Paul's plan to visit the church in Rome. Romans 15:22-33

As we close out chapter 15, I feel I need to recap verses 20, 21.

My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says, “Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand.”
(Romans 15:20-21 NLT)

So what did Paul say in the verses above?

• That he wanted to preach in places where the name of Jesus had never been heard;
• and that he wanted to lay a foundation among people who do not have a foundation already started by someone else.
• “Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand.”

Why would someone else's foundation be a bad thing?
In my last post, I asked a couple of questions along this line of thinking. The answer is, of course, it wouldn't unless they were laying a foundation that is dramatically different than what Paul has been laying and, most likely, in opposition.

The next question then is, what did Paul's foundation look like?

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18 NLT)

Obviously, the cross is central to who He is and who we are.

No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his, Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. (1 Corinthians 2:7-10 NLT)

The mystery; the things God has prepared for us; all of it has been revealed to us (those who follow after Him) by His Spirit.

Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God. We, too, are weak, just as Christ was, but when we deal with you, we will be alive with him and will have God’s power. (2 Corinthians 13:4 NLT)

Jesus was crucified in weakness; at least that is how the world perceives it. But, he now lives by the power of God, and we also live through that power.

My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 NLT)

In associating ourselves with the life of Christ, we became baptized (I am talking about water baptism, although NOT mandatory.) In doing that, we presented ourselves as dead in Christ. It doesn't end there, as we, by the same process, are made to rise with Him. Yes, it is all representational while we are here on earth, but there is a day coming when He shall gather those who are awaiting Him, to Himself.

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. (Galatians 5:24 NLT)

This foundation stone that we see in Galatians 5:24 is confusing for many because we get it preached to us in a manner that leads you to believe that you MUST live like this, and we cannot. Yes, the Holy Spirit, living inside of you, will lead and guide us into all truth, and, we are told, we cannot abide in sin. But the reality is that we will be somewhat tortured by our constant failures as we try to hit the bullseye. (Missing the bullseye is deemed to be sin.)

Mercy is certainly an aspect of that foundation.
It is an aspect that seems in opposition to the laws of God, that we find in the Old Testament; the mercy is there, but it is merely cloaked. Search within the letters that Paul wrote, and you will 19 references to Mercy; 22 if you include the letter to the Hebrews.
Here are a few.

1Corinthians 7:25  the Lord in his mercy has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it with you.

2Corinthians 4:1  Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, ...

Galatians 1:6 God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. ...

Ephesians 2:4-6 (NLT)  But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. ...

Colossians 3:12  God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, ...

1Timothy 1:16  God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. ...

Titus 3:5 he saved us, ... because of his mercy.

Hebrews 4:16 let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

So, to make this brief, the foundation Paul preached is:

• the cross,
• our being in Him,
• hope,
• and mercy.

If you think about the ramifications of those simple words, and what they mean to our relationship with the Father, they speak volumes.

With all that in mind, Paul says,

Rom 15:22  This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you. 

Here is where the NASB entitles the next section:

Paul's Plan to Visit Rome

As I sat through a book study on Acts, I never saw it as a planned visit. I saw phrases like this: “the Holy Spirit would not let them preach in Asia;” and, “the Spirit of Jesus would not let them.” On one occasion we got this,

During the night, Paul had a vision of someone from Macedonia who was standing there and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us!" After Paul had seen the vision, we began looking for a way to go to Macedonia. We were sure that God had called us to preach the good news there. (Acts 16:9-10 CEV)

Scripture does give us a well-spaced chain of events, that demonstrates Paul's desire to go to Rome.
In Acts 18:2 – 19:21 we learn that Priscilla and Aquila, acquaintances who have become close friends of Paul, had been forced out of Rome, along with all the other Jews, by the order of Emperor Claudius. This story ends with this: “Paul decided to visit Macedonia and Achaia on his way to Jerusalem. Paul had said, "From there I will go on to Rome."

In Acts 20:16 we see Paul migrating back to Jerusalem because “He was in a hurry and wanted to be in Jerusalem in time for Pentecost.” At almost every stop the Jews rose up against him when he spoke. Acts 21:10-11 finds Paul north of Jerusalem in Caesarea. After several days, the prophet Agabus, who came from Judea, south of Jerusalem, took Paul's belt, and with it tied up his own hands and feet, while saying, "The Holy Spirit says that some of the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will tie up the man who owns this belt, and, they will also hand him over to the Gentiles." The Gentiles, in this case, were the Roman guards.

The trek now has Paul, a prisoner, headed to Rome, as he, by right of citizenship, could appeal his case to Caesar, which he did. Storms, shipwrecks, and snakes; it sounds like an Indiana Jones movie.

In the midst of this journey, which I am sure some would see as nothing short of negative, “the Lord stood beside Paul and said, Don't worry! Just as you have told others about me in Jerusalem, you must also tell about me in Rome.” And that takes us to Acts 23:11.

Paul may have interacted with the very people he longed to see, but we do not see him physically going to their meeting place. What we do see, is that Paul got to preach to the virgin territory that Isaiah spoke of, the Emperor himself.

I give you Eugene Peterson's take on Paul's recollection.

Romans 15:23-29 MSG  But now that there is no more pioneering work to be done in these parts, and since I have looked forward to seeing you for many years,  I'm planning my visit. I'm headed for Spain, and expect to stop off on the way to enjoy a good visit with you, and eventually have you send me off with God's blessing.  First, though, I'm going to Jerusalem to deliver a relief offering to the Christians there.  The Greeks—all the way from the Macedonians in the north to the Achaians in the south—decided they wanted to take up a collection for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem.  They were happy to do this, but it was also their duty. Seeing that they got in on all the spiritual gifts that flowed out of the Jerusalem community so generously, it is only right that they do what they can to relieve their poverty.  As soon as I have done this—personally handed over this "fruit basket"—I'm off to Spain, with a stopover with you in Rome. My hope is that my visit with you is going to be one of Christ's more extravagant blessings.

Paul, by way of this letter, asks these fellow believers in Rome to pray, with some urgency, for him.

Romans 15:30 NLT  Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit.

Here is what he asked them to pray for.

Romans 15:31-32 NLT 

Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God.

Pray also that the believers there will be willing to accept the donation I am taking to Jerusalem.

Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other.

Stop and think about what he asked them. He asked to be rescued from those who refuse to obey God.

Doesn't that imply that in some manner, whether Jewish or a follower of Christ, they are refusing to obey God?

