to this program, 02:53 we pray that You'll connect us by the power and the presence 02:56 of Your Holy Spirit, and bring these written words to life 02:59 that they may affect the way that we live, and the way we 03:03 reflect Your righteousness. 03:04 In Jesus' name, Amen. 03:07 Amen! We are dealing with the subject of Christian Living 03:12 today, Christian Living. 03:13 And let us read Romans 14:10. 03:17 Before we do that I'm remiss, I forgot to do something. 03:19 Let me take care of it right now. 03:20 Hopefully, you have an adult Bible Study Guide. 03:25 If you do not, there are two ways that you can obtain one: 03:29 One, you can go to your nearest Seventh-day Adventist church. 03:31 And we'd like you to do that actually; 03:33 to visit your closest Seventh-day Adventist church 03:36 and ask them for one. 03:38 And they would be more than happy to get one to you. 03:41 Or you can go to your computer and go to 03:54 And you can download one for yourself. 03:57 I like to have things in paper so that I can write, 04:00 and make notes and that kind of thing. 04:01 I'm not a Kindle guy, because you can't write on your Kindle 04:04 like you can on a piece of paper. 04:05 So if you can do that you can join us for this study, 04:11 and for future studies, because we're going to be here a long 04:14 time doing the work of God, and studying the 04:17 Sabbath School lesson together. 04:18 On the Saturday portion we're dealing, as I mentioned, 04:23 with the idea of Christian living. 04:27 And we've read the text together. 04:30 Have we not? We have not, okay. 04:33 I've read it. Let's read it together, it's Romans 14:10. 04:39 The Bible says: Why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost 04:45 thou set at naught thy brother? for we shall all stand before 04:51 the judgment seat of Christ. 04:54 A wonderful text. And there's a couple of things I want to 05:00 deal with from that. 05:01 I want to read that particular text from the Amplified Version. 05:06 It says: But you, why do you criticize your brother? 05:12 or you again, why do you look down on your believing brother 05:17 or regard him with contempt? 05:20 For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. 05:24 And then there has been added: Who alone is judged? 05:27 So we get a little different flavor in looking at this 05:30 through the Amplified. 05:32 A couple of words that I want to just hone in on here from 05:35 Romans 14:10, and then we'll move out into our overview of 05:39 this particular lesson. 05:41 The word judge is krino in the Greek. 05:47 It deals with mentally or judicially judging your brother. 05:52 So it can be used in a legal sense, 05:55 in a law sense of judging him. 05:57 But it is also, and perhaps this is where Paul sort of leans to, 06:03 mentally judging your brother. 06:05 You look on your brother and you see something you don't 06:08 like, so you assign them something in your mind. 06:11 You are mentally judging. 06:13 Well, I... No, she can't be a Christian. 06:15 A Christian would wear that, or a Christian would do that. 06:18 So you can criticize, the Amplified says. 06:21 And sometimes we are wont to slip into that. 06:24 And so Paul is saying now, As a Christian that's something you 06:28 need to shy away from; don't judge. 06:31 And he's not talking about making a determination if he 06:36 sees someone going into sin. 06:37 That's a different thing. 06:39 But he's saying, Don't judge your brother. 06:41 Don't pick at your brother. 06:43 Don't pick away at your brother or your sister. 06:45 You know, sometimes we have people, you do something in 06:50 church, and sing beautifully, or preach beautifully, 06:54 and someone will find something to sort of pull down at it. 06:57 Well, the song was too loud, or the rhythm was too fast, 07:00 or the sermon was too long. 07:01 You know, there are things we can develop in 07:03 our hearts to pick at. 07:04 And he's saying, don't do that. 07:05 Don't pick at your brother. 07:07 Now, the reason we know that it's talking about a believing 07:10 brother is because the word for brother is adelphos, 07:14 from Philadelphia, from your brother. 07:16 So we're talking about someone who is a loving 07:19 brother in the Lord; not a stranger, 07:22 not someone just passing through. 07:23 These are people you know. 07:24 These are people who are walking the same way as you. 07:26 Don't pick at your brother, or your sister in Christ, 07:30 your fellow believer. 07:32 We need to encourage our fellow believers. 07:34 We need to hold them up. 07:36 We need to lift them up and not seek for 07:38 ways to pull them down. 07:40 I always tell people I don't have a brand new automobile, 07:44 but I know some people who do, so I can ride with them, 07:47 so I can rejoice with them. 07:48 I don't need to pick at them because I don't 07:50 have a brand new car. 07:51 I can ride with them. Praise the Lord! 07:53 So look for ways to rejoice when your brother rejoices, 07:56 and cry when your brother cries. 07:58 You know, there's a story, and I'll tell this very quickly. 08:00 A fellow down the street passed, and a mother was sitting on her 08:04 porch with her little son. 08:05 And the little son got off his mother's lap and went down 08:07 the street and sat on the man's lap who was 08:09 sitting out on his porch. 08:10 And he stayed there for a long time. 08:12 And then he walked back up to his house and sat 08:16 on his mother's lap. 08:17 And his mother said, Son, what were you doing all that time? 08:21 What were you saying? 08:22 What were you doing with that? 08:23 Were you talking with him? 08:25 Were you encouraging him? 08:26 And the little boy said, No, I just helped him cry. 08:28 You know, so you laugh with your brother, you cry with your 08:33 brother, you lift up your brother, you hold your brother's 08:36 hand, or your sister's hand, and you provide what your 08:40 brother and sister needs. 08:41 You know, the truth is, and I think you all know this, 08:43 there are times when we can be closer to our brothers and 08:45 sisters in the Lord than we are with our own family, 08:48 because of the bond that comes when you're walking 08:50 in the same direction. 08:52 So Paul's encouragement here is lift your brother up. 08:55 Do not tear your brother down. 08:58 That's very, very important. 09:01 Do not criticize. The lesson goes on to say that this book, 09:05 as we have talked about so many times, was one of those books 09:08 that was the foundation for Martin Luther's study, 09:11 and as such, became a foundation for the Protestant Reformation. 