Here are the top 50 posts with the most views ever on my blog:
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
Here are the top 50 posts with the most views ever on my blog:
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
Through my ongoing study of Romans 14:5, I recently wrote the following on a post on Sharper Iron about how Acts 2:46-47 and Acts 20:7 help explain Romans 14:5.
Comparing Acts 2:46-47 with Romans 14:5b and Acts 20:6-7 with Romans 14:5a shows the direct correspondence between these passages, respectively. Right after Pentecost, the Church was meeting every day for corporate worship:
Acts 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Romans 14:5b another esteemeth every day alike.
Later, however, we see that their practice was different:
Acts 20:6-7 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. 7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Romans 14:5a One man esteemeth one day above another:
Even though Paul and whoever else “we” in Acts 20:6 refers to were in Troas for seven days, Acts 20:7 reveals that they met on the first day of the week. Here, Scripture plainly shows apostolic practice that points to the special esteem and regard for corporate worship on the first day of the week.
The believers in Rome who held to the “every day alike” position supported their belief on information that they had received about the earliest practice of the Church. The other believers based their “one day above another” position on the later practice of Paul and others.
In such a situation of differing beliefs based on actual biblical information about differing, acceptable apostolic practice, the believers who held these differing positions were to be convinced in their own minds about which position to follow.
This approach is the only understanding [of the differing positions in Romans 14:5] that commends itself to me at this time.
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
Last year on August 19, I began singing through the Psalms word-by-word. I did not use any written music or musical accompaniment to do so.
I freely varied my pitches, rhythm, tempo, and volume with which I sang the words of the Psalms. My goal was to not allow any such considerations to hinder or stop me from singing through each Psalm.
I also did not allow any other predetermined musicological considerations to limit my singing, such as using words that rhyme or singing the whole Psalm in the same key. I did so because such things almost certainly were not part of the singing of the Psalms as they were sung by those to whom God first gave the Psalms.
Because of its length, I broke up Psalm 119 by singing each 8-verse section on successive days. In the future, I may try to sing through the whole Psalm at one time.
On March 15 of this year, I finished my first time singing through every word of the book of Psalms! I praise and thank God for directing me to sing through His perfect hymnal and for granting me grace to finish doing so!
As God directs, I intend to sing through the book of Psalms word-for-word many more times in whatever years of life God sees fit to allow me to have in the future. I hope to do so both in English and in Spanish in the years to come.
Psalm 104:33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.
Psalm 146:2 While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
Salmo 104:33 A Jehová cantaré en mi vida; A mi Dios cantaré salmos mientras viva.
Salmo 146:2 Alabaré a Jehová en mi vida; Cantaré salmos a mi Dios mientras viva.
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
I have been studying Romans 14 a lot lately. Recently, I got the idea of using pie charts to help us better understand and apply the teaching of Romans 14 about key differing viewpoints among Christians to the key issue of how many “genres” of instrumental music are acceptable to God for use in corporate worship.
The charts in this post are possible representations of the differing viewpoints that Paul addresses in this chapter. I am not claiming that the details of these charts are necessarily exactly in keeping with what the passage reveals because it seems that there are some uncertainties about the specifics of his teaching.
The first differing viewpoint that Paul presents concerns what Christians believe that they may eat:
Romans 14:1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
Many seem to understand this teaching by Paul to mean what the following diagrams show:
Romans 14:2a For one believeth that he may eat all things:
Romans 14:2b another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
They hold that what Paul says indicates that some believe that they should partake of all things while others who are “weak in the faith” believe that they should only partake of a specified subset of all things that the others believe that they may eat.
A careful comparison of this teaching by Paul with other revelation in Scripture, however, shows that this understanding is faulty. Neither the ones who eat “all things” nor those who eat (only) “herbs,” in reality, eat the following:
Plant and animal products that are poisonous to humans, such as poisonous berries and mushrooms (cf. the inability to eat poisonous stew [2 Kings 4:40]);
Human flesh (Deut. 28:57), eating blood (Lev. 17:10; Acts 15:20), or eating “things strangled (Acts 15:20);
Things known to have been offered to idols (Rev. 2:14);
Things that God did not create for humans to eat (thorns and thistles [Gen. 3:18]; grass [Ps. 104:14; Dan. 4]).
Taking into account these things that strong believers do not eat shows us that the correct understanding of “eat all things” in Romans 14:2 is the following:
Romans 14:2 does not teach that strong believers eat all things in the sense that they eat all plant and animal products without any exceptions. There are many plant and animal products that are unfit for human consumption as foodstuffs—not consuming those things does not mean that one is “weak in the faith” (Rom. 14:1).
Many believers use Paul’s teaching in Romans 14:2 about strong believers eating “all things” to claim that teaching supports holding that all “genres” of instrumental music are acceptable to God for strong believers to use in corporate worship. Romans 14:2 does not support holding that viewpoint about the use of all “genres” of instrumental music in corporate worship because Romans 14:2 does not teach that strong believers eat all plant and animal products without exception.
Using Romans 14:2 as support for believing that believers who reject the use of certain “genres” of instrumental music in corporate worship are “weak in the faith” is a misinterpretation and misapplication of Scripture. A proper understanding of the teaching of Romans 14:1-2 and a proper application of that teaching shows that it is not true that Scripture supports holding that the use of all “genres” of instrumental music in corporate worship is acceptable to God.
