Note: This is the sermon manuscript that Ben carried into the pulpit. Feel free to use it in any way to advance the kingdom of God.
Christianity 101:
When Christians Disagree
Romans 14
Englewood Baptist Church
Sunday Morning, July 13, 2008
We have been working our way through the book of Romans and we are just about finished—two weeks remaining. Of course, we could invest years on these 16 chapters and not fully exhaust them, but this study has provided a general overview of the themes and truths of Romans. What an incredible book it is.
Today, the title of my message is “When Christians Disagree” and we will look at chapter 14. Paul is discussing the issue of unity in the church. Did you know that in any given church, there are differences of opinion? Were you aware of that? If you don’t believe me, just serve on a building committee or a finance committee or a personnel committee. Do that and you will see that godly, sincere people sometimes see things a little differently. Everyone has a unique perspective. That’s not a bad thing, but the devil would love nothing more than cause division and alienation between the people of God. If he cannot defeat us, he will seek to divide us. A man named Thomas Brooks once said,
For wolves to worry the lambs is no wonder, but for one lamb to worry another, this is unnatural and monstrous. –Thomas Brooks
So much of the division that is happening in churches today is unnatural and unnecessary. We see splits, schisms, divides. One group goes this way and another goes that way. Hear me on this: truth should always trump unity. We don’t have to be together, but we do have to contend for the truth. For example, if your Sunday School teacher began class today by saying that he no longer believes in the historical event of the resurrection—that Jesus never rose from the grave. It’s all made up. If that were the case, it would be time to part company, because Jesus did walk out of that cold tomb. That is the truth and it’s worth fighting for. But so much of the division that occurs in churches today has little to do with disputes over sound doctrine. Most church splits today occur because two groups of people have different preferences and opinions.
In other words, we are not dividing over black and white issues in 2008. We are choosing to part company over the gray areas in the Christian life. I am convinced that nothing grieves the heart of Jesus like the unnatural infighting that occurs among the lambs.
In John 17, Jesus is savoring some of his final moments on earth and he is praying. What do you think he is praying for as he considers his physical departure from the planet? He is crying out for unity. Look at this passage:
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they’ll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they’ll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you’ve sent me and loved them
In the same way you’ve loved me. John 17:21-23 (The Message)
Jesus says, “Let the believers show the world a miracle to prove the existence of God. Let them show the world a true miracle! And what is this miracle? It is not the ability to make the sun stand still. This miracle is not the ability to fly through the air or to heal people of disease. The miraculous demonstration of the church is in its unity. Let the people of God be together—one heart and one mind.
In the church at Rome, there was division among the lambs. There was danger of disunity and Paul is explaining in this chapter how a church can stay together even with its differences. You see, we can have unity without uniformity. God did not design us all the same, but he has called us to be about the same mission. In the church at Rome, people were beginning to lose sight of the mission. They were bickering over little, trivial things. What were those things? There were two issues: diets and days. These sincerely disagreed about what a Christian should eat and what days a Christian should celebrate. And the temperature was raising day by day. People were getting upset and heated about it. Two camps were forming, and Paul addresses the issue.
Let’s read Romans 14:1-12.
There once was a man named Augustine. He was a great theologian. He said this about unity and I want you to hear it because I think it summarizes the sermon for today.
In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity. –St. Augustine.
And that’s how we’re going to approach this subject today.
What Should We Learn About Unity?
1. Unity is a matter of Lordship. (vv.1-12)
That is the essential. V.9 is the key verse here…
If there is one truth that grounds the church, it is that truth—that Christ has died and returned to life. He is the Lord of all. We are united in him. But this isn’t what the church in Rome was disagreeing about. They were not calling business meetings to talk about whether Jesus really appeared to hundreds of people after his death. That wasn’t the focus of their conversation. Instead, they were talking about food and holidays.
Look with me at v.1. “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.” What is Paul saying? He is saying, “When someone comes to Christ, accept them into the church and give the Lord time to grow them up in their faith.” Don’t throw all of your views and opinions on a brand new believer. That will only cause division and heartache. Accept him whose faith is weak.
Can you imagine if, when someone joined the church, I made them read over a list of requirements and sign it before they were allowed membership? The questions went like this:
•Do you believe that preachers should wear a coat and tie on Sunday?
