Romans 14:7-9 Weak or Strong, We Are the Lord's

Romans 14:7-9 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 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. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. The theme of this morning's service can be found in the very first verses we hear from the Gospel Invitation: "we are His people and the sheep of His pasture" (Psalm 100:3). We'll sing from Psalm 23 that Jehovah is our shepherd and that His house will be our home (My Shepherd Will Supply My Need—Psalm 23), while Psalm 1 reminds us that Christ will preserve and bless His flock (Blessed Are All They—Psalm 1). The final verse of Not What My Hands Have Done confesses, "I live because He lives," right along with Paul in Romans 14 ("whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's"). This truth enables us to identify with the description of the righteous man in Psalm 112: "he shall not be afraid … his confidence upon the Lord is stayed" (Alleluia! How Blest The Man—Psalm 112). Given all this, we end the service with the words of yet another psalm: "Unto Him, your God, O Zion, joyful hallelujahs sing!" —Henry C. Haffner Key Words: None, Lives, Dies, Himself, End, Lord Keystone Verse: Whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. (Romans 14:8)