The art of Christian Conscience

Review

Since chapter 12, Paul has been exhorting believers to be living sacrifices or “others focused”. Renewing our minds since we’ve been given the mind of Christ. Yet what we believe about Christ's character must be practiced over and over to grow and mature as believers. I love growing in the Lord and I know the difference between growing and stagnating. Growing is much more exciting!!

As Memorial day honors our fallen in war, the church has had its share of wars in history leaving many fallen or set free depending on which side they were on. Martin Luther caused a stir by challenging the Catholic Church over the scam of indulgences, the absence of pastoral accountability with the hierarchy over the lack of historical and biblical evidence for papal supremacy teaching that Peter was the first Pope. Luther wrote the 95 theses to voice his concerns over these issues hoping to alert the pope without realizing everybody was in on the game!! Thus on April of 1521 Luther was forced to appear before Emperor Charles V, the archbishop representing the Pope and Frederick the wise and many princes of the empire. A scary moment but Luther stood for truth!

But he refused the command that he recant his writings unless he was convinced by Scripture and reason! This became a significant moment in the Reformation which became the protestant movement. Without his bold stance, our church experience would be much different today.

And now that we have bibles everywhere, instead of focusing on the essentials of our Christian faith there are believers with some biblical knowledge who once enjoyed reading it and “being in awe of Christ” are now “acting awful in the name of Christ” willing to go to war with Christians, churches, and denominations. These people want to focus on the non-essentials debating many issues like having a proper bible translation, how church services should be done in homes, keeping the Sabbath, the church is spiritual Israel, the rapture doesn’t exist and on and on the debate goes as they confuse new believers and create division in bible studies because they feel their call is to stir up the weak in faith. But as intense Paul the Apostle was about truth he would look at these people and say “chill out”. For we should determine not to know anything except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. Stick to Jesus!! The essentials! Verse 1

1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on opinions.

It may surprise you to whom Paul is referring as being “weak in faith” and those who are strong. We may assume they are the new converts or carnal Christians but think again!

This letter was written around 55 A.D. when Paul intended to visit Rome on his way to Spain so Paul is addressing the ethnic tensions going on between the churches.

We must remember how chaotic this time was. The birth of the body of Christ did not sit well with the Jews or Romans. For decades, there was a lot of tension between Jews, Gentiles, and early Christians.

The first place we were called Christians was in Antioch around 43 A.D.

Acts 11:26 LSB

26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it happened that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a considerable crowd. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

Five years later 48 A.D., Paul, Barnabas, and Peter went up to Jerusalem council regarding the Judaizers claiming the Gentiles needed to be circumcised and keep the law but Peter spoke up and challenged his own brethren. “why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? Acts 15.

But all kinds of tension and uproars led to conflicts over Christianity pressuring the Emperor Claudius

to restrict Jewish gatherings in the synagogues but in 49 AD, he expelled most Jews out of Rome because of all the debates over "Chrestus" meaning “ Christ”.

We read in Acts 18 that Aquila and Pricilla met Paul in Corinth being among the Jews expelled from Rome. Now prior to that, Jewish Christians, with their background in Scripture and moral law, were the natural leaders of the early church for over 15 years.

But this forced deportation transformed the churches into a Gentile majority congregation. Five years pass 54 A.D. Claudius' dies and many Jews began returning to Rome. But the Jewish Christians were now in the minority, no longer welcome in the synagogues, and forced to join mixed assemblies of Gentile churches in which soon led to conflicts over leadership, rituals, and culture norms.

So Paul categorizes the “weak in faith” as the exiled Jews who still held to their dietary laws and observance of special days, holding onto the sacrificial system as revealed in the book of Hebrews.

The strong in faith were the Gentile believers who are being exhorted by Paul not to be arrogant toward the Jews but to respect their convictions and let them learn more about justification by faith.

1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, [exiled Jews] but not for the purpose of passing judgment on opinions.

2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, [Gentile church] but he who is weak eats vegetables only. [Jews]

3 The one who eats must not view the one who does not eat with contempt, and the one who does not eat must not judge the one who eats, for God accepted him. [Gentiles were not to look down on the Jewish Christians who stuck to dietary laws]

4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

5-6 One person judges one day above another, another judges every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards the day, regards it for the Lord, and he who eats, eats for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who does not eat, for the Lord he does not eat and gives thanks to God.

Paul’s answer to those who feel strong in the faith? - Who are you to judge? Paul says “Leave them alone!” There is a God and you are not Him! Dietary choices were non-essential according to Peter’s vision. Even Jesus said in Mark 7, it’s not what goes into a man that defiles him but what comes out of his natural heart.

