On what basis do most of us make our decisions?  It would be nice to think that we come to clear conclusions on the basis of obvious facts.  But most of the time we make the same decision as we did last time, or the decision which pleases those around us.  In fact, although we make many choices each day, very few of them are properly thought out.  Paul encouraged the Jewish-background and Gentile believers living in cosmopolitan Rome to think carefully about the lifestyle choices they needed to make, so that their consciences were not wounded (1 Timothy 1:18-19).

The two potentially divisive issues in the church, where some had formerly worshipped God as Jews, and others had worshiped idols, were: which day of the week was 'holy to the Lord', and if it was right to eat 'meat offered to idols'.  Paul unpicked the ‘eating meat’ dilemma in Romans 14:1-4 which we explored in the previous Word@Work devotional.  The question of ‘which day is holy to God’ was etched into the Jewish conscience – it must be the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:11) reflecting the end of creation.  But many Christians were celebrating the day of Jesus’ resurrection and the Spirit’s filling - on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2) – and the Apostle Paul did so as well as attending Synagogues on the seventh day.  In ancient Rome, there was no weekly ‘day of rest’; apart from pagan festivals, everybody worked a seven day week.  The decision to meet together for worship had to be intentional (Hebrews 10:25).

Paul says that the decision would not be judged by friends or the church, but by God.  He expects us to think the matter through - taking the Bible's principles of Christian living, praying and seeking the Holy Spirit's guidance (Philippians 3:15).  Having done that, the immediate test is: can we praise God in the decision we have made?  The ultimate test is God's on the Final Day.

We call God, 'Lord', because He is our Master to whom we are accountable (John 13:13); our Judge whose verdict is always right (Acts 17:31).  True believers in Jesus know that they cannot live to please themselves – because Jesus Himself lived and died to please Father God (Romans 15:3).   And although it is easier to allow others in the church to dictate the way we live, we have a higher Master.  His Word and His Spirit will guide us. Of course, that is not to say that we should arrogantly ignore the wise advice of others (Proverbs 22:17), but rather that it is our responsibility to come to a settled mind on how we should live.