We’re going to look at what has been a major problem in the church for centuries…the favorite sport of Christians trying to change each other.
In chapter 14 Paul continues to explain what righteous living by faith looks like…he’s drawing a distinction between a believer who is strong in faith and one who is weak in faith.
Someone might say “Just looking at my lifestyle I’m not overly confident…but I’m sure God is mostly pleased with the way I live BUT…unfortunately… there are those who …drink beer…play cards…shoot pool…throw darts…play musical instruments, dance…go to movies…smoke cigars…gamble…women who wear lipstick and long pants …there’s an endless list of things that in my opinion I’m sure God is not happy about.”
What we’re really talking about is ‘opinions’ …things that are not necessarily directly addressed in the Bible…things I rarely if ever preach on.
Here’s the problems with opinions:
FIRST…if the Bible expresses only human opinions…then any part of it is subject to my opinion…there’s nothing wrong with having an opinion about what the Bible says…but it’s important to remember that the Bible conveys God’s opinion and any deviation from that is suspect to being in error.
SECONDLY…opinions are issues the church has never been able to settle… WHY…biblical illiteracy…people who aren’t sure about what the Bible says but have their own opinions and remain tied to unscriptural ideas and myths.
What we’re dealing with is a misunderstanding of the principles that are set forth in Romans 14…the problem of what some consider to be Christian taboos …things that go against Christian ethics…all the no-no’s that Christians like to throw in the face of those who do such things.
The question is…if you’re opposed to those things…then how do you have fellowship with somebody who does those things…who lives a lifestyle that is different than yours…who does things that you don’t approve of as a Christian?
That is exactly what Paul is speaking to in Romans 14…then Paul refers to something that was specific to a 1st century Christian.
The issue that occupied the early church was the eating of meat…one group freely ate everything…if there was food on the table…they ate it…they were convinced that Christ had freed them from all the dietary restrictions of the Law.
The other group…also true believers…felt strongly that it was necessary to continue to follow at least some of the dietary requirements from the O. T.
They were afraid that in the local meat markets some of the food had been sacrificed to idols or had been blessed by pagan priests…a concern even in the Corinthian Church…of eating things sacrificed to idols [1 Cor. 8:7].
A serious legitimate concern…Paul addresses this in 14:1-3:
1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does…
For many of the early converts the problem was they had come from a background where it was acceptable to believe in many gods…they were involved with idol worship prior to conversion.
To eat meat that had been sacrificed to an idol would cause their conscience to tell them they were participating in pagan idolatry all over again.
For them it was a big deal…for us today we’d say…sounds kind of lame… everyone knows idols aren’t real…they don’t actually exist so ignore the idea.
That’s exactly Paul’s sentiment…as strange as it sounds to modern readers not every Christian back then possessed that knowledge…for many Christians that was a real issue…they didn’t want to do something that would offend God.
The ones with the weak faith were the ones whose conscience was violated if they ate the meat…Paul makes a decision regarding this difference of opinion.
FIRST of all…for the more mature believer…instead of shaming the weak believers…they should have been more sensitive to the weak person’s position of not wanting to eat the meat.
SECONDLY…the more mature Christian showed a lack of understanding… they should have been sensitive to the believers who didn’t feel comfortable eating sacrificed meat because they believed it offended God.
Let me give an example…using alcohol as the example…it could be anything …here’s my call as a Pastor regarding making the decision about drinking…
Will it offend other Christians? (1 Cor. 8:4-11; Romans 14:15) Will it harm my testimony? (1 Cor. 10:27-29; I Thess. 5:22)
Paul is actually speaking to both groups…as Christians we are not to despise or judge those who hold opposite opinions…especially when it is not directly addressed in the Bible.
Judging someone based on your opinion of what they’re doing is unacceptable.
When it comes to Biblical teaching…there are essentials…and there are non-essentials…an essential would be moral teaching such as sexual immorality …this is clearly wrong.
Non-essentials are other things that could be considered opinions…such as food and alcohol…schooling our children-home—public—Christian…type of car or house to own…political affiliation… these are more matters of opinion…things that Christians are to tolerate each other on.
Instead of saying how foolish they were for not eating the meat the stronger Christians should have been more sympathetic to their feelings and responded in kindness to their concerns.
Allowing them to remain in their belief until they were better informed…that meat sacrificed to idols was still just meat because the idol was worthless.
We ought not judge or look down on those with different opinions.
There is a caveat to that statement…I’m not suggesting that we accept the opinions…ideas…or philosophy of those who would entice you to accept or believe statements about the Bible that are not true…don’t entertain them… don’t even consider them.
Here’s how naive people are about Jesus…they think that because He was only human He was limited to what first century humans knew…He was unaware of the complexity of living in such sophisticated times as the 21st century.
He couldn’t possibly know about things such as depression…bipolar disorders… autism…dementia…Alzheimer’s…or…have an awareness of the millions of other things that centuries of knowledge has taught us.
And so they adopt non-biblical ideas about things because today we are more knowledgeable…especially on how the world was created…how man came into existence.
Even denominations within what we call Christian have developed ‘new ideas’ regarding what the Bible teaches about…creation…evolution…marriage… abortion…women in leadership roles…even new ideas about Jesus that conflict with what the Bible reveals:
…That Jesus is not an eternal being but instead is the first of God’s creations… He had a beginning.
…That Jesus was just a man…He was not divine.
…That Jesus was a loving compassionate man who went about doing good and would never bring himself to punish anyone.
They fail to realize that…yes…Jesus was fully human…but He is fully Divine as well…He has always been.
And because He is fully Divine…He already knows the future and everything that is going to happen…Jesus has already been in the 21st century…He knows everything that man will suffer from or invent …there is nothing that man…can …will…or do…that is not already known about by God.
Because Christianity has failed to expand and accept new ideas…including many things that are unscientific…or because we won’t accept unbiblical practices …or because we are unwilling to entertain different ideas or opinions about the Bible…they consider us to be stagnant and regarded as outdated.
Problem is…Christians need to loosen up a bit…be more accepting to new ideas …be more accommodating to other possibilities.
They’re right…we’re not accepting or accommodating to other possibilities… and we shouldn’t be.
Paul is not saying… ‘Whatever you want to believe about anything…is OK’. He is not saying that…he is not saying anything and everything is OK.
That’s the religious mindset in American society today…the attitude that emphasizes tolerance over doctrine.
It’s crucial to keep in mind that the world sells itself as being enlightened… open minded…and progressive…all the while portraying Christians as being backward…and in the dark.
Actually it’s the world that’s in the dark …the world doesn’t realize that
… God has revealed Himself in nature and in His word [John 17:25]
… man is NOT basically good [Rom. 3:10-17]
… the purpose for living is NOT to collect all the stuff you can
… death is NOT a place of eternal peace
As Christians… it’s always good to suggest to someone the flaws and dangers of doing something that is in direct opposition to the Bible…BUT
As a Christian…we should not impose our freedom onto someone else.
In [4] Paul is using a first century comparison to explain the distinction between a believer who is strong in faith and one who is weak in faith…the importance of not imposing your opinion on someone else.
Who are you to judge the servant of another?
Again…this is a first century illustration they could identify with…one man should have nothing to do with another man’s servant…he has no power over him…no right to question his actions…to condemn him…to look down on him…or be critical of him.
Putting this into a modern-day application…as a Christian…you are not another Christian’s master…you are not to have a hateful heart toward those with different opinions…particularly over issues the Bible is not specific about.
It’s not the role of servants to pass judgment or condemn each other…nor are we to make determinations or opinions regarding Scripture…no one is a self-appointed critic of God…we are all servants of the same Master.
If God has revealed to you that you need to stop doing something…you need to stop…that’s why I don’t do New Year’s resolutions or Lent…He’s not indicating stopping for a limited time…He wants you to stop it altogether.
And if God has revealed the need for you to stop doing something…don’t shove that onto someone else…it’s more advisable to let God reveal to them the need to stop…He’s a little more subtle and a whole lot less hateful.
When someone makes the statement: ‘let God reveal it to me’ the obvious response is…OK how does that happen…how does God reveal something to me?
God still speaks to people today…the question isn’t is God speaking… because He is…the question is are you listening.
God has revealed Himself in times past and in numerous ways today:
• Audible Voice • Angelic Visitation • Visions and Dreams • Signs • The Written Word • Through People • Creation and Nature • Through Our Conscience • Mass Media
Another way God speaks to us is through circumstances…No such thing as luck in the life of a believer…or of being in the right place at the right time.
I can assure you…that at some time in your life…no matter how young in years you are…or how new a Christian you are…God has put you in a situation… used circumstances for His good.
Here’s how this works in the life of a believer…God didn’t place you or me here so we could post pictures on social media…or just hang out until we die.
He’s placed us where we are because we are in the midst of a battle…a war… you and I are active participants…there are no bench warmers in the conflict involving good and evil.
God has put you where you are for such a time as this…and its’s not a coincidence…it’s not by chance…it’s not an accident.
That phrase ‘for such a time as this’ gets tossed around frequently…often without much thought to the original meaning or context.
The book of Esther…one of two books in the Bible that does not mention God’s name…is where this phrase originates from.
The book of Esther is a book about Jewish history…about a Persian king who has been persuaded to annihilate the Jews throughout his empire.
Esther is his queen…she’s Jewish…she wants to avert this disaster by talking to the king…she was told by her cousin…that it was no accident that she was the queen of Persia…she was there for a reason…God had allowed her to attain royalty for such a time as this.
Problem…back then not even the queen could talk to the king without his permission…it could result in her death.
Esther had been given the opportunity to save all the Jews living in Persia…she had been chosen by God to set aside her own interests…to let go of her own ambitions…that’s really God’s desire for all of us…to be focused on God’s purpose for us and on others rather than ourselves. [Philippians 2:4]
4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Self-sacrifice is one of the major themes of the New Testament…it is the most basic commandment in the Bible…that we love God with all our heart…soul… mind and strength [Matt. 22:36].
If we are to fully obey God in this life…we must sacrifice our rights and our desires…we are to willingly limit our freedom and set aside our own rights to pursue the purpose God has called us to…we are called to be self-sacrificial.
In Esther’s case…it would mean she would have to insert herself into the king’s
affairs…something that could cost her her life…but:
the king extended the gold scepter to Esther and she arose and stood before him. [Esther 8:4]
She pleaded her case and disaster was averted.
This is essentially what happen to Joseph…circumstances determined the outcome of his life.
His brothers throw him into a pit to get rid of him…he’s taken out of the pit and sent to Egypt where through a series of coincidences and circumstances he’s promoted to the number two man in all of Egypt and eventually saves the entire nation of Israel from starvation.
Looking at Esther’s situation and the many others in Scripture God used for His purpose…Moses …Abraham…Ruth…Hannah…Joseph…David…Mary…Paul and the disciples…like them…God has given each of us a job…He has opened opportunities for you to be used.
Good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them [Eph. 2:10]
To miss a kingdom assignment because we’re too caught up in our personal affairs is one of the greatest tragedies we could ever face.
As I read these four verses the issue is not correcting our thinking about food… because food is not the issue.
If all of us think hard enough we can recall the time when we have made judgements against fellow Christians.
Christ does not require that we agree on every issue…but He does call us to love one another…in the 21st century the issues that divide Christians are different from those of the first century.
Here Paul is more concerned about the manner in which we deal with differences than about the fact that we have differences…because really that’s something we’re always going to have…differences with one another.
The guidance that Paul gives to the Roman Christians is still applicable to us today…Paul’s intent was to bring both sides together…he calls us to welcome those with whom we have differences [1] not to hold one another in contempt or judge each other [4,10]
He calls us to recognize our connectedness to each other…not to believe that our position is right and the other is wrong…to not judge others and hold them in contempt…BUT…to acknowledge that each of us is accountable to God.