"For one believeth that he may eat all things; another who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him." Romans 14v2-3
Chapter 14v1 begins "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye" ; chapter 14v3 ends "for God has received him." We are to welcome into our fellowship (that term being used in the loosest possible way) those whom God has welcomed into His. That is the standard, and we should not come short. We are not to receive them to "doubtful disputations" this means not to criticize the others opinions or to pass judgement on their scruples or perplex them with our continued dialogue on our differences. The whole passage could be prefaced like this; "Do not argue with your brother in Christ over issues on which God has not pronounced." If you have a "thus saith the Lord," by all means graciously point it out, otherwise ignore the differences. Now we have to define the meaning of "weak" and "strong" . Paul opens chapter 15 by clearly stating "we then that are strong"; Paul classifies himself as one who is strong. What he means by this is that in matters of culture he has no scruples about eating certain meats, which was a big issue in his day. Eating is such a basic everyday thing that such disputes were likely to come up at every meal. The strong brother is the one who allows himself to do things which have no moral consequence, and upon which God has not made a prohibition. The weak brother is the one who's conscience before God requires him to deny himself in certain situations. For sure the weak brother thinks he is the strong one, and will have a tendency to pass judgement on those who are more liberal. The strong brother who sees nothing wrong with eating certain meats is not to despise his weaker brother.
In those days the eating of meats was a big issue. There were certain prohibitions by God of old on the Jewish nation regarding certain meats. These prohibitions were designed to keep Israel separate from the rest of the nations while God fulfilled His purpose through them. Now that God has turned to the nations, those prohibitions have been clearly removed. In the New Testament Jesus, Paul and Peter all make this clear. There would be scruples on whether something was "kosher" that is prepared in a very definite way prior to eating; there was the issue of "clean" and "unclean" meats. The nearest example today would be those who believe they should be vegetarians in their diet. Other modern day examples might be whether one allows himself alcoholic drink for medicinal or social purposes. It could be recreation, whether one allows themselves to practice sporting events. It could be clothing, whether one dresses up or dresses down on certain occasions. It could be personal grooming, how I wear my hair or whether I wear jewelry etc. It could be lifestyle, it could be many, many things on which God has made no pronouncement. Some believe today they must keep the Sabbath , which the New Testament teaches clearly, it has now been fulfilled in Christ. On the first Sabbath (Genesis chapter 2) the picture is that God rested on a finished work and so the work of Christ being finished there is no need to perpetuate the Sabbath; instead we rest on the finished work of Christ every day of the week. However, some believe otherwise, and we should respect that. The whole purpose of this important section of God's word is to encourage practical unity amongst the people of God.
Those who are weak. may be so because the are young; it may be they are spiritually immature; it may be they are slightly biased for whatever reason; it may be they have been influenced by cultural or family practices. Legalism, the practice of laying down rules which God has not laid down is a sign of spiritual weakness, not one of strength, even if the perpetrators believe the opposite. People in all walks of life seem to have a need for practices by which they can control others. There are two courses of action prescribed by the apostle here. Receiving one another means, on the one hand, the weaker brother is not to judge the strong brother who allows himself latitude on matters he would not; the stronger brother is not to despise the brother who lives with such scruples. All these have to be put aside for the greater glory of God. In the verses to follow Paul will argue very powerfully why this attitude of tolerance BOTH WAYS must be engaged.
We must make a difference between liberty and rebellion. We are not to make spiritual maturity a condition of fellowship. We are to receive one another for the greatest reason of all "God has received them."
No comments:
Post a Comment