Several months ago I was involved in, what the leader called, a man-cave. It was just a bunch of guys who found a place they could, under the guise of being in a Christian environment, act like they were in a bar. Yep, I said it. I was already deep into this study of Romans and had seen how the law was still a part of our lives. In this mancave setting, I saw a horrendous correlation between what Paul said, is this law that is written upon our hearts, and an unrestrained concept of mercy and grace. This unrestrained version is a grace that some, not only preach but feel it gives them the right to refuse to obey God's law. Much to no avail, I pointed out that Jesus came to fulfill the law, NOT do away with the law. That law is God's law, and, as I said, it is written upon our hearts. It is what keeps you from going completely over the edge.

Why would believers, even if they are from the South, so to speak, in Judea, try to block Paul from taking a donation to Jerusalem?
To be honest, we don't have an answer to that. One thing that jumps out in my mind, is that Judea suffered a huge economic blow from a recent famine, and may be in a hoarding mode. (I covered this in the previous post.) You also noticed that I used the phrase, “the South.” Here in America, “the South” still carries overtones of bigotry, slavery, hard-drinking, and some generally rough characteristics. Now whether that is the case here, I don't know, but it could be. And there is one other thing. How would you know if someone was there to swindle you? Swindlers are not something new, as SIN has always been with us, and a swindler always thinks that someone is out to swindle them.

This leads me to a pastor of mine. Although I do not call him a friend, he is a decent and generous man. There were services when the Holy Spirit would be so evident, that he would forget to take up an offering; and yet, because he made sure the church tithed on the income they took in, we, as a church, were always able to pay our bills. Offerings were taken up to build in Mexico, and so we built; of all the things I have done in my life, that was the most rewarding. And, most recently, although an anonymous person had financed the construction of the building we use, and this financing had a ridiculously low-interest rate, with no pressure to pay it back, he once again took up an offering, because he felt strongly that we needed to pay this person off, and in rather short haste, we, as a church body did just that. The point here is this, we, as a church, learned to trust this pastor's financial leadership. Is this the case with Paul? We don't know.

Paul, as is his habit in closing, says,

Romans 15:33 NLT  And now may God, who gives us his peace, be with you all. Amen.

Paul, the minister to the Gentiles. Romans 15:14-21.

The letter to the Church that met in Rome was written approximately A.D. 58, from Corinth. In it, Paul very distinctly asserts that he is now the minister to the Gentiles.

Romans 15:14-16 NASB And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. (15) But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, (16) to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

We only know of one letter to the Church in Rome, and yet, Paul makes a point of saying “to remind you again.” It would seem then that something is missing from our equation; that is unless he is merely reminding them of an earlier discussion within the same letter, and it would appear that Romans 1:5 is that reference.

Through him, God gave me the privilege of being an apostle for the sake of Christ, in order to lead people of all nations to believe and obey. (Romans 1:5 GNB)

As you have read through my posts on Romans, you noticed how I emphasized that Romans was primarily a Jewish letter. It is passages like this that prove my point.

Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, (Romans 2:4-5 NASB)

The terminology used above is a well-known language when God speaks of Israel – the Jews. However, when you read language like this, “people of all nations,” then surely Paul is talking about the Gentiles.

In the Acts of the Apostles, written between A.D. 33 or A.D. 29, we see Peter's invitation to minister to the Gentiles in Acts 10:9-48. The events that we find in Acts 10 help to persuade Peter to enter the home of a Roman Centurion, a Gentile, and therefore promotes the idea that Peter was to be the missionary to the Gentiles. Invited into their home, Peter takes a position in the center of the floor and begins to preach. In the middle of Peter's best sermon, this Gentile family received the infilling of the Holy Spirit and spoke in other tongues. Peter was a bit taken back at this, as he and the other Jewish apostles thought that salvation and the Holy Spirit were an entirely Jewish matter. You would think that the events, on the Day of Pentecost, where Peter stepped out of character, under the power of the Holy Spirit and spoke boldly to the crowds there in the street, (That day over 3000 came to a knowledge of Jesus.) that this would have been more than enough to convince Peter that the Holy Spirit and the gospel message were not exclusive to the Jews.

If I had merely said that the 3000+ that day received Jesus as the Messiah, this would be so much easier to receive, because that phrase, Jesus as the Messiah, would put an appropriate Jewish spin on the scene. You see, the malady we Gentile (non-Jewish) believers have, is that we create scenarios that fit our understanding, regardless of whether they are what God wanted us to see. So, in this case, most Bible teachers will try to convince you that Paul, for at least 25 years, was an apostle to the Gentiles, and that was not the case.

Obviously, Paul, by the time he wrote this letter (to a church body that had Gentile believers in it,) was already coming to understand the greater calling – something that Peter never did figure out. To prove my statement about Peter, you need to ask why Peter withdrew from the Gentiles when the Jews came down to see what God was doing?

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James (the Jerusalem council,) he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, "If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? (Galatians 2:11-14 NASB)

Ask yourselves a question, where do we first meet Paul?
Our first interaction with the man is in Acts 7:58, where he is holding the cloaks of those righteous Jews, who were busy stoning Stephen. Saul, (who will shortly come to be known as Paul,) immediately turns his religious passion toward an elimination of these new followers of the way, which, by the way, were Jewish believers.

Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. (Acts 8:1 NASB)

This dispersion caused the gospel message to spread, and here is where we learn that the Gentiles were being told about the good news of Jesus Christ.

So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. (Acts 11:19-21 NASB)

But it doesn't say one thing about Peter, or Saul/Paul.

Now we bring Saul/Paul into the picture.

The news about them (the Gentile converts) reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year, they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. (Acts 11:22-26 NASB)

There is nothing in the passage above, that tells us Barnabas and Saul/Paul spoke exclusively to Jews, or, that they were now teaching the Gentile converts. However, in Acts 11:19-21, it clearly states that in Antioch Gentiles were coming to the Lord.

Verses 22-30 describe how the word got back to Jerusalem and the Apostles. A prophet among the Jerusalem council, named Agabus, got excited and went to Antioch; there he prophesied of a great famine, which we are told, happened during the reign of Claudius.

Acts 11:28 NASB, One of them named Agabus, stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.

