Godbey's Commentary - Acts - Romans - Enter His Rest

confess. If you keep on your knees before God and confess Him constantly with your tongue you are
going to come out all right. On any other line, with all your holy days, the devil will get you.
13. “Therefore let us not judge one another, but judge this rather that no one put a stumbling
block or an offense in the way of his brother. All we have to do is to be true to God and keep out of
each other’s way.
14. “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean through itself, but to him
that thinketh it is unclean, to him it is unclean.” Hence, you see, we have large liberties in the gospel,
there being no prohibitions as under Judaism except from hygienical considerations discretionary
with the recipient. While this is true on edibles and potations, it affords no sort of apology for
narcotics, such as intoxicating drinks, tobacco, opium, and all poisons and drugs indiscriminately,
which must be rejected from both a moral and hygienic standpoint
15. “For through thy meat thy brother is grieved thou art not walking according to divine love.
Do not by thy meat destroy him for whom Christ died.” This would clear the churches of all tobacco,
beer, jewelry, etc., as so many of the brethren are grieved by these things. How in the world can
anyone use them and have a clear conscience?
16. “Therefore let not thy good be evil spoken of.” We must not only keep our own conscience
clean but the consciences of others also.
THE KINGDOM OF GOD A PURE SPIRITUALITY.
17. “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost.” Here you see the pure spirituality of the Lord’s salvation. Temporalities, — e.g., eating,
drinking, sacraments, water baptism, church rites, ceremonies and institutions — have nothing to
do with your salvation. You receive righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost in conversion.
These graces are made perfect in sanctification when their antagonisms are all eliminated. False
religions always magnify temporalities, e.g., church ordinances and good works, and minify the
spiritual graces, which are the whole sum and substance of the matter. Nothing else has anything to
do with it. Your old body which receives the ordinances and performs the church duties, you leave
in the grave, while your naked soul goes to God. Get your soul emptied of sin and filled with the
Holy Ghost and you will be ready to meet God, and your body in due time will rise to be glorified.
18. “For he that serveth Christ in this, is well pleasing to God and approved unto men.” If you
have the righteousness, peace and joy all right, and are true to Christ, you are well pleasing to God
and irreproachable to men. If you have these essentials of the kingdom in your heart, you are
prepared for any tribunal of heaven or earth. Without the righteousness, peace and joy wrought in
you by the Holy Ghost, you are bankrupt in the sight of God and good men, though you be the
greatest churchman on the globe. With the pope and all the hierarchies you will go down.
19, 20. “Do not destroy the work of God on account of meat. All things are pure, but it is evil to
the man who eateth with offense.