Romans 14:7-12 – For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
The way Grace and I study the Bible are very different. She gets up at 7 or 8; I get up at 9 or 10. She starts her day with the YouVersion Bible app and Scripture; I start the day with cold brew. She goes through detailed Bible reading plans; I do not.
She has a quiet time; I have a loud time. She will sit in silence; I turn on Chris Stapleton to volume 10 with multiple screens open and 20-50 Bible commentaries, drinking cold brew and singing at about 10 pm.
My wife does detailed Bible reading plans and I have never done a Bible reading plan. My wife loves fill-in-the blank curriculum; I make curriculum, but it doesn’t mean I do it.
But sometimes I’ll do curriculum and fill-in-the-blanks with Grace because that’s how she walks with the Lord, and she’s learned not to judge me. We don’t pray, read the Bible, or study the same, but we each have our own relationship with the Lord. We don’t judge one another, we encourage one another, and we share what we’re learning. Our marriage is a little case study of the big idea of Romans 14 – two people walking with the Lord do not take the same step every day on the journey and, as long as they are both going north, then they are both doing fine.
How do you study the Bible and do devotional time? Is it different than your spouse or your family and friends? If so, realize that it’s ok and that you can still learn from each other and share with each other what you’re learning about Jesus.
To find the free Romans 12-16 digital study guide for individuals and small groups, hear Pastor Mark’s entire sermon series on Romans, or find a free mountain of Bible teaching visit realfaith.com or download the Real Faith app.