Why is Claudius Caesar significant?
“This was probably the famine which took place in the fourth year of Claudius, which continued for several years,” and in which, says Josephus (Antiquities. Book. 20. chapter. 2), "many died for want of food.” The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury, Copyright © 2016 by Jerome H. Smith.
Perhaps this has some significance because, during the reign of Claudius Caesar over Rome, Helena, the queen of Adiabene, and her son Izates, changed their course of life, and embraced the Jewish customs. Her son eventually became the King of Jerusalem, which entails Judea, where the famine was severe. Izates' mother Helena made sure that many in Judea received assistance. It is possible that Helena and her son, the king, knew of Claudius' hatred for the Jews and were, therefore, taking their life in their hands to bring the Jews assistance. Rome was under the governance of both Claudius and Nero from (37-68AD), but one of the most disturbing leaders was Claudius, the adoptive father of Nero. Nero became the emperor in 54AD.

Acts 18:2 NASB And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them,

“In Corinth, Paul met Aquila and his wife, Priscilla. Aquila was a Jew, originally from Pontus, a province in northeast Asia Minor south of the Black Sea. Displaced from Rome because of an edict in a.d. 49 or 50 from Claudius for all the Jews to leave Rome.” THE BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY, An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty, Based on the New International Version, by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck

Before I move on, I want to say a few more things about Romans 15:16.

Again, the Jewishness of this letter shows up, as Paul says,

Romans 15:16 CJB  to be a servant of the Messiah Yeshua for the Gentiles, with the priestly duty of presenting the Good News of God, so that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering, made holy by the Ruach HaKodesh.

This is an extremely Jewish line of thinking as the terminology would mean nothing to most Gentiles. Priestly, expressly speaks of the Jewish priests and the temple service.

Paul adds, “so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” (NASB)

This is not like Abraham and the offering of Isaac as a sacrifice. The word for offering is prosphora and can also mean presentation. Having brought them into the kingdom, Paul, in a sense, presents them to God.

Note how it says that the Gentiles may become acceptable. Just this morning, my men's group was reading C.S. Lewis' book, Mere Christianity. In book four, chapter 10, entitled Nice People or New Men, he makes the comment that the transition to being perfect will not be completed in this life. In other words, something immense has to change, and we either die, or a change will take place. We followers know that this change will happen in the twinkling of an eye, at the rapture of the church. (1Corinthians 15:2) So, we should understand that we are always in transition until that day comes.

Romans 15:17 NASB Therefore, in Christ Jesus, I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God.

Boasting is the Greek word kauchēsis which also means confidence, or reason for boasting.
How does Paul put it? “in Christ Jesus, I have found reason for boasting in the things pertaining to God.” How do I perceive this statement? There is no boasting in anything else. Paul had a much to say along this line as well, as he had every reason to boast.

Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little. What I am saying, I am not saying as the Lord would, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. Since many boast according to the flesh, I will boast also. For you, being so wise, tolerate the foolish gladly. For you tolerate it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face. To my shame, I must say that we have been weak by comparison. But in whatever respect anyone else is bold--I speak in foolishness--I am just as bold myself. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ?--I speak as if insane--I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern? If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness. (2 Corinthians 11:16-30 NASB)

Continuing Paul's train of thought.

Romans 15:18 NLT  Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them.

Verse 18 is where this idea of the Gentiles being offered to God comes into play, when he says, "what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them.” It is hard to deny that Paul had a work among the Gentiles based upon what he says, but it is difficult to see, as his story, as related in the book of Acts, puts Paul in the synagogues at every turn, with the possible exception of Acts 17. However, this small piece of evidence pertaining to Paul's stop in Athens has holes in it, and I will show you why.

So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. And also, some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, "What would this idle babbler wish to say?" Others, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,"--because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. (Acts 17:17-18 NASB)

Note how the paragraph above starts; now, ask yourself, where is Paul when he doing this reasoning?

It starts in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles. Where is Paul at? He is in Athens Greece, where there is obviously a Jewish population, but try to imagine a Jewish congregation allowing Gentiles into their synagogue. I cannot picture that happening. Now, mind you, the world has changed a bit, and I suspect that I might today be allowed into the synagogue, but I am quite sure that I would be directed to a seat out of harm's way. This train of thought tends to tell me that these God-fearing Gentiles were converted to Judaism. None-the-less, the crowd in this synagogue is fairly versed in Grecian gods and mythology, as Paul was.

And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? Acts 17:19 NASB

No longer in the synagogue, his primary audience may well have been Gentiles, but mind you, it was the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles that brought him to this place.

So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. (Acts 17:22 NASB)

One more piece of perception.

If the Jews and “God-fearing Gentiles” brought him to the Areopagus, doesn't that tell you that they were worshiping a mixed bag of gods? I will leave you to sort that out. We tend to create an image that God, through Paul, did a great work in their lives, but that does not seem to be the case.

because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this." (Acts 17:31-32 NASB)

A mixed response, but nothing solid.

Romans 15:18-19 NASB For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, (19) in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

A bold statement from Paul.

• “ I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me.”

Look at the way Eugene Peterson's Message plays this out.

I have no interest in giving you a chatty account of my adventures, only the wondrously powerful and transformationally present words and deeds of Christ in me that triggered a believing response among the outsiders. (Romans 15:18 MSG)
[I replaced the word transformingly, which Peterson used, with what you see in italics. It just made more sense and did not seem made up.]

Romans 15:20 CJB  I have always made it my ambition to proclaim the Good News where the Messiah was not yet known so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation,

I will tell you what I think hurts our understanding of Paul's mission; it is a sad lacking of what God told him, that day on the road to Damascus. For all we know, the Father may have laid out his plan and purpose.

Think about this statement on Paul's part, “I have always made it my ambition to proclaim the Good News where the Messiah was not yet known.” This raises some questions, one of which Paul himself answers when he says, “so I would not be building on someone else's foundation.”

Why would someone else's foundation be a problem as long as you are preaching the same thing?

As long as you were preaching the same message, there would be no problem. But they were not building the same foundation.

What kind of foundations would Paul be dealing with?

When we, as believers, think of a foundation, we see it in religious terms, and we typically envision a decent foundation, one in which there is an understanding of Christ crucified, risen, and coming again to gather His church to Himself. One might expect that Peter and the Jerusalem council would have had this concept deeply ingrained, but that does not seem to be the case.

