Romans 14:13 21 Chapter 14 of Romans is all about attitude, motive, focus and keeping your eyes on your own fries. It warns about judging another man's servant. The context is in the area of how he is relating to his own Master. His Master (God) and he can handle it just fine without your help. Paul is not saying it's wrong to encourage and/or intercede for one another; but it is wrong to criticize, judge and gossip about a brother or sister in the Lord. Each of us are personally accountable to God before the judgment seat of Christ. It is also wrong to exercise our spiritual freedoms in the face of a brother or sister who for one reason or another may not have that freedom. Paul summarizes it well when he says in verse 17 that "the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking..." It is not about doing your own thing in your own way, no matter how "righteous" it might be. It's not about eating or not eating a ham sandwich. The manner of service that pleases God is "righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." I like the way one commentary puts it. Righteous has to do with how we relate with God. Do we attempt to live "right" as God defines right? Are we motivated to please Him? Are we anxious to have His character shine out through our lives? Peace is how we relate to one another. We need to be for one another's success in their Christian walk. We need to build up and encourage, not tear down and destroy for the sake of our own rights. Joy in the Holy Spirit. Joy is to the spirit as happiness is to the flesh. The flesh is happy when it experiences things that please it. What brings the joy of the Holy Spirit to our spirit is when worship takes place and God is pleased with us.

Righteousness, Peace & Joy