•Do you understand that Christians should never attend the theatre— not even to see a Disney animated film? This would give the appearance of evil.
•Do you know that, as a member of this church, you are forbidden from country line dancing, or from playing with face cards, and from bungee jumping. Such things are not fitting for followers of Jesus at Englewood.
I could go on and on listing these nonessential matters and what would happen? It would cause division. Why? Because we would begin passing judgment on disputable matters. God does not say in the Proverbs what a 31-year old Southern Baptist preacher should wear on a Sunday morning in West Tennessee, so what are left with? We are left with opinions. And there are many issues like this in the church. God has given us explicit directions so we are left to make our own decisions. Paul says, “Don’t spend much time arguing about stuff like this. On disputable matters, be slow to pass judgment because what will happen is simple: people will begin to forget that Jesus died and rose again to save them from their sins. They won’t be talking about Amazing Grace. They will be voicing their opinions on things that really don’t matter.
A well-known pastor received a letter one day from a woman in his church. I’m sure that a letter like this would never be written here at Englewood, but she writes.
A lady took my seat in church a while back. It’s not that important really. She is a very nice lady, kind and considerate, a good friend in fact. There were several other seats available. I can sit any place. The people in our congregation are as caring as you would find any place in the world. A person should be comfortable sitting any place. It’s no big deal. My seat is on the 7th row on the righthand side of the church. I am sure that she did not intend to take my seat. She just wouldn’t do that, nor would anyone else in our fine church. It doesn’t make that much difference. My seat is on the end of the pew on the north side as you come in on the left. I can rest my left arm on the side of the pew. It’s a good seat, but I would never raise a fuss about a seat. She probably didn’t intend anything personal by taking my seat. I would never hold a grudge. Actually, it was about 3 months ago when she took my seat. I really don’t know why she took it. I have never done anything to her. I have never taken her seat. I suppose I will have to come an hour earlier to get my seat. She really took it because it is one of the best seats in the house. That’s why she took it. I am not going to show up two hours early to get what was rightfully mine to begin with. That is crazy. This is the way great social injustices begin—abusive people taking other people’s seats in church. This is the way the seeds of revolution are sown. A person can only stand so much. Where is it going to end? If somebody doesn’t stand up and be counted, nobody’s seat will be safe.
And we can get a chuckle out of that today, but this kind of thing can happen in any church. It’s easy to invest lots of time on disputable matters like pews. And Paul warned the church that Jesus Christ is Lord and that should be what we’re writing and talking about.
Well, what were those things that caused division in the Roman church? First, it was the issue of food. Look at vv.2-3…
Some people in Rome had been saved out of raw paganism. They had sacrificed animals to wood and to stone. And now that they had come to Christ, they were ashamed of their history. And so what did they do? They distanced themselves from the pain of their past. That meat that had been sacrificed to idols was being sold in the marketplace at a good price and they would not get near it.
The Jewish people said, “Hey that’s a good slab of meat and it’s cheap. I’m buying that and throwin’ that on the fire for supper.” The Jewish people had no problem with that. After all, they knew that there was only one God and all other gods were a product of man’s imagination. The Jews had no baggage regarding meat, so they ate it, and felt good about.
But the Gentiles, as they were coming into the church, they were outraged by the loose living demonstrated among the Jews. How could they eat leftovers from a worship service for a tree god? It was disgusting and offensive to them. It hurt their feelings.
And do you see what Paul says in vv.3? He says…
Let me sum that up: it doesn’t matter. A lamb can chew grass or eat berries from a bush, but that lamb still belongs to the shepherd. Likewise, what Christians eat and drink does not determine their standing before God. So accept one another when it comes to food, Paul says. Be gracious. Give people the benefit of the doubt. The Jews were liberal about their diet; the Gentiles were conservative. But they all belonged to the same body of Christ. God had accepted them all.
Now let’s look at the other issue that had caused division. It was the issue of days. This time, the two groups flip-flopped. The Jews were very strict and conservative about the celebration of holy days. For their entire lives, they had set aside certain days in order to worship God. They had a full calendar of special days.
