Matters of Opinions

Opinions, opinions we all have them, but they are better kept to ourselves than out in the open. I think when we look at ourselves as Christians, we must understand that getting along with others is vital to reaching them for Christ. So how do we get along without getting it wrong?

Here are some statements that I probably would say is how we get it wrong :

• Drinking alcohol is perfectly fine according to God, and so Christians who say that it’s wrong make me mad. They’re so immature.

• God doesn’t want us to eat meat. It’s just wrong. And anyone who doesn’t see it that way is unspiritual, and they make me angry. I like to argue with them.

• Parents should educate their children only one specific way. And when they don’t, I just shake my head at them. They are so ignorant.

• The format and style of a church service ought to be a certain way, and when I visit a church that does it differently, I just want to walk out. They don’t do it the right way. The Christian way.

In these statements, I said some true things and some false things. What is the one common thread through them all? A critical spirit. A judgmental heart. Despising my fellow Christians.

If we all think hard enough, we will realize we have made some kind of judgments like these against fellow Christians. Perhaps it was on another issue. But we see some things that Christians do, and we judge them harshly. We look down on them. We criticize them. We argue with them.

Differences of opinion existed even among the early followers of Christ and their disciples. Paul, as we see in Romans 14, does not attempt to dissolve their opinions but reminds them of their unity in Christ. I believe if we ask ourselves before we judge or condemn another person in Christ if God has saved them, then who are we to disown them?

Paul shares with the Christians in Rome that those who live in their freedom should not despise the one who is weak in the faith. The conflict was between the Jewish and Gentile believers over preferences regarding food and the observance of holy days. So, Paul is encouraging them that unity requires liberality, unity is evidence of love, and unity exemplifies the life of Jesus Christ.

You see, friends, we all tend to believe our own opinions are the only truth and to dismiss others' doubts as insignificant. Christians, for instance, often judge or belittle one another for questionable matters that don't really matter in the grand scheme of things.

Jesus teaches us several times about the law and how we should treat others. For example, in Matthew 7 he dealt with us being critical of others while not being critical of ourselves.

If you allow, let me be trivial with you for a moment. At one point in time, specifically in the late 1800’s it was looked down upon to have a toilet in the church. Do you know people back then argued that it was unbiblical to have a toilet in the church? Does anyone know the scripture for this rationale?

Deuteronomy 23:12-14 12 The latrines must be outside the camp. You will use them there, outside the camp. 13 Carry a shovel with the rest of your gear; once you have relieved yourself, use it to dig a hole, then refill it, covering your excrement. 14 Do these things because the Lord your God travels with you, right in the middle of your camp, ready to save you and to hand your enemies over to you. For this reason your camp must be holy. The Lord must not see anything indecent among you, or he will turn away from you. – Deuteronomy 23.12-14 (Common English Bible)

This is just once incident of many when we take the bible out of context. Too many times I have heard good meaning people say, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it!” There are some things we must be logical about. For example, is it a sin to watch tv? To drive a car? To eat meat? To attend church on Sunday or Saturday? The list can go on and on. Because of these differences of opinion, we, the church has created so many divisions among ourselves.

Let me try to break it down for us today. First of all, what is a sin? In Hebrew or in Greek, sin is missing the mark. What makes something sinful is when we know what we are supposed to do and we choose not to do it. For it to be sinful we must be aware that it violates what God desires us to do. Which leads us to the next important part and that is how can you know that something is a sin.

Thankfully, we have two gauges in our lives to help us define what sin is. The first one is the word of God, and the second is the Spirit of God. God’s word is clear in defining things that are black and white and are sinful without any question or debate. So that is sin. But there is more, because sin can lead you to a downward progression, which would be called trespasses.

A trespasser is someone who crosses a line. A trespass may be intentional or unintentional. For example, when Peter denied Jesus, he trespassed. We all have crossed the line in thought, word, or attitude many times a day and should be quick to forgive others who do the same. Now transgression it refers back to presumptuous sin, which simply means you are intentionally disobeying God’s word. When we knowingly run a stop sign, tell a lie, or blatantly disregard an authority then we are transgressing.

