FollowHave you sensed we’re divided regarding post-virus church reopening issues?
Over my pastoral career, I’ve experienced divisiveness regarding church music, rock music, Halloween activities, educational choices, tattoos, cannabis, and others. Divisiveness seems to be part of our DNA!
Moral issues from God’s Word are incredibly clear: lying, stealing, sexual immorality, murder, drunkenness, not paying taxes owed, resisting governmental authority, etc. These are issues of right and wrong.
But, other issues in life are debatable or disputable.
This is where Romans 14 helps us navigate. But, first, let me give some background.
When the church was birthed (Acts 2) it was totally Jewish. When the gospel hopped the fence into the Gentile world (Acts 10-11) a number of disputes developed. Jewish believers had scruples; the Gentiles seemingly had none. Squabbling erupted when these two groups united in worship or in community.
Diet and days are two big issues critical to Jewish believers.
Jewish people were used to food regulations based on Levitical laws. A familiar one was no pork, but it also included many other items. In addition, Jews didn’t want to consume any food that was associated with idol worship.
Gentile believers, on the other hand, bought meat from pagan temples where sacrifices were offered. The idols didn’t eat the meat, so it was sold at the temple meat market at a good price.
This deeply disturbed Jewish believers, because to them, this was participating in idol worship. But Gentile believers regarded idols as nothing but wood, stone, or metal. “Why not take advantage of a good deal?” they thought. “After all, Jesus pronounced all things clean (Mark 7:19).”
If dietary regulations were not enough, the celebration of certain days compounded the problem. Sabbath days, feast days, and holidays were revered by Jews. Gentiles considered all days alike.
This is where Paul presents three guidelines regarding disputable things (Romans 14).
First, each believer is free to have their own individual perspective on non-critical, non-moral, disputable matters (14:2, 5-7). This allows for personal freedom.
Second, each believer is ultimately answerable to God (14:8-12, 22). This affirms individual accountability before God.
Third, each believer is to love one another.
But what does it mean to love a fellow believer? Three concepts describe love when it comes to disputable things.
First, love means I accept you with your individual peculiarities (14:1).
Second, love means I don’t judge you for your personal choices (14:3-4, 13-18). In this context “judge” means accusing you of a moral wrong when you have freedom of choice.
Third, love means I don’t want to offend you overtly with my actions (14:19-21).
We are not going to agree about the reopening process related to COVID-19. But we all need to agree to operate according to biblical guidelines with regard to disputable things.
Oh yes, by the way, you’re free to disagree with me!
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