Bur if they want to stick to their dietary laws, the Lord is able to make them stand. Paul also addresses “days”. Scholars debate whether it refers to the Sabbath. But Paul is saying everyone has a different opinion on what day might be important to them. Tomorrow is Memorial Day but that’s only in America. But Israel observes “Yom-hazee-karone” or “Remembrance day” which fluctuates from April 23-May 2. We celebrate July 4th as Independence day, for Israel it’s May 14. We all have birthdays, anniversaries, on different days and as believers we regard them all for the Lord!

7-8 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

As believers in any stage or season of our walk should be for the Lord. All aspects of life, including death, should be focused on God. So don’t have to be sin-sniffers on non-essentials, we live with a God-ward focus! Yet Paul realizes we can forget.

10-12 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you view your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, TO ME EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS TO GOD.” So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

This is a messianic prophecy from Isaiah 45:23 about giving an account to God. I don’t know what it is about many believers who once begged to be forgiven of their sins yet over time became judges of the church, or look down on other believers because they feel superior to the weak. It’s kind of embarrassing to be honest. We often forget there’s coming a day when we will all give an account of ourselves to God not point out other people’s errors or weaknesses! Paul had to remind the Corinthians of this too!

2 Corinthians 5:9–11 LSB

Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. So then, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we have been made manifest to God; and I hope that we have been made manifest also in your consciences.

So it goes back to Romans 12 - pleasing God is being a living sacrifice with a renewed mind which always keeps us safe from despising, slandering or judging other believers - Frankly, we should worry more about working out our own salvation with fear and trembling. Why? For it is God who’s at work in us, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. So Paul exhorts....

13-15 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather judge this—not to put a stumbling block or offense before a brother. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is defiled in itself; but to him who considers anything to be defiled, to him it is defiled. For if because of food your brother is grieved, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.

It’s so important to go out of our way to respect a brother’s convictions. The strong in faith must be willing to out of their way to avoid stumbling a weaker brother. Paul covers this subject in 1 Corinthians 8 as well...Paul shows us how to handle a sticky situation of eating meat sacrificed to idols acknowledging the concept of conscience and advises Christians to be willing to limit their freedom for the sake of others, even to the point of abstaining from certain foods if it might cause a brother or sister to stumble.

1 Corinthians 8:8–13 LSB

But food will not commend us to God. We neither lack if we do not eat, nor abound if we do eat. But see to it that this authority of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone sees you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be built up to eat things sacrificed to idols? For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. And in that way, by sinning against the brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again—ever, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.

Again being a living sacrifice is “others focused.”

16-17 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be slandered; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

All too often believers are rightly judged for being a bad witness using the grace card or not caring about how their public liberties may affect the weak brother. But the kingdom of God is a mindset of the renewed mind, and it choose to do what’s right, offering peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

18 For he who in this way serves Christ is pleasing to God and approved by men.

Being a living sacrifice is pleasing to God and a renewed mind represent the kingdom of God to men.

19 So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.

So rather than finding fault and pursuing debates we can pursue peace and edification!

20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.

Peter was the first to understand “What God has cleansed, no longer consider defiled.” But some are still weak in the faith and need time to grow even as Peter did!

21-22 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed is he who does not judge himself in what he approves.

In other words, we who are strong should keep our personal convictions of our faith privately, and exercise them before God rather than imposing on others or stumbling them with our liberty.

23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

In other words, if the weak brother has doubts about certain dietary laws it doesn’t mean he’s damned but if he eats something against his conscience, it becomes sin for him! Which is why we don’t want to be a stumbling block to them.

Romans 15:1–6

1-3 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his building up. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED YOU FELL ON ME.” [a quote from Psalm 69:9]

A messianic prophecy that Christ would have a willingness to endure reproach and suffer for the sake of others, rather than pleasing Himself. So too, those who are strong in faith must see the weak in faith as a neighbor and do everything we can to build them up!

4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through the perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

A great verse as to why we should read all of the bible. It offers instruction and most of all - hope!!

St Augustine said it best:  "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."

Like Luther we must always defend the essentials - Like Martin Luther, we must stand on the truth of salvation: by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, according to scripture alone, for God’s glory alone!!! In non-essentials, there’s liberty; [from prophetic speculations, dietary choices, mode of baptism, day of church meetings, holidays we observe], We are free to have our views when it comes to non-essential issues but in “all things; charity” that’s agape love! Sacrificial love with a renewed mind of humilty regarding one another as more important than ourselves. It’s Christianity 101!!

5-6 Now may the God of perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May the Lord give us wisdom to be kind-hearted, less judgmental and others focused!

Let’s take it to the table