The Gentile believers, on the other hand, were very liberal in this area. In the mind of a Gentile, every day was sacred to God. Carpe Diem. Seize the day and enjoy every moment. There was no need to set aside certain days and prescribe rules for those days. There is no freedom in that.
Look what Paul says in vv.5-6. Again, Paul does not take sides. He doesn’t say, “You liberal Gentiles need to compromise and celebrate a few holy days to keep the Jews happy.” He doesn’t say, “You conservative Jews need to grow up and forsake the celebration of special days.” He doesn’t choose a side. Instead, he says, “whatever you choose to do, be fully convinced of it.” He says, “Form your convictions, and live by them.”
So let me break this down to how we live today. In matters that are not specifically commanded or forbidden in Scripture, it is always wrong to go against conscience, because your conscience represents what you actually believe to be right. To go against your conscience, therefore, is to do that which you believe is wrong. Anything that produces guilt for you is wrong for you. Don’t do it.
It is also sinful, however, to try to impose your personal convictions on other people, because, in doing so, you are tempting them to go against their own consciences. Paul is therefore giving a twofold command: Do not compromise your own conscience and do not attempt to lead another believer to compromise his conscience. Do you what you are convinced of in your own mind and keep your mouth shut.
Let me give you a perfect example of this. In college, I was a part of a Christian Men’s group and we would occasionally take communion together. We were just a bunch of college guys so we didn’t have the Southern Baptist wafers and cups of juice. Someone bought a loaf of bread and we had a cup of grape juice. We took a piece of that bread, we dipped it in the wine, and we took the supper.
After the service was over, ½ a loaf of this bread was sitting there on a plate, and the since the worship service had concluded, a few guys started munching on that bread. Hey, no sense in letting it go to waste, right? Well, I took one bite of that bread and my conscience told me not to take another bite. That bread was just used as a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice and we were making a snack out of it. The other guys didn’t see it that way. It was a hunk of flour and yeast from Kroger. They saw no problem with eating it.
So what was the right thing to do? Scripture doesn’t say what you’re supposed to do with the leftovers from Communion. So it was up to me. I did not violate my conscience and I walked away from it. I went to the library to study for a test. That’s what I did, and I did not pass judgment on my brothers who saw things differently. I did what I was convinced of in my own mind.
And this really is the secret to real unity in the church. Each believer should approach these disputable matters with humility and do what the Holy Spirit leads you to do. But above all things, we should accept one another. Now that is the main idea of this passage. Acceptance; we should accept one another.
Now, why should we accept a brother we disagree with?
Again, we’re talking about disagreement on nonessentials…
• Because God has accepted him. (v.3)
Let me read v. 3 one more time. If a brother believes that Jesus died on the Cross at Calvary to free him from sin, and he has professed Christ as Lord and Savior, then should you accept him. Why? Because the Lord has accepted him. You may not agree on everything, but you agree on the main thing.
• Because He serves the Lord, not you. (v.4)
Look at v.4. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? Can you imagine if I walked across the street to Taco Bell and started barking out orders to the employees? I put on a hat and said, “Hey, I need someone to mop the bathroom. Hey you..come up here and work the register. Somebody needs to run to the bank and get some $1 bills. What would happen? Those people would look at me like I’m crazy because I have no right to order them around. I am not their boss. In the same way, Paul says don’t pass judgment on your brother and say, “hey, in order for me to worship alongside you, here are your convictions.” That doesn’t make sense. He is not your servant. He stands before the Lord, not before you.
• Because His spiritual growth is God’s responsibility. (v.4)
Look at the end of v. 4. “And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” So often, we try to force our convictions about disputable matters on other people, and if you will just give the Holy Spirit time, that person will grow in his understanding. Be patient with other Christians and understand that we are all on a journey, and we are at different places. The world already had a Savior and you are not him, so let Christ change the heart of a younger believer.
Parents, I want to encourage you in this way. Some of you have grown up children that have moved out of the house. These children may not be growing spiritually at the pace you would like to see. There may be some areas in your child’s life where there seems to be no conviction. This is what you should do. Speak your mind in a loving way. Let them know how you feel about it. And then drop it. As long as your child is a believer, then believe that the Lord is able to make him or her stand. God is the one responsible for our spiritual growth.