09:16 This idea that I don't have to work my way to heaven, 09:19 I don't have to punish my way to heaven, 09:21 and I don't have to flagellate my way to heaven, 09:24 I don't have to beg God, or take pilgrimages, or do any number 09:29 of things that the church was suggesting that people do. 09:31 I don't have to do that; I simply have to believe, 09:34 and come to Christ, and then a whole series of things start 09:38 and that follow through from that belief, 09:40 including justification, including sanctification. 09:43 Things that I cannot work my way into, things that are a gift 09:47 of God through grace, through faith that He gives me. 09:50 The lesson says that Luther really wasn't the first 09:55 to have these ideas. 09:59 And the truth is you had people as far back as Augustine in the 10:03 300's, who had this idea that maybe this idea of working 10:07 your way into the favor of God is wrong. 10:10 And, of course, we saw several lessons ago that this idea that 10:14 you can please God, or work your way into His favor, 10:16 is at the heart or foundation of all pagan religions. 10:20 So it is an anti-Christian mindset that I have to work my 10:24 way into the pleasure of God. 10:25 God so loved the world that He gave. 10:28 We love Him because He first loved us. 10:31 So we see that this idea has been in the church for many, 10:36 many centuries, but it was Martin Luther who codified it. 10:40 And, you know, the Axum is, comes the man, comes the time. 10:44 Martin Luther, the right man at the right time, 10:47 with the right message, and it took fire. 10:48 There were those who preceded him, and those who came after 10:51 him who gave more energy to that fire. 10:55 But it was Martin Luther looking at Johan Tetzel raising money 11:00 to build St. Peter's Basilica, and doing other kinds of things, 11:04 and looking at the church, and what the church was doing, 11:07 and said to himself, as he read this wonderful book, 11:10 That cannot be right. 11:11 That cannot be the will of God. 11:12 He said, If any man ever became holy through his monkery, 11:16 I would be that man. 11:18 But he realized that that's not the way to please God. 11:21 That's not the way to draw closer to the Lord. 11:23 So out of that, of those times, came this idea that 11:31 justification is indeed by faith. 11:34 Of course, we rest all of these principles on the idea of 11:37 sola scriptura, the Bible and the Bible only. 11:41 The church in the counter reformation came back with, 11:44 in the late 1550's or 50 and 60 with the idea that tradition 11:49 trumps Scripture, but the Protestant foundation is that 11:53 nothing trumps the Word of God, that we are sola scriptura; 11:58 the Bible and the Bible only. 12:01 The lesson says, and I like this, Acts 16:30, 12:07 the whole thing can be summarized by the pagan jailer's 12:12 question, What must I do to be saved? 12:15 And the book of Romans, as much as any New Testament book, 12:20 answers that question thoroughly. 12:22 Everything that you need to know to put into practice to be saved 12:27 is found in the book of Romans, and is beautifully summed up, 12:32 and is beautifully said. 12:33 So now Paul rounds out the Christian experience. 12:38 After he has given us his theological understanding 12:42 he now gives us ways and means to put that theology into 12:47 day-to-day practice. 12:48 1 John 1, I think it's Verse 7, says, if we walk in the light, 12:54 as he is in the light,... 12:56 One of the things we have, brothers and sisters, 13:00 is fellowship with one another. 13:02 So walking with Jesus gives us fellowship as together 13:06 we walk in the light. 13:08 And that feeds back into what Paul is saying here. 13:11 Once you understand the light, and you walk in the light, 13:15 one of the things that you have is a brand new family that 13:19 fellowships with you, and the blood of Christ, of course, 13:22 cleanses us from all sin. 13:25 So we praise the Lord for that. 13:27 We move now into Sunday, into Sunday's 13:31 lesson, Weak in the Faith. 13:34 In the church of God, as it began its march through history, 13:42 there are a number of very pragmatic day-to-day issues 13:46 that had to be dealt with. 13:47 We've been dealing with them over this quarter: 13:50 circumcision, how important is that? 13:53 Do we come to Jesus through Judaism? 13:56 Do Jews, those Jewish laws have to be superimposed on the 14:01 Christian life in order for us to be acceptable by God? 14:04 So we find another little, dare I say, wrinkle in the fabric 14:09 of the church, this idea of meat being offered to idols. 14:14 And sometimes what can seem like a very small thing to some 14:18 people, becomes a big deal to other people. 14:20 And we have that even in the church today. 14:23 So you have some who are, Paul says, weak in the faith, 14:28 and others who are strong in the faith. 14:30 Now weakness and strength does not have to do with conservatism 14:34 or liberal, because what is interesting about this 14:37 particular issue is that those classed as weak in the faith, 14:41 are those who did not eat. 14:43 Now we would think that the liberals are weak, 14:45 and the conservatives are strong, but in this particular 14:48 issue it is just the reverse. 14:50 The conservatives are in one category, and the liberals are 14:56 in another category, and it is interesting that it is the 14:58 conservatives who are considered weak. 15:01 Whether or not meat offered to an idol is contaminated or not 15:08 is not really the issue. 15:10 The issue is that there are those who are 15:12 stumbling over that. 15:14 There are those who find that an obstacle. 15:17 So the Spiritual question becomes, How do we treat those 15:22 who are stumbling over this particular issue? 15:25 It may not be big for you, but it's big for them. 15:29 So it's not a treatise on clean or unclean meats. 15:33 We need to touch on that. 15:34 That we're not talking about eating clean or unclean meats. 15:38 And the reason we know that is because in the New Testament 15:40 in Acts 10:14 Peter makes the statement, I've never 15:45 eaten anything unclean. 15:47 So the idea that the regulations for clean and unclean were done 15:50 away with is not an issue here. 15:52 It is simply meats, clean meats, that are offered to idols; 15:56 is this acceptable, or is it not acceptable? 16:02 Again, on non-doctrinal, non-salvific issues, 16:07 people can have their own opinions, and should be allowed 16:12 to have their opinions, and should be allowed time 16:15 to grow in the Lord. 16:16 A person who's been in the church 20-30 years cannot expect 16:21 the same kind of maturity in a person who's been in 20 or 30 16:24 months, or 20 or 30 days, as one who has been in 16:28 so very many years. 