Quote:
Originally Posted by mizpeh
Staysharp,
I added a little more to my last post to make a point. You may have missed it. Paul did not condemn those who had a conviction not to eat meat EVEN though he personally did not have that same conviction. He did not say the vegetarian who was a vegetarian by faith was in any way adding to salvation or taking away from what Christ did on the cross. If you read Romans 14 you will see that not only did Paul not condemn the person who by faith believed he should not eat meat but Paul was willing not to flaunt his liberty (that he could eat meat) in the face of the person who felt it was wrong to eat meat.
In contrast Paul in 1 Timothy condemns those folks who teach and COMMAND believers not to eat meat. Why Paul's change in heart? Because it is one thing to live in harmony with another believer who has a personal conviction and another to have that conviction imposed upon someone who doesn't feel the same conviction of the Spirit. |
I totally agree that all should live in harmony. However, sadly this is not the case. The pressure to conform is too strong. I wish it were a perfect world, but tragically it's not. I have no problem with personal convictions, however, these convictions cannot lie to our children. If a child wants to know why, we should tell them why. Not use God as a crutch. We do this because... and tell the truth. Children will appreciate it and then as they grow older be able to properly discern truth. God bless, it was nice talking to you. Thanks