Romans 14:23 … To proceed from Faith (02/07/17)
“Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”
~ Paul (Romans 14:23)
Here, as is so often the case, Paul’s words are as Right as his personal interpretation of them is not. For Paul did not see faith like Jesus saw Faith – he did not see it as a deed, but rather as a mere belief in the divinity of Jesus; he did not see it as an act of selfless courage, but rather as a mere verbal profession of allegiance to Jesus Christ himself …
In truth, Paul saw every deed not backed in subservient allegiance to Jesus Christ as a sinful deed, and this, even though Jesus himself wanted no part of either such judgment (see Matthew 7:1-2, John 8:7, Matthew 23:12 et al) or such worship (see Mark 10:18, John 5:41, John 7:16, John 8:50-54, John 12:44 et al).
In addition, Paul saw sin as a damning offense for the Hereafter, whereas Jesus saw sin as something to be transcended (and thereby fully Forgiven) in every Here&Now (see Luke 6:36 & Matthew 8:21-22 & Matthew 9:6 et al) … For Paul, whatever did not proceed from a belief in Jesus Christ as the only Son of God was sinful and to be punished for eternity — whereas for Jesus, whatever did not proceed from an active Faith in selfless Love was a sinful deed that was constantly & repeatedly forgiven by the heavenly Father within; a deed that would indeed reap consequences proportionate to its intensity of selfishness, and yet a deed that could be fully transcended by any subsequent moment of selfless Caring.
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