God commands His people in the church not to quarrel but to be united. But how can there be unity when members differ with each other in their viewpoints, and especially when the Bible does not specifically permit or forbid certain practices. As some one observed, “Where you find two Baptists, you have three votes.”
The problem of quarreling in the church among members is not new. In fact, it raised its ugly head in the great church at Rome. The Holy Spirit had brought together a remarkably heterogeneous group of Jewish and Gentile Christians. Paul divided the church into two parties, calling the law-observing Jews “the Weak,” and the liberated Gentiles “the Strong.” The “weak party” would not eat meat which had been offered to idols, and the “strong party” saw no evil. The solution to this problem could have been to form two churches, “The Church of the Carnivores,” or meat eaters, and “The First Church of the Vegetarians.” But Paul did not do this, because he knew the church should be one in the midst of their differences over matters which were neither moral or immoral but amoral. At this point we must realize that there are some things which are always right and always wrong and thus non-negotiable. Such things are summarized in the 10 Commandments. Having stated this let us now note how Paul tells us to deal with “the negotiables.” So Paul tells the Romans how to handle their troubling difficulties in Romans 14 and 15:
- First, the members of the Church must Respect the differences of their fellow members. “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him” (Romans 14:1-3). The one who is weak is not weak in his Christian faith, but he is weak in believing he can not eat meat offered to idols. The “strong” are not stronger Christians, but they have a strong faith to believe they can eat meat. So Paul calls on each group to accept one another, for all had been accepted by God. Now Christians aren’t divided today over eating meat and vegetables, but I know of several issues which divide Christians today:
- Going to the theater
- Wearing make-up
- Tobacco
- Card playing
- Dancing
- Wearing shorts
- Music
- Bible translations
- Sports
- Television
Leslie Flynn wrote a whole book on Great Church Fights in which he says, “Wide disagreements exist today in our churches over certain practices. A Christian from the South may be repelled by a swimming party for both men and women, then offend his Northern brother by lightning up a cigarette. At an international conclave for missionaries, a woman from the Orient could not wear sandals with a clear conscience. A Christian from western Canada thought it worldly for a Christian acquaintance to wear a wedding ring, and a woman from Europe thought it almost immoral for a wife not to wear a ring that signaled her status. A man from Denmark was pained to even watch British Bible school students play football, while the British students shrank from his pipe smoking.”[1]
- Members must Realize that members with opposing views on non-essentials can both be perfectly right with God. “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks” (Romans 14:5-6).
“This controversy over days probably involved Sabbath observance. The Christian Jews’ conscience demanded that they observe it. The Christian Gentiles’ conscience argued that every day is equally devoted to the service of God. Paul’s advice to both is simply, ‘Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.’ Each believer is to use his or her powers of reasoning which have at least begun to be renewed by the gospel under the authority of God’s Word and act accordingly. The same is to be true of eating and abstaining from meat. The evidence that both the “weak” and the “strong” have right hearts is that they both give “thanks” to God. That is, both do what they do with the intention of serving the Lord.”[2]
Illus.: Two of the mightiest preachers of England in the 19th century was Charles Spurgeon and Joseph Parker. Early in their ministries they were close friends and even changed pulpits. Then they had a disagreement. Spurgeon accused Parker of being unspiritual because he attended the theater, and Parker condemned Spurgeon because he smoked cigars. Spurgeon argued that he did not smoke to excess, but when asked what he meant, he said, “No more than two at a time.” Who was right? Perhaps neither. Certainly these preachers were not justified in condemning each other. However, if the Holy Spirit convicts you that something is wrong in your life, you had better not do it, even if other Christians are doing it. In my humble (but accurate) opinion, I believe attending most movies and smoking are sins, and I cannot participate in either. But I must not condemn my brother who may disagree.
Each member of the church should Recognize that one day he will give an account of himself to the Lord Jesus Christ. “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written:
[1] Leslie Flynn, Quoted in R. Kent Hughes, Romans, Wheaton, Illinois, Crossway Books,1991, p. 259.
[2] R.Kent Hughes, Ibid. pp. 262-163,