Pursue Peace and Be Settled - Rom. 14:13-23
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Last week we were in the first 12 verses of this chapter and saw the foundation of unity, within the church, being a heart level acceptance and reception toward our faith siblings.
Paul speaks into the relationship of the strong and weak members that make up a local congregation. And he addresses how to filter through the hardship that comes when we find disagreement in preferential matters.
We learned to guard our hearts from a cynical or critical attitude toward those faith siblings who differ from us, ultimately because, as v. 3 states it, God accepts and receives our sibling, so we should too.
Not only did we see the foundation of our unity, but we also saw those five helpful filters as we encounter the disagreements with those we are called to love and receive.
Those five filters we studied were:
1. I am not master of that person’s life, Jesus should be (v. 4)
2. I need to be fully convinced of the matter in my own mind (v. 5)
3. Both parties can honor the Lord (v. 6)
4. All of life belongs to and is to glorify God (vv. 7-9)
5. I am not the final judge, God is (vv. 10-12)
We concluded last week with this thought together:
My preferences should not take precedence over people. Therefore, I choose to guard my heart, love my brothers and sisters in Christ, and diligently pursue God in His Word.
Guard my heart.
Love my faith siblings.
Pursue God in His Word.
Last week I also told you that we would spend some time this morning looking at Theological Triage. This is the process we can go through to assign urgency to matters of our faith.
During mass tragedy, first responders typically begin triaging those injured by assessing and assigning the urgency of their injuries by group - minor, delayed, urgent, morgue. You may see tarps on the ground or areas taped off with colors designating who goes where.
This type of training and decision making is crucial in emergency settings.
And the process is likewise crucial when it comes to matters of faith.
As we saw last week, there is room in the Christian faith for variance on certain issues. However, as we read other passages of scripture and consider the whole revelation of God, there are areas that we are not to differ.
So how do we assess and assign the urgency of these issues? THEOLOGICAL TRIAGE.
There are two helpful diagrams that I have encountered over the years that I think will help us today to understand this idea and in the days to come as we apply the truth to our lives of faith.
The first is a set of circles. Adapted from Mark Vroegop at College Park in Carmel
Absolutes, Convictions, Preferences
When it comes to absolutes:
Does this issue determine if someone is a Christian or not?
Is this a clearly forbidden or commanded moral issue?
When it comes to convictions:
Does the Bible provide teaching or instruction on this issue?
Are there warnings and cautions?
Are there biblical principles that apply?
When it comes to preferences:
Are there contextual or cultural issues in play?
Is the Bible silent?
Is this simply a matter of personal application?
The second is a pyramid Adapted from Al Mohler at Southern Seminary in Louisville
First-level, Second-level, Third-level Issues
When it comes to first-level issues (absolutes):
These issues are where the Church stands or falls. These are fundamental to the faith, and to stand in error here, is to err outside of the Christian faith. This will be the smallest list.
Examples: Full deity and actual humanity of Jesus, the Trinity, Justification by faith alone, authority of the scriptures
When it comes to second-level issues (convictions):
These issues are what form denominations and distinguish one local church from another.
Examples: Ecclesiology (structure of a church: pastor, elder, deacons, autonomy, etc), Baptism, Lord’s supper, gender roles in the church
When it comes to third-level issues (preferences):
This is the largest list of all three. These issues form a lot of questions and many discussions but the conclusion of these questions and discussions still allows close fellowship even within the same church body.
Examples: Certain views on the end-times, gospel freedom issues, understanding of difficult texts
As we find ourselves in life conversations with other believers and non-believers, it is here that we find the help needed to know where priority lands.
So you are at the coffee pot at work and someone asks if you really believe that Jesus is God. That’s a first level issue. Through your personal study of the Word I hope the conclusion you have come to is ABSOLUTELY!
Perhaps you are doing some yard work, and a neighbor from another church in town asks where your church lands on Female Pastors. You can carry on a conversation, hopefully base your response on biblical grounds, and know that even if we do not land where they do, we are still both believing the essentials to the christian faith. Gender roles in the church do not distinguish salvation. We may not attend their church, but if they are trusting in Jesus alone for justification, we will attend heaven together.