16:30 I could go on, and that would be unfair, so I think I'll just 16:35 yield to you, Mollie, and let you pick it up from there. 16:37 Okay, I pick up on Romans 14:10. 16:42 And the subject that Paul is addressing, 16:46 as C. A. so aptly put, is concerning what people eat, 16:51 and certain days that they keep, and so forth. 16:55 But then Paul does the most amazing thing. 16:57 He just makes a turn very quickly, and all of a sudden 17:02 he's not talking about what people eat and drink. 17:04 You know what he's talking about? 17:05 judging, being judgmental. 17:08 So let's look here in Romans 14:10. 17:11 This was our memory verse. 17:12 But why do you judge your brother?... 17:15 And C. A. told us that means criticize, or look down on. 17:19 ...or why do you show contempt for your brother? for we shall 17:22 all stand before the... what? the judgment seat of Christ. 17:27 Now that's a fact. We do all stand before the 17:30 judgment seat of Christ. 17:33 And as it is appointed for men to die once, 17:37 but after this the what? the judgment. 17:40 Nobody gets away from this. 17:43 Our quarterly states, We tend to judge others harshly at times. 17:48 And often for the same things that we do ourselves. 17:52 Have you ever heard, we judge others by their actions, 17:58 and we judge ourselves by our intentions. 18:01 What we do doesn't seem nearly as bad to us as someone else 18:09 doing the exact same thing. 18:11 You know what that is? hypocrisy. 18:14 That's hypocrisy. 18:15 We might fool ourselves, but we aren't fooling God. 18:19 Turn to Matthew 7:1-4. 18:21 We're going to look at a warning that God gives us. 18:28 He says, Judge not, that you be not judged. 18:35 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged: 18:38 and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 18:41 And why do you look at the speck in C. A.'s eye, 18:44 but do not consider the plank that's in your own eye? 18:48 Or how can you say to your brother, Let me remove that 18:52 speck, C. A., and look at the plank that is in your own eye? 18:56 1 Corinthians 11:31. 19:00 You don't have to turn to it. 19:01 It's a short verse. 19:02 And I want to end with this Scripture as well. 19:04 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 19:10 Now let me say that again. 19:11 If we judge ourselves, then we wouldn't be judged. 19:14 Paul continues in Romans 14:11. 19:18 For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall 19:22 bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 19:28 Paul is quoting the Old Testament, Isaiah 45:23. 19:33 I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone out of My mouth 19:38 in righteousness, and shall not return, That to Me every knee 19:42 shall bow, and every tongue shall take an oath. 19:46 Now when we're talking about this knee bowing, 19:49 and oath taking; tongues making an oath. 19:53 Where does that take place? 19:55 That's at the judgment seat of Christ. 19:59 Where is every knee going to bow? every tongue is going to 20:02 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 20:05 That's at the judgment seat of Christ. 20:07 Now Paul goes on to say in Verse 12, So then each of us shall 20:12 give account of himself to God. 20:15 Now remember, he's talking about, Paul is talking about 20:19 unclean foods, and what we eat, and what days we worship on. 20:25 He makes this veering that says not to be judgmental, 20:29 and then he says that we're going to all be before the 20:33 judgment seat of Christ. 20:35 And so then each of you shall give account of who? 20:39 himself to God. We don't need to give an account of ourselves 20:46 to anybody but God. 20:48 I'm going to say that again. 20:49 You don't need to give an account of yourself to anybody 20:52 but God, but by the same token, nor does anybody need to give 20:58 an account for themselves to you. 21:00 We, nobody has, nobody needs to give an account of themselves 21:05 to me; it's between you and God. 21:08 Where is it that each of us give an account of ourselves to God? 21:13 Where's that going to be? 21:14 Again, it's at the judgment seat of Christ. 21:17 Now we give an account for ourselves, we don't give an 21:20 account for each other. 21:22 And I wrote this down: You will not be able to get your Momma, 21:27 or your Pastor, or your best friend to stand with you 21:31 at the judgment seat of Christ. 21:33 Nobody will give an account for you. 21:36 Honey, you are on your own when you're standing there. 21:39 Nobody can answer for another's sin. 21:42 Nobody can give an account for you. 21:46 You don't need to give an account to anybody but God, 21:49 and nobody needs to give an account for you. 21:52 We give an account for ourselves to God. 21:55 Now we're in Romans 14:13. 21:58 Therefore... Now you know when there's a therefore, 22:01 what do you do? you look to see what it's there for. 22:05 Therefore because of what I just told you,... 22:09 And what had he just told? what had God just said? that we will 22:15 give an account for ourselves. 22:16 Therefore, because of what I just told you, let us not judge 22:21 one another anymore. 22:24 Let's not be judgmental. 22:26 And, you know, Pastor, you made it so clear, in judging I don't 22:29 have to verbalize that judgment; it's just thinking it. 22:33 And we do that. Somebody can walk into our congregation 22:38 and be dressed a certain way, and we think, Oh, 22:41 and form an opinion. 22:43 Or we can watch them eating and form an opinion, 22:48 and it's based on what we see. 22:51 Aren't we so glad that God doesn't look at the outward? 22:55 What does God look at? 22:56 God looks at the heart. 22:57 And, see, things that I could do, I'll say ten years ago, 23:03 God has put His finger on and I can't do now. 23:07 It's called that walk, that work of sanctification. 23:11 So you may be looking at somebody that's only been a 23:15 Christian; they're still a baby Christian, and they're doing 23:17 things that you're just way too Spiritual to do. 23:20 It's because God is working with them in their 23:23 walk of sanctification. 23:24 And what God will need to do is do a work of sanctification 23:28 in your judgmental heart. 23:30 Let me change that to our judgmental heart, 23:32 or my judgmental heart. 23:33 Paul goes back now to his original subject in Verse 14. 23:41 He's talking about what people eat, 23:44 and of keeping certain days. 23:46 And really he's looking at the violation of conscience. 