Some, that Paul ran into along the way, tried to hold the converts to strict Jewish standards, which included circumcision. In trying to find some common ground, the Apostles conferred upon a foundation by instructing that the Gentiles should NOT eat things strangled, nor animals with the blood still in them. I realize that is rather gross, but this was an aspect of the Mosaic law, and therefore foundational to the Jews. Paul had Timothy circumcised to keep the Jewish believers off his back.

Think about the fact that a major influencer, we see in the book of Acts, was Peter, and we already heard the written testimony of Paul, how that Peter, who had been eating and enjoying fellowship with the Gentiles, withdrew quickly from those believers when the representatives from the Jerusalem council came to see what God had been doing.

But ask yourself, did Paul go strictly to Holy Spirit empowered gatherings?

The answer is NO; he went to synagogues. While many of these synagogues may have Gentile converts, they would not have been converting to Christianity; they went there to embrace the God of the Jews.

Romans 15:21 AMP, ...They shall see who have never been told of Him, and they shall understand who have never heard [of Him]. [Isa. 52:15.]

John Gill's commentary says, “for the Messiah was not spoken of to the Gentiles.”

And yet, what did we learn earlier? 
That the promise to Abraham was to his descendants as well, and we have been adopted in and therefore, are descendants.

Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles, Romans 15: 8-13.

Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

When we closed our last post, we were counseled to welcome others, just as the Messiah has welcomed us. God nor Paul have changed their minds, and so we continue with Romans chapter 15, starting at verse 8.

Romans 15:8 CJB  For I say that the Messiah became a servant of the Jewish people in order to show God's truthfulness by making good his promises to the Patriarchs,

I appreciate how the CJB centers our focus on the Jewishness of Paul's letter when it says, the Messiah became a servant of the Jewish people. “The Messiah” is, of course, talking about Jesus, as we of non-Jewish understanding call him.

The Messiah came in order to do what?

• To show God's truthfulness (CJB).

The CEV translation tells us “that Christ came as a servant of the Jews to show that God has kept the promises he made.”

The ERV states that “Christ became a servant of the Jews to show that God has done what he promised.”

The NLT translation conveys: “that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.”

Confirm is the Greek word bebaioō and means to make firm, establish, confirm, or make sure.
What the translators have defined as promises is the Greek word epaggeliaand according to Strong's dictionary means an announcement (for information, assent or pledge; especially a divine assurance of good). According to Thayer's, it means a promise, the act of promising, or a promise given.

The LORD has announced his victory and has revealed his righteousness to every nation! He has remembered his promise to love and be faithful to Israel. The ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God. (Psalms 98:2-3 NLT)

To whom is God showing this faithfulness?
This question I asked above evokes another question in me. 

Is God still showing His faithfulness when He brings promised wrath against His people for disobedience?
You bet He is. The UCRT says this:

“Though the Canaanites were expelled for their wickedness, it does not follow, that the Israelites were established in their room on account of any distinguished virtue, or because they deserved it. On many occasions, it may be seen in the history of the world, that God punishes the wicked by the instrumentality of other men, who are as wicked as themselves.” [The Ultimate Cross-Reference Treasury is based upon The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge Copyright © 1992 by Jerome H. Smith and Nelson's Cross Reference Guide to the Bible © 2007 by Jerome H. Smith]
The general answer to the question, to who is God showing this faithfulness, or to whom did He show this faithfulness. The answer is spelled out in the verse itself and bulleted below.

• • To the patriarchs (the early fathers of the faith.)

Who is Paul referring to when he speaks of the patriarchs?
Deuteronomy 9:5 spells them out distinctly.

"It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Deuteronomy 9:5 NASB)

Peter validated what we see in Deuteronomy.

Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. (Acts 3:12-13 NLT)

And Stephen, in presenting his defense to the Jewish council, also told us who the fathers were.

‘I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with terror and did not dare to look. (Acts 7:32 NLT)

While the descendants do not qualify as founding fathers, the benefit given to the Fathers extends to their descendants as well.

“I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. (Genesis 17:7 NLT)

Could the Holy Spirit be referencing others besides these patriarchs, as well?
Let's say no, because He is making a point, and, as I indicated from Deuteronomy, there are three names that the Jewish community immediately brings to mind. Now, that doesn't prevent names like Elijah, Samuel, King David, and King Solomon from coming to mind, so perhaps there is an allusion to others. The Old Testament is filled with tales of people, who stepped out of their comfort zone and turned defeat into victory.

The following is from the Albert Barnes commentary.

Referencing Acts 3:25, Barnes states: “Ye are the children of the prophets - Greek: “Ye are the sons of the prophets.” The meaning is, not that they were literally the “descendants” of the prophets, but that they were their “disciples,” “pupils,” “followers.” They professed to follow the prophets as their teachers and guides. Teachers among the Jews were often spoken of under the appellation of fathers, and disciples as sons, Mat_12:27.”

However, we, the Gentiles who have been grafted in, get to be partakers in these promises.

• • And, as we will see, the Gentiles/Nations.

We talked about the nations, in detail, when we covered Romans 11. Here is a little example.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,
(Romans 11:17 NASB)

We, from among the nations, are grafted in when we accept Jesus as the Messiah.

• • By making good his promises to the Patriarchs.

At the time of Paul's writing, had God, at least to some degree, done this already? Without a doubt, and yet He was nowhere close to done. Well over 2000 years later, there is no doubt that the descendants of Abraham are like the sands of the seashore.

But what promises did God make?
In our example to Abraham, we see this:

I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them! “I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. And I will give the entire land of Canaan, where you now live as a foreigner, to you and your descendants. It will be their possession forever, and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:6-8 NLT)

The Abrahamic covenant was confirmed in Isaac.

Now there was a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to Abimelech king of the Philistines. The LORD appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I shall tell you. "Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father, Abraham. "I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws." (Genesis 26:1-5 NASB)

With Jacob, we see this.

Then Jacob departed from Beersheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and spent the night there because the sun had set, and he took one of the stones of the place and put it under his head and lay down in that place. He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. "Your descendants will also be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." (Genesis 28:10-15 NASB)

So if I ask to whom else are these promises given, just look at verse 9.

Romans 15:9-11 AMP And [also in order] that the Gentiles (nations) might glorify God for His mercy [not covenanted] to them. As it is written, Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles and sing praises to Your name. [Ps. 18:49.] (10) Again it is said, Rejoice (exult), O Gentiles, along with His [own] people; [Deut. 32:43.] (11) And again, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him! [Ps. 117:1.]