Let’s say you are having a discussion with your teen son about a lesson he heard in teen group or on the radio about what the end of times will look like. Maybe there is a variation in that lesson from how you thought it will all end up. You would be wise to not make that grey area black and white and sow the seed of criticism in his heart. You should read broadly and study it out, have discussions with those who differ from you, and yet allow for variance because this is a third-level issue. The conclusion of such a matter is not a fundamental to the faith, and shouldn’t keep you from close fellowship with another brother or sister.
These are real life discussions, with real life responses.
Now there are two extremes that we need to be aware of.
Theological Legalism takes a second or third tier issue and makes them a first tier issue.
Example: Someone might say, “You know, that church has a drum set on their platform and it was way too loud. The songs didn’t even feel like I was worshipping. That church is leading people away from Jesus. I’m not even sure if they are saved, listening to that garbage.”
or “Did you see what he was wearing on Sunday morning. He must not know that when we come to church we wear our best. Someone needs to tell that guy the dress code for Sunday mornings.”
Perhaps a little more subtle: “Can you believe the new pulpit? Why would you change something that has been at this church for decades. I just prefer the older wooden look. I’m not sure where this church is headed, but I don’t like it.”
Theological Liberalism is the other extreme to be aware of. It takes first tier issues and minimizes it’s importance.
Examples would include minimizing the importance of the deity of Jesus, or the authority of all of scripture.
If Jesus was just another man, or if I can pick and choose which parts of the bible fit my ideas of how God should work, I do not have Christian faith.
Now, with all of this in mind, it is good to know that at a humanity level, you are free to draw the lines of difference where you want. If you don’t believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, that he was just another man, who did good things, you are free to. However, that line can’t be drawn there and still be claimed as Christian doctrine.
Likewise, you have the liberty to place other convictional issues within the second-tier. You can create for yourself a theological bubble that holds tightly to a long list of biblical convictions. You have the freedom to study scripture, and land where you think you should with various issues. And you have the freedom to partner with others who land where you do.
However, my Pastoral heart would advice you from either extreme. Don’t take what the bible has a lot to say about and make it of little importance, and don’t take what the bible says a little about and make it of big importance.
As I am growing in my Christian walk, there are issues that land firm in tier one. These don’t change.
However, as I study the word and meet with people my levels two and three are changing. Some things I used to think were biblical convictions that I would divide over and claim denominational precedence for, has been moved to tier 3.
And as I have studied scripture deeper there are things that really are worth my convictional stand. Although I guard my heart from a cynical or critical spirit, and choose to love my faith siblings, in my study and present understanding of scripture, there are areas that are convictional. They are why I worship where I worship, and fellowship with those I closely fellowship with. There is enough biblical evidence to land where I land. And that’s ok.
And in making that convictional stand, I am ok with not being in close fellowship with someone who will distance over it.
And at the same time, As I grow stronger in my Christian faith (as Paul puts it in here in Romans 14) I am gradually learning the art of knowing what is critical and what is not and extending grace and love to those who are not where I am.
That is what we find in vv. 13-23.
How do we pursue peace with our faith siblings and be settled in our own hearts? Paul speaks into that dual reality in these verses with thoughts on Christian liberty.
Before we dig in to this passage, let’s get a biblical understanding of what Paul is teaching.
Any set of verses can be misinterpreted and misapplied in turn. It is important when studying a section of scripture to find out what it says, to find out what the author originally meant, and then find out what that means for us today. This passage is no different.
Remember Paul wrote letters, often addressing questions or issues that were brought to him. As the Holy Spirit led him along, we find Paul speaking into a wide gam-met of real-life issues of his day.
And so believers were coming to Christ by faith from heavy judaistic backgrounds and heavy pagan cultures. And with the diversity of the local congregations in Rome, there were many possibilities of disunity within the church.
So Paul addresses three particular issues that fall into the theological triage of what we talked about earlier.
It has to do with what people value when it comes to eating, drinking, and particular days.
we concluded in v. 12 last week:
12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
There is coming a day when we will stand before God for how we stewarded the life He gave us. The things we prioritized, the way we used the gifts He provided, the pursuits of our heart, they will all be made known.
Now, Paul says, you’re going to give an account, therefore:
13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.
He reminds us that we are not to be the judge.
cynicism vs criticism
We are to resolve this way - don’t put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way?