23:50 He's saying we're not to be judgmental. 23:53 He goes on, Verse 14: I know, and am convinced, Paul says, 23:58 by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: 24:04 but to him who considers anything to be unclean, 24:08 to him it is unclean. 24:10 So if the person's conscience is convicting them, 24:16 or they're weak in an area, and they are saying that you 24:21 absolutely should not eat pinto beans... 24:25 Now what Adventist doesn't eat Pinto beans? 24:27 That's our favorite food: haystacks. 24:30 But if somebody, if you're with somebody and their conscience, 24:34 they're saying, Oh, no, you can't eat that; that's bad. 24:37 What should you do on their behalf? 24:39 You should try to be an encouragement to your brother, 24:43 and leave those Pinto beans off until you're by yourself. 24:47 I don't know if that was a real good illustration for us, 24:49 but the subject is still not judging people for what they 24:53 do, or they don't do. 24:54 A person shouldn't be made to violate his or her conscience. 24:59 It's between them and God, not you, and them, and God. 25:03 It's between them and God. 25:04 Now I'm going to go back to that Scripture that 25:06 we looked at before. 25:08 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 25:12 If we would judge ourselves... 25:14 Don't you want to know right now those things that are unlovely, 25:19 and unlike God that are in your heart so that we can look into 25:24 our hearts and see those things that need to be purified and 25:27 perfected, that need to be, that you need to repent of 25:31 and walk away cleaned from? 25:33 So, again, we aren't to look at other people to see what 25:37 we can judge them of. 25:38 1 Corinthians, Paul's telling us, judge yourselves, 25:43 look into your own heart. 25:44 And so I'm going to close with this, that's Psalms 139:23, 25:49 a prayer that we all need to pray on a daily basis 25:53 which is, Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, 25:58 and know my thoughts; And see if there be any evil way in me, 26:03 and lead me in the path that is everlasting. 26:06 Wow! Thank you, Mollie. 26:09 That was a speed round. 26:12 Wow, got that one out! 26:13 When you get going your fire burns all the way 26:15 from beginning to end. 26:16 Thank you for that. 26:17 This is another interesting part of the lesson, No Offense. 26:21 This is so instrumental. 26:24 And I'm so glad that what I could say about the Apostle Paul 26:28 is under inspiration. Can we all agree? 26:31 He has left no stones unturned. 26:34 Yes. That's true. True. 26:35 I mean he has gone from law, grace, 26:38 what I can't do, what I can do. 26:40 Now he's going to what you shouldn't do in light of 26:43 what you want to do. 26:45 Because what he couldn't do, he tried to do. 26:48 Now that he has become aware of what he can do, he says it may 26:53 not be the best thing to do. 26:54 That's why I think the lesson, no offense, 26:56 is vitally important. 26:58 I'm going to read the passages that go along with it 27:00 and lay some foundational principles that I think are 27:03 the very essence and essential for us when it comes to 27:07 practicing our Christianity. 27:08 I think one of the reasons why New York City has 27:11 taken the principles... 27:13 I go back to the story, a number of years ago before my dad 27:16 passed away, and my natural father passed away in 2006. 27:18 The man who raised me passed away in 1995. 27:22 When my dad, who was a musician all of his life in jazz music, 27:25 finally became the victim of his desire to smoke when they said, 27:31 there will be no smoking in public. 27:33 He said the Mayor of New York City's lost his mind. 27:36 I said, No he hasn't. 27:37 He's finally heard my cry. 27:39 I don't want you to blow smoke in my nose. 27:41 And we should not do that because we feel that it's 27:44 our right to smoke. 27:46 So what I want to begin by saying is, Paul lays these 27:50 principles down: what may be a preference of mine, 27:57 may be an offense to someone else. 27:59 Let's read the Scriptures and I'll go ahead and break 28:01 this down independently. 28:05 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, 28:09 you are no longer walking in love. 28:11 Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 28:18 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil. 28:22 Oh I can just... That's a whole sermon for those of you 28:26 who would like to preach. 28:27 That's the whole sermon; how sometimes those who are ready 28:31 for translation can offend people to the highest hilt 28:36 because of butter or cheese. 28:38 Now I'm going to meddle a little bit here because I'm talking to 28:41 those who should know better. 28:43 When God gives us principles of dietary parameters for our 28:48 health, and our strength, and our wealth, 28:50 don't translate those things into tools of judgment 28:54 in other people's lives. 28:55 That's often been the case. 28:58 I've gone to fellowship lunches where people say, 29:00 Is that butter? Is that... 29:01 You know, vegan is a good way of life, 29:04 but vegan is not salvation. 29:06 Vegetarian is a healthy way of life, 29:08 but vegetarian is not salvation. 29:10 We can have clean colon's, but have corrupt hearts. 29:14 And sometimes it's not what we're eating, 29:17 but what's eating us. 29:18 Sometimes it's not what's going in our mouths, but what's coming 29:21 out of our mouths that are become an offense. 29:23 And that's what Paul is talking about. 29:24 He says in Verse 17, For the kingdom of God is not eating 29:27 and drinking; but righteousness, and peace, 29:30 and joy in the Holy Spirit. 29:33 My sister has told this to people before. 29:36 My sister left the church when she was sixteen years old. 29:38 Pastor C. A. knows her very well, 29:39 and some of you have met her. 29:41 She says, When I go out to eat my brother does not condemn me. 29:47 Now she knows what's right. 29:49 She was raised in a healthy lifestyle. 29:51 But if she goes ahead, and I'd say sometimes, Pha, don't! 29:55 If I'm going to pay for it, you can't order that. 29:59 I tell her that jokingly. 30:01 And sometimes when we go to the restaurant she'll say, 30:04 I'm paying for this, so I'm ordering shrimp. 30:06 And I just sit there and say, I don't like shrimp, 30:09 but I'm not going to spend my whole meal just dogging her 30:11 about what she decides to eat. 30:12 Because what's more important is that as she has said to 30:15 people in the past, When I'm around my brother 30:19 I don't feel condemned. 30:20 Praise God. Important. 