Romans 15:14-23

“And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God. For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed, in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; but as it is written, “They who had no news of Him shall see, And they who have not heard shall understand.” For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you; but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭14‬-‭23‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

The Church in Rome was filled with goodness. What does that mean you may ask? To be filled with goodness is to hate what the Lord hates, and truly love what He loves. This was so with the Church in Rome. Many were not afraid to persuade God and face persecution. Yet so many times when people question us or make fun of our God, we step down or hide. Yet when they make fun of our favorite singer we are quick to say “Beyoncé is not lame she was a hit in the 90s!” We come to them with facts and truth yet when it comes to Christ all we can say is “I don’t know.” How can we love what God loves and hate what He hates if we don’t study His word and know what He loves and hates? We can’t defend something we know nothing about. If I were to tell you to defend the stance against the Australian war against Emus then you won’t be able to say anything because one, you probably don’t know what I’m talking about and two, you don’t know too much about it. So if I were to come to you and ask you whether we are called to hate or love someone of the LGBTQ community, what will you say? Do you know what God says? This is just an example but if you don’t know the answer I advise you to read Mark 2:15-17. But if you don’t know, then or are unsure, then do you really know what it means to love and hate and what God does love and hate?