ROBERT@kontu.utu.fi (Robert W. Johnson) (04/03/91)
To this end Christ died, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. Romans 14:9. Paul has been very strong in verse 4, demanding "Who art thou that judgest the servant of another?" (The pronoun "thou" is emphatic in the Greek.) What presumption on our part to judge the Lord's servant who is responsible to Him alone! It is not for you or me to act as lord of the saints and to seek to put them right, as though God could not manage His own servants without us. We did not die dor them. I am lord neither of the dead nor the living. Dare I, then, take it on myself to regulate other people's lives? Let me be patient with them, even as God has been patient with me. For after all, I trust the working of His Spirit in my heart. Shall I not equally trust Him to work in the heart of my brother in Christ? ----- Robert W. Johnson Computer center, The University of Turku, Turku Finland robert@kontu.utu.fi (InterNet) robert@firien.bitnet (BITNET) The preceeding is my opinion and may not express the opinion of my employer and furthermore has nothing to do with my employment.