Thanksgiving

1 Timothy 4:2-5 - Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

Romans 14:6,14-15,17-18 - He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God…As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died…For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

Conclusions:

• The motivation behind the actions of both the strong and the weak is to be the same
• Both the strong and the weak should want to serve the Lord and give thanks for His provision
• Now that Paul was a Christian, the old food taboos no longer applied
• “If anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean” is not to be generalized to mean that sin is only a matter of subjective opinion or conscience
• Paul is not discussing conduct that in the light of Scripture is clearly sinful, but conduct concerning which Christians may legitimately differ
• With regard to such matters, decisions should be decided by conscience
• Love is the key to proper settlement of disputes
• Christ so valued the weak brother as to die for him
• Surely the strong Christian ought to be willing to make adjustments in his own behavior for the sake of weak brothers
• To be concerned with such trivial matters of eating and drinking is to miss completely the essence of Christian living
• Righteousness is righteous living
• Paul’s concern for the moral and ethical dimension of the Christian life stands out in all his letters
• Joy in the Holy Spirit is joy given by the Holy Spirit

Application:

• Do you want to serve the Lord and give thanks for His provision?
• Do you generalize sin to be only a matter of conscience?
• Do you make adjustments in your behavior for the sake of the weak?
• Do you concern yourself too much with the trivial matters of Christian life?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible