Romans 14
14 Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. 2 For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything. But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables. 3 Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t. And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.
5 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable. 6 Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves.8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.
10 So why do you condemn another believer[a]? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say,
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.[b]’”
12 Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.13 So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.
14 I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. 15 And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. 16 Then you will not be criticized for doing something you believe is good. 17 For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. 19 So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.
20 Don’t tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble.[c] 22 You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. 23 But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.[d]
Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.
Romans 14:1
About two years ago I was asked to be on the steering team for a local unity expression. I was very unsure about it because I knew that the other leaders had strong opinions which I disagreed with. Honestly, I found them frustrating and patronising. However, I agreed to help them and found the whole experience excruciating. It felt like we saw the world through completely different lenses. They wanted everyone who believed in Jesus to be included, I wanted us to limit it to Christians who sought to follow the direction of scripture. They wanted us to stop thinking about churches as individual entities, I felt that it was important to honour the independence and diversity of each church. They wanted all leaders to be invited, I wanted a space reserved for church leaders. The list went on and on… we debated and went round in circles.
Some of the issues were preferences but some were spiritually significant. It made me wonder, is it possible to have unity and holiness?
Unity is easy when there is no holiness, you can do what you want and invite anyone to come together. Holiness is easy, when there is no unity. Anyone who is different can be excluded and you can keep the community small and sharp. However, to have unity and holiness seems impossible because no one sees their faith in exactly the same way as others. We are all growing and learning and changing as we follow Jesus.
Paul saw this challenge and he said, ‘Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.’ I find this incredibly helpful. He is saying that we should create communities where people are able to have different opinions about things. The goal of church is not that we would all agree on our theology but that we would all become more like Christ. The fruit of the church is not perfect beliefs but the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
However, this in no way means that faith can become ’anything goes.’ He clarifies this position throughout the chapter:
- Unity must be among ‘believers’. This for him was someone who believed in the Lordship of Jesus, had been through catechism (training in how to follow Jesus) and had been baptised. They are people who share the same foundations of faith. In other words, we can disagree about how we apply scripture, not whether we should apply scripture to our lives.
- Keep the main thing the main thing. ‘Don’t tear apart the work of God over what you eat.’ The examples he gives are not big issues (although they may have felt big at the time). They are not arguments about the Gospel, the Trinity or the Bible. They are about how we apply it. He says, leave space for healthy disagreements and be united on the main thing.
- If in doubt, act more generously. Our instinct is that if we disagree, we should just let each person do what they want, or we should lower the bar. Paul says the opposite. If there is a situation where two people have different moral standards and are together, they should honour the higher bar and not make them feel bad for having convictions. Love will lay aside their preference for the sake of the other.
When I was a teenager, I was in a gang (although we didn’t think of it like that). It was the most broken and yet compelling experience of community that I have ever had. It was not based on total agreement but on total commitment. It was us against the world. We would fight for each other, share everything with each other and sacrifice for each other. I had never and have never since known such compelling relationships.
Paul wants the church to be united. He wants us to love and support each other. A community forged by pure love: the centre of our lives not our ambitions but our deepest relationships, first with God and secondarily with each other. We can be confident in the Holy Spirit will lead and refine us all at our own pace. We can love people on the journey. However, taking the journey together matters.
