Romans 14:4 BY HIS GRACE I STAND by Susie Hale

By His Grace I Stand

The Lord is able to make me stand.

He will uphold me with his own hand.

My gracious Master will not let me fall.

He has accepted me, weakness and all.

“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.

One man’s faith allows him to eat everything,

but another man, whose faith is weak,

eats only vegetables.

The man who eats everything must not 

look down on him who does not,

and the man who does not eat everything

must not condemn the man who does,

for God has accepted him.

Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?

To his own master he stands or falls.

And he will stand for the Lord

is able to make him stand.”

Romans 14:1-4 (NIV)

            Christians are not here to judge each other. We tend to forget that. We tell people they are saved by grace and then expect them to follow whatever rules we have chosen to embrace. Even if we feel the guidelines are strongly based on God’s word, we are not to set ourselves up as judges over other believers. The “disputable matters” might include hairstyles, clothing, moderate drinking, movie choices, amount of television, etc.

       I am accountable for my own choices and must sincerely seek the Lord regarding the things I allow in my life so that I might choose things that enhance rather than hinder my walk with him. But even when I fail to meet the standards I believe God has shown me, his grace is still sufficient. God is able to make me stand. In fact, it is only by God’s grace that any believer stands, whether he be considered weaker or stronger in the faith compared to another believer.

       God has accepted me. I am his child. He chose to adopt me, and the adoption price was the life of Christ who died in my place. God was able to raise Jesus from the dead, and he is able to cover me with his own Son’s righteousness and enable me to stand. No matter how meticulously I live before him, I could never stand on my own merit. Praise the Lord for picking us up and providing the grace we need to stand firm!

       Father, thank you for forgiving me. Thank you that by your grace I am able to live abundantly. Give me grace to be a testimony to your love. Help me to not judge others on arguable points. Help me to encourage people to seek your whole counsel through a greater understanding of your Word, and let me trust you to show them what their actions need to be. Help me to accept those whom you have chosen even when we disagree.