And the Gentiles will give glory to God for His mercy.
Doesn't that mean we, the Gentiles, would learn of His mercies somehow?
Of course, it does, and that is why some of us study the Bible.

This is why:

• Paul was taken into custody,
• Peter preached to the Centurion,
• Saul attacked the church so violently in its early stages and drove them to the outer reaches, all the while preaching this good news of Jesus the Messiah.

Romans 15:12 AMP And further Isaiah says, There shall be a Sprout from the Root of Jesse, He Who rises to rule over the Gentiles; in Him shall the Gentiles hope. [Isa. 11:1, 10; Rev. 5:5; 22:16.]

What exactly does Isaiah say?

Like a branch that sprouts from a stump, someone from David's family will someday be king. The Spirit of the LORD will be with him to give him understanding, wisdom, and insight. He will be powerful, and he will know and honor the LORD. His greatest joy will be to obey the LORD. This king won't judge by appearances or listen to rumors. The poor and the needy will be treated with fairness and with justice. His word will be law everywhere in the land, and criminals will be put to death. Honesty and fairness will be his royal robes. (Isaiah 11:1-5 CEV)

And Paul closes out this section with his own blessing.

Romans 15:13 NASB Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

To use the word may is to include it as a variable. If it is a variable, then what are the parameters upon which this God of Hope fills you all joy and peace?
For example, I struggle with peace, in the sense that I don't always handle external inputs well, this includes screaming grandkids and loud televisions. By the way, all the inputs seem to be external.

While many of the translations read like the NASB above, or the NIV below,
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Several come across in this manner.

(NLT)  I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Here, in the NLT translation, I get an honest sense of Paul, when he says, I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely; this is the type of language that we often hear Paul use. One example comes from his letter to the church in Ephesus.

do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might. (Ephesians 1:16-19 NASB)

Hope is the Greek word elpis and means an expectation of good, or to anticipate, usually with pleasure.

So a rewrite of verse 13 could sound like this:
May the God of expectation fill you …. Expectation is a part of who we are.

The phrase “with all” is the Greek word pas and means all, any, every, the whole.

Joy is the Greek word chara and means cheerfulness, and calm delight.

The phrase “by the power of the Holy Spirit” is the Greek word pisteuō and means to believe, or have faith in.

So Paul has prayed that we May (have) the God of expectation fill (us in) any, every, and all cheerfulness and calm delight, as we (empowered by the Holy Spirit) believe or have faith (in God to come through with His promises to us.)

We are now officially living in conditions that most of us in America, had never experienced (although my parents lived through the depression).


Now is the time for prayers like what we see in verse 15, to be a part of our expectation and thinking. God has a plan and He will deliver.

Here it is, April 4, 2020, and I feel a strong compulsion to address fear.

We are surrounded by negativity and fear.

The daily news is feeding into the fear by amplifying aspects of the most recent virus while inflating the death tolls.

What am I talking about?
What we now call Covid 19, and what it has done to global populations.

Here in America, we are supposed to be on home quarantine. Obviously, some could care less.

We have yet, at the time of this writing, to be put on mandatory facial mask usage, and we can still go out to the store for groceries, if necessary. I, personally, have not experienced the lines and mazes, as stores now monitor the number of people that enter, all to maintain “social distancing.”

Watching my pastor on YouTube this morning, he spoke of something that I had made a note of several days ago, as we encounter those in the market, who have masks on, there is an immediate reaction that says, this person is very fearful, or, they are a threat. This last aspect became vital to me about a week ago, as I stood in a self check out line at Walmart. In the next line, approximately eight feet away from me, a lady began to cough repeatedly. I looked to see her inadvertently form a cone with her hand, to do what, direct whatever she was hacking up toward me. I thought, how obnoxious. The ladies behind me and I wished that she was wearing a mask.

This self quarantining, along with mandatory closures of our Churches, has done a great job of adding to the fear.
My wife recently asked me, aren't you afraid of touching surfaces. I responded with, no more than I have ever been, and yet, for all I know, I have never contracted a hideous disease from grabbing a shopping cart. Now I have been entirely disgusted, particularly when some non-caring employee wipes the seat of a chair and then the tabletop.

Recently, before we got excluded from all sit-down restaurants, we went to a small one, that had, at least, closed off every other table to maintain some distance between customers. This particular place is small and always packed. I touched my hand to the tabletop and found it to be sticky no matter where I put my hand. My wife told me, as though she had seen them do it, that they had installed too much resin in the epoxy. Garbage, they did a lousy job of cleaning.

It would seem that we are naive, believing whatever they tell us or we are being lied to.
I just learned that Bill Gates attended a conference in New York, last October, to talk about this very thing, and yet nothing was done to stop it. This was about the same time that the Wuhan/Covid virus was beginning to be talked about.
We all assumed that this stupid disease, much like bird flu, would stay there, but it did not. I have since learned that the author, Dean Koontz, was writing about this very thing, as far back as 1985 in one of his action novels.
Many have spoken of how this so-called virus was intentionally weaponized, and that the Chinese, whom the United States had applied many tariffs, to get them to comply with reason, may have done this deliberately, as the Chinese are now scooping up businesses and properties in Italy – who is next.
It turns out that the powering up of 5G antennas in and around Wuhan may have initiated this disease, as 5G cell towers have been proven to have detrimental effects on living things, and they cause cell disruptions to the point that the cells produce fatal toxins in the body.
It is also possible that the 5G towers can cause these deadly toxins to exude from our bodies in an aerosol form; hence, they now believe that the act of breathing can make us deadly to others around us.

I opened by saying this all feeds into the fear.
Until recently, I had no idea about the ramifications of the 5G cell towers, and they are everywhere at this point.

So, did my naivety leave me fearless?
Are you kidding me? I have been battling with fear my entire life, and sadly, I suspect that many of you have as well.

Is there a Biblical response to this Fear?
Absolutely. Let's start with this.

Isaiah 43:1 NASB But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!

Many translations say, Fear Not, that is not so easy to do, especially when you are getting hit from multiple directions at the same.

God is not asking us NOT to Fear. He is telling us, directly, why?
The answer is in the passage, and the passage tells us, because He redeemed us, and called us, personally, by our names, and we are His.