30:24 And for that reason she still comes when I... 30:26 She came to church when I'd preach at Ephesus. 30:27 She was there when I did the series on Unclean Spirits, 30:30 about music; the kind of music she listens to, 30:32 the kind of life she lives. 30:33 But she's there supportively because she recognizes, 30:36 my brother loves me more than the things that he practices. 30:40 He loves me. And I'm praying that that love for her will be 30:44 the reason why she gives her life back to Jesus, 30:47 not because I'm condemning everything she does. 30:49 And that's what Paul is talking about. 30:51 He says in Verse 20, well actually Verse 18: 30:55 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable 30:58 to God, and approved of by men. 31:00 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for what? 31:05 peace, and the things by which one may edify another. 31:09 Do not destroy... Verse20. 31:11 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. 31:14 I mean he's really dealing with this because the Jews sometimes 31:17 said, Was that offered to idols? 31:19 Was that not offered to idols? 31:21 And sometimes those who were just involved in financial gain, 31:25 they would offer a sacrifice, then knowingly sell it to 31:29 somebody else to make money in the food market. 31:32 So this animal was sacrificed on, was, you know, 31:35 the hand was laid on him. 31:37 He was a sacrifice. 31:38 But now, all of a sudden they said, You need 31:40 to make some money. 31:42 I'll give you the sacrifice after the temple is closed. 31:43 Later on can make some money in the city. 31:45 And people would say, Now was this offered 31:47 to idols or was it not? 31:48 The Lord says, Is it clean? 31:50 Then don't ask that question. 31:52 And that's what happened. 31:53 They became offended with the knowledge that it could have 31:56 been, or it might not have been. 31:58 That's why Verse 20, Do not destroy the work of God 32:01 for the sake of food. 32:02 All things indeed are pure;... 32:04 It's saying everything that God made has a function in it; 32:08 but God has not make everything to be eaten. 32:12 But it is evil for man who eats with offense. 32:15 It is good neither to eat meat, nor drink wine, nor do anything 32:21 by which your brother stumbles, or is offended, or is made weak. 32:25 Paul is not addressing the dietary principles. 32:28 He's addressing the motive behind why we do, 32:31 or why we do not do things. 32:33 So let me make a few points. 32:34 We may not be doing things that are personally offensive, 32:38 but is offensive to others. 32:41 In other words, don't insist on your way that will offend the 32:45 conscience of others. 32:47 Romans 14:7, in the very context. 32:50 For no one lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 32:53 A few other points I want to make: 32:55 preference is not a standard. 32:56 Can we agree on that? 32:58 Preference is not a standard. 32:59 I have been praised and condemned at the same time. 33:06 I got a letter recently from somebody who said to me, 33:08 and you know, you guys have heard my music. 33:11 But some of my older CD's have a rhythm in it. 33:14 So somebody says, I was able to listen to you until I heard a 33:19 song on one of your old CD's, and now I can no longer be 33:22 blessed by anything you sing. 33:23 Hypocrite! How can we say to somebody, and I'm going to get 33:29 kind' a, I'm going to put my hands in the mud here, 33:31 for those of us who judge people on the first and third beat, 33:33 or the second and the fourth beat, it's exactly what 33:36 Paul is talking about. 33:37 For those who say, Instruments are evil; is exactly what 33:41 Paul is talking about. 33:42 We have established a standard based on preference 33:45 that's not doctrinal. 33:46 Based on preference, that is not a standard. 33:49 And even medicines are not necessarily good or bad. 33:54 Let me go further. Good choices could be bad choices, 33:58 and bad choices could be good choices. 34:00 Now how is that possible? 34:02 I must give credit to my dear friend, Dr. Panditt, 34:05 who has done a beautiful study on world religions. 34:09 He says, A good choices is a bad choice when it could have 34:13 been a better choice or the best choice. 34:14 So sometimes we say, Well, that's not good to do. 34:18 Well, what's better, or what's best? 34:20 So if what you feel is good, the Lord has convicted you on, 34:25 do not make your good a standard of someone else. 34:30 And that's what he's talking about. 34:32 He's not saying the commandments are good, or the commandments 34:35 are bad, or the Sabbath is good, or the Sabbath is bad, 34:36 or unclean food is good, or clean food is bad. 34:40 He's not saying that at all. 34:41 He's saying the standard by which the Lord has convicted 34:46 your heart, it must be the point of self-examination. 34:50 Self-examination, because, as Mollie stated, 34:53 and the Bible says this: Judge not that you be not judged. 34:57 For the very standard you use to judge someone will become the 35:00 standard by which you are judged. 35:02 Also, the other thing, a bad choice could be a good choice 35:07 when it could have been the worst choice, 35:09 or the worst choice. 35:11 So what am I saying as I wind up? 35:14 I'll read a Scripture, but I want to make this point: 35:16 cultural conditioning should not be broadly applied. 35:20 Now if you're from Sweden, and you're from Zimbabwe, 35:27 the person from Zimbabwe should not say, 35:29 I don't like Swedish music; that's a preference. 35:32 Or the person from Sweden shouldn't say, Zimbabwe music 35:34 is not acceptable to God. 35:36 When we get together as a world church, and I've heard this 35:39 at the General Conference Session, 35:40 people have heard music that are from other cultures that 35:42 they sway as... you know, in their culture, 35:45 they say, God doesn't accept that; 35:47 and other people stand perfectly still, and other people say 35:50 they have no emotion; God doesn't accept that. 35:53 We broadly apply our principles that are cultural. 35:56 Case in point, as I wind, place of origin, hear me carefully, 36:02 place of origin should not be preferred 36:05 above place of destiny. 36:08 Live your personal life as you prepare for eternity, 36:13 and let the Lord convince others how they 36:15 should live their lives. 36:16 Well done, and I just want to add, John, that all of this 36:19 comes after his counsel to live peaceably with others, 36:22 and to prefer others. 36:23 Sometimes you've got to swallow it and let the Lord lead. 36:26 Shelley, please. 