For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
The “these things” in which Christ is to be served are righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, for the kingdom of God and true Christian service are not meat and drink, not a matter of food and drink. He who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved of men, pleasing to God while bringing the approval of people and others. That service is lived out by following after the things which make for peace and which build one another up, pursuing what makes peace and mutual edification.
It includes living by a holy example that turns the sympathies of others and of friends heavenward toward heaven. Serving Christ in these things means complete self-surrender after the pattern of Christ, who emptied Himself, clothed divinity with humanity, lived not to please Himself, and came to seek and save the lost. That surrender guards the lips from guile, brings no false principles into dealings and is strict with self to keep false principles out of dealings with others and to keep souls in the safe path, works the works of God, holds to correct principles whatever the cost to self, lets light shine in appeals and warnings to others, economizes pence and means to have pounds to help the cause of truth, puts away useless pictures and ornaments and keeps tables free from pictures and ornaments that are nothing beside the word of God, bears the infirmities of the weak and pleases the neighbor for good to edification, and is likeminded according to Jesus Christ to glorify God with one mind and mouth in preparation for perfection.
Every family should consider that the kingdom is not meat and drink, and should hunger and thirst for righteousness and peace and joy. The verse is God’s voice to those engaged in the work of health reform, to be studied and made a guide in future labors together with Romans 12. In questions of diet, serving Christ in this way means differences of conviction about food should not cause disturbance or division among believers, so people should be allowed to follow their consciences without being forced to adopt another’s practice, while remaining firm in the principles of God’s law.
The “these things” in which Christ is to be served are righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, for the kingdom of God and true Christian service are not meat and drink, not a matter of food and drink. He who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved of men, pleasing to God while bringing the approval of people and others. That service is lived out by following after the things which make for peace and which build one another up, pursuing what makes peace and mutual edification.
It includes living by a holy example that turns the sympathies of others and of friends heavenward toward heaven. Serving Christ in these things means complete self-surrender after the pattern of Christ, who emptied Himself, clothed divinity with humanity, lived not to please Himself, and came to seek and save the lost. That surrender guards the lips from guile, brings no false principles into dealings and is strict with self to keep false principles out of dealings with others and to keep souls in the safe path, works the works of God, holds to correct principles whatever the cost to self, lets light shine in appeals and warnings to others, economizes pence and means to have pounds to help the cause of truth, puts away useless pictures and ornaments and keeps tables free from pictures and ornaments that are nothing beside the word of God, bears the infirmities of the weak and pleases the neighbor for good to edification, and is likeminded according to Jesus Christ to glorify God with one mind and mouth in preparation for perfection.
Every family should consider that the kingdom is not meat and drink, and should hunger and thirst for righteousness and peace and joy. The verse is God’s voice to those engaged in the work of health reform, to be studied and made a guide in future labors together with Romans 12. In questions of diet, serving Christ in this way means differences of conviction about food should not cause disturbance or division among believers, so people should be allowed to follow their consciences without being forced to adopt another’s practice, while remaining firm in the principles of God’s law.