Issue 1442 – In All Things – May 8, 2024
I was recently reading in Romans, and a familiar passage leapt out for me.
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master[a] that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats eats in honour of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains abstains in honour of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God… Romans 14:1-10
It made me stop to think about how often I have judged someone based on their theological positions.
Good theology is essential. Some things must be correct, and many things can be disagreed on and still be orthodox in our faith. Other things are insignificant.
There are theological issues well worth dividing over, but we must be careful not to demonize those who hold opposing positions. If a person is a true believer in Christ, they are our brother or sister in the faith.
There are theological positions that I am totally confident about and are hills that I would die on. There are others that I hold very firmly, but I am not as confident about. There are others that I am not sure of at all. We don’t have to be 100% certain on every issue.
Division over matters of lesser importance is nothing new in the church. In 1626, a German Lutheran theologian, Peter Meiderlin (Rupertus Meldenius), said, “If we might keep in necessary things Unity, in unnecessary things Freedom, and in both Charity, our affairs would certainly be in the best condition.”
There is some evidence that even he may have picked the phrase up from an earlier writer. Whatever the source, the motto of “in essentials liberty, in non-essentials unity and in all things love” certainly fits Paul’s admonition to the church in Rome.
In particular, let us remember to handle all things in love. We can disagree strongly, but we must still love one another.
May the Lord forgive us all for the times we have not done that.
Be blessed
Hallelu Yah / Praise God
Kevin
Gleanings From The Word
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Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV)