04.43. LESSON 43

LESSON 43

Romans 14:1-23 ends with a plea for sincerity, consistency, and moral integrity. "Happy is he that judgeth not himself in that which he approveth. But he that doubteth is condemned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith; and whatsoever is not of faith is sin." This verse, in its setting, means that a man whose conscience prevents his doing what he thinks is wrong is a true, blessed man; but that a man whose conscience allows him to do what he thinks is wrong wrongs himself, for this violation of his conscience insulates the one point at the center of his moral being with which God can make spiritual contact. Who can read this chapter without realizing that Christian doctrines are of unequal value, and that big and little things should never exchange places? Men must not make things which God does not make conditions of salvation tests of Christian fellowship, because in so doing they reject those whom God receives, and make divisions in the church over trifles. To separate believers from unbelievers is right, but to separate believers from other believers is wrong. Blessed is the Christian who keeps Christian things in Christian proportion.

Possibly, Paul’s purpose in writing Romans 14:1-23 was to correct an acute condition in Rome, caused by the contention of the "weak" that only their view of eating idolatrous meat could be right, and that therefore the whole church must adopt it. In the very nature of things, men whose meekness does not equal their "weakness" are more likely, than are the "strong," to push their opinions and prejudices to the extremity of overriding the conscience of others, and to form parties in the church. In fact, proud, "weak" brethren may be so unconscious of their "weakness" that when they are told of it, instead of being grieved as Peter was when Paul rebuked him, they are insulted. Romans 14:1-23 and 1 John 3:11-12, "This is the message which we heard from the beginning, that we should love one another not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother," make it impossible for any Christian to deny, as Cain did, that he is his "brother’s keeper" (Genesis 4:9).

Twofold Truth and Unity

Christian unity is so closely connected with the subject matter of Romans 14:1-23 that understanding it will help to understand and apply the teaching of this chapter. The church is an organism consisting of a solid core of fundamental, common truth surrounded by a wealth of variety and diversity in its members. All Christians must be irrevocably committed to this core of primary truth, but concerning the surrounding secondary truth, they must be adaptable. The unity therefore of the church does not require the sameness of an ant hill, or the confinement of a prison cell. Differences in ability, personality, and maturity among the members of a congregation should be welcomed as a priceless asset, for they contribute to fulfillment of its worship and work. The existence and fruitfulness of any organism depend upon all its various parts doing their particular work—"Each for all and all for each." "If they (the members of a human body) were all one member, where was the body" (1 Corinthians 12:19)? As God, in making a tree, gave it central unity and the necessary diversity of root, trunk, limb, and leaf, just so in building his church, he gave it central unity and the necessary diversity of its members, who must not be forced into a straightjacket of conventional conformity. Concerning secondary things, externally enforced uniformity breeds stagnation and decay; too much freedom (license) breeds disorder and anarchy. Yes, there is a liberty that destroys unity, and there is a unity that destroys liberty. But "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17) and unity. And unity and liberty as they are interrelated in God’s church (or tree) are cohesive and creative. "The Rock (God), his work is perfect" (Deuteronomy 32:4). One of the most bitter, stubborn, and strategic fights of Paul’s life was with the Jews for Christian freedom, spontaneity, and fullness against legal bondage, dead customs, and empty formalities of religion.

Ephesians 4:1-16 sets forth twofold Christian unity. It deals first with the constitutional, absolute "Unity of the Spirit," which comprises seven basic, unifying facts. This unity is the gracious, free gift of God through Christ in the Spirit, which must be kept "in the bond of peace." Then follows the relative, increasing unity of fellowship, which is progressively acquired through growth and experience. The former is the fruit of God’s personal work, and is obtained from him. It is man’s responsibility, through the "obedience of faith," to work out the latter "Till we all attain (attained, not obtained) unto the unity of the faith... unto him, who is the head, even Christ." In the realm of relative unity, no man can contend that "conscientious scruples and loyalty to principle" give him the freedom to destroy the freedom that is in Christ Jesus. Christ’s freemen must be above contentions about secondary things. Knowing that Christian unity is organic unity in diversity, they examine their differences in love, with a sense of only partial knowledge, and learn in such matters to disagree without being disagreeable.

Romans 15:1-13 In these verses, Paul gives deep, comprehensive emphasis to the mutual tolerance and tenderness that brethren of unequal spiritual knowledge and understanding should always manifest toward each other. In order to assure a goodly yield of this choice, Christian fruit, he plows up the rich subsoil of the authority, antiquity, and utility of the Jewish Scriptures, and of God’s personal character and methods, as he endlessly works to guide Jews and Gentiles unitedly to glorify him. To serve as both model and motive for Christians, Paul weaves into this great passage part of Psalms 69:9, which states that Christ pleased not himself, but suffered reproaches, means for God, that the will of his Father might be done. It is instructive to note that John 2:17 uses the rest of this verse, "Zeal for thy house shall eat me up," to explain Christ’s challenging Jewish hate by cleansing the temple. This bit of Scripture gives Paul, who, as all holy men are, is ever eager to magnify the sacred writings and their author, the occasion to write: "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now the God of patience and of comfort grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus: that with one accord ye may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

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