36:27 Thank you. Well, mine is Wednesday, 36:29 and the title is, Observance of Days. 36:32 But it kind of instructs us to go back and look at 36:34 Romans 14:4-10, so I think it would do us well. 36:37 Romans 14:4. Who are you to judge others servant? 36:41 To his own master he stands or falls. 36:43 Indeed he will be made to stand, for God is 36:47 able to make him stand. 36:49 So we see that the Roman church had a problem. 36:52 And, as we have established, so do we today in judging others 36:57 over... And I want to make sure we point out this is to judge 37:02 others in disputable matters. 37:04 It is not saying that we cannot discern when somebody 37:08 is breaking the law of God. 37:10 We're talking about where they're in a grey area; 37:14 when the matter is disputable. 37:17 And, as you've said, most of our judgments 37:21 are based on opinions. 37:23 And we have to say that certainly none of us can say 37:28 that all of our opinions are accurate, but our own personal 37:31 dislikes, or on cultural basis, whereas what we need to be 37:36 looking at is the Word of God. 37:38 And it's interesting that he says here that; 37:42 he's just got through saying that people's faith is weak. 37:47 Do you realize that when we judge others, he says, 37:50 God is able to make him stand. 37:53 If I'm judging Jill for doing something, basically I'm showing 37:58 that I have weak faith, because I don't think that God can 38:02 bring her around and save her. 38:04 So that's just kind of something that I want to point out. 38:08 Okay, Verse 5, One person esteems one day above another: 38:12 another esteems every day alike. 38:16 Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 38:20 Here he's talking about the Jewish feast days. 38:22 Now you have to understand, most of these early Christians 38:27 were transitioning from the old covenant to the new covenant. 38:30 And it was a sense of their national identity, 38:34 all of these feast days, the annual Sabbaths, 38:37 everything that they'd been brought up all their life 38:40 to esteem these days. 38:42 So they kind of had a little bit of difficulty 38:45 in letting go of it. 38:47 And now the Gentile Christians who had been taught, Hey, all 38:52 of this was symbolic, pointing to Christ, 38:54 it was kind of, Yeah, okay. 38:56 But what Paul is saying here is that if some man still felt in 39:03 the Roman church that he needed to be keeping Yom Kippur, 39:07 the Day of Atonement, let him be fully convinced in his mind. 39:10 Don't be judgmental. 39:12 Because it's all about our conscience 39:15 before God, is it not? 39:16 But it's interesting to me that a few years later Paul takes a 39:20 little more strident stance on this topic when he comes to 39:23 Colossians in Colossians 2:16-17 where, you know, he's talking 39:28 about, Hey, alright already, these old ceremonial things 39:35 have been nailed to the cross. 39:36 Don't let anybody judge you. 39:38 Because actually I think it's because false teachers were 39:41 coming in and teaching them that they had to do this. 39:43 So he's saying, Don't let anybody judge you on the 39:48 observance of days. 39:49 Because these things, and he's talking about annual Sabbath's, 39:53 not about the weekly Sabbath that is in the Word of God. 39:57 So then he goes in Verse 6 and he says, He who observes 40:02 the day, observes it to the Lord. 40:05 He who does not observe the day, to the Lord 40:08 he does not observe it. 40:09 He who eats, eats to the Lord, and he gives thanks; 40:14 he who does not eat, to the Lord does not eat, 40:20 and gives God thanks. 40:22 Boy, that is a tongue twister. 40:23 Eating anything, once again, we've already established this, 40:27 we're talking about the food that was 40:30 sacrificed to pagan idols. 40:34 In the Roman culture the ancient system of sacrifice was part of 40:40 the religious social, and domestic culture. 40:43 And what they do is they would sacrifice this to a pagan idol, 40:47 but they only burnt halt the offering. 40:49 They took the other half to the marketplace and they sold it. 40:53 So here Christians, particularly Christians who, 40:57 that were acutely aware of this, is if they'd 41:00 come out of paganism. 41:02 So, you know, they understand now how wrong 41:05 this is; these idols. 41:06 So some of them, it was like Oh, has this meat been, 41:12 has this been offered to an idol? 41:14 And they, quote unquote, some thought okay, 41:19 idols aren't anything. 41:20 You know, that's kind of no big deal. 41:22 That's probably more the way the Jews felt. 41:24 But then some of these other Christians knew Gentile 41:29 Christians who'd been pagans, may have been feeling like, 41:32 Wow, I'm just going to eat vegetables because I'm afraid 41:37 that this has been offered to an idol. 41:40 Now I just want to make sure that we point out Paul nowhere 41:45 relaxes the standards of God's ten commandment law. 41:48 I mean throughout every one of his epistles, throughout all of 41:52 his books he does not relax this. 41:55 He is dealing with controversial issues that... 42:01 He's just saying, Hey, you don't have the right or the wrong. 42:06 Let this man follow his conscience. 42:08 You're looking to God for this. 42:10 So then he goes on in Verse 6 and he says, 42:16 um excuse me, Verse 7. 42:18 He says, None of us lives to himself; no one dies to himself. 42:23 No man's an island. 42:25 And we are all in some sense our brother's keeper. 42:28 Verse 8. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, 42:32 we die to the Lord: therefore whether we live 42:34 or die, we are the Lord's. 42:36 For to this end Christ died, and rose, and lived again, 42:40 that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 42:46 You know, Jesus, as Mollie pointed out, in Matthew 7 said 42:51 Judge not that you be not judged. 42:53 He even said that He didn't come to judge the world while 42:57 He was on the earth. 42:58 That is reserved for later. 43:00 So we have an unconditional admonition not to be judgmental. 43:08 The only time that we can be judgmental is when it is 43:13 expressly authorized. 43:14 In other words, when Jesus said to beware of false prophets, 43:20 you've got to be able to judge a man's teaching by the 43:23 Word of God, do you not? 43:25 And it goes beyond discernment. 43:27 I mean there's judging. 43:29 You are looking at it to that. 43:31 And it gives you rules for that judgment, too. 43:33 Absolutely. So at that point he's not saying that. 43:36 What he's simply saying is that we should not, 43:40 in the grey areas; butter, you know. 43:44 Or like I'll give this example, some Adventists have been taught 43:49 that wearing any makeup is a dreaded sin. 43:52 I can see the Biblical principle. 