Lastly is iniquity. Iniquity refers to a premeditated choice; to commit iniquity is to continue without repentance. Biblical example of iniquity would be David’s sin with Bathsheba that led to the killing of Uriah. The good news is that God forgives iniquity, as He does any type of sin that we repent of.

Since we know what sin, transgressions, and iniquities are, we can now identify what are the opinions are that would lead to arguments. At this time, it was food and the holy days. Scripture says we can eat any kind of food, but we might think is forbidden. Can we eat anything or only vegetables? Scriptures are actually quite clear: Any food is permissible. We don’t HAVE to eat all foods, but anything is permissible.

Another example: Drinking alcohol. Scriptures are quite clear that alcohol, such as wine, is permissible.

It is NOT REQUIRED. But it is permitted. The one restriction: Drunkenness. It is forbidden (Eph. 5:18).

There are no commands in the NT to celebrate some days as better or holier than others. There is no command to celebrate Easter. Or Christmas. Or OT Jewish festivals. There is no command to celebrate the resurrection on a specific day called Easter. At the same time, there is NO PROHIBITION from celebrating Easter. Or OT Jewish festivals.

So that’s what Paul IS speaking about. What is Paul NOT speaking about? He is not saying, “Whatever you want to believe about anything, that’s OK.” No, he is not saying that anything and everything is OK.

That is the religious doctrine of the American society right now. The doctrine of our society right now is tolerance. There are some good elements to that, such as having respect for everyone. Not hating.

That is very good. But where our culture goes astray is when we say, “Whatever you want to believe is OK.” Believe in this God or that God, that’s OK. Believe that this is moral or not, that’s OK.

Paul is not labeling every conversation or opinion with one another as “judging” or “despising.” Back in the 4th Century, the well-known Christian, Augustine, summarized all this very well. “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”

The essentials are clear moral teachings. And the heart of the gospel: salvation by faith alone in Jesus Christ. We must be united on these essential things. They are non-negotiable.

The non-essentials are all other things. Opinions on food and drink and special days. Views on schooling our children: home school, public school, Christian school. The type of car or house we own. How to find a spouse: Should we date or court? What about arranged marriages?

We should have an attitude of liberty. And then in all things, essentials and non-essentials, we should have charity. We should LOVE. Not condemn or criticize. We should welcome and accept one another.

The answer to diversity is not in compromise. It is in love. The Church is strong enough to permit many elements of diversity if only the people are united firmly enough in a faith that works by love. We must learn to live together without looking down our noses at one another or implying for a moment that God is more pleased with one style of behavior than with another.

Let us accept one another in Christ. We need to back off from demanding people to follow our rules and our preferences. Because we must remember who our judge is. Our Master is in heaven. I don’t live to please you. We live to please God and we all will stand before Him on our own.

We also need to stop condemning one another and being harsh towards your brother or sister in Christ. Jesus said you should LOVE even your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. If this is how you should treat those who HATE God, ought we not treat our brother and sister in Christ this way?

Strive to be strong, not weak. Strive to be a well-informed Christian who understands, believes, and abides by what the Bible says. And what it DOESN’T say. We should strive to be well-informed Christians, and act accordingly.

In this passage, Paul is not condemning the “weak” person….the one who says, “This is wrong,” even when the Bible is silent on it. So, we are not sinning if we hold such a view. But the fact Paul uses the words “strong” and “weak” IN FAITH indicates there is a better position. It’s wise for us to strive to be lined up with what the Bible clearly teaches, and what it is SILENT on. What fascinates me, though, is that Paul does not explicitly try to correct the weak believer. He simply doesn’t do it.

Yet he still understands there is a strong way. The best way is to understand the Scriptures in all its fullness. To understand the grace given to us in the Cross, that Christ’s work has paid for our sins. We stand NOT condemned but we are at peace with God. To know what is truly right and wrong. To know what is permissible and not make it a law for yourself.

And then to walk in that.