“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. 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. 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.” (Romans 14:1-4 ESV)
Apparently, in the Roman church, there were some confident in their freedom in Christ who ate all foods. And there were others who still maintained a dietary regimen. Paul is merely encouraging them not to despise each other. We get so passionate about issues that it can divide the church. While I may disagree with you on an issue, I can see that you are passionately pursuing obedience to Christ. Each group was doing their best to obey God in the way they understood. And yet, they weren’t happy with that; they wanted the other group to change. We see this so much in the modern church. Where it’s an issue of worship styles, or Armenian vs. Calvinist, or anything else, we would rather hate and disagree than love and appreciate that we all are trying to know and love God the best we can. God did not make the members of the church the same; He asked us to live in unity. There is no need for unity when all is conformity. There is need for unity when we are different. That is one of the things that makes the church of Jesus beautiful. It is artwork with many differing pieces with different looks, shapes, and purposes, but together make a lovely whole.
Thoughts?
Todd
That is so true we should learn to enjoy and appreciate our differences in the church and instead of tearing one another down. The body has many parts and we all have a job to do. Yet one part can’t exist without the other. Unfortunately the body is rather sick and doesn’t function as it should.
We tend to forget the point which is to be like Christ. It reminds me of your song that says Jesus wouldn’t be accepted in my church. We get so caught up in our traditions that we forget what we are to be about.
Looking forward to worshiping with you in Midway, Nm. I live in Roswell, NM just about 20 miles away.
I think it takes a lot of maturity to be able to fulfill this command. People in churches are so convinced of their own righteousness that they think their opponents are purposely choosing lies. When a church works the way it should, with people loving each other and thinking of people as more important than ideas, Christ’s body is at its very best. Thanks for these thoughts!