Romans 14:1-4

                                                             Romans 14:1-4

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

 

The body of Christ is made up of a variety of people from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of different traditions.  These are not issues of right or wrong, but they are issues of personal preference.  At times we have issues that are called “wisdom issues.”  Paul wants to make it clear that these things are not supposed to divide us against one another.  There is room within the body of Christ for a variety of convictions on these different areas.  When it comes to matters of differences over preferences, we should keep at least these three principles in mind.

 

DO NOT ARGUE: The church united both Jews and Gentiles into one body.  These two different groups came from vastly different cultural backgrounds.  People from each group would have different traditions and convictions concerning food.  For some Jews, eating foods that were considered unclean in the Law of Moses would have been difficult for them.  For some Gentiles, eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols would have been offensive.  Others from each group understood that in Christ they had freedom to enjoy all those foods.  This contrast put the unity of the church at risk.  Paul wants to make sure that all the different positions were welcome in the church.  The differences were to be understood as personal preferences and were not to become subjects of debate and arguing.  Diet is a secondary and personal issue that should not divide.  Issues of personal liberty such as the use of alcohol, music, and entertainment should not be sources of division and argument in the church today.

 

DO NOT DESPISE: When there are people with different preferences and convictions attending the same church, it is easy for one group to look down on and despise the other.  Paul is striving to make it clear that there is no room for this in the body of Christ.  We can have different traditions while at the same time realizing that there are others who have contrasting opinions.  Just because I have liberty in an area does not mean I have the right to despise those who don’t have such liberties.  By the same token, when I don’t have liberty to do a certain thing because of my upbringing or traditions, I cannot despise those who have liberty.  We are to respect the differences of opinions and practices in these areas.

 

DO NOT JUDGE: The heart is the true issue in all of this.  The motives behind why a person has difficulty with foods or has liberty with these foods is what is truly important.  However, those motives are invisible to us.  We must not begin judging one another’s motives or suspect that someone else is judging ours.  God welcomes all these different peoples with different convictions into His body without making distinction.  We are to do the same.  We are to presume that the motives of our brothers in Christ are pure.  Only God knows our hearts.  We must constantly evaluate our own motives but are completely unqualified to guess at the motives of others.  We are called to love one another not judge each other.

 

APPLICATION: Don’t become involved with debates and arguments over secondary issues that qualify as preferences or cultural traditions.  Be intentional about respecting and reaching out in friendship to others who have different views on these issues.  Guard our hearts from pride and looking down on others with different opinions.  Check our motives but always presume that the motives of others are pure.

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