Week 11 | Day 5
Make Every Effort
Romans 14:19-23
Romans 14:23 lands with holy weight: “anything that does not come from faith is sin.” In disputable matters, the issue isn’t the menu or the calendar—it’s the motive. If I act against a doubtful conscience, I’m not trusting Jesus but my own preferences and tolerances. The phrase, “From faith,” means choices rooted in surrendered confidence that align with God’s Word and will (see Colossians 1:9–10). So, I am called to “make every effort” to orient ordinary decisions toward Jesus, refusing Pharisaic nitpicking, that I might be a stepping-stone—not a stumbling block to others—by offering truth in love and accountability with mercy while trusting the Spirit to change hearts.
Application
1. Check the “Unto the Lord” Test
If you can’t thank Jesus for it beforehand and afterward, don’t do it (see Romans 14:6, 23).
2. Let Love Limit Liberty
Freedom serves people; it never steamrolls their conscience. Choose restraint when your liberty could wound a brother or sister. Being righteous is more important than being right in “gray” matters.
3. Honor Your Conscience—and Theirs
Neutral things become sinful when done in unbelief or against conscience. Walk gently with differing convictions.
4. Keep Scripture and Surrender Together
Seek what pleases the Lord, not what merely permits (see Colossians 1:9–10). Ask—Does this align with God’s will or with my preferences?
5. Be a Stepping-stone, not a Stumbling Block
Offer truth with tenderness, accountability with mercy, and let the Holy Spirit do the convincing, convicting, and converting—remember that you are not the Holy Spirit.
If you can’t thank Jesus for it beforehand and afterward, don’t do it (see Romans 14:6, 23).
2. Let Love Limit Liberty
Freedom serves people; it never steamrolls their conscience. Choose restraint when your liberty could wound a brother or sister. Being righteous is more important than being right in “gray” matters.
3. Honor Your Conscience—and Theirs
Neutral things become sinful when done in unbelief or against conscience. Walk gently with differing convictions.
4. Keep Scripture and Surrender Together
Seek what pleases the Lord, not what merely permits (see Colossians 1:9–10). Ask—Does this align with God’s will or with my preferences?
5. Be a Stepping-stone, not a Stumbling Block
Offer truth with tenderness, accountability with mercy, and let the Holy Spirit do the convincing, convicting, and converting—remember that you are not the Holy Spirit.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, today help me make every effort to act from faith—with a clear conscience, a grateful heart, and a posture of surrender. Guard me from the little Pharisee within me who enjoys majoring on the minors. Teach me to let love limit my liberty, to handle gray areas with grace, and to speak truth in tenderness. Make me a stepping-stone to Your grace, never a stumbling block, and let Your Spirit do the deep work I cannot. Amen.