Respect One Another

Romans 14:1-6

Respect One Another

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

            The obvious moral laws of Christianity are above question. Like their Author, they remain the same yesterday, today, and forever. Adultery, murder, stealing, lying, etc. are always wrong. Honoring parents, loving one another, etc. are always right. When it comes to cardinal truths, we are not at liberty to believe what we wish to believe. Where the New Testament speaks clearly, we acquiesce.

            Much about Christian living is left to us to decide. There are many doubtful matters, things the New Testament makes no definite pronouncement on.

Lest we think this issue does not apply to us, here are some of the not-for-sure issues we have had to face at Second Baptist in my 21 years here as Pastor. Is "pre-Christian" an acceptable term to use to describe unbelievers? Should our church boycott Disney, Target, Starbucks? What about the Harry Potter series, and the Shack movie?

What kind of music should we use in public worship? Shouldn't we worship on Saturday? Is it okay to speak publicly in tongues, or to have a private prayer language? Why don't we use the King James Bible only?

Is it wrong to observe Halloween and Christmas (especially the tree and Santa Claus)? Should women be allowed to teach men in Sunday School classes? Is it okay to watch R-rated movies, listen to Rock and Roll, or country music? Should we play the Lottery, deal cards, go to a casino, or use dice?

What is our position on the Second Coming? Where do we stand on Calvinism? Believe me; the list could go on.

Questionable matters similar to these were disrupting the church at Rome. Paul's advice to them can help us today when we deal with matters not specifically addressed in the New Testament.

 

Rom. 14:1 (Holman) Accept anyone who is weak in faith, but don't argue about doubtful issues.

 

            When people who are fellow Christ-followers do not agree with us on questionable matters, our response must be to "accept" them. We are to make them feel welcome, and not angrily dispute doubtful matters with him.

            Do not try to convince other believers to accept every jot and tittle of our beliefs. Have respect for the opinions of others. Encourage people. Let them on their own hear the Word preached. They will grow in grace quickly this way.

 

Rom. 14:2   One person believes he may eat anything, but one who is weak eats only vegetables.

 

            One doubtful matter being debated in the Roman church was that some members had become vegetarians for religious reasons. Meat sold in the marketplaces had often earlier been a part of sacrifices offered to pagan gods.

Some Christians believed it sacrilegious to eat such meat. To assure they never ate of a pagan sacrifice, they avoided meat altogether. Other Christians saw nothing wrong with eating meat, no matter what it had been used for previously. It was a questionable issue. Arguments could be presented for each side.

 

Rom. 14:3 One who eats must not look down on one who does not eat, and one who does not eat must not criticize one who does, because God has accepted him.

 

            The fact there were differences in practice among believers did not bother Paul. What upset him was the way these differences were handled. The "liberated" meat-eaters viewed the cautious vegetarians with contempt, while the vegetarians would have condemned the meat-eaters. The meat-eaters would have called the vegetarians radicals, stick-in-the-mud's, puritanical. The vegetarians, who saw their carnivorous comrades as morally loose, could easily slip into Pharisaism.

            One thing is sure. Whenever arguments flare over matters of interpretation, both sides are immediately wrong. We must never despise or judge one another. It is terrible to scathe another believer for their views.

            Respect fellow Christ-followers. God accepted them. If they are "good enough" for God, surely they can be deemed "good enough" for us.

            One day a Quaker, after hearing Whitefield preach, approached the evangelist and said, "Friend George, I am as thou art. I am for bringing all to the life and power of the everlasting God; and therefore if thou wilt not quarrel with me about my hat, I will not quarrel with thee about thy gown."

            Never look down on believers for what they do or do not do in questionable matters. Never belittle fellow believers. Each is precious in God's sight.

 

Rom. 14:4a Who are you to criticize another's household slave? Before his own Lord he stands or falls.

 

            Heaven is the only court where a believer is to be tried. Do not worry about judging fellow believers. God does this for us. He has relieved us of that burden.

            This is good news. We do not have enough time on our hands to be another believer's Judge. We all have much fence-mending to do in our own back yards.

When we tend to our own faults, no time is left for meddling with others. If we must criticize, find a mirror somewhere and have at it. Leave others alone.

 

Rom. 14:4b  And stand he will. For the Lord is able to make him stand.

 

            This is an amazing thought. People who are doing totally opposite things may nevertheless be acceptable in God's sight. Neither side in this matter was necessarily completely wrong. Both may have been right. The astounding truth is, neither group in this passage was presented as being any better than the other.

