God does not sanction any division of His church except on the ground of locality. Therefore, in this place there must be only one church. Yet how can everyone in this place be truly one when their experiences, views, and doctrines differ so much? One believes in baptism by immersion, another in baptism by sprinkling; one believes in the pre-tribulation rapture, another in the post-tribulation rapture. There are many different beliefs among the local Christians, and these different beliefs lead to different practices. The human mind seeks to solve the problem by insisting on unity of action. We want everyone else to conform to our mode of thinking and acting. We believe that we have the guidance of the Lord, but we refuse to allow others to have His guidance too. We trust the working of the Spirit in our own hearts, but we do not trust the working of the Spirit in the hearts of others. This was not Paul's attitude, as revealed in Romans 14:1—15:7, which deals with a very important principle in regard to the church life.
Two difficulties had arisen in the church in Rome — vegetarianism and Sabbatarianism. The vegetarians maintained that men began to eat meat only after the fall, and for that reason the eating of meat was wrong. There is no harm in ruling meat out from one's diet, but there is no salvation in it either. Vegetarianism is Cainism; it is bloodless. The Lord said, "My flesh is true food (i.e., eatable), and My blood is true drink (i.e., drinkable)" (John 6:55). If we do not eat "meat," we cannot be saved. Vegetarianism suggests that man has no sin. Adam's food in the garden was herbs, but no sin was present. When sin came in, God altered man's food. There is the need of atonement; therefore, the blood must be shed. There is need of strength from God; therefore, the flesh must be eaten.
Considering the implications of vegetarianism, Paul might well have argued that these vegetarians were not Christians. He might have argued just as clearly that the Sabbatarians were not Christians. What would we have done in the face of such conditions? What assembly today would allow some of its members to keep the Sabbath, others to keep the Lord's Day, others to keep both days, and still others to keep no special day at all? What did Paul do? Did he try to bring them all into conformity of action? No! He did not say that the members who disallowed the eating of meat were strong Christians; he confessed that they were weak, but he also said they should be received. They were weak, and their weakness should be taken into account by the stronger members, who must discuss nothing with them but fundamental matters (14:1). Provided that a man is "in faith," we should certainly "receive" him, "but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his considerations."
Furthermore, we must not despise him (v. 3). We may naturally think, "Oh, what a weak Christian he is! He is a vegetarian! He is just like a Buddhist!" But such an attitude is all wrong. We may regard the man as weak and call him carnal, but if we think that we are strong, are we not also carnal? If we despise others, it is certain that we think too much of ourselves. It is easy for the vegetarian to say, "Oh, these people are given over to worldly lusts, they are `gluttonous' and `drunkard[s]' (Matt. 11:19). We are more spiritual than they because our bodies are kept under control." How easy it is to condemn one another! Therefore, Paul exhorts each party to refrain from judging the other because "God has received him" (Rom. 14:3). We have fellowship with others on this basis alone: that they have fellowship with God. If God has received anyone, then we receive him as well. If any Christian comes into our assembly, the question is not whether he believes exactly what we believe or has the same experiences, but this: Has God received him? If God has received him, then he belongs to the same church as we do.
Paul does not say that vegetarianism is right. He does not deal with the question of right or wrong but with the question of Christian fellowship. He makes clear what the basis of this fellowship is. The point to be stressed is not whether a man's views are right or wrong, but whether God has received him. If I meet a Roman Catholic, I do not ask whether he is he right or wrong but whether or not God has received him. If God has received him, then I recognize him as my brother. If I meet a Seventh-day Adventist, I can only ask whether or not God has received him. If God has received Him, then I must receive him as well. My receiving of him does not mean that he is right, but it does mean that he has a vital relationship with God. In matters of right or wrong we should seek to deal with our fellow believers in love. But we must first receive them without raising any points of controversy because this is distinctly forbidden in the Word of God.
Unfortunately, when Christians meet they generally discuss the points on which they disagree. There are numbers of things we have in common, but instead of meeting on positive ground, we often get on negative ground and discuss our differences. Carnal means can never bring about spiritual ends, and reasoning is carnal. We should love our brothers and pray for them, and if God gives opportunity, we can speak a word to them.
