Bible Study 6/18

Proverbs 15:1-16

v.13 - "A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed."

v.15 - "All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast."

I'm not sure that these are exhortations as much as they are observations, but it's interesting to see cheerfulness commented on in the proverbs.

Romans 14:1-12

This passage deals with "passing judgment" on those believers who hold special convictions that are extra-biblical. We for sure know that he can't be talking about anything that's added to faith in terms of becoming a Christian, because he lambasts the Galatians for doing just that. What he must be talking about is believers who hold to Christ through faith alone who simply disagree on the manner in which he is best served, glorified, or worshipped. Since chapter 12, he has been dealing with living the Christian life, and this is simply another aspect of that which deals with special convictions.

In Paul's day, some of these convictions apparently included dietary restrictions as well as the sacredness of specific days. What would some of these convictions look like today? Dietary restrictions as well as holidays might still apply. Anything else? Perhaps a conviction never to read fiction, because it presents something that is not reality. This seems ridiculous to us, but if someone were really to hold this conviction with the conscience as a way of best worshipping the Lord in their mind, then we should not "pass judgment" on that person, which I assume means to say that they are wrong or in sin for holding that conviction. And the person who abstained from fiction would not pass judgment on those who do not abstain.

It's pretty clear that Paul's intention in this principle is only for issues that fall outside of what Scripture clearly speaks about. To go against the word of God is one thing; to hold a special conviction in an area that God does not speak about is another.