If you were passing by, would this work for you? Probably not, for it seems as if something more is needed, and that is precisely why the Apostle Paul spoke this prayer over the church in Rome, and recorded it in Romans 15:13. It goes like this.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (NLT)

If God went to the trouble of learning our names, regardless of what we would do, calling us personally, and then redeeming us; then He surely wanted us to have an expectation that someday all the promises he made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and then us, were going to come to pass, and that they applied to us as well. All this means that NO MATTER what happens and what becomes of us, we will be secured in His hands, with Him, forever.

Does this make facing tough times easier? Perhaps not.

Have you ever seen the movie Braveheart? 
I bring this up because, in the movie, common men had to steel themselves and encourage themselves to fight. There was no doubt that some would die in these battles, but to do nothing meant certain death. I don't know that we are in that position as yet; and, I am not sure that I can tell you what to do if we were, but I do know that we are called to pray, and as I have stated on previous occasions, pray as if your life depended upon it.

God is NOT telling us to take up swords and fight; this becomes clear when you read this.

“Put away your sword,” Jesus told him. “Those who use the sword will die by the sword.” Matthew 26:52 NLT 

Then what do we fight with?

We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 2 Corinthians 10:4 NLT 

We pray!

Jesus told us, in Matthew 24:8, that the things we have been seeing are the beginning of birth pains.

Do birth pains go on for years?
Perhaps on God's timeline, but take note that He is using human language so that these birth pains can be understood in relatively human terms. The ceremoniously religious will tell you that we can't know when Jesus is coming for His church; they will even quote where Jesus said, no man, not even the Son, knows the day or the hour, but they leave off the part about how He was answering a Jewish question, in a manner that His audience would understand. Those hearing these words that Jesus spoke, knew how the new moon would be here and detectable, on either, one expected day or the other, depending upon the cloud cover; and, if it could not be seen, then the high priest would declare the beginning of the new month because it should be here.
Can you see the variability in this?

 Not knowing the day or the hour is a relative thing, and anyone, with half a brain, understood approximately when the new moon would arrive. Jesus, however, said nothing, at this point, about not knowing the season, and folks, we are in it, neck-deep.

This entire scenario that we are in was created to migrate us into a much larger, full-scale operation.

Do people like Boris Johnson, the Prime minister of Britain, have to end up in the ICU at the hospital in order for the scenario to play itself out? 
Apparently.

The closure of Churches is not a coincidence, and yes, you can scream at me all day about the health reasons, but I have had to make ventures to Walmart, and trust me on this, it is scarier there than in church.

What's the biggest difference between Walmart and the church?
In the church, we pray for each other because the Bible tells us that the prayer of faith will heal them.

What if what is going on around us, was meant to draw you away from God?
Are you going to let that happen? Are you going to live in fear?
Why would you do that when scripture tells us that anything not done in faith is fear, and fear, is missing the mark (sin.)

Here is how you are to live in these last days.

“... And live peacefully with each other.

Brothers and sisters, we urge you to

warn those who are lazy.

Encourage those who are timid.

Take tender care of those who are weak.

Be patient with everyone.

See that no one pays back evil for evil,

but

always try to do good to each other and to all people.

Always be joyful.

Never stop praying.

Be thankful in all circumstances,

for

this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

(1 Thessalonians 5:13-18 NLT)

Live in such a way ... Romans 14:13-23.

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

Paul opens Romans 14 by talking about those who don't believe what you believe and, therefore, can't eat what you eat. In some translations, Paul is said to call this a weaker faith. In other translations, like the Message, it tells you, “don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with.” These disagreements happen frequently, and have, in my opinion, everything to do with tradition and lousy teaching.

The subject continues to the point where Paul feels he has to admonish the reader:

Who are you to criticize someone else's servant? The Lord will determine whether his servant has been successful. The servant will be successful because the Lord makes him successful. (Romans 14:4 GW)

The servant, in this sentence, belongs to the Lord; and, as far as I can tell, means everybody, whether they are living up to a Christian standard, or not.
Need proof?

If we live, we honor the Lord, and if we die, we honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (Romans 14:8 GW)

If we are having disagreements over what we believe, let's get on the same page.

The basis of our belief is Christ crucified and risen from the dead. You can't make a statement like that without an understanding of the effect of Christ's actions.
Perhaps this is oversimplified, but here goes.
By our acceptance of Christ's death and resurrection, we have, in the spiritual realm, followed in Christ's footsteps; we call that being buried with Him into baptism. God, because of Christ's actions, caused us to be raised together with Him. When Christ rose to new life, so did we. Christ is our redemption, which means that by His blood, we have been purchased back from the enemy and made righteous in the Father's eyes. That same blood covered ALL of our sins, and we are forgiven. This forgiveness was offered to the entirety of humanity, from the beginning of time, and includes this very moment. The requirement is little more than faith in Jesus Christ.
(To those who must complicate things, I offer you the thief on the cross. If we are looking for actions that go well beyond some simple faith, what did this man do? When you figure it out, you will see nothing more than simple faith.)

As we proceed into Romans 14, Paul refers to our status, when he calls the believers servants.

Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master, he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Romans 14:4 NASB)

Does that seem right that believers would be judging believers?
We know Paul is writing to believers because he addresses this letter to the church in Rome. The word “church” is not meant to describe a building but the biological entity formed through our relationship with Christ.

With that in mind, doesn't this statement, “to his own master,” strike you as odd?
It almost gives the sense that there are other masters out there, but you know that is not the case, as Paul is merely painting a word picture to get your attention. You wouldn't dare walk into another person's house and try to correct what the servants are doing, especially when what they are doing may be precisely what the master has asked them to do. Since we all belong to the Lord, then we are all servants. Setting aside the negative ramifications of that term, let's come to grips with the idea that we belong to Him; there is no way around this, that is unless you purposefully choose to follow another master, Satan.

Assuming that we are judging each other over doctrinal differences, we need to stop, and that is why Paul carries that discussion a little farther, as he begins to look at this judging from another angle.

Romans 14:13 NASB Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.

• “but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.”

Judging, or being judged because you see things differently, should not be a stumbling block, so there is more to this statement than meets the eye, and we need to find out what that is. Many of the commentaries indicate that Romans 14:13 is referring to a weaker brother in Christ. If they were young in the Lord, then what, they would not have the knowledge base with which to stand their ground or retaliate. In my own experience, a brother in Christ tried to show off his prowess in the Old Testament stories, by asking, how big was David when he slew Goliath? Since no one chose to answer him (typically, when a person asks a question like this, they already have an answer in mind, and are typically prepared to humiliate whoever responds,) I did. His response back to me was what I expected, angry, with the obligatory attempt at humiliating me. It did not work as I stood my ground as I responded with scriptures that backed my argument. How many stumbling blocks did this brother create in his attempt to destroy me? Hopefully, we may never know, but one thing is for sure, he did not care how I would receive such an attack, nor was he concerned about how others might perceive what he was doing.

