Search Me, O God, And Know My Heart

Meditations on Romans

September 22, 2021

Search Me, O God, And Know My Heart

Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong

Romans 14:1

Read Romans 14:1-6

For Paul, the greatest witness for Christ was when the church experienced unity in their worship and fellowship. However, such unity in Paul’s world was scarce as there were many obstacles to overcome. In the church in Rome, many in the congregation were converted Jews, and they brought with them their observance of Jewish dietary laws and holy days. Many of the Gentile Christians came from pagan backgrounds and also had beliefs concerning special days and food preferences. Other Christians had matured in the faith and reached the place where they enjoyed freedom in diet and worship. Putting all these groups together resulted in some conflicts. Against this backdrop, Paul, in today’s passage, pleads for understanding and unity. For Paul, the one and only mark of a Christian is not in holy days or diet; it is justification by faith. Being made right in God’s sight through faith in Jesus binds all believers together into one body. But we don’t just arrive at this understanding all at once or all together at the same time. The church is always a work in progress.

My Takeaway: Two thousand years later, we have institutionalized the very divisions Paul struggles so hard to overcome. Denominationalism is the result of some groups thinking they have a better way or a better understanding than others. Even within the denominations, divisions exist as though we all have excised Romans 14 from our Bibles. Today is an invitation from the Holy Spirit for me to examine my own life.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Point out anything in me that offends you,

and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Psalm 139:23-24

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.