This week, I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week by looking at the next section of this letter that is recorded for us in our Bibles, called the book of Romans. Now this section of this letter reminds me that there are just some of the messages and teachings of the Bible that we need to hear over and over again in order to fully embrace and practice as part of our lifestyle. And perhaps nowhere is this reality more evident than when it comes to how we practice our lifestyle as followers of Jesus when it comes to the liberty we have as a result of our relationship with Jesus.
More specifically, how we practice our lifestyle as followers of Jesus when it comes to the debatable issues of the faith. By debatable issues, I am referring to aspects of the Christian life that Christians may disagree on. There are some issues in Christianity that are closed handed issues that are not open for debate. For example, the fact that Jesus Christ is God-in-a-bod; the truth of the Trinity; the truth that salvation from selfishness and sin comes only by placing one’s confident truth in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader; these are closed handed issues, they are not open for debate.
However, there are other issues in Christianity that would be referred to as open-handed issues that followers of Jesus disagree on. For example, is it o.k. for Christians to drink alcohol socially? Is it o.k. for Christians to dance? Should Christians participate in any activity that is associated with Halloween? Should Christian children to go to public school or should they be in a Christian school or home schooled? Should Christian women work outside the home? Should Christians practice family planning and use birth control? Should Christians work at casinos?
Now, these issues are debatable, because while the issue is not clearly stated in the Bible as being right or wrong, some people view the issue as morally wrong, while others view the issue as being morally acceptable. And so often, what can tend to happen is that followers of Jesus will engage in heated debate and confrontation over an issue that God has not given us a clear directive on in His word. And because God has not given us a clear directive, what we tend to do as followers of Jesus is to try to help God out by making a list of rules in addition to the Bible when it comes to these debatable issues. And as a result, we move from living a lifestyle that is based on a confident trust in God to a lifestyle that is attempting to keep a list of rules when it comes to practicing our faith.
So how should we as followers of Jesus practice our lifestyle in light of the liberty that we have? How should followers of Jesus engage one another when it comes to the debatable issues within Christianity? In Romans chapter 14, we see the Apostle Paul reveal for us a timeless practice that is necessary to embrace if we are to practice a lifestyle that advances God’s kingdom mission and enhances His reputation. And that timeless truth is this: Followers of Jesus practice a lifestyle that carefully exercises their liberty. In Romans chapter 14, we see Paul provide for us two timeless principles that, if followers of Jesus fully understood and embraced, would enable us to manage the tension that comes when we practice a lifestyle that exercises the liberty that we have in Christ. So let’s discover the first principle together, beginning in Romans 14:1:
Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Paul begins this section of his letter to the members of the church at Rome by commanding followers of Jesus throughout history to accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. Now to understand why Paul was making this command, we first need to understand what was occurring among followers of Jesus at the church at Rome, and still occurs in churches today. At the church at Rome, there were some followers of Jesus who were what Paul called weak in faith. This phrase refers to a follower of Jesus who has an inability or a limitation when it comes to experiencing the freedom and liberty that they have when it comes to living out their day to day lives in relationship with Jesus. By contrast, a person who is strong in faith experiences a sense of strength and freedom that allows them great liberty in how they live out their day to day lives as a follower of Jesus.
In verse 2, Paul provides an example that fleshes out for us the difference between a person who has the strength and freedom to exercise the liberty that they have in Christ and the person who is weak and limited when it comes to exercising their liberty that they have in Christ. Paul explains that one person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. Now Paul is not making a statement about a vegan lifestyle here. In the church at Rome, there were some followers of Jesus who previously had been irreligious people that were not Jewish and there were some members of the church at Rome who previously had been Jewish religious people who attempted to do things for God in order to be right with God.
So when the annual church picnic at the church at Rome occurred, there were some members of the church who would be barbecuing a pig in order to have ribs and pulled pork sandwiches. Others, however, who grew up in the Jewish religious system that viewed pork as being unclean and wrong to eat would respond by refusing to eat ribs or pork sandwiches and instead only have a salad. For the person who had the strength and the confident trust to exercise the freedom and liberty that they had in Christ, there was no problem having some ribs or a pulled pork sandwich. For the person who had been rescued from self righteous religion, however, their faith was not as strong. They worried that eating this meat would be breaking a rule and be displeasing to God. And because they did not have the confident trust to eat meat that they still viewed as unclean, they only ate vegetables.
What ended up happening in the church at Rome was that people who had the strength and freedom that flowed from their confident trust in the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel to exercise their liberty to eat the pork were criticizing and condemning those who would not eat the pork as being spiritually immature and viewed them as second class citizens in the church. Those in Rome who were strong in their faith were saying to those who were weak in their faith when it came to this debatable issue “well, if you were spiritually mature, you would be able to eat some ribs. If you really understood the liberty you have, you would eat a pulled pork sandwich. I guess that I am just more mature than you, maybe someday you will actually grow up spiritually”.
In our culture today, this would be like taking a person who was an alcoholic and had come to Christ to a bar and saying “well if you were spiritually mature, you could have a drink with me, because the Bible does not condemn social drinking, it only condemns drunkenness, So why don’t you do the spiritually mature thing and have a drink with me”. Meanwhile, the new Christian is saying “no way, because I know what could happen if I start drinking, so I am not going to drink, because I am convinced that drinking is wrong”. So, followers of Jesus were getting into conflicts and quarrels with one another over differing opinions on open handed and debatable issues when it came to following Jesus. And followers of Jesus were criticizing, condemning, and judging and treating one another with contempt and in competition to who was right and thus more valuable and spiritually mature.
Now here's the question: has anything changed? Has anything changed in 2,000 years? No it hasn’t, has it? Paul’s response to followers of Jesus throughout history who want to criticize and condemn those who have differing views on how we are to exercise the freedom and liberty that we have when it comes to the open handed and debatable issues of the faith was this- knock it off! Instead of quarrelling with one another; instead of criticizing and condemning one another; accept one another. The word accept literally means to extend a welcome into one’s circle of acquaintances.
And here we see Paul provide for us a timeless principle that is necessary to integrate into our lives when it comes to carefully exercising the liberty that we have as followers of Jesus. And that principle is this: Followers of Jesus carefully exercise their liberty by not judging others when it comes to debatable issues. As followers of Jesus, we are to accept and welcome within the community of faith those who may be weak and limited when it comes to exercising their liberty that they have in Christ in their day to day lives on a debatable issue of the faith. We are not to judge them as second class citizens; instead we are to welcome, them, love them, and serve them. In verse 4, Paul asks a very pointed question to unpack and explain this timeless principle: “Who are you to judge a servant of another”? Paul’s point here is that at the end of the day, followers of Jesus are not going to be judged by one another when it comes to the opinions and convictions that we hold on the debatable issues of the faith. It is Jesus that we answer to. Our status or condition as His followers is based on His opinion and His opinion only.
And when it comes to debatable issues that are not clearly expressed in the message and the teachings of the Bible, Paul explains that Jesus will make that person stand. Paul’s point here is that as followers of Jesus, we are not to judge because Jesus is the judge. And Jesus, as the judge, has welcomed and accepted both those who are weak and those who are strong when it comes to exercising our liberty into His circle of acquaintances. We reflect Christ when we follow His example of accepting and welcoming those who have differing convictions on debatable issues into community where we can partner together in advancing God’s kingdom mission and enhancing His reputation.
Tomorrow, we will see Paul provide a second example of a debatable issue that was causing conflict a criticism in verse 5.
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