• Because He will give an account to God in judgment. (vv.10-12)
There is not one of us here that will escape the judgment seat of Christ. You will bow on your knees and give a report. What Paul is saying is: you have enough to worry about in your own life. You focus on getting your own life in order and appearing before the Lord with a clean conscience. Don’t worry so much about playing God in other people’s lives.
We, as Christians, can spend so much time pointing out the faults in others that we fail to deal with the failures in our own lives. The old saying goes, “Faults in others I can see, but praise the Lord there is none in me.” Paul says, “Let’s focus on ourselves, and we won’t have so much fighting.”
So, let me sum up what Paul is saying in these first 12 verses. Keep the Lordship of Christ in full view. Keep your eyes focused on Him, and you will not be so tempted to criticize and look down on others. You remember, when Peter stepped out of that boat, he was walking on water until…until he took his eyes off the Lord. What a church keeps the cross in full view, unity is much more attainable.
But there is one other point that Paul makes here concerning unity. Look at vv.13-19.
2.Unity is a matter of love. (vv.13-19)
Unity in the church is paramount. Paul says, “Whatever it takes, be united.” Make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Do you know that in marriage, the happiest couples are not the ones that have everything in common? That is rarely the case. The happiest couples are those who make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. As a husband, my role is to do everything I can possibly do to build up my wife. That’s what edification means: to build up. And she is called to do the same for me. When two people commit themselves to washing one another’s feet, guess what happens? There is peace and joy. Those things are the byproducts of love.
In the same way, when you join a church, you had better believe that you will have disagreements with church members. There will be conflict and there will be disappointment, but make every effort to do what leads to peace.
I do not drink alcohol. I can promise you that you will never walk into Kroger and see me checking out with a case of beer. Do you know why you will never see that? It’s not because I think beer would harm me. I think I could be a responsible drinker. I’m not worried about hurting myself. I am worried about hurting you or your children. Let’s just suppose that your daughter came in last night drunk. Her car is all beat up. She is violent and cannot control her tongue, but you finally get her to bed. The next week, she does the same thing again. And you scold her and you punish her, and you tell her that this behavior is not acceptable.
But she saw the preacher walking out of Kroger with a case of beer. She says, “But Mom, Pastor Ben drinks beer and he’s a good man, isn’t he? Why can’t I?”
Do you see what happened there? The exercise of my freedom just caused a family great distress. I didn’t intend to, but I put a stumbling block in that family. Paul says in v.13, “Make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.” And that’s what we should do as brothers and sisters in Christ. We make up our mind to do whatever it takes for the peace and mutual edification.
•If that means that I can’t trim the shrubs on Sunday without offending my neighbor, then I don’t trim the shrubs on Sunday.
•If that means I don’t wear that particular shirt because it might offend someone, then I don’t wear that shirt.
•If that means that I don’t attend that movie because a young person might see me walking in and draw conclusions, then I don’t go to that movie.
Just like in marriage, I surrender my rights so that I might build up my bride. In the church, I surrender my rights so that I might build of the bride of Christ. In my estimation, it is a small price to pay for unity, because unity is what moves the heart of Jesus.
The house that I live in is loud. In this season of life, there are many fires to put out among children. Preschoolers don’t care much for unity. Ava wants to do the puzzle without Max’s help. Max wants to build a tower without Miles pushing it over. With preschoolers, selfish desires are everywhere. But just the other day, Lynley and I had one of those moments when the stars were aligned. All of the children were playing together and enjoying one another. In fact, we overheard my son Max say to his sister. “I want to sit by you, Ava. You are my best buddy.” That was a small miracle. I have learned that nothing makes me happier as a Father than when my children enjoy one another. It warms my soul.
What do you think it does to the Heavenly Father when a church like this one enjoys one another?
Psalm 133:1 says this:
How wonderful, how beautiful, when brothers and sisters get along! (The Message)
And I believe that it brings our heavenly father great joy. I believe a smile comes across his face when he sees a church where the brothers and sisters dwell together in unity. Whatever we have to lay down for the sake of unity, we lay it down, because unity is all about love.
Let us make a commitment, Englewood, to love one another—to make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Let’s stay together and let’s enjoy one another.
