Morning Prayer: 21 September – Romans 14:2–13a ~ stop criticizing each other

Reading through Romans

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening sentence

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory. You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.
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A reading from Romans: Romans 14:2–13a (NLT)

For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.

In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Christ died and rose again for this very purpose — to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.

So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’”

Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So let’s stop condemning each other.
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Reflection: Romans 14:2–13a (John Stott, The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World)

The will of God for changed relationships: (Romans 12:1–15:13)

All believers, irrespective of their ethnic origin, are brothers and sisters in the one international family of God, and so all have precisely the same vocation to be the holy, committed, humble, loving and conscientious people of God.

(Romans 14:1-15:13) Our relationship to the weak: welcoming, and not despising, judging or offending them

If we are trying to picture a weaker brother or sister, we must not envisage a vulnerable Christian easily overcome by temptation, but a sensitive Christian full of indecision and scruples. What the weak lack is not strength of self-control but liberty of conscience.

2. The negative consequences (Romans 14:2–15:13)

(a) Do not despise or condemn the weak person (14:2–13a)

Four underlying theological principles:

(i) Welcome him because God has welcomed him (2–3)

The best way to determine what our attitude to other people should be is to determine what God’s attitude to them is. This principle is better even than the golden rule. It is safe to treat others as we would like them to treat us, but it is safer still to treat them as God does.

(ii) Welcome him because Christ died and rose to be the Lord (4–9)

[Paul] lifts the very mundane question of our mutual relationships in the Christian community to the high theological level of the death, resurrection and consequent universal lordship of Jesus. Because he is our Lord, we must live for him. Because he is also the Lord of our fellow Christians, we must respect their relationship to him and mind our own business. For he died and rose to be Lord.

(iii) Welcome him because he is your brother (10a)

We are related to one another in the strongest possible way, by family ties. Whether we are thinking of the weak, with all their tedious doubts and fears, or of the strong, with all their brash assurances and freedoms, they are our brothers and sisters. When we remember this, our attitude to them becomes at once less critical and impatient, more generous and tender.

(iv) Welcome him because we will all stand before God’s judgment seat (10b–13a)

Because God is the Judge and we are among the judged, let us stop passing judgment on one another, for then we shall avoid the extreme folly of trying to usurp God’s prerogative and anticipate judgment day.
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“Revelation Song” – Kari Jobe

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Canticle

Christ, as a light illumine and guide me. Christ, as a shield overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Prayer: 19 September – Romans 14:1 ~ on acceptance

Reading through Romans

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening sentence

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory. You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.
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A reading from Romans: Romans 14:1 (NLT)

Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.
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Reflection: Romans 14:1 (John Stott, The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World)

The will of God for changed relationships: (Romans 12:1–15:13)

(Romans 14:1-15:13) Our relationship to the weak: welcoming, and not despising, judging or offending them

The positive principle (Romans 14:1)

First, Accept him whose faith is weak (1a).

‘Acceptance’ means to welcome into one’s fellowship and into one’s heart. It implies the warmth and kindness of genuine love.

‘Acceptance’ is a popular word today, and rightly so. Theologically, God’s acceptance of us is quite a good contemporary term for justification. But we should be cautious about modern talk of ‘unconditional acceptance’, as when the concept of an ‘open church’ is canvassed, in which membership is offered to everybody, with no questions asked and no conditions laid down. For though God’s love is indeed unconditional, his acceptance of us is not, since it depends on our repentance and our faith in Jesus Christ.

Second, without passing judgment on disputable matters (1b).

Paul is saying… we must receive the weak person with a warm and genuine welcome, ‘without debate over his misgivings’ or scruples (REB), or ‘not for the purpose of getting into quarrels about opinions’ (BAGD). In other words, we are not to turn the church into a debating chamber, whose chief characteristic is argument, still less into a law court in which weak persons are put in the dock, interrogated and arraigned. The welcome we give them must include respect for their opinions.
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“Be Still My Soul” – Selah

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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Prayer: 18 September – Romans 13:11-14 ~ on living decent lives

Reading through Romans

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening sentence

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory. You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.
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A reading from Romans: Romans 13:11-14 (NLT)

This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
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Reflection: Romans 13:11-14 (John Stott, The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World)

The will of God for changed relationships: (Romans 12:1–15:13)

(Romans 13:11-14) Our relationship to the day: living in the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’

Understanding the time (Romans 13:11–12a)

One of the features of the technological society is that we are the slaves of time. We all wear watches and keep careful track of the passing time. But it is more important to know God’s time, especially the kairos, the present time (11a), the existential moment of opportunity and decision…. Here, then, are the apostle’s three time references. The time is already here for us to wake up (11a); now our salvation is nearer than it was (11b); and the night has nearly given place to the day (12a). It is the familiar tension between the ‘now already’ of Christ’s first coming and the ‘not yet’ of his second.

Understanding what is appropriate to the time (Romans 13:12b–14)

1. Appropriate clothing: what (in the light of the time) it is appropriate for us to wear? The picture is that, because of the hour, we must not only wake up and get up, but get dressed as well. We must take off our night clothes, the deeds of darkness, and put on instead, as suitable daytime equipment for the soldiers of Christ, the armor of light.

2. Appropriate behavior: let us behave decently… as if the day had already dawned, and turn from the kind of things people do under cover of darkness: not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Opposed to decent Christian behavior is lack of self-control in the areas of drink, sex and social relationships.

