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Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
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   You Are Here: Bridge / Galley / Pastor's Pen / Pathways Through Paul
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Pathways Through Paul Daily Devotional
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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional

May 3
Click on verses for Full Scripture
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Today's Pathway:


 Romans 14:7-12
  1. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
  2. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
  3. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
  4. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
  5. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
  6. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

His Majesty's Service

 Yesterday Paul concluded by stating that all decisions that are made concerning questionable issues need to be made based upon what God wants us to do. In today's passage he explains why this is the case. No man lives or dies to himself. Whether we are alive or dead, we, as believers, belong to God. Charles Hodge put it this way,

"In Romans 14:7 Paul had stated, negatively, that the Christian does not live according to his own will, or for his own pleasure; he here states affirmatively, that he does live according to the will of Christ, and for his glory."
I Corinthians 6:20 tells us,
"For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
According to verse 9, this is why Christ was crucified and then rose from the dead. He came to provide salvation for mankind by offering Himself as a blood sacrifice to redeem us from our sins, and then He rose from the dead to prove not only Who He was, but also the validity of His sacrifice. Thus, as children of God, we belong to Him, and He is our Lord.

 In verses 10-12 Paul uses these facts to give instruction concerning doubtful disputations. His first point is that there is no reason for us to judge our brothers on questionable issues because they are going to stand before God at the judgment seat of Christ someday (I Corinthians 3:11-15), and He will make them give an account of their decisions. God's judgment will always be better than my judgment, so I should just let Him handle it in His time. His second point is that I need to remember that I am also going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ and be called upon to give an account for my decisions. This has a two-fold application. First, I will be held accountable for my treatment of those believers with whom I disagree. Second, I need to make sure that the choices I make in regards to questionable issues will be acceptable when God judges me. As we saw yesterday, it doesn't really matter what I think or what anyone else thinks. All that matters is what God thinks, and someday He will hold me accountable for whether or not I made choices that pleased Him. If I have not "bowed my knee" to His will during my lifetime, I will most assuredly bow my knee to Him at the judgment seat, but by then it will be too late to correct the poor decisions that I have made.

 Alan Carr summarized this passage well:

"One day that brother that we think is such a compromiser will stand before the Lord and he will give an account of his life to the Lord that saved him. Then, the accounts will be settled. Then he will be dealt with properly. There, he will either be blessed, or he will suffer the loss of reward. On that day, he will get exactly what is coming to him, no more and no less! However, just as that brother will stand before the Lord, so will every single one of us! It may just be that we will find out that everything was not as we thought it was either! It will be a day of perfect reckoning and just accounting. Therefore, may the Lord help us to learn to avoid judging the brethren and concern ourselves with living the right kind of life before the Lord. One day we will answer to Him and not to one another."

Pastor Mark J Montgomery

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His Majesty's Service
Home of Ambassador Baptist Church
1926 Babcock Blvd
Pittsburgh, PA 15209
(412)477-3210
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