The Strength of Unity: Freedom, Personality, Preference

Ephesians 4:13–14 ESV

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Proposition: Last week we learned that “Unity is secured by the establishment of the saints in the truth and knowledge of Jesus Christ.” This week we further that idea by learning that “Saints who have been established in the truth and knowledge of Jesus Christ are committed to unity in the midst of secondary issues.” Furthermore, divisiveness over secondary issues: over issues of Christian freedom, human personality, and personal preferences are the result of an immaturity in the faith.

As we look back into Ephesians 4:13-14 we see present a contrast between maturity and immaturity. The fruit and evidence of that maturity is found in the unity that the church experiences. Likewise, the fruit and evidence of immaturity is found in the disunity of the church and the confusion that ensues when we lose our focus on the Gospel and the implications of the Gospel in life.

One of the areas where we have the greatest proclivity to demonstrate our maturity or immaturity are in areas that are secondary. We see this connection between secondary issues and maturity in passages such as 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 where it says,

1 Corinthians 3:1–4 (ESV)

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human?

Or as is described in 2 Corinthians 10:12,

2 Corinthians 10:12 ESV

Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

Even in areas of Christian freedom, Romans 14:22-23 stresses the necessity that believers with stronger or weaker consciences bear with one another. Beyond that, the strong is encouraged to not move his weaker brother to violate his conscience on the basis of the stronger brother’s freedom.

In order to maintain unity then we have to understand how the Gospel unites us together with brothers and sisters who will exercise their Christian freedom differently than our own, that it unites us together with human personalities that are different than our own, and that it unites us together with individuals with preferences different than our own.

Understanding Christian Freedom

Saints, who have been established in the truth and knowledge of Jesus Christ, are committed to unity in the midst of secondary issues by understanding Christian freedom. We see this idea unpacked for us in Romans 14:1-15:7 where Paul unpacks how Christian freedom is to be worked out in the midst of diverse assemblies of believers.

Paul in this section recognizes the tremendous diversity that exists within the Christian body and how that diversity can lead to disunity if care is not embraced in our relationships with one another. The body of Christ is diverse in that

We do not all share the same maturity. We exist in a body wherein we have believers who have been saved for decades. Some of us have known and walked with Christ for the entirety of our adult lives. Others of us were redeemed into adulthood. For some of us our spiritual growth has been relatively stable, for others of us our spiritual growth has endured chaotic issues that perhaps for a time slowed our spiritual growth.

We did not all share the same path to spiritual life. We exist in a body wherein we have some believers who were saved as a part of a Christian family. We repented and turned to Christ at relatively young ages. Our spiritual journey has involved little by way of spiritual baggage or bondage. While our sin nature was the same, we nevertheless, have had a fairly smooth transition into the family of Christ. Whereas, other Christians have come to faith having to break deep spiritual bondage to all sorts of vices. They have a history of memories and experiences which cause shame, embarrassment, or even ongoing struggles against sin.

We were not all freedom from sin in the same way. We exist in a body wherein we have some believers who were immediately freed from particular areas of sin upon their conversion. They experienced salvation and God immediately cleaned up their life, broke their addictions, and severed deep seated and entrenched sin. Others of us, though just as miraculously saved by God’s grace, have had to endure a long and arduous battle against besetting sins.

We did not all share the same spiritual heritage. We exist in a body wherein we have some believers who were raised in a Christian home with Christian principles. Our lives, even when we still lived in unbelief, were blessed to have been raised within a Christian worldview. Our transition into the faith was one which did not take as much radical reordering of the structures and thought processes of our life. While others of us were redeemed from a spiritual heritage that was totally and completely set against God. Virtually everything we learned, from how we handle problems to who created the universe, had to be reshaped by the Gospel.

We do not all reach the same conclusions. We exist in a body wherein we will reach different conclusions about all sorts of different choices.

How should we raise our children? What is the tenor and nature of our discipline with them? What do we allow them to do? Do we celebrate Halloween with our children or don’t we? Do we make a big deal out of gift giving at Christmas? Do we send our children to public school, to a private Christian school, or do we homeschool our children? At what age do we allow our children to do different things like play video games, own a cell phone, etc.

