“Why are you doing that? You sure aren’t much of a Christian if you are doing that!” Has another Christian ever said that to you? Or perhaps you are one that has said, or perhaps thought that about another Christian. There are many that think that their personal opinions are right, and cast judgment on others. This has been an issue in many churches among different believers, and has been happening since the early church. Our portion of Scripture today from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans teaches us how God wants us to handle this problem.
In the early church, there were differences in personal beliefs about several issues, among them were what should be acceptable to eat or not eat, and also about what days, if any, should be considered holy. Among early believers, there were a number of those who came from a Jewish background who still felt compelled to follow the Old Testament dietary laws. They were still meticulous in eating only foods that were kosher, and some of them sat in judgment on their fellow Christians about their diet. There were also some believers, both from Jewish or Gentile background, who were very careful about not eating certain foods, particularly meat, which had previously been offered to pagan idols. During the 1st century in the Mediterranean world, some meat or other food items were offered to pagan idols, and then quickly taken to the marketplace where they were often sold at discounted price. There were some in the early church who took advantage of these bargains. However, some other believers were harshly judging them for eating such food. There were also some factions that felt the Jewish religious holy days still needed to be observed, while others didn’t. These were issues that the Apostle Paul sought to resolve.
As our passage opens, Paul speaks of those who were weak in the faith. He is referring to these believers who felt compelled to still follow the Jewish dietary laws or to avoid certain meats offered to idols. They felt that to be a true believer, or a “better” Christian, one must follow these dictates about what to eat, or what days to worship on or not. Paul said that these folks were weak in the faith, and those who didn’t bother with such dietary rules were stronger in the faith (vs. 1-2). The mature believer’s faith knows that he has freedom to eat either meat sold in the pagan meat markets or eat non-kosher meat. The weaker believer, in caution to avoid contamination, eats a vegetarian diet. They were also very careful in observing various holy days.
Among some Christians today we see similar issues. It’s not generally about whether one group eats a kosher diet, and it’s not likely we face any issue about food being offered to pagan idols. However there are some groups that say one should or shouldn’t do this or that about issues that the Bible has not given very specific teachings on. Is it okay for a Christian to drink wine or beer? Is it okay for women to wear slacks? Should Christians be vegetarians? There are a number of issues that one group of believers sit in judgment of the others over. Sometimes it gets to the point where the one despises the other, and has contempt and disdain for them (vs 3). The stronger ones judge the others as weak, legalistic, and self-righteous. The weaker ones judge the others as irresponsible and depraved.
Paul teaches us that this should not be the case from either side. Jesus is the only one who can honestly judge anyone (vs. 4,). In matters, such as what we eat or don’t eat, matters that are not clearly laid out in the Bible, that are not the fundamentals of the Faith, each Christian must follow the dictates of their own conscience. The strong believer eats what he wants, and thanks the Lord. The weak believer eats cautiously, and thanks the Lord (vs. 6).
The weaker or immature faith is one that has not yet developed the spiritual muscle it needs to stand against external pressure. We honor God when we help other believers to grow in the faith. We should make an effort to do everything in love, to influence others for good, and our motive should be to please the Lord.
Paul closed this Scripture passage by reminding both groups of believers that one day we will all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ (vs 10-12). At the Judgment Seat of Christ every believer will give an account of themselves, and the Lord will judge the decisions they made. We will be accountable to Jesus for what we do, not for what others do or don’t do, what they eat or don’t eat. When we stand before God’s court of justice, we won’t be thinking of what others have done, only about ourselves (II Corinthians 5:10).
In closing, while the Church must be uncompromising in its stand against activities that are expressly forbidden by Scripture, it should not create additional rules and regulations, and give them equal standing with God’s laws. In those matters that are not expressly spoken of in God's Word the Bible, let us show love to one another.
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