Who was it that was shown the blanket being let down, filled with ceremoniously unclean animals?
Peter.

Where then did Paul come to this understanding?
Is it possible that Paul had heard Peter's words related to him in his journeys, or perhaps he had heard Jesus' words?

"Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated? "But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. (Matthew 15:17-18 NASB)

We honestly don't know the answer to my question above, but there was that day on the road to Damascus.

Romans 14:14 NASB I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

Paul, writing to Timothy says,

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:4-5 NASB)

And to Titus, Paul writes:

To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. (Titus 1:15 NASB)

Here, in the NASB translation, we see Paul talking about something that has the potential to be unclean. Now, we have evidence to prove that Paul is talking to a mixed congregation and that the majority of this congregation is Jewish. With that in mind, most of us understand the Jews have dietary restrictions that prevent them from eating a pulled-pork sandwich. But to most Gentiles, this is not an issue, and many would say, bring it on.

What does Romans 14:14 say,

“I, (Paul) am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself.” However, to those who think that thing you are eating is unclean, it is unclean.

Why does this thought process, about the Jewish side of the household, have any impact on the Gentile believers, who have come to the potluck lunch that the church is having?

I can't see it having any impact at all, but apparently, it should, because, as Paul tells us, “but rather determine this--not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.”

This statement then, doesn't just apply to the Gentiles, (as some would try to convince you,) who may be joining in with a Jewish oriented congregation; it applies to the Jews as well, but why?

You might think that we Gentiles don't have rituals we practice, but having come out of the world with its numerous gods and behaviors, I can say, we have plenty.

An example: About a year ago, I went to a men's retreat. The speaker was from a Vineyard church in Colorado, that goes by the name, “The Sanctuary.”
The speaker had an earned Doctorate in sexual therapy and spoke very candidly about the damage we men have sustained in our lives. In his introduction, he talked about policies of the “Sanctuary” church, and He said, we allow anyone to come to our church, and he spoke of allowing some who were openly gay to be involved in leadership. (Now, to be fair, he did not define what he meant by leadership, and because of that, I chose to give the man some grace. You should also give some consideration to things like recovery and how people who go through the program can still say, "Hi, my name is, and I am a recovering ___." If God has moved in their life, then it is not unusual to have such a person in leadership. Mike Waddel, CEO of My Pillow fame just recently addressed the nation, at the President's request, and said this is a nation that needs to turn back to God. He is a person who went through recovery.) Someone in the audience, there at camp, attempted to refute the speaker, he responded by saying, yes, we do allow them, but they cannot be practicing sin and serve in our church. Later that day, a brother from my church sat with me at lunch and asked me what I thought of what the speaker had said. Having learned to hesitate for a moment before answering such questions, I stopped and listened to the Holy Spirit, who told me, this brother is looking for a fight. As the speaker had also talked about how people, even those who are trapped in sin, need a hug, I answered in this manner; I think hugging people is a good idea (of course there was no Covid 19 at this point.)
The brother who asked the question then showed his true colors as he did precisely what Paul was talking about, judging another master's servant; he started getting loud and angry, saying that sin is sin, and we need to be preaching about sin and how it will send you to hell. I could not agree with his attitude, nor his doctrine, as I tend to see glutenous over-eaters as sinners, and we would not think of sending them to hell.

How would you know someone is practicing sin while serving in your church?
There are only a few ways; evidence or their big mouths.
If it is their big mouths, then they are bragging about their sins.
Paul speaks of such a person in 1Corinthians.

It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father's wife. (1 Corinthians 5:1 NASB)

Although, someone being openly gay seems like an unforgivable sin to many, how is it any different from the pastor that secretly pursues pornography at home; at least the openly gay person is being honest about their sin? It is still sinning, and, if we hold to a standard for one, then don't we have to maintain the same standard for all, and we don’t do that.

So, here we are back at Romans 14:13 again.

So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. (Romans 14:13 NLT)

We are not talking about the world; this is directed at believers within the church.
Having been excoriated, in a “bible study” setting, on several occasions, I can tell you that it is not comfortable; and, I found myself having to choose not to get into an embroiled battle with these Christian brothers. They, on the other hand, apparently ripped this page out of their bibles because it obviously intruded into their beliefs, and they did not want anything to impeded their ability to peddle their false doctrines and unbelief.

Most people see words, like those that Paul delivers, as law, and maybe they are, but since God has seen fit to write those laws upon every heart within the believer, then you should consider the reality that God's law continues to be our guide.

Continue to think like a Jew might as we progress.

Romans 14:14 NASB I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

Peter may be our grandest example in this conversation about something unclean. The Holy Spirit showed Peter, in a vision or dream, the blanket coming down, filled with unclean animals. The voice associated with that blanket told Peter to eat.
Peter's response was this:

But Peter said, "By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean." (Acts 10:14 NASB)

There is such an air of audacity on the part of Peter.
What if the response back to Peter went like this, I am not asking your opinion, I am telling you to eat! Fortunately, for all of us, God is long-suffering and patient.

Did Peter think that it was unclean?
He certainly did, and yet God was able to open Peter's eyes to understand that He was talking about Cornelius, and taking the message to the Gentiles.

So, a brother in Christ, is having a meltdown about something you are eating; are you serious?
Paul continues.

Romans 14:15 CEV  If you are hurting others by the foods you eat, you are not guided by love. Don't let your appetite destroy someone Christ died for.

• “If you are hurting others by the foods you eat,” I can be offended by the manner in which you eat, especially if you are making slurping noises with every spoonful.

We all know that slurping noise is not what Paul is talking about; he is talking about things that may border on ritual. Look, we have all come from somewhere. Most people that found the church body they are currently attending came there because of some hurt or disagreement. I know I did. In our coming from some other assembly, there may have been incense and smoke; some dip bread pieces that the church members have ripped from a loaf and have dipped in grape juice, while others pass communion trays. Some believe that the cracker and juice become Jesus' body, in our bodies, while others see it as symbolic. Do we have the potential for clashes in these procedures? Without a doubt.

