Godbey's Commentary - Acts - Romans - Enter His Rest
Godbey's Commentary - Acts - Romans - Enter His Rest 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.
21. “It is good to neither eat meat nor drink wine nor anything else by which thy brother stumbleth.” We must have the kingdom of God in our hearts, i.e., righteousness, peace and joy wrought by the Holy Ghost, or we ourselves are reprobates. Then we must keep out of everybody’s way, i.e., we must not do anything over which others will stumble, and thus keep clear of their blood. 22. “The faith which you have, have it with yourself before God. Happy is he who condemneth not himself in that which he alloweth.” We must keep a conscience void of offense before God and man in all things if we keep justified. 23. “If any one may eat doubting, he has been condemned, because it is not of faith. For everything which is not of faith is sin.” “Damnation,” as in E.V., does not take place in this world. The same word means condemnation here and damnation in the world to come. You see from this scripture that faith must be stalwart and conscience clear in every case. We must make it a rule to take the self-denial side in every doubtful case, even at financial cost and inconvenience. God will give us clear light on all the ground we can cultivate, His Spirit leading your spirit, His Word your intellect and His providence your body, so if true you will never lack His guidance.
- Page 202 and 203: emain forever. This monster is inbr
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- Page 208 and 209: was but a conviction for the second
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- Page 214 and 215: electrifying and intense emotionali
- Page 216 and 217: ROMANS CHAPTER VIII. THE SANCTIFIED
- Page 218 and 219: on top. The sins of your body make
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- Page 222 and 223: While the sanctified soul sings,
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- Page 226 and 227: the plan of salvation experienced i
- Page 228 and 229: go. And it was told Saul that David
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- Page 236 and 237: a hurry. Your heart is your spirit,
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- Page 242 and 243: sin, and the Gentiles, though repro
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- Page 246 and 247: Him.” So he spent the night preac
- Page 248 and 249: ROMANS CHAPTER XIII. CIVIL LOYALTY.
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21. “It is good to neither eat meat nor drink wine nor anything else by which thy brother<br />
stumbleth.” We must have the kingdom of God in our hearts, i.e., righteousness, peace and joy<br />
wrought by the Holy Ghost, or we ourselves are reprobates. Then we must keep out of everybody’s<br />
way, i.e., we must not do anything over which others will stumble, and thus keep clear of their blood.<br />
22. “The faith which you have, have it with yourself before God. Happy is he who condemneth<br />
not himself in that which he alloweth.” We must keep a conscience void of offense before God and<br />
man in all things if we keep justified.<br />
23. “If any one may eat doubting, he has been condemned, because it is not of faith. For<br />
everything which is not of faith is sin.” “Damnation,” as in E.V., does not take place in this world.<br />
The same word means condemnation here and damnation in the world to come. You see from this<br />
scripture that faith must be stalwart and conscience clear in every case. We must make it a rule to<br />
take the self-denial side in every doubtful case, even at financial cost and inconvenience. God will<br />
give us clear light on all the ground we can cultivate, <strong>His</strong> Spirit leading your spirit, <strong>His</strong> Word your<br />
intellect and <strong>His</strong> providence your body, so if true you will never lack <strong>His</strong> guidance.
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