What is a stumbling block?
Well we must remember who is liable to trip - it is the weaker brother.
vv. 1-3 define a weaker believer who is either young in the faith, needing to be spiritually strengthened, or one who is fundamentally wrong on an issue.
In context, this weaker brother is significantly harmed by this stumbling block.
In fact, vv. 15b and 20a says this leads to destruction of that weak sibling. This strong language would point toward an issue that causes someone to go back to their former ways or perhaps even to reject the gospel. So a stumbling block is more than just someone being offended or disagreeing with you. A stumbling block creates significant spiritual devastation.
It is also likely that:
“an implied social pressure connected to whatever is going on here. Paul commends private faith in verse 22 (“The faith that you have keep between yourself and God.”) while also saying “it is good to not eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble” in verse 21. Therefore, I believe that the stumbling block was putting a brother or sister in a situation where they felt pressure – implied or direct – to violate their conscience. The stumbling block applies to non-private or social scenarios that create a conscience issue for a weaker brother.
So you could define a stumbling block as putting a brother under social pressure to do something that he feels is sinful. It is a situation where a brother’s faith in the gospel or how that gospel is expressed in the church through relationships has the potential to be seriously harmed.
Paul’s main concern here is the balance of not allowing liberty to be limited needlessly on the one hand and not allowing a brother to be needlessly harmed spiritually on the other hand. Freedom has to reflect a theological and ethical triage set in the context of love for a brother.” - Mark Vroegop on Rom 14
Mark Vroegop said: Welcoming a brother means that there are times when limiting one’s freedom is morally right even when there isn’t a truly moral issue at hand. In other words, you can be sinful in how you handle a non-sinful issue.
Paul speaks into this by reminding us that:
1. It’s ok for individuals to make personal decisions on some ethical issues. (vv. 14, 20)
14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense.
Food is not a fundamental moral issue.
But Paul says, sometimes the issue at hand is deeper than the issue at hand - there has to be a contextual basis.
You see, Even though everything is technically clean, it is wrong 1) for the one who thinks it’s wrong and 2) to pressure that person in to participate.
The church will always be filled with these scenarios. It doesn’t stop with food. That’s why it is crucial to triage the issues.
Not only is it ok for people to make a personal decision on some of these issues:
2. Individual liberty is not more important than your faith sibling. (vv. 15, 21)
15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.
21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.
Is it ok for me to eat or drink that which is clean in moderation. Sure!
Is it ok for me to sit down in a non-private or social setting and lay before a weaker sibling a grievance or a pressure that moves them away from Christ - no!
Walking in love, not destroying a brother, and not doing anything that causes a brother to stumble are clearly more important than the expression of one’s freedom. Even if you are technically right, you can be still be wrong. Therefore, there are situations where restricting your freedoms is not only wise, but the right thing to do.
3. When it comes to liberty, don’t sacrifice your witness of the gospel (vv. 6-18)
16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil;
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
When we promote and prioritize preferences and even convictions as more essential than the Gospel, we are allowing what is good to be evil spoken of.
The post-christian culture we live in views Christianity for what it is against, more than what we are for.
Although unrighteousness is wrong, may we be a people who pursue and emphasize rightness of righteousness.
Instead of spending your timing tearing down the bad, spend your time promoting what is good!
The things you eat, the things you drink, the days you observe - allow them to be seen by those outside of faith as pointers to a greater purpose. Allow each of these things to point others to the God you serve.
Overeating (gluttony) and Drunkenness are harmful to the gospel.
Let the priorities of your life point the greatest priority of all - God!
4. Consider your impact on the unity of the church (v. 19)
19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.
Pursue peace among yourselves.
That involves addressing conflict.
That requires the unseemly sides of living in a diverse faith family.
This requires biblical grounding, strengthening our faith, and authentic gracious relationships.
Pursuing peace doesn’t mean you just be quiet. It means you talk through your differences.
But also, pursue the building up of one another.
Take the time to talk through the weaker issues. Invest the energy it takes to sit with those who differ from you.
Point your sibling to the Word. That is the place we will all be built best.
5. Do everything by faith. (vv. 22-23)
22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.
23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.
In essentials unity; in non-essentials liberty; and in all things charity.