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
The following excerpt from my most recent post in a thread on Sharper Iron explains plainly what “eateth all things” in Romans 14:1-2 does not establish:
Scripture reveals that God created plant substances that He did not provide as food for humans, but they nonetheless are plant substances that humans can ingest.
Psalm 104:14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth;
In fact, God punished Nebuchadnezzar by making him to eat grass that was for oxen and not humans:
Daniel 5:21 And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
Some may try to argue against this point by setting forth that there are many grasses that are edible for humans. Even so, that does not change the fact that there are many that are not and never were intended to be food for humans.
Similarly, God’s punishment on man after the Fall included the following:
Genesis 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
This revelation contrasts the herb of the field that God commanded man to eat with the thorns and thistles that the ground would also bring forth. The implication is that God did not cause the ground to bring forth these thorns and thistles as food for humans. . . .
These biblical considerations . . . establish that God never intended eats “all things” in Romans 14:1-2 to be taken in any sort of unqualifiedly universal sense even for the eating of plant and animal products as foodstuffs in ordinary eating and drinking.
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
In my previous post, I treated many passages concerning the biblical revelation about honey and the teaching of Romans 14. At least 19 additional verses in Scripture beyond the ones that I treated previously highlight the importance of honey in Scripture distinctively by speaking of God’s promise to bring His people into a land that flowed with milk and honey:
Exod. 3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Exod. 3:17 And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.
Exod. 13:5 And it shall be when the LORD shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee, a land flowing with milk and honey, that thou shalt keep this service in this month.
Exod. 33:3 Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way.
Lev. 20:24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.
Num. 13:27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
Num. 14:8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
Num. 16:14 Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that floweth with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields and vineyards: wilt thou put out the eyes of these men? we will not come up.
Deut. 6:3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
Deut. 11:9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
Deut. 26:9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.
Deut. 26:15 Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
Deut. 27:3 And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee.
Deut. 31:20 For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.
Jos. 5:6 For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: unto whom the LORD sware that he would not shew them the land, which the LORD sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
Jer. 11:5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.
Jer. 32:22 And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
Ezek. 20:6 In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:
Ezek. 20:15 Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;
What’s more, Ezekiel 20:6 and 20:15 underscore that importance profoundly through revealing the divine declaration that the land that flowed with milk and honey that God spied out and promised that He would give them was the glory of all lands“!
Through direct divine declaration, we thus learn that God Himself made known that the Promised Land was glorious in His estimation above all other lands and that divinely extolled land was a land that flowed with honey.
We must carefully consider the relevance of this additional evidence in determining a right “understanding of what Romans 14 teaches about strong believers being the ones who ‘eats all things.'”
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
My latest post in my thread on Sharper Iron concerning foods, days, worship music, and the teaching of Romans 14:
A. Divinely provided use of honey as a foodstuff
Deut. 32:13 He made him ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and he made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock;
Ps. 81:16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.
B. Divinely approved use of honey as a foodstuff
Prov. 24:13 My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:
Prov. 25:16 Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.
Isa. 7:15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
C. Prohibited consumption of honey [from an unacceptable source] as a foodstuff
Jdg. 14:8 And after a time he returned to take her, and he turned aside to see the carcase of the lion: and, behold, there was a swarm of bees and honey in the carcase of the lion.
Jdg. 14:9 And he took thereof in his hands, and went on eating, and came to his father and mother, and he gave them, and they did eat: but he told not them that he had taken the honey out of the carcase of the lion.
D. Divine revelation warning against intemperate consumption of honey as a foodstuff
Prov. 25:16 Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.
Prov. 25:27 It is not good to eat much honey: so for men to search their own glory is not glory.
E. Divinely prohibited use of honey in worship
Lev. 2:11 No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto the LORD, shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven, nor any honey, in any offering of the LORD made by fire.
F. Sinful use of honey in idolatrous worship
Ezek. 16:19 My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.
How do these biblical points about honey inform our understanding of what Romans 14 teaches about strong believers being the ones who eat ‘all things’?”
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
I started a new discussion thread on Sharper Iron recently: “What Does Romans 14 Teach about Foods, Days, and Worship Music?” If you are interested in learning more about this subject, I encourage you to follow the discussion on Sharper Iron.
Below is my opening post in that thread.
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
Comparing Psalms 1:1-3 closely to Romans 12:2 profoundly teaches us vital truths about the right approach to worship and music:
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. | Romans 12:2a And be not conformed to this world: |
Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. | Romans 12:2b but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, |
Psalm 1:3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. | Romans 12:2c that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. |
The Spirit is the Author of both passages. Seeing how closely these passages correlate and keeping in mind that the Spirit began His perfect Book on music (the Psalms) in the manner that He has, we must understand that both Psalms 1:1-3 and Romans 12:2 teach us the same foundational truths about the right approach to worship and music!
We cannot have a right approach to worship and music apart from our first stopping being conformed to the world through walking in its counsels about worship and music. Categorical rejection of worship practices and music that are ungodly because they are worldly has everything to do with pleasing God with acceptable music for corporate worship!
See also: Would the Psalmists Approve of CCM?
Resources That Provide Answers to Key Issues Concerning CCM
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
In His capstone book of divine revelation, the Spirit makes known that sorcerers will suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire:
Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
What are we to learn from God’s punishing people eternally for being practitioners of the occult (“sorcerers”) but never defining or specifying in Scripture as to what being such sinful people entails?
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.