If you know the truth, the truth set you free ( e.g. the fear of saying the wrong things, the fear of being disliked by others)

Spiritual know-how of living before God

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ” So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. (Romans 14:1-12 NIV)

  1. Why do not judge 
    1. There will always be weak brethren (it is always Christ who has come to save the weak and broken. We are not strong, it is the HS enables us to be strong. For this reason we cannot boast and thus can always be understanding to the weaker brethren)
    2. We really don't know...
      • They are weak in faith perhaps because there are new in faith, still a spiritual baby. 
      • Have been condemned and accused, therefore, they cannot submit to god
      • Not fed properly with the word (spiritual malnutrition) - doesn't know the will of god.. How do you expect them to follow and do the right thing? 
    3. Things related to conscience (you are answerable to The Lord)
    4. Because god is their master and god will make them stand in His time 
    • Apply to yourselves - in your siblings, brethren shepherding 
  2. Understanding faith --> how to look at the weak and strong ones = love = truth 
    1. Essence of faith not the magnitude of faith 
      • People always talk about faith in magnitude! You can have faith as small as the mustard seed --> this is genuine faith 
      • Essence - always acknowledging god 
      • When you are living among men, always have an absolute solitude with God, always seeking and listening from Him
    2. Faith brings acceptance, not judgment (pray: break yourself down before God)
        • A thin line between acceptance(compassion) and judgment(conscience)
        • Do u struggle with this with your brethrens?
        1. As far as the bible is concerned, we should have compssssion toward people weaker than us (in faith, in living conditions, finance etc)
        2. When you do it, you do for The Lord NOT because you want the person to change 
        3. Correct people timely and correctly - don't work on emotions, correct her and grow with her (pray:  shepherding)
    3. Faith allows correction (with love), not comparison 
      1. Everyone is meant differently 
  3. How to perfect our faith this way?
    1. Cultivating the presence of God with the truth (this is prayer! - this is hard because we often see or hear what people say and what our emotions say)
    2. Receive interpersonal temperaments with people through acknowledging The Lord 
    3. Suffer loss for the gospel 
      • There will always be unfairness because people want their voices to be heard (dr ps)
      • Look upon the cross (JC died on the cross when people conflict with one another) --> therefore it is not for us to resolve! it is for us to transcend through looking upon on the spirit of the cross
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Qiufen
Amos
Jiayong