43:56 Many of us believe that there is a principle not to wear 43:58 very colorful makeup. 44:00 But I always go back to what H.M.S. Richards said. 44:06 If the barn needs paint, paint it. 44:08 So I don't feel that this is something that is sinful 44:12 if I wear a little makeup. 44:13 And this is because, I mean, now I'd have to be careful 44:18 if I were ministering in an area where they're all, 44:21 and nobody wore makeup; I'd have to be careful about that. 44:24 Let me see. I wanted to get one more thought in. 44:27 And I just have a few minutes. 44:30 I want to say this: when you're judgmental, if you've got a new 44:34 baby Christian and you're being judgmental, you know what 44:37 judgmental attitudes do? 44:39 Often it cements the wrong behavior. 44:43 Because people, a spirit of rebellion 44:46 kind of comes up in them. 44:47 You now, when somebody is giving them a hard time over 44:51 something it kind of cements that. 44:54 We've got to be gracious and give people 44:58 time to grow in grace. 45:00 And, as you said, Mollie, we've got to remember what 45:04 he says in Verse 10. 45:06 He said, Why do you judge your brother? 45:09 The weak, and you're judging; the weak in faith should not be 45:13 judging those who are stronger in faith. 45:15 Or why do you show contempt for your bother? the strong should 45:20 not be demeaning the weak, for we shall all stand before the 45:24 judgment seat of Christ. 45:26 We're not responsible for our brother. 45:29 Our accountability is to Jesus Christ. 45:32 And given that, we need to make certain that our convictions are 45:38 based on the Word of God and not on tradition. 45:42 Let me repeat that. 45:44 Our accountability is to Jesus Christ. 45:46 Make sure your convictions are based on the Word of 45:50 God, not on tradition. 45:52 But I guarantee you, when we are standing before the Lord 45:58 the last thing that... 46:00 And we're having to give a personal account. 46:02 The last thing we're going to be worried about is what our 46:05 Christian brother or sister has done. 46:09 We're not going... That will be the antidote to the 46:14 self-exalted opinions that we have in being 46:18 judgmental to others. 46:19 Amen! Well done, Shelley. 46:21 Thank you so much. I have the very last day 46:24 here for our Quarterly. 46:27 This is Final Words; that's Thursday's lesson: Final Words. 46:31 And we look at some of the final words of Paul here in 46:34 Romans, Chapter 15, and Romans, Chapter 16. 46:37 We're going to spend the balance of our time in Romans 15:1-6. 46:42 So I invite you to just flip over a page. 46:44 Romans 15:1-6. And we'll read it and then discuss it. 46:49 And I came up with five takeaways from this passage. 46:53 Verse 1. We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples 46:58 of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 47:02 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good 47:06 leading to edification. 47:08 For even Christ did not please Himself; but, as it is written, 47:13 The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on Me. 47:18 Verse 4. For whatever things were written before, 47:22 were written for our learning, that we through patience and 47:26 comfort of the scriptures might have hope. 47:30 Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be 47:35 like-minded toward one another according to Christ Jesus: 47:39 that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God, 47:44 and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 47:46 I think Paul is really saying we who are strong in the Lord 47:50 should not live selfishly, should not live for ourselves, 47:55 but for sacrificially, selflessly building up others. 48:00 The five takeaways: 1. Godly relationships in the body of 48:04 Christ are important. Amen. 48:07 Godly relationships in the body of Christ are important. 48:11 Verses 5 and 6. I just want to touch on that again. 48:14 May the God of patience and comfort grant you to be 48:16 like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, 48:20 or like Christ Jesus. 48:22 Now the word for patience is a remaining behind; 48:26 a patient enduring. 48:28 We're called to be patient and bear with each other. 48:31 I love the word there for comfort though: Paracelsus, 48:36 which would come from parakletos, John 14 and 15. 48:40 Remember when Jesus left He said, It is expedient for 48:44 you that I go away. 48:45 For if I go not away I cannot send another helper; 48:49 the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. 48:52 So the word for helper or comforter is parakletos, 48:56 meaning one called alongside another, 49:00 one called to the aid of another. 49:02 Now in their ancient society a parakletos was someone who 49:05 would help; say you were going to a trial or something, 49:08 someone who would help physically, 49:10 maybe bringing food or water, someone who would emotionally 49:14 support that person, and stand in for them as 49:17 well, as an advocate. 49:19 That's right; legal defense. 49:20 So God calls us. The God of patience and comfort, 49:25 He comes to our aid. 49:27 He offers us that. He is our advocate. 49:29 He is the Paracelsus, parakletos, and comfort; 49:34 wants us to be like-minded, and extend that same patience and 49:37 comfort, that same aid, like-mindedness 49:40 toward each other with one mind and one mouth. 49:44 Therefore if we come in relationship as sisters, 49:47 as brothers, then we can properly glorify God 49:50 because we love one another. 49:52 2. Godly relationships consider other people's needs above 49:58 my own rights and needs. 50:00 Verse 2 talked about, Let each of us please his neighbor for 50:04 his good leading to edification. 50:07 It reminds me of Philippians 2. 50:09 I love that whole chapter. 50:10 But the mind of Christ. 50:12 But it talks about, let each esteem the other as 50:15 better than themselves. 50:17 So Godly relationships look at other people. 50:20 Now as we, as I seek to esteem my sister Shelley, I need to be 50:25 careful never to compromise the gospel. 50:27 So in our esteeming of someone else we're not talking 50:31 about compromise here. 50:32 We're talking about saying, You can go first 50:35 in the line for food. 50:36 Saying, Oh, you have a need. 50:38 I will see what I can do to provide that. 50:39 Or, Oh, I will be praying for you. 50:41 Those are all ways we can get out of ourselves 50:43 and esteem someone else. 50:45 3. Godly relationships help and support the weaker. 