Christian Unity Gives Us Liberty
Tom McSherry, our Head Elder, brought us a challenging and inspiring message this past Sabbath as a chapter in the powerful teaching series on Romans 14. I’m grateful for him sharing his insights!
Some of the main points of Paul’s teaching in the 14th chapter of Romans are:
Every Christian should be free to hold his own convictions on matters of Christian liberty.
I see from this text there is a desperate need for solid convictions among Christians. When Paul said in verse 5: “Let each person be fully convinced in their own mind,” he instructed every Christian to have their own personal convictions.
God desires for us to be men and women of strong conviction! These convictions are not feelings or based in emotion; they are convictions of the mind. “Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.”
No Christian is free to exercise these liberties at the expense of his brother’s spiritual welfare.
When the weaker brother drinks wine or eats meat with a troubled conscience and only because their more mature (stronger) brother or sister does so, the (weaker) brother is acting in doubt and thus sinning (v. 23).
We should expect Christians to differ. Christian unity is not uniformity! We should have unity on the fundamentals of the Christian faith, and exercise loving acceptance in our relationships together and where non-essentials are concerned.
There has been far too much division among Christians on matters not fundamental to the Christian faith. Doctrinal differences not over fundamentals of the faith (ie. The deity of Christ, the physical resurrection of our Lord, a complete and completed Atonement, the Gospel…) should not divide the Church of Jesus Christ.
The attitude Paul calls for is expressed in Philippians 3:15: “Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you.” How often we have confused “contend for the faith” (Jude 3) with contending with the faithful.
When we endeavor to forcibly convert others to our own convictions, we are really doubting God’s ability to work in the lives of others. Paul wrote, “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (Romans 14:4).
Ray Stedman has said that the favorite “indoor sport” of Christians is trying to change each other!
Christian faith trusts God to enlighten ourselves and other Christians in God’s timing, and in accordance with God’s wise plan for each of our individual lives.
May God give us His love, grace and humility in living and dealing with one another!
See you at 11 a.m. Sabbath Saturday for the next chapter in our journey on Paul’s teachings! Don’t forget we have free childcare during the service.
Duff
