We all come to Christ from different perspectives. I grew up in the church of Christ. Some of you have come to Christ from Protestant groups or Catholic or maybe even no serious religious background at all.
So, the question is, how can we have unity with each other? How can we have unity as Christians if we have a different viewpoint on certain things?
The church of Christ in the first century had two very large contingents of peoples and the church of Christ in Rome had the same two large contingents of Christians. Some were from a Jewish background and some were from a Gentile background. In order to understand this text, we need to understand what would cause a major division between those two groups.
ACCEPT THE ONE WHO IS WEAK IN FAITH – 14:1-6:
The fundamental command – vs 1: The word translated “accept” means to “accept with friendliness.” We are to accept one another, but not for the purpose of judging each other’s opinions.
Paul gives one illustration from clean & unclean foods – vss 2-3. A Gentile Christian, or a mature Jewish Christian, would have the faith that he may eat all things (cf Mark 7:19; Acts 10; 1 Tim. 4:4).
The fact is, no one is my servant (in the sense Paul uses the word in this text; vs 4). In other words, I am not the Master. I am not the Savior. I am not the judge. No one answers to me.
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We need to develop our own spiritual maturity to the point that we can allow other Christians to have their own opinions and to live their own lives and answer to Christ for themselves. We are not the judge and the only basis we have to judge is the Word of Christ.
Another illustration comes from holy days – vss 5-6. Jews would regard one day above another (the Sabbath, the new moon, other special days). But the Gentile Christian would regard every day alike. No one day, for him, was any more special than any other day.
When it comes to celebrating days, the only command we have from Christ is that we are to meet together, on the Lord’s Day, around the Lord’s Table, and worship God through Jesus Christ. As a part of that weekly assembly, we are to study God’s message to us. We are to sing and teach one another through our songs. We are to pray together. We are to give for the work of the church. Those behaviors are commanded. Those behaviors have book, chapter, and verse behind them. No other days or behaviors have any connection to Jesus Christ.
The principle behind the whole discussion is in verse 5: “Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.” Paul’s point here is that Christians ought to be persuaded of the properness of their behavior before God, in their own mind. The bottom line is that each of us will answer to God for ourselves and we don’t need to cause separation between Christians if there is no word from Christ to justify that separation.
Explaining what he means by that principle in verse 5, Paul illustrates that point here in verse 6. If one celebrates a special day, he does so for the Lord. If he eats all foods, he does so for the Lord and he gives thanks to God for it. If one eats only vegetables, he does so for the Lord, and he gives thanks to God.
Let us be careful that we only bind what Jesus Christ has commanded. Otherwise, we need to let one another serve Christ in their own way.
Paul Holland
