When two or more Christians are gathered together, we can pretty
much guarantee three things, food, fellowship, and disagreement!
While that opening is intended to be tongue-in-cheek, we can all
agree that Christians have pretty much mastered the art of disagreement,
haven’t we? Ask the congregation of any
large church what style of music is best for Sunday morning, or how loud it
should be, and you’ll get a quick lesson in Christian diversity!
Other classic taboo topics such as tattoos, R-rated movies,
and social drinking may not be quite the hot-button issues they once were, but
modern-day Christians will still have widely differing opinions on the
specifics.
When certain lifestyle choices aren’t precisely defined in
Scripture, believers will draw their own lines on appropriate conduct based on
their own individual personal convictions. As ethical considerations begin to weigh on
decisions, Christians may hesitate to take part in some things that just feel
wrong to them.
For example, some Christians may have qualms about certain kinds of
music, spending money on the latest technology, being active on social media,
or watching Netflix. Meanwhile, other
Christians may have no reservations in these exact same areas.
Even within the church, Christians will differ on the clothing they
feel is appropriate for Sunday, what kind of lighting should be used during
worship, or what version of the Bible should be used. Our decision-making process in these scenarios
is not based on black-and-white Scripture, but rather it’s guided by our
spiritual conscience, ingrained moral persuasions, or even just our
personality.
The apostle Paul addressed these types of spiritual gray areas and
the discord they may cause in Romans 14. Verse 2 tells us that 1st century Christians
had varying opinions about eating meat:
“One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith
is weak, eats only vegetables.” (vs. 2)
Meat may not seem like a divisive issue to us. The burgers and hot dogs at your church picnic
probably won’t be a source of friction for your congregation. And Genesis 9:3 tells us it’s perfectly okay
to eat meat.
However, some early followers of Jesus had reservations about eating meat. Some may have felt that it was still
more spiritually appropriate to follow certain Old Testament dietary laws and
requirements. And some hesitated to buy meat from the marketplace that may have
been dedicated to pagan gods. The New Testament clearly and
repeatedly lays down the principle that God is completely indifferent to what
we eat.
First and most important, the Lord Jesus himself memorably
proclaimed all foods to be legitimate for eating. (See Mark 7:1–23) Since Peter didn’t seem to get the memo, the
Lord Jesus had to give him a vision three times to show him that Christians
must not make food an issue. (See Acts 10:9–16) Then in 1 Corinthians 8:8, Paul comes right
out and says it, “But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we
do not eat, and no better if we do.”
Paul’s point was that neither side was specifically right or wrong in their
own personal convictions. It’s acceptable
for Christians to differ on minor topics not directly addressed in Scripture. However, in the process of differing, we
should avoid passing judgment on one another:
“Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t.
And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God
has accepted them. Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants?” (vs. 3, 4)
We all have our own personal viewpoints in areas such as, clothing styles,
entertainment choices, financial planning, parenting techniques, and social
media habits…etc.
Reading through those examples, we probably thought of at least one
Christian whose opinions differ significantly from ours. If we’re honest, we’ll admit at times we’ve
felt annoyed with, or even looked down on, fellow Christians because of their
lifestyle choices.
Romans 14:6 teaches that our own personal convictions are not to be
used as a measure of spirituality. Doing
things a certain way does not necessarily make one Christian more
spiritual than another Christian. We
shouldn’t jump to conclusions or criticize believers who make innocent choices
that we might not like or agree with. We also shouldn’t become irritated or look
down on those we might see as old-fashioned or legalistic.
My way or your way, we will both answer to the LORD for the
way we live.
“Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give
thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also
want to please the Lord and give thanks to God.” (vs. 6)
In our morally tolerant age, this passage in Romans and others such as, “Do
not judge, or you too will be judged.” (Matthew 7:1) are often misused and
misquoted. In some cases, Christians
have become so tolerant to differing opinions and lifestyles that even blatantly
sinful conduct is overlooked or accepted in the name of loving and
not judging one another.
With that in mind, it’s important to remember that Romans 14 was written in
reference to areas that are “morally neutral.” It does not say that Christians should
compromise and overlook sin that’s clearly defined by Scripture. In fact,
in 1 Corinthians 5 Paul reprimanded the Corinthian Christians for their
pride in not confronting a fellow Christian involved in a sinful
relationship. There are times to lovingly correct and encourage our fellow
believers, pointing out the truth gently, with Christ-like compassion.
As Christians, our priority should be to develop the characteristics that
the Holy Spirit produces in our lives, patience, kindness, goodness,
gentleness, self-control. And we should
be known for our love, both in unity and in our differences. The Bible doesn’t command us to stop loving a
person if we disagree with them! In all
areas we should be quick to listen, slow to anger, and gracious in
understanding (See James 1:19), and approach difficult conversations with
humble and merciful hearts.