50:49 And you all have touched on that. 50:51 Not looking with contempt or judgment on someone else. 50:56 Verse 1. We then who are strong ought to bear with the 50:59 scruples of the weak. 51:00 The word for bare means to take up, carry, to bare or endure. 51:05 It's the same word used in Galatians 6:2, Bare ye one 51:09 another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 51:13 4. Jesus as our example; did not please Himself but bore 51:19 insults for God's sake. 51:22 We saw that Paul quoted there in Verse 3, For even Christ did 51:26 not please Himself; as it is written, The reproaches of 51:29 those who reproached you fell on Me. 51:32 God calls us to get out of our own selves; get out of our 51:35 selfishness and think of others. 51:37 Focus on the needs of other people. 51:39 And 5. Godly relationships keep Scripture as their focus. 51:44 Verse 4. For whatever things were written before were 51:48 written for our learning... 51:50 And he's talking about the Word of God, the Scriptures. 51:52 ...that we through patience and comfort of the 51:55 Scriptures might have hope. 51:58 Some years ago I received a letter from a woman. 52:02 And I know we all have received various letters. 52:05 And this one had eight pages where she expressed the issues 52:11 that she saw in my life. 52:13 And I read it, and I cried a little bit, and then I just kind 52:17 of put it aside like, I don't need to deal with that. 52:20 She's judging, she's whatever. 52:23 Jill you just cast that letter aside. 52:26 So some weeks went by, and then in my morning devotional I just 52:31 happened to be in Romans 15. 52:33 And I read Romans 15:5. 52:36 May the God of patience and comfort grant you to be 52:39 like-minded toward one another... 52:41 That you may with one mind and one mouth glorify God,... 52:45 And then Verse 7. Receive one another, 52:48 just as Christ has received you. 52:50 And as soon as I read that it was like the Holy Spirit spoke 52:53 to me... Not audibly, but in my mind, and said, Jill, you have 52:56 not received the woman who wrote you the letter. 52:58 She is your sister. 53:00 You are not being of one mind, of one accord. 53:04 You are judging her for writing you this letter. 53:07 And so I said, God forgive me, and repented of that. 53:11 And He put in my heart love for my sister. 53:14 And I wrote her back, Thank you for sharing. 53:17 And there was a lot of validity to what she said. 53:20 There were many things I could learn and grow from. 53:23 And she became my friend. 53:25 That's the beautiful thing; God calls us in these Godly 53:28 relationships to have like-mindedness 53:31 one toward another. 53:32 Now let's just look at the final charges. 53:35 The lesson brought out several that Paul gives 53:38 right at the end here: Romans 15:13. 53:40 We'll go through these real quick. 53:42 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in 53:46 believing, that you may abound in hope, 53:48 by the power of the Holy Spirit. 53:50 The attributes of joy, peace, believing, hope, are from the 53:54 presence of the Spirit in the believers life. 53:57 Let's jump over to Romans 15:33. 54:03 There's another one. 54:05 Now the God of peace be with you all, Amen. 54:09 And then Paul gives special greetings to the brethren at 54:13 Rome; special greetings to them. 54:15 And then after that he has Romans 16:20. 54:18 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. 54:22 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, Amen. 54:26 Then Paul sends greetings from his friends 54:29 to the brethren at Rome. 54:31 And then he adds Verse 24. 54:34 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen. 54:36 Now to him who is able to establish you 54:39 according to my gospel... 54:41 That's what we've been studying this whole quarter. 54:44 ...and the preaching of Jesus Christ,... 54:47 God is able to establish us in the gospel of justification by 54:51 faith, and sanctification by faith. 54:54 ...according to the revelation of the mystery, 54:57 kept secret since the world began, but now made manifest, 55:01 and by the prophetic scriptures made known to all nations... 55:05 All of us have access to see and understand what we have 55:09 been discussing here. 55:10 ...according to the commandment of the everlasting God, 55:13 for obedience to the faith: to God alone wise, 55:16 be glory through Jesus Christ forever, Amen. 55:20 I want to close with a quote, this is from 55:22 Review and Herald, May 29, 1900. 55:25 Paul was a living example of what every true 55:29 Christian should be. 55:31 He lived for God's glory. 55:33 His words come sounding down the line to our time. 55:36 For me to live is Christ. 55:39 He who was once a persecutor of Christ in the person of His 55:43 saints now holds up before the world the cross of Christ. 55:47 His heart burned with a love for souls. 55:50 He gave all his energies for the conversion of men. 55:53 There never lived a more self denying, earnest, 55:57 persevering worker. 55:58 His life was Christ. 56:00 He worked the works of Christ. 56:02 All the blessings he received were prized as so many 56:06 advantages to be used in blessing other people. 56:09 Amen, Amen. Our time is very, very short. 56:12 Give me one line in summation, Mollie Steenson. 56:15 Judge not lest you be judged. 56:16 Pastor John Lomacang. 56:18 Talk of Christ, and when the heart is converted everything 56:20 that is out of harmony with the Word will fall off. 56:22 And Shelley Quinn. 56:24 Read Romans again and again. 56:26 Walk in unity and love with your brothers and sisters. 56:31 Amen! Thank you so very much. 56:33 It is with sadness that we come down to the end of 56:35 this wonderful study. 56:37 I'm enthused and saddened because we've done such a great 56:43 study and gone through this Word. 56:46 C. D. Brooks used to say, Do not let the ethic suffer under the 56:51 weight of the ethnic. 56:52 So, and you put it so beautifully, Shelley, let your 56:57 convictions be of the Lord. 56:59 And it is important that they be of the Word. 57:01 And, Pastor John, you said preference is not a standard. 57:04 Love it! Great thought. 57:06 There is much to think about and much to pray about. 57:10 We ought to get into the Word and study the Word. 57:14 But we are admonished, Don't be just hearers of the Word, 57:18 or studiers of the Word. 57:20 It is in the doing that we are made like Christ Jesus. 57:23 So do these things. 57:25 Happy are ye if you do them. 57:28 Thank you for spending just a little time with us. 57:30 We'll see you again soon. 57:32 Keep on studying and God will bless. |
Revised 2023-11-23