Disputable Matters Romans 14:1-14
As we continue to work through Paul’s letter to the Roman church we move up to chapter 14. We’re going to look at what Paul said back in the first century about what my professor on Paul’s letters called the favorite indoor sport of Christians; trying to change each other. We have Christ. We know what is right and wrong. The problem is there are many different Christian groups and each has their own set of Christian ethics that they think are right; and the problem with Christian ethics is many use them to create a legalistic set of behaviors one must follow in order to be accepted or to be told they are living as a Christian.
This letter was written sometime around 53AD or about thirty years after Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection so we aren’t horrible people, Christians have been trying to change others from the beginning. I am not going to tell you I found the right way, that I’m right and others are wrong. All I’m doing is reading Paul’s letter and trying to find things in it to discuss that will make you think.
Paul tells us in chapter twelve about love; that it’s true nature is to be serving, that it cannot be phony. Chapter 13 tells us love must be submissive and universal, without exception; Romans 13:8, “Owe no man anything except to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.”
We are all a work in progress and in my experience this love and acceptance can break down when one group is farther along their walk in faith than another and they want these others to just do as they say because they say so. Its nature and Paul knows this, he fights it in himself. This is why he starts chapter 14 by addressing this very thing, “Accept the one whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.”
This seems simple enough; do not reject someone, do not ignore someone; accept them, but accept them not for the purpose of arguing or debating with them, accept them without passing judgment.
Think of what we’re being told; accept someone regardless of where we struggle or differ with them. We must always remember they are our brother or sister; they are family. I didn’t pick my sister but she’s family. I may not have picked who is my brother or sister in Christ but God did and they are now family. This does not mean we need to ignore things that are different but it does mean we need to address things with God at the heart of it.
Verse 2, “One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.” I admit I am a carnivore and I knew I would find a scripture that says being a vegetarian is wrong. No, that’s not what this is about. This comes out of the background of the early church. Jewish converts refrain from certain meat. In Gentile cities meat was offered to pagan gods and some early converts said that if you ate this meat it was the same as if you were worshiping that god. Still others said times are hard, survival is hard; meat is meat.
In Paul’s day just as today, issues have different viewpoints. There are more liberal points of view and there are stricter points of view. There are many issues in today’s world that cause issue in the modern church; can you drink alcohol, can I work on Sundays, can I be friends with someone who lives differently, and one I came across more than once, can I serve a church if I’m divorced?
Each issue has different viewpoints depending on how you interpret scripture. I see Paul telling us that in matters that don’t affect one’s salvation; we should not argue the point. Point out to someone what the Bible says but do it with love and gentle acceptance, do it to teach.
Verse 3, “The man who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not…” Those mature in their faith must not push out those who are struggling in theirs. We must not look disdainfully down on them. We must not talk about them or ridicule them. Even those with strong faith can struggle; maybe they gave in to a temptation, or lost a loved one. Their questions or doubt does not mean God is not with them. It does not mean we should turn away from them. Those who are new to the faith will not understand everything. It does not mean they aren’t sincere. It does not mean we can chastise them.
But Paul sees another side to this and he addresses this too, “…the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.” Those who are new or struggling must not look down on those who seem to have peace in areas of faith. This again involves no criticizing. We should not say to someone “I am struggling to understand, struggling to be a good Christian, how can you claim to be a Christian when I see you do -----“
The past few years I’ve heard several people tell me, “You can’t be a Christian and vote for ---”My Christianity is not based on my politics, my politics are based on my Christianity. My Christianity is not based on who I vote for, my Christianity is based on who I believe in.
It’s unfortunate that Christianity has been distorted in the eyes of the world. Christianity is now seen as a “don’t” religion; don’t do that, don’t vote for that candidate, don’t live that way. People see the church as having imposed standards and rules that have nothing to do with scripture and I believe this is the reason our churches are emptying.
Verse 4, “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls.” Paul explains to the leaders and members of the early church that it is not their duty to judge someone else. Our job is to study scripture, examine the lessons of it and apply them to our lives. Each of us will do this to a greater or lesser degree but it is not for us to create applications of scripture for others to follow, especially if we don’t follow them ourselves. We all have heard of ministers preaching people are going to hell for adultery and then getting caught in adultery themselves. And have you noticed that when they are caught suddenly they decide they were wrong and now all they have to do is ask for forgiveness. It’s this kind of hypocrisy that is another factor in people leaving churches.
We need people to see us as Christians not with a “don’t” faith but with a “do” faith. We do love God, we do love our neighbors, we do our best to learn and mature in faith and do our best to be like Christ.
Once we get people to see us with a “do” faith, then we can revisit our “don’t” faith from the proper vantage point. We don’t hate others. We don’t exclude those who think differently. We don’t judge others. We don’t condemn others.
Verse four says to his own master he stands or falls. God offers every single person salvation through Christ. Through his Word in the Bible God gives every single person the information to see this. All we can do as Christians is point someone in the right direction. We are not accountable for someone else. We are not tasked with making someone believe. It is not our job to criticize or judge or condemn someone who does not do as we think they should. Each person on their own answers to their master, God.
In verse 13 Paul explains all this in a concise way, “Therefore…” And as we learned last week what is it there for? Because of all that has come so far in chapter 14. “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.”
Ultimately why are we told this? Also in verse 13, “Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.” Don’t judge, don’t criticize, don’t condemn when we do, when we push others away in this manner we are putting a wall between them and Christ’s redemption.
Those “don’t” faith churches are pushing people away from God and it is having a ripple effect in all our churches. It is up to us to show God’s love and acceptance by loving and accepting others as Christ has accepted us.
Amen.