The Tuesday after the Fourth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on June 30, 2026 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
On Sunday we heard, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). Jesus teaches us that if someone sins against us, we should not hold it against him or seek to harm him. Instead, we ought to forgive and love him, even when, and especially when, he does not deserve it.
If God does not want us to judge others for their sins against us, then how much less should we judge others for things that are not even sins! This is what St. Paul teaches in today’s text. He is talking about adiaphora, that is, things that are not commanded or forbidden by God’s Word. Yet, even though these outward customs of themselves have nothing to do with sin or faith, they often become sources of bickering and fighting within the Church.
Whether our neighbor sins against us, or simply does something differently than we would do it, Christ’s command is the same, “Condemn not.” And the reason is the same: because Christ died for us and our neighbor. If Christ laid down his life out of love for us, then we certainly ought to be willing to lay down our own pride and opinions out of love for our neighbor. We are to appeal to others according to God’s Word and will. If they reject Him, then His Word declares the consequences of their sin.
Collect: Grant, O Lord, we beseech Thee, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by Thy governance, that Thy Church may joyfully serve Thee in all godly quietness; through 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.