Paul is very strong in verse 4. "Who are you?" he asks. (In Greek the pronoun "you" is emphasized.) In effect Paul is saying, "What authority do you have to judge another person's servant? You are not his master." According to Paul, we are not merely judging our brother when we judge another believer, we are judging the Lord's servant. He is responsible to the Lord alone, not to us. We are very presumptuous if we take such matters into our hands, playing the role of a pope and seeking to regulate all the affairs of the church.
Remember that Paul was not arguing for vegetarianism at all. His reasoning was simply, "Do not meddle with the Lord's business; leave it to Him. If God has been able to open your eyes, can He not open the eyes of others? Leave them to Him. You must be patient with others just as the Lord has been patient with you."
"The Lord is able to make him stand" (v. 4). We should trust God and show our trust in Him by leaving the situation in His hands. Just as we believe in the Holy Spirit in us, we should believe in the Holy Spirit in our brothers. We need not try to act like the lord of all the saints and seek to put them right, as though God could not care for His church without us.
Verse 5 says, "Let each be fully persuaded in his own mind." What should we do? Should we insist that the Lord's Day be kept? Should we write a book and attack the Seventh-day Adventists in our midst? Should we not do something about this? Will not the unity of the church be endangered if we do not take things in hand? This was not Paul's thought. According to him, we have no business meddling with thoughts of others. Our business is to be clear in our own mind. We always try to get order by rules and regulations, but Paul did not try to regulate things. He did not put the emphasis on things, but on the Lord.
In verse 6 the phrase "to the Lord" is important. If a vegetarian sought fellowship with me, I should ask, "Do you refrain from eating meat because it is an idea of yours, or do you do it to please the Lord?" If he said, "To please the Lord," then I should reply, "If you can serve the Lord better this way, praise His name; go ahead." We must always seek to stress the central point of Christianity, that is, that those who live should live to the Lord and those who die should die to the Lord. Wherever we see that the central point is right, we should praise the Lord and not stress externalities. We should never lay emphasis on the technical side of Christianity, but always on the fundamental matter of doing everything "to the Lord." We must never seek to lead those who differ from us to think and act as we do, but simply seek to lead them closer to the Lord. The chief point is not whether we eat meat, but whether we are living to the Lord. We must help the saints see their responsibility to the Lord alone. If their relationship with Him is right, everything else will adjust itself. Alas! many are not seeking to lead others to a closer relationship with the Lord, but to a closer conformity to certain things. They are working for outward correctness; this is Pharisaism. The Pharisees had much in the way of outward form and outward correctness, but they had no relationship with God. Even if we make alterations and adjustments and eventually reach a point of perfect correctness in outward things, nothing has been gained in God's sight unless our relationship with Him is right. Augustine said, "In things essential, unity, in non-essentials, liberty, in all things, charity." We naturally want everyone to be like us, but if others differ, this is our opportunity to bear the cross. If we make the Lord the center of life, even if there is some divergence in external matters, everything else will be well. David went into the tabernacle and ate the showbread, the penalty for which was death. But it did not matter because David was for the Lord; his heart was right toward God. We must continually bear in mind that the central point of Christianity is the lordship of Jesus Christ. If Jesus is your Lord and Jesus is my Lord, then everything will be all right between us. The whole question is this: "Is the Lord the center of all in your life and mine?"
Verse 8 repeats the phrase "to the Lord." We do not want to lead our brothers to a point of perfect outward correctness, but to the point of living "to the Lord" and dying "to the Lord." This point should be repeatedly emphasized. If a person comes to me and argues strongly against baptism by immersion, I should not argue with him, but obey Paul's injunction in verse 1 and "receive [him], but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his considerations." This does not mean that I should keep silent, but that I should only ask, "Are you living to the Lord? Do you think that by not being baptized you are glorifying Him, or do you have a controversy with Him over the matter? Are you resisting Him by not being immersed, or are you doing it to please Him? I only care whether your relationship with the Lord is right." If you are not immersed, then I can ask, "Are you not immersed out of fear of man or to please the Lord?" If you are immersed, then I can ask, "Are you immersed to please man or to please the Lord?" We do not want to stress technical correctness but spirituality. Of course, we want to be technically correct as well because we want to serve the Lord as those who are "approved to God" (2 Tim. 2:15).
