Prayerfully studied and written by Brother Hillbilly
Romans 15:7
VS. 7) Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
We sing "Just As I Am" as an invitation song and the truth is apparent. Jesus received each of us as a sinner, lost and on our way to Hell. He didn't ask us to "clean up our act" before He received us but cleaned us up after He received us.
When we receive a brother or sister in the Lord we are to receive him or her in much the same way. When a lost sinner comes to Jesus we are to forget his past from the moment of salvation. He is a new creature (2nd Cor. 5:17). Just as a new baby has to be nurtured and taught, a new Christian has to be nurtured and taught. If a new Christian commits an act through ignorance that is not acceptable to the Church we are to carefully instruct that person in proper acts. We should try to do it in such a way as to limit embarrassment or hurt as much as possible.
We are not to regard status in life. If we show favoritism to the well off and shun the poor we have become respecters of persons and this is something that the Lord is not pleased with.
There is probably no other area where the "golden rule" will bear fruit than in the area of receiving brothers and sisters and making each other welcome. Matthew 7:12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.
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