3. Appropriate preoccupation: what it is which engrosses our attention as Christian people? The alternative set before us is either the Lord Jesus Christ or our fallen self-centered nature…. It is not only Christlikeness (‘compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience’) that we are to assume, but Christ himself, laying hold of him, and ‘living under him as Lord’.
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In summary: Romans 13 began with important teaching about how we can be good citizens (1–7) and good neighbors (8–10); it ends with why we should be. There is no greater incentive to the doing of these duties than a lively expectation of the Lord’s return…. That day is steadily approaching. Our calling is to live in the light of it, to behave in the continuing night as if the day had dawned, to enjoy the ‘now already’ of the inaugurated kingdom in the certain knowledge that what is still ‘not yet’, namely the consummated kingdom, will soon arrive.
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“Wayfaring Stranger” – Selah

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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Prayer: 17 September – Romans 13:8-10 ~ on neighbor-love

Reading through Romans

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening sentence

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory. You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.
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A reading from Romans: Romans 13:8-10 (NLT)

Owe nothing to anyone — except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These — and other such commandments — are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.
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Reflection: Romans 13:8-10 (John Stott, The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World)

The will of God for changed relationships: (Romans 12:1–15:13)

(Romans 13:8-10) Our relationship to the law: neighbor-love as its fulfillment

Three affirmations:

1. Love is an unpaid debt

There is one debt which will always remain outstanding, because we can never pay it, and that is our duty to love. We can never stop loving somebody and say, ‘I have loved enough.’ … we must love our neighbor, as Scripture commands, even though we will always fall short of the love required of us; ‘that perpetual debt of love’(JBP) will remain.

2. Love is the fulfillment of the law

Law and love are often thought to be incompatible. And there are significant differences between them, law being often negative (‘you shall not’) and love positive, law relating to particular sins and love being a comprehensive principle…. Love cannot manage on its own without an objective moral standard. That is why Paul wrote not that ‘love is the end of law’ but that ‘love is the fulfillment of the law’. For love and law need each other. Love needs law for its direction, while law needs love for its inspiration.

3. Love does no harm to its neighbor

Why does love sum up all the commandments? Because love does no harm to its neighbor (10a). Certainly the last five sins forbidden in the Ten Commandments harm people. Murder robs them of their life, adultery of their home and honor, theft of their property, and false witness of their good name, while covetousness robs society of the ideals of simplicity and contentment. All these do harm to the neighbor, whereas it is the essence of love to seek and to serve our neighbor’s highest good.

If then we truly love our neighbors, we will seek their good, not their harm, and we will thereby fulfill the law, even though we will never completely discharge our debt.
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“Love One Another”

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Canticle

Blessing

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Morning Prayer: 16 September – Romans 13:1-7 ~ conscientious citizenship

Reading through Romans

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening sentence

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory. You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.
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A reading from Romans: Romans 13:1-7 (NLT)

Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.

Pay your taxes, too, for these same reasons. For government workers need to be paid. They are serving God in what they do. Give to everyone what you owe them: Pay your taxes and government fees to those who collect them, and give respect and honor to those who are in authority.
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Reflection: Romans 13:1-7 (John Stott, The Message of Romans: God’s Good News for the World)

The will of God for changed relationships: (Romans 12:1–15:13)

(Romans 13:1-7) Our relationship to the state: conscientious citizenship

Relations between church and state have been notoriously controversial throughout the Christian centuries…. Church and state have different roles, and Christians have duties to both.

The authority of the state (Romans 13:1-3)

Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis listens to a customer following her office's refusal to issue marriage licenses at the Rowan County Courthouse in Morehead, Ky., Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015. Although her appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied, Davis still refuses to issue marriage licenses. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley) — Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis listens to a customer following her office’s refusal to issue marriage licenses at the Rowan County Courthouse in Morehead, Ky., Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2015. Although her appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied, Davis still refuses to issue marriage licenses. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

The state is a divine institution with divine authority. Christians are not anarchists or subversives…. Granted that the authority of rulers is derived from God, what happens if they abuse it, if they reverse their God-given duty, commending those who do evil and punishing those who do good? Does the requirement to submit still stand in such a morally perverse situation? No. The principle is clear. We are to submit right up to the point where obedience to the state would entail disobedience to God…. Whenever laws are enacted which contradict God’s law, civil disobedience becomes a Christian duty.
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Revelation 13 is a satanic parody of Romans 13. Yet both are true. ‘According as the State remains within its limits or transgresses them, the Christian will describe it as the Servant of God or as the instrument of the Devil.’ We are to submit to the state’s God-given authority, but it has been given for particular and not totalitarian purposes. ‘The gospel is equally hostile to tyranny and anarchy.’
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The ministry of the state (Romans 13:4–7)

The restraint and punishment of evil are universally recognized as primary responsibilities of the state. What is the distinction between the role of the state and that of the individual? Individuals are to live according to love rather than justice, whereas the state operates according to justice rather than love.

The role of the state is also to promote and reward goodness. Yet this positive function of the state is much neglected today. The state tends to be better at punishing than at rewarding, better at enforcing the law than at fostering virtue and service.
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In summary: Paul gives us in these verses a very positive concept of the state. In consequence Christians, who recognize that the state’s authority and ministry come from God, will do more than tolerate it as if it were a necessary evil. Conscientious Christian citizens will submit to its authority, honor its representatives, pay its taxes and pray for its welfare. They will also encourage the state to fulfill its God-appointed role and, in so far as they have opportunity, actively participate in its work.
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“Battle Hymn Of The Republic”