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Scripture Reading: Rom. 14:1-7, 12-21; 15:3-5; 1 Cor. 8:4-13; 10:25-29; 9:20-22; 7:7-8, 25-26; 1 Tim. 5:14
In this chapter we will begin to see the generality of the church life. In the church life we all must be general. However, before we can be general, we must be special. Concerning the six items of our Christian faith, we must be very specific, very particular. If we are general about it, we are wrong, but this is just one side. We need balance.
As long as we have the solid foundation of the faith, the speciality, laid, we can be very, very general. The apostle Paul was such a person. He was general to such an extent that, according to the record in Acts 21, when he went to Jerusalem the last time, he was persuaded to go to the temple again and even to keep some of the regulations of Judaism. In Romans and Galatians he boldly spoke against Judaism, yet when he went to Jerusalem the last time, he was persuaded to go to the temple again.
Since Paul was a person who was faithful and strong, how could he take the advice to go back to Judaism and its priests, even paying the fee for four others? He was practicing generality. Of course, I will admit that on this occasion Paul went a little too far; even he was out of balance, so he made a mistake. Too much balance is still out of balance. He tolerated the situation, but this time the Lord did not. If Paul could have passed through those seven days without any trouble, that would have proved that what he did was right. But the Lord would not tolerate this in order to keep the truth of the gospel clear to the coming generations. However, this does show that Paul was a person who would be so general in the church life.
According to Paul’s teaching, the New Testament teaching, should we as Christians eat things sacrificed to idols, or should we not eat them? If you say no, I would say that your answer is wrong. If you say yes, I would also say that your answer is wrong. I have some verses that give me the ground to tell you yes (1 Cor. 8:4-8; 10:25-27), and I also have some verses that give me the ground to tell you no (8:9-13; 10:28-29). In the New Testament there is no definite answer concerning this matter.
Not more than ten years ago did I get into the spirit of the writer of all these verses. Then I began to understand his meaning. It is not a matter of yes or no; it is a matter of generality. To say definitely that one should not eat anything offered to idols will cause problems. This will exclude some believers. However, to say yes will also cause trouble. It will cause more damage. So Paul was general.
We all have to learn to be balanced. You may feel that you have the freedom to eat anything. You feel that idols mean nothing (8:4-6), and every idol has been put under your feet. Even you can eat the things offered to the idol in front of the idol. But do you realize that your liberty and boldness will damage some weaker ones? They would never fellowship with you because they think that you are associated with idols. Hence, on some occasions Paul would say that we should eat, and on the other occasions he would say that we should not eat. Both are right.
Suppose I am now fellowshipping, taking the Lord’s table, with a certain group of believers, and all of them are so strong in their conscience. They might say, “We do not care for idols; they mean nothing.” I will agree with them: “Yes, praise the Lord, eat! Eat the things sacrificed to the idols. They mean nothing.” I say yes to them. But when I am with another group where the dear ones are weak in their conscience, afraid of being associated with anything of the idols, they might say that they do not have the freedom to eat the things offered to idols. I also will agree with them: “No, you should not do it.” Then you might rebuke me, saying that I am a person with two faces, because you heard me say yes to one group and no to another group. We can never experience and practice this without a spirit of generality. Without such a spirit we will surely cause division. It will not be possible for us to keep the oneness.
This is the reason that Paul took such a general attitude in Romans 14. He said that some eat everything; however, others who are weaker eat only vegetables (vv. 2-3). To these weaker ones all animals are dirty, and only vegetables are clean. Suppose a believer among us insists to eat only vegetables. What should we do? Probably we would contend for the “truth” that today is the day of grace, and we can eat everything. We would insist that he eat some slain animal day by day, signifying that the Lord died for our sins. Yet this dear one would say, “I do believe in the Lord’s redemption. I thank the Lord that He was crucified for my sins, but my conscience will not allow me to take any meat.” This is the problem today. Christians are divided because they lack a spirit of generality.
In Romans 14 there is also the matter of keeping days (vv. 5-6). Some regard one day as special. These regard the seventh day as the top day of the days