Festival of St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles
Posted on June 29, 2021 by under
Scripture: Romans 14:7-17 (NKJV)
14:7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written:
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.
14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Devotion
Your brother’s faith and his conscience are more important than your freedom. “If your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love.” This is not only true of food, but also drink, the music you listen to, the jokes you make, the words you use, etc. If it distresses your brother, do not do it. If you enjoy it and Scripture does not forbid it, keep it between yourself and God so that you do not distress your fellow Christians.
St. Peter fell into this error, as recorded in Galatians 2. St. Paul publicly rebuked him for showing partiality to the Jews over the Gentiles. “Before certain men came from James, he [Peter] would eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision” (Gal. 2:12). This is not recorded that we may ridicule St. Peter. It is recorded to show that the Gospel is offered to all men, that we must repent of offending each other, learn to labor for each other’s good, and that there is forgiveness when we fail.
We do not belong to ourselves, but to Christ. Therefore, we must labor for the good of Christ’s people, which was also the work of St. Peter and St. Paul.
Prayer: O God, who didst give Thine Apostles Peter and Paul grace to lay down their lives for the sake of Thy dear Son, endow us, we beseech Thee, with like constancy that we may at all times be ready to lay down our lives for Him who laid down His life for us; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
