Ourselves

Romans 14:12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

It is easy to point our finger at other people when things seem to go wrong. At least for a portion of society, that is our natural reaction. Some people do exactly the opposite. They take all the blame on themselves. They are the problem.

Now if we could just get these two sets of people together pointing in the right direction, then everyone would feel satisfied. Everyone would get what they want! Self-blamers would get the privilege of having the other-blamers pointing at them and the other-blamers would have someone to point at who would accept the blame. It sounds like we have a solution!

Our text today is placed in the middle of a passage about dietary restrictions some in the early church adopted out of personal conviction. They ate certain things because for them, it was a way to express their devotion to the LORD. At the same time, there were those who held the opposite opinions about food restrictions for religious purposes.

Each of these groups was convinced their belief and practice was in line with the LORD’s will. And it sounds as they they were actively trying to convince the other group to change their beliefs. So what is the solution? Which group is correct?

Paul raises the argument above the individual issue of dietary restrictions to one of accountability to God. Each person is ultimately responsible to God for their behavior. AND at the same time, we must be aware of the effect our behavior has on fellow believers.

It is interesting that what we want doesn’t come into Paul’s reasoning. Please the Lord and work to not offend our brother or sister in Christ. What we want must take a secondary role in this type of decision. “Even Christ did not please himself.” (15:3)

We must learn to accept others and not pass judgment on disputable matters. There will be differences in practice, but each must answer to the Lord for their behavior. We are accountable to Him first, then to others, then lastly to what we want. I don’t like this order any more than you do, but these are the facts.