Romans 14:9 speaks of the Lord's position. Because He died, He is Lord of the dead, and because He lives, He is Lord of the living. We are neither lord of the dead nor of the living, so we dare not take it upon ourselves to regulate people's outward actions according to what we believe is right or wrong. Our only responsibility is to seek to bring them into a more intimate relationship with the Lord.
In verse 10 two things are forbidden among the children of God — judging and despising. The former is an outward act; the latter is an inward attitude. Sometimes we do not judge, but in our hearts we think, "He is a Christian, but he is not immersed. There must be something wrong with him; I must be better than he." How often we secretly pity those who do not see as we do! But one day all of us are going to be judged, so none of us should judge today. "We will all stand before the judgment seat of God" (v. 10). The judgment seat of God is in the future, so we should not set it up now. Our brother is going to be judged, but we are also going to be judged. If we truly believe in the judgment seat of God, we do not dare to judge others. If we are good judges of others, the Lord will be very severe in His judgment of us. With the measure that we measure out to others, it will be measured to us in return (Luke 6:38). If we can so easily discern right and wrong so as to be able to judge others, then it is only just that we be more severely judged than they.
Romans 14:12 speaks of our own coming before the judgment seat of God. We will be asked to give an account concerning ourselves, not our brothers.
Verse 13 says, "Let us judge one another no longer." We should avoid both the "stumbling block" (an open attack) and the "cause of falling" (a secret trap).
If we only read as far as verse 13, we might conclude that Paul thought that it was all right for believers to be vegetarians. He was persuaded in his own mind, as he had exhorted others to be (v. 5), but he did not force his convictions on them. But in verse 14 he says, "I know and am persuaded...that there is nothing unclean of itself." He makes his own position perfectly clear, but he added, "...except to him who considers something to be unclean; to that man it is unclean." If you think that something is unclean, then it is unclean to you, and if you eat it, you are sinning against your conscience. Paul had keen discernment between right and wrong, but he did not wish to be overbearing, nor did he wish to stress externalities. He continually emphasized the fundamental matter of the believers' relationship with the Lord. In meeting our brothers on any point of difference, we can always say, "To me it is...but I do not wish to impose my convictions on you. I must live to the Lord, and my only desire for you is that you live to the Lord." Many of today's divisions in the church are due to the fact that Christians have disregarded the injunctions of Romans 14:14.
Many Christians are bold in teaching others by their actions as well as by their arguments. For example, there may be a brother with a very weak conscience which does not allow him to eat meat. In his presence we may eat as much meat as possible, thinking, "I will teach him what Christian liberty is!" We do not argue with him, but we put meat here and meat there in order to demonstrate the nature of Christian liberty to him. Verse 15 does not say, "Do not destroy by your argument." Instead, it says, "Do not destroy by your food," that is, with the actual thing. So if we see differently, we should keep the difference well in the background and not make him conscious of it. We must do nothing whatsoever to hurt him, because Christ died for him.
In verse 16 Paul admits that our eating of meat is good but warns that we must not let our good be slandered. After all, what is eating and drinking?
In verse 17 eating and drinking stand for all that is outward, while God's kingdom is inward. We must stress the spiritual, not the technical side of things.
According to verse 18, we serve the Lord and please men in the matter of righteousness, peace, and joy, not in the matter of eating and drinking. We must discern clearly between right and wrong, but we must never make others the victim of our discernment.
This portion of the Word relating to the church life begins with "God has received him" in Romans 14:3 and ends with "Christ also received" us in Romans 15:7. Here we see the basis of all our fellowship with others — they belong to the Lord and we also belong to the Lord. This is enough. Christians should not have fellowship with each other because, for example, some belong to the Church of England and others also belong to the Church of England, nor because some have had a special experience and others also have had the same experience, nor because some hold certain views and others also hold the same views, nor because some belong to a certain mission and others also belong to the same mission. Christians should fellowship on the basis of belonging to the Lord.