            Actually, two such groups are helpful to a church. They counterbalance one another, and help us avoid the extremes of legalism and licence. They may be compared to centrifugal and centripetal forces that keep our planet in its orbit.

            Earth travels through space at a tremendous rate of speed. This causes a centrifugal force that keeps it moving outward. This movement is tempered by the sun's gravity, which exerts a centripetal force keeping earth from flying out into the far reaches of space. Similarly, "liberated" ones among us drive us away from legalism while "cautious" ones restrain us from open sin.

 

Rom. 14:5 One person considers one day to be above another day. Someone else considers every day to be the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind.

 

            Here was another questionable matter at Rome. Evidently, some of the Jewish Christians had trouble discarding the Old Testament designation of Saturday as a Sabbath Day, and wanted to keep it as a weekly holy day.

            It was hard to wean Jewish Christians from what they had long been wed to (Henry). Many were not convinced Christ had done away with a weekly Sabbath observance.

            Notice, Paul did not make a dogmatic statement on this matter. Instead, he used this debate as a chance to say it is wrong to force people to do anything against their will. "Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind."

            In other words, if people want to worship on Saturday, they have every right to do so. In fact, they must do so if they think this is what God wants them to do. The Jewish Christians who were not sure it was okay to drop Saturday as a Sabbath were duty bound to maintain it in their own lives.

            Every person must do what she or he in their own heart deems right. Let me pause a moment here, and remind us we are discussing only matters for which there is no clear-cut definitive statement in the New Testament.

The maxim "Be true to yourself" is valid only if said in the context of the new creature we are in Jesus. Be true to our spiritual self, not to our natural self.

 

Rom. 14:6 "Whoever observes the day, observes it to the Lord. Whoever eats, eats to the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is to the Lord that he does not eat, yet he thanks God."

 

            This verse presented an interesting sidelight by stating the early Christians universally thanked God at every meal. However, the verse's main emphasis is that it gives us a principle whereby we must judge any questionable activity.

            Can we do it "to the Lord", for God's glory? Can we "say grace" over it and ask God to bless it? The Romans—vegetarians, meat-eaters, Sabbatarians, etc.—were all trying to please God. None was indifferent or nonchalant in their attitude toward the will of God. Each one had his eyes on Jesus and was trying to satisfy the Master.

            When it comes to a doubtful matter, trust that people are doing their best to win the smile of God. John Wesley wisely said in a letter, "I will not quarrel with you about opinions. I am sick of opinions. Give me a good and substantial religion, a humble, gentle love of God and man." Ultimately, this is what really matters.

            God, give us firm convictions, but also true humility. Learn from a parable. Four men approached from different directions a pyramid painted a different color on each side. The first man said, "It is red." Second, "White." Third, "Blue." Fourth, "Green." As the four screamed at one another in rage, a fifth man circled the pyramid and ended their silly feud by saying, "You are all right and all wrong." In debatable matters, the same could possibly be said often of all sincere believers.

 

 

Admonish One Another

Colossians 3:16b

Admonish One Another

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Col. 3:16b   . . .and admonishing one another in all wisdom, . . .

 

            As noted in our previous message, teaching is a vital part of church life. Every believer is expected to do it somehow somewhere in some type of setting. Now we look at admonishing, which entails correction, warning people of dangerous behaviors, challenging them to change their ways from wrong to right.

This can be difficult because the listeners often do not want to change. When this is the case, teachers who need to admonish are immediately at a disadvantage.

They are trying to teach and apply truth, but the listeners are not interested in anything they disagree with, or that disrupts something they enjoy doing, even sin. People can grow to being insensitive to God's truth regarding a needed behavior change. If this happens, they want no demands made on their lifestyles.

Some go so far as to join a church only if it agrees with their unscriptural beliefs. They sacrifice the admonishing that Bible truth graciously provides in order to know they will not have their personal preference in a matter contested.

Paul, in his writings, regularly admonished his readers, but often only after he felt compelled to reprove their prior lack of receptivity to his words. His main difficulty often was not his subject, but his listeners. Their ho hum, take it or leave it, attitude was dangerous. It still is. We need to know and avoid what causes people to reject admonition. What culprits can start us on this downward cycle?

 

One, pride can bring us down. It is easy for us to slip into being so proudly self-assured of our own knowledge that we can begin to think we are smarter than the Bible. A Pastor or teacher can admonish, but proud listeners do not learn.

