Yesterday, Pastor Byron shared on Romans 13 & 14. You can listen to the message here. Today I’d like to talk a little about stepping stones and stumbling blocks in Romans 14. In Scripture, we see the constant exhortation to build others up and not tear them down. We are to be on the lookout for their well-being, as we’re in this faith together. We’ll look at the immediate context of eating meat and observing sabbaths. Then we will turn our attention to modern day equivalents and how to navigate these principles.
Meat or Vegetables?
It seems with this topic, things have pretty much come full circle. Today in American, you have all sorts of dietary preferences. Some people are mostly carnivorous. Others are vegetarian. From there you can get all sorts of subsets of vegetarianism: Lacto-ovo-vegetarianism (eats milk & eggs), plain vegetarians (only plant life), then you have vegan (a more restricted version of vegetarian). You also get gluten free eaters as well as those averse to nuts (allergies and all).
Given human nature, it is easy to feel the need to defend our position for food preferences, much like anything else. With any instance of needing to defend something, there is a tendency to develop a sense of moral or social superiority around our preferences. “Meat-eaters feed into the “industrial meat complex.” “Vegetarians are PETA card carriers that are out to save the animals at the expense of humanity’s place on top of the food chain.” And the terms go back and forth. Each side is setting themselves up as superior to the other side, and are morally justified in doing so.
According to the Apostle Paul, this is all nonsense. It is just another way to bring division among people. Instead of focusing on what brings us together and what we have in common, we focus on what separates and divides us. This whole way of thinking among Christians is very anti-Christ. It goes against the very fabric of what it means to be Christian: a follower of Christ set free from sin and bonded together by His blood.
This very faction happened in the Roman church much like it happens today. Paul’s answer to all of it is to look past the food preferences and see the image of God in each other. Sure one may have a conviction about eating meat, but that is no reason to break fellowship with them. Paul’s exhortation is for Christians to meet each other where they’re at in terms of their conviction and preferences, not in a condescending way, but in an uplifting way–a way that glorifies Jesus.
Sacred Days
Like the meat vs. vegetable fiasco, another point of division in the Roman church was the observance of holy days. There were some that were adamant about an unwavering adherence to a Saturday Sabbath. Yet Rome was as diverse then as New York and LA are today. So was the church. There were Jews, Romans, Scythians, Africans, and more populating the capital. Each had different personal preferences regarding life cycles, daily routines, and personal holiness. Many of the Jewish Christians were adamant about Saturday being a Sabbath day where no work and no vigorous activity could take place. This went against many of the personal and business practices of Gentile Christians. So Paul addresses it.
Paul was clear that much of the faith practice had to come from inside the individual. He also recognized that each people group had their own value systems and ways of living. Much of his missionary life was devoted to distilling the common elements of faith in Jesus and applying it to people of different cultures. Observing a Sabbath day was one of those elements.
Paul discusses the need to understand some people have an internal sense of obligation to make sure Saturday is the Sabbath day. He also addressed the need to understand others may have a different day they observe to the Lord, or even every day as an observation to the Lord. To use the Benedictine motto “Ora et Labora“. Working and prayer go hand in hand when leading a life of worship to the Lord.
So why the division among people? It is clear Paul is spending a great amount of energy helping new believers (both Jewish and Gentile) make sense of a lifestyle reflective of Jesus in the New Covenant. For the Jews, there was a long history (about 1500 years worth) regarding the Sabbath. Even in the early days, violation of the Sabbath observance on Saturday resulted in execution. This was foreign to Gentile believers. For the Jew, Sabbath observation held a near salvific (if not a complete salvific) role in life. It was not a salvific element for Gentiles.
Paul was trying to explain that in the New Covenant, worship of the Lord Jesus and His work on the cross was the source of all salvation, not Sabbath observance. Not dietary restrictions. Paul was using what naturally divided Jews and Gentiles in terms of external practices to challenge the Roman church to focus on what unites them. They were to follow principles of conscience along with looking out for the well-being of their fellow Christians in an effort to be more greatly unified in the body of Christ.
Since Christians are born into eternal life, all the pedantic dividing points in everyday living was to be put aside for love of God and love of the brethren.
Today
Since the heart behind Paul’s teaching in Romans 14 is to be aware of the needs, convictions, and well-being of other believers, we can apply the same principles today.
What if a believer today is a vegan and I’m a steak-eater? Acknowledge that is their food preference, love and accept them for that. Understand they won’t appreciate a medium rare ribeye like you would, so don’t try to get them to eat it. Find common ground and common interests to build fellowship on. However, neither person should try to guilt the other person for having the eating preferences they have. Neither should they act and believe they are “better off” or “more enlightened” by their own food preferences. Christians are to worship Jesus in everything, not just on Sunday morning. Finding the common ground in worshiping God is a great starting point.
I don’t like to drink alcohol, what if I meet a believer that does? Respect the drinker’s convictions and preference. If they are moderate and mature in their drinking, then they have done nothing wrong morally. You can request that they refrain from drinking when you are around. You can decline invites to gatherings when alcohol is present. I’d recommend you not completely break fellowship with them on this basis. Perhaps chatting at a coffee shop would be a good alternative.
The core of the gospel is right relationship with God and with others. Our challenge as Christians is to pursue right relationship with each other and with non-believers. If we can’t be committed to the well-being (with our actions and attitudes) of fellow believers who have different convictions about food, drink, music selection, etc., Then we are not looking at them with God’s love in mind. Let that be a litmus test for how I’m growing in my relationship with God. As James says, “How can you love God, who you cannot see, if you can’t love your brothers, who you can see?”
We’re all saved by grace. Beer, no bear. Meat, no meat. Country music or Rap. Anyone who names the name of Jesus is saved by grace, loved by God, and is in the process of being redeemed and learning to fully love others. Let us focus on the things that unite us, not what divides us.
I pray this post helps you experience God’s