Disciples are still people. We have challenges interacting with others. This daily devotional begins looking at how strong disciples interact with weak disciples.
Nuggets
- A disciple strong in faith has a good grasp of spiritual knowledge.
- We are not to give rise to contentious feelings among disciples.
- We are not to judge those we consider are spiritually weaker than us.
- A disciple weak in faith is separated from Jesus.
- Sometimes, it is just as easy for the weak to judge the strong.
- God wants all of His children to be unified.
- We can’t force someone to think our way.
- A uniting factor should be our sincerity.
To read devotions in the Redo for Godliness series, click the appropriate button below.
Devotions in the Transformed to Perfection series
If we look at the Sanctification Road as a continuum, we could be anywhere on our continuum. That means we could be either strong in our faith or weak.
But others could be anywhere on their continuum, too. When we are at differing ends, it can be challenging at times.
Paul addressed that in the beginning of Romans 14. We know he was all about unity.
We are going to structure the discussion by using Lyth’s Strong and Weak sermon. The purple and the blue headings are his words.
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The name of this section in my Bible is Law of Liberty. That is why I picked that for the series name.
Transparency here. I am not real sure how this is going to shake out.
Let's Put It into Context #1
Here is a running list of what we’ve discussed previously.
For Those Who Are Strong in the Faith
“Welcome anyone who is weak in faith, but don’t argue about disputed matters. One person believes he may eat anything, while one who is weak eats only vegetables” (Rom. 14: 1-2 CSB)
A disciple strong in faith has a good grasp of spiritual knowledge.
Faith is the conviction that the doctrines revealed in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them, a belief which impacts our lives. Here, Paul was talking about how strong or weak that faith is.
Tyson defined who someone strong in their faith is. He wrote, “The question was, did Christianity or did it not require abstinence from certain meats, and observance of certain fasts and festivals? The man who maintained that it did is here held to be weak in the faith. He had but faintly grasped the breadth of Christ’s redeeming work; while he who had attained superior light, and had been set free from all such scruples, was therefore strong in the faith.”
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The problem is that people interpret Scriptures to mean different things. Some say abstinence is the way to go. Some say faith allows us to do whatever we want.
Tyson said some believed that disciples have to strictly observe certain fasts and festivals. He contended that wasn’t what Paul said. “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day” (Col. 2: 16 NIV).
Wait! What?
We can hit every service — and not be worshiping. We can be singing — and not praising God.
It isn’t what we do. It is having God’s character. It is being.
Not to Provoke
We are not to give rise to contentious feelings among disciples.
Woodcock is right when he wrote that “opposition breads opposition.” Stirring the pot does not promote peace within the ranks.
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We can’t force someone to believe the same way that we do. What Tyson was taking the long way to say was that we shouldn’t judge someone because of their opinions. We shouldn’t make our opinion of the law.
This is especially true if it is over something trivial. We shouldn’t break our unity over something that, in comparison, is not important.
Lyth said that, many times, the difference of opinion comes from ignorance. My Ladies and I were talking today about Job’s hymn of wisdom. None of us is going to know everything. We shouldn’t force our opinion on someone else when we can be wrong.
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To read a related devotion, click the button below.
Only God has full wisdom and knows exactly how everything is and should be. He only tells us a part.
Nor Despise Those Who Are Weak
We are not to judge those we consider are spiritually weaker than us.
Henry made a good point. Though they are weak, they are still disciples. They are still spiritually alive.
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Paul talks time and time again about being unified. I know. We still struggle with that one, don’t we?
We are brothers and sisters in Christ. (That is all Paul is talking about here. He isn’t talking about worldview people.)
We are to support each other. What did Jesus tell Peter? “Feed my sheep …” (Jn. 21: 18 CSB). He wants us to take care of each other, not be divided.
We need to love each other. That is what we are commanded to do.
For Those Who Are Weak
A disciple weak in faith is separated from Jesus.
Woodcock used several verses to describe who the weak disciples are.
- “He doesn’t hold on to the head, from whom the whole body, nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, grows with growth from God” (Col. 2: 19 CSB).
- “There were indeed false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, and will bring swift destruction on themselves” (II Pet. 2: 1 CSB).
- “At the same time, they also learn to be idle, going from house to house; they are not only idle, but are also gossips and busybodies, saying things they shouldn’t say” (I Tim. 5: 13 CSB).
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Not to Judge Their Stronger Brethren
Sometimes, it is just as easy for the weak to judge the strong.
A weak disciple can judge a stronger disciple for what they believe in, also. They may perceive that the stronger disciple is judging them when they really aren’t.
They shouldn’t do that, either.
For Both
God wants all of His children to be unified.
Disciples should be patient with each other.
We have to remember we are all still capable of sinning. We can still sin — and we will sin.
We also have to remember that we are still growing. We are working out our salvation and determining what that really means.
We are each seeking God’s Will in our lives.
To Think and Let Think
We can’t force someone to think our way. We are all individual persons. We have had differing experiences.
I like what Beecher said. He wrote, “We are not to attempt to shape men to that which we think they ought to be in a hard and systematic manner.”
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We see God differently — and that probably changes by what trial we are facing. But that is okay.
God is everything to everyone. He is what we need when we need it.
To Give Each Other Credit for Sincerity
A uniting factor should be our sincerity.
Oh, wow. Lyth was the only one who mentioned giving each other credit for sincerity.
Wouldn’t that be a great way to bridge the gap between strong and weak disciples? Surely, we can find one thing on which to compliment others.
The one thing should be our sincerity. We should each be genuine in our being a disciple of Christ. It should be our goal to do the do’s and not do the don’ts in order to grow our character to be like God’s.
That alone should be a tie that binds us together.
Making the Connections
Ooo, baby. Beecher called it — and he didn’t pull any punches. He wrote,
“This chapter is written to dissuade men from acting the part of religious critics. It cannot be said that men are indifferent to religion in other folks. It is only to religion in themselves that they are comparatively indifferent. Men are so accustomed to criticise (sic) each other’s church service, etc., that they lose the very spirit of religion. The apostle dissuades everybody from it.”
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Isn’t that so true? We want to hold everyone else to a standard — but don’t you dare try to hold us to it!
But the problem is so many see religion only as acting a certain way. They see it as doing the do’s and not doing the don’ts.
In reality, being a disciple is about being in a relationship with the Creator. Having a two-way communication with the One true Sovereign God.
It is about us getting right with Him. Everyone else has to worry about their relationships.
How Do We Apply This?
- Build a relationship that removes prejudices.
- Lead with humility, meekness, and kindness rather than dictatorial actions.
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God doesn’t want His children divided. He doesn’t want us to think we are better than others.
God wants us to be all following Him.
Father God. We want to have Your character. We want to be loving and accepting of all Your children. Help us to be humble and meek when we interact with others. Amen.
What do you think?
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