How should we feel about food? Do we drink alcohol in moderation or don’t we? Would we attend an event where alcohol is served? Do we eat pork? Do we believe that pasta must be served at every meal? Do we consider Olive Garden authentic Italian food?

What our convictions about entertainment? What is appropriate entertainment? Should we own a television? Should we attend movies? If we do, what movies and television programs are appropriate?

Paul moves in Romans 14-15 to give us principles by which we process our Christian freedom and our relationship with one another. He does this through utilizing descriptive terms to denote the individuals understanding of the Christian faith in relationship to their moral scruples. One author helps us to understand the situation this way:

Romans (3. Among the Weak and the Strong (14:1–15:13))

At Rome there were Jewish Christians who were reluctant to give up certain ceremonial aspects of their religious heritage. They were uncertain about how faith in Christ affected the status of Old Testament regulations. Others embraced the new freedom in Christ unencumbered by an overly sensitive regard for the past. Paul referred to the first group as “weak” (Rom 14:1) and the latter as “strong” (Rom 15:1). The terms are descriptive rather than judgmental, although as Stuhlmacher says, “the designation ‘weak in faith’ is based on the presupposition that strength of faith is the attitude which is really to be desired.”

Rather than work through the entirety of Romans 14-15. I would like to bring our attention to four principles that teach us how to think about our brother and sister in Christ who differs on secondary issues. And then look at the foundation by which we ought to evaluate every choice in the Christian faith.

Four Principles for Living at Peace Amongst Secondary Issues

Welcomed by God - We are to treat every Christian as one who has been welcomed by God. We ought to understand that we have no basis to judge a believer who has been and is accepted by God because of secondary issues. If faith alone in the work of Jesus Christ is the only means by which a man may be saved, how dare we pollute the Gospel by drawing arbitrary judgments about our fellow believer. We see this in Romans 14:3-4. Some day in eternity future your perspective on an issue may be proved correct, but you will nevertheless not stand before Christ because you were right on your stance about “whether your children should be enrolled in the public school.” Rather you will stand before Christ because of Christ’s work on the cross.

Romans 14:3–4 ESV

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.

Owned by God - We are to treat every Christian as one who has been called by God and lives all of life as one who has been bought by God. We ought to understand that our brother and sister is living out his life in honor of God. He might be choosing to honor God in a way that is different from your own, but the final arbiter of what is acceptable to God is not you or me, but God himself. We see this in Romans 14:7-8.

Romans 14:7–8 ESV

For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.

Judged by God - We are to treat every Christian as one who will ultimately be judged by God. Likewise, we ought to understand that we ourselves will one day stand before the judgment seat of God. We see this in Romans 14:10-12. We are, thus, called to recognize that we ought to be more concerned about what God will say about our actions, our choices, our motivations, our treatment of our brother and sister than we should be about whether our brother or sister reaches a different conclusion about a secondary issue.

Romans 14:10–12 ESV

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Ruled by God - We are to treat every Christian as one who is living for the kingdom of God. We recognize that the kingdom of God does not consist of manmade rules and taboos. The kingdom of God, as Paul says, does not consist of food or drink. The Kingdom of God is bigger than whether you choose to celebrate halloween. The Kingdom of God is more significant than our scruples. We see this in Romans 14:17-19. We therefore ought to be pursuing with out brother and sister not uniformity on secondary issues, but we ought to be embracing them in the same spirit with which we will embrace them in the last days.

Romans 14:17–19 ESV

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Foundational Understanding of Secondary Issues

Faith - Paul finalizes his discussion on secondary issues in this section by providing us with one final way that all Christian’s ought to evaluate every decision of life. That is found in Romans 14:23. He declares that whatever is done apart from faith, is sin. At the end of the day, to call our brother or sister to make a choice in how they live based on our understanding of Scripture and God’s will is wrong. We ought to be challenging ourselves and one another not with reaching a mutuality of understanding of secondary issues for the sake of building a faux unity. Rather, we ought to be challenging each other to work out our faith and our understanding of Scripture.

Romans 14:23 ESV

But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

Recognizing Human Personality

Saints, who have been established in the truth and knowledge of Jesus Christ, are committed to unity in the midst of secondary issues by recognizing God’s use of human personality. We see this idea unpacked for us in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. Here, especially in 1 Corinthians 3, we see how Paul understood God’s use of various servants and personalities to accomplish his will. And again he provides us with principles by which we should think about God’s use of human personality.

