Paul was asked a question – "Is eating meat offered to idols contaminating?" And no one in the Roman church seemed to agree. Paul acknowledged this was not a black and white question with a simple answer and, instead, took the opportunity to instruct the Roman Christians that as they sorted through the question they needed to remember that their unity was more important than their differences on a grey area.
How can this be done? In Romans 14-15, he gives a series of considerations. And on the Wednesday feature of this blog, we will study these 13 considerations.
CONSIDERATION #1 (posted on 4.18.22) - Remember the difference between opinion and absolutes. "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." (14:1-2).
CONSIDERATION #2 – (posted on 4.25.22) Remember to value those who differ from you. "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." (Rom 14:3)
CONSIDERATION #3 – (posted 5.4.22) Remember that God is the ultimate judge – "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" (Rom 14:4).
CONSIDERATION #4 – (posted 5.11.22) Remember your convictions are your convictions – "One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be filly convinced in his own mind."
CONSIDERATION #5 – Remember that God's glory is your aim (vs. 6-9) – "6 The one who observes the day, observes it IN HONOR OF THE LORD. The one who eats, eats IN HONOR OF THE LORD, since HE GIVES THANKS TO GOD, while the one who abstains, abstains IN HONOR OF THE LORD AND GIVES THANKS TO GOD. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, WE LIVE TO THE LORD, and if we die, WE DIE TO THE LORD. So then, whether we live or whether we die, WE ARE THE LORD'S. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, THAT HE MIGHT BE LORD BOTH OF THE DEAD AND OF THE LIVING."
Here is what was happening in the Roman church. Based on the conclusions of some, some were observing certain holy days and other were not. Some were eating food in God's honor and others were not eating that some food and abstaining from it in God's honor.
The caution? Don't judge where God has not given you authority to judge. When we are wrongfully judgmental of others, we make ourselves the issue. We make ourselves the judge and jury. And thus, we are robbing God of the rightful glory He deserves as Judge and Jury. We are making an idol of our own conclusions and convictions.
Paul affirmed those motivations. He said in vs. 7 that we ought to not live for ourselves. This sounds a bit like the famous refrain from the English poet John Donne – "No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main."[1]
God's glory should be our aim – "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (I Cor 10:31). Brothers and sisters, if we prayed to God every time we had a different opinion with someone else instead of going to criticize them, how helped would the church be!
When we navigate through these tricky times, may we remind ourselves that no matter what what form of schooling we choose for our children or what we think about the restrictions or guidelines of regathering given to us by our government, all who profess Christ should live by the motivation of pleasing God. And if we are all motivated by the same reality, that will strengthen our bonds of fellowship – not divide us.
[1] From a poem titled "No Man is An Island"
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