The moment people decide to disobey the Bible, they find it easy to resist any admonitions. We must receive admonition without pride, and "humbly receive the implanted word" (James 1:21). Otherwise, admonitions make no impression.

 

            Two, a slow-growing dullness toward the Bible. Beware when reading it grows more sporadic, or when groups, preaching, and spiritual truths become less interesting. Tell-tale warning signs of this dangerous lethargy include decreased involvement in church life, disinterest in the things of God, sporadic attendance at worship services. This neglect easily results in open sin, terrible backsliding.

Avoid any creeping disrespect for the Bible. Never forget whose Word we would be slighting. Scripture deserves reverence because it is God's book. Ever approach it as holy. The Thessalonians received the Word not as a human message, but as "the message of God" (1 Thess. 2:13). What the Bible says, God says.

Beware Scriptural haphazardness. Many who attend church are careless, hearing only out of habit, and coming solely for fellowship. Be sure you learn what is taught. People sometimes listen to the Word for years, but then fall away. Why? Because the message was not embraced. The Word never was never internalized.

 

Three, the burdens of life. Our Master said, "The worries of this age" (Matt. 13:22) can choke the Word. The pains of life can become almost too sharp to bear. When our lives languish in anguish, we sometimes choose to escape our thoughts.

The mind, as a defense mechanism, can want to "shut down" in times of pain. Sadly, it is often the spiritual that the mind casts out; less time is spent in prayer, the Bible, group, and church. We know the mind does need recuperation and rest at times, but whatever else we might have to let go in order to rest our minds, do not lose our hunger and thirst for prayer, the Bible, and God's people.

Never shut these off, for they are our best hope to be lifted up. Are we hurting? Pray more than ever. Are we harboring anger at God? Be in His Word more than ever. Do we feel we are losing our mind? Run toward God's people.

Never let troubles drive us farther from God. Let them drive us closer to Him. Don't waste our sufferings. In times of trouble, more than ever before, we need the undergirding that only prayer, the Bible, and God's people can provide.

 

Four, the culprit may be letting astonishment and awe at a lesson be enough of a response to it. Some people are so sensitive that they can watch a TV ad about world hunger, and be crying before the commercial ends. And yet, this same person may never lift a finger to do anything about the problem. Beware the danger of being filled with amazement, yet not heeding. Admiration does not change us.

It is easy to enjoy a worship service so totally that the feeling itself becomes our ultimate response to it. Don't do this. The awe must open a door through which admonition is allowed to enter us. Following Jesus requires surrendered obedience. When we hear a strong Bible lesson, be not only astonished; also be admonished.

 

Five, the culprit may be overemphasizing intellectual knowledge of the Bible. Beware not keeping our practice up to the level of our Bible knowledge.

            Many divorce God's known laws from everyday life, thinking if religion's trimmings are maintained, obedience is not really important. This makes the Bible a couch rather than a coach. One of my cousins works with vile and vulgar men who give up meat during Lent. Their religion has become a salve to soothe their consciences so that sinning can be more comfortable. Instead of a stimulus to good living, it becomes compensation for bad living. For many, religion is an insurance policy to cover all bases after sinning rather than incentive to stop before sinning.

            The Bible must become the warp and woof of our actions. Otherwise, we can find ourselves bragging on Scripture, and at the same time breaking it. God is not interested in praise for His words at the expense of obedience to it. King Saul disobeyed God, and then offered sacrifices, thinking it would appease God. The prophet Samuel harshly rebuked Saul, "To obey is better than sacrifice. . . .Insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king" (1 Samuel 15:22-23 NAS).

            Our knowledge of the Bible always stays ahead of our inward and outward conformity to it. We know more than we do. Reading and knowing the Bible are not enough, however much we learn. Our goal is to comply with the truth we claim to believe. We need the Holy Spirit to drive home in us the implications and applications of the truths we are reading, to push out any resistance to obedience.

Information is useless if it is not allowed to change our thoughts and behavior. If unwilling to change, there is no real learning. Truth unapplied is truth wasted. The life we live, not the facts we learn, determines the level of our Christian maturity. A developing Christian is the one who is pressing ahead to increased obedience. We must learn the Word in order to apply it to our daily life.

            The church is a vocational school, where we learn in order to do. Believers advance to step two not by knowing what step one is, but by doing step one.

We enter higher training by succeeding in former exercises. The mind has not truly embraced an idea the will has refused to obey. Receive admonition with a child-like heart. Yearn to know and do God's will. Take in truth, and act on it.