Paul introduces us to a problem in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 that existed amongst the Corinthian church. God had blessed the Corinthian church with a diversity of men who taught and communicated the word to them. Rather than recognize the unique gift that each man was to their fellowship they fell into the snare of aligning themselves behind human personalities through which God was ministering. Again, we see this in 1 Corinthians 1:10-17.

1 Corinthians 1:10–17 ESV

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

After briefly introducing that problem Paul moved into an explanation of the Gospel and how the Gospel had been revealed to the Corinthians through what many would evaluate as foolish means. Even in the midst of their reception of the Gospel, Paul declared that God was using Paul’s trembling voice and fear to cause the Corinthian church to trust in God rather than in Paul or his personality.

Paul then moves into chapter 3 with a startling statement that reminds us of Ephesians 4:14 wherein he declares that their division behind human personality is a marker of immaturity. He then gives to the church ways in which they ought to consider God’s use of human personality.

1 Corinthians 3:1–8 ESV

But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.

God’s Servants - We are to recognize that God is using human personality and divine giftedness in men who are merely God’s servants. They are simply slaves to God purposes. Nothing more, Nothing Less. Paul declares this in 1 Corinthians 3:5 and again in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2.

God’s Growth - We are to recognize that God is the one who is building and growing His work. Yes he uses human personality, but he does not use human personality to exalt the individual, but to exalt Christ. Paul makes this plain in 1 Corinthians 3:6 and 1 Corinthians 4:7.

God’s Purpose - We are to recognize that God is accomplishing his purpose through human personality and not the mere purposes of men. God is using multiple men and multiple personalities and giftedness to accomplish one purpose. Paul declares this in 1 Corinthians 3:8.

God’s Judgement - We are to, once again, recognize that God alone is the one who will judge the accomplishment of his work by these varied human personalities. Paul makes this assertion in 1 Corinthians 3:10-17.

Acknowledging Personal Preference

Saints, who have been established in the truth and knowledge of Jesus Christ, are committed to unity in the midst of secondary issues by acknowledging and making room for personal preference. All of the passages and principles we have examined above tacitly acknowledge that there are areas of life within the church wherein we will feel the temptation to exalt personal preference to a place of primacy. Throughout these passages, and others, we see certain key ways in which we ought to relate to one another in areas of personal preference.

Accountability before God

As the Scriptures interact with these diverse issues, they regularly remind us of our individual responsibility and accountability before God. (Cf. Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 3:12-14; 1 Corinthians 4:5) Although I am called to watch over my brother’s soul, I am not there to dictate and pass judgement over areas of my brother’s life where the Scriptures are silent or leave room for difference. Furthermore, to sit in graceless judgment over my brother, as though he were accountable to me, is to tacitly deny the realities of the good news and bad news of the Gospel. It denies the bad news of the Gospel by making my brother subservient to my judgement which is itself condemned before God, and it denies the good news of the Gospel by denying my brother the grace and mercy God extended to me. As Jesus illustrated, to sit in judgement of our brother, is akin to a man forgiven his debt in the order of millions to refuse to forgive another man’s five dollar debt.

Convictions and Conscience Developed From Scripture

Again, the Scriptures speak to these diverse issues by reminding us that our convictions and conscience ought to be deeply informed by Scripture. Beyond that, we ought to fight for our brother to have his convictions informed by Scripture and not to fight for their convictions to be informed by our pressure. (Cf. Romans 12:3; 1 Corinthians 4:6)

Humility before God and Brother

The Scriptures have called us to exhibit humility in the presence of God and towards one another. We are called to recognize that our understanding, knowledge, and abilities in various areas are not the standard. We, therefore, handle one another with humility (Cf. Romans 15:2-3; Philippians 2:2-5; 1 Corinthians 4:7; 1 Peter 5:5).

Selflessness with One Another

The Scriptures have call us to exhibit selflessness towards one another in every area of life. We therefore ought to deal with one another in love and with a Christ-like selflessness. (Cf. 1 Peter 3:8; Galatians 5:14; 1 Corinthians 10:24; James 3:16 and James 4:1-3.