Not Passing Judgment

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bible Verses ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rom 14:1 Now him who is weak in faith receive, but not for
the purpose of passing judgment on his considerations. (2)
One believes that he may eat all things, but he who is weak
eats vegetables. (3) He who eats, let him not despise him who
does not eat; and he who does not eat, let him not judge him
who eats, for God has received him. (4) Who are you who judge
another's household servant? To his own master he stands or
falls; and he will be made to stand, for the Lord is able to
make him stand. (5) One judges one day above another; another
judges every day alike. Let each be fully persuaded in his
own mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Words of Ministry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In Romans 14 Paul himself was an excellent example of not
passing judgment on doctrinal reasonings, for he did not
express his opinion about which doctrine is right or wrong.
Certainly he knew the correct doctrines about eating and
about the keeping of days. Nevertheless, he did not take
sides, but charged all of us to be general and not to
criticize others. Let others be free to eat whatever they
want and to keep whatever day they want. To them one day is
holier than another, but to the ones who are stronger in
faith every day is the same.

We also must learn not to pass judgments on doctrinal
reasonings. When people ask you about the method of baptism
or the kind of water used, you should not get into a
doctrinal argument. In other words, do not make a judgment on
the matter. The best way to reply to doctrinal questions is
to help people to turn themselves from doctrinal concepts to
Christ who is our life. By nature, we are all inclined to
convince others and to argue with them about our concepts. We
must avoid that.

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Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible
and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee. Life-study of Romans,
pp. 335. Both are published by Living Stream
Ministry, Anaheim, CA. (Repeat 11/9/98)