The Greek word for hurt is lupeō and means distressed.
Earlier in this post, I talked about a brother in Christ who got distressed, because he refused to hear what the speaker was saying.
When Paul speaks of foods, he uses the Greek word brōma. This word takes on a whole new meaning when you look up the Strong's concordance definition. It speaks primarily to (ceremonial) articles allowed or forbidden by the Jewish law – meat.
So now we can understand that Paul is talking to the person that brings their own sandwich, and it's pulled pork.
If that is what you are doing, bringing a pulled-pork sandwich, simply to prove some twisted point, then you fall under the second half of this verse.

• “If you are hurting others by the foods you eat, you are not guided by love.”

A lawyer asked Jesus what the greatest commandment is?
His answer,

"... 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' (Matthew 22:36-39 NASB)

I can understand this in one of several ways. Since I do not want to be hurt, then I should not hurt, nor cause hurt, and the person, in our scenario of Romans 14:15 is doing just that, when shoves things in his mouth with the intention of causing angst in the onlookers.

But what if I don't love myself?
Then there is definitely something in me that needs to be fixed, and that can only be done through a relationship with Jesus Christ. (That, of course, means that you can be painfully honest about yourself and submit to sound people speaking into your life.) Lacking a loving example to teach you how to love others, then follow some good examples and be willing to take advice. Submit to others in a recovery situation. This submission thing may be more comfortable to swallow along as you understand that you are a slave to Christ.

The last part of this verse in the ESV reads like this:

• “Don't destroy anyone's faith by eating something they think is wrong. Christ died for them.”

Didn't we recently study something comparable? Absolutely.

Welcome all the Lord's followers, even those whose faith is weak. Don't criticize them for having beliefs that are different from yours. Some think it is all right to eat anything, while those whose faith is weak will eat only vegetables. But you should not criticize others for eating or for not eating. After all, God welcomes everyone. What right do you have to criticize someone else's servants? Only their Lord can decide if they are doing right, and the Lord will make sure that they do right. (Romans 14:1-4 CEV)

I will repeat something I recently stated; there are those who will say, I am not under the law! We say things like this because of improper teaching, for the law, that you are trying to avoid; the one that seems to constrain you when you want to drink wildly, is written upon your hearts, all ten of them – including, love your neighbor, as yourself. So, sorry, you don't get to use that as an excuse for your bad behavior.

And that takes us to the next verse.

Romans 14:16 NASB Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;

A couple of things stand out for me. Initially, I used a different translation, which I want you to see.

Don't let your right to eat bring shame to Christ. (Romans 14:16 CEV)

If Christ is God, and He is, then do you seriously think that you can bring shame to God? God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are so far beyond all that. The Muslims tend to think this way, and therefore are willing to kill you for bringing shame to Allah. How pathetically silly.
We can, however, by our brash stupidity, cause others to want nothing to do with us, nor the God we serve. (On that note, Franklin Graham, in early March of 2020 was wanting to do large evangelistic meetings in Britain, but was banned by church leaders, because, as they said, he no longer reflects the morals and political correctness of the current day. In other words, they knew he would speak out against sin.)

Because I now look intently at scripture through Jewish eyes, I can almost hear Paul's voice as he says,

Romans 14:17 CEV  God's kingdom isn't about eating and drinking. It is about pleasing God, about living in peace, and about true happiness. All this comes from the Holy Spirit.

Frequently, there are words that I want to drape across the roof of my house, like a billboard, and verse 17 is one of them. Note those words, living in peace; wouldn't that be wonderful?

God's kingdom isn't about eating and drinking. It is about pleasing God, about living in peace, and about true happiness.

I read these words, and think if only I/we could attain this peace and true happiness. It can be attained.

Romans 14:18 NLT  If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too.

Backing up to verse 17 once again but from the Amplified Bible.

[After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

So, the kingdom of God has little to do with our rituals, but with righteousness. Since we have no righteousness of our own, then that righteousness has to come expressly from God.
When did that happen?
At the cross, as Christ became our righteousness. We, of course, have to accept that righteousness from God by believing in the Son.
Can you see the simplicity, for us, in this situation? 
Christ's bloody sacrifice brought about our permanent righteousness. I know, many shriek at such a thought, because it wreaks of eternal salvation. For me, I have seen the world, and want no part of it. I long for the day when I get to look into His eyes that emit nothing but love.

How do I attain this righteousness?
Well, we just talked about that, but Paul adds this.

Romans 14:19 NASB So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.

What is another way to say this? Love your neighbor as yourself.

Romans 14:20 CEV  Don't let your appetite destroy what God has done. All foods are fit to eat, but it is wrong to cause problems for others by what you eat.

That word appetite, by definition, covers many items. For some, who talk about their appetite for women, it can mean debauchery and lust. For many, it covers your passions and desires. Even here, with a bent toward eating something like barbecued pork, you know that eating a sandwich in innocence, is NOT what is being expressed. We covered this subject earlier, and it has everything to do with shoving your freedoms down someone else's throat. Simply put, it is wrong to cause problems for others by your objectionable actions.

Romans 14:21 CEV  It is best not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that causes problems for other followers of the Lord.

An obvious point here is this, is what I do in the sanctity of my home, offending people?
Certainly not, but if you stand around the crowd at your gathering, and legalistically put people down (judge them), and then they run into you buying a case of beer and a ham. You are nothing more than a hypocrite and an embarrassment to the church as a whole. Your alcoholic acquaintances may now think that they have the freedom, under your definition of grace, to go back to being a drunkard.

Romans 14:22-23 CEV  What you believe about these things should be kept between you and God. You are fortunate if your actions don't make you have doubts.  (23)  But if you do have doubts about what you eat, you are going against your beliefs. And you know that is wrong because anything you do against your beliefs is sin.

Words to live by:

• What you believe about these things should be kept between you and God.
• You are fortunate if your actions don't make you have doubts.
• But if you do have doubts about what you eat, you are going against your beliefs. And you know that is wrong because anything you do against your beliefs is sin.

This last line applies to both sides of the fence. Having angrily put people in their place because you feel strongly about SIN and Hell's fires, only to later be CAUGHT doing the very thing you preached against, demonstrates that you are going against your own beliefs, and therefore sinning.
Jeez, if you are an advocate of people going to hell over the simplest of sins, then you should be there as well.

Perhaps we need to calm down and demonstrate grace to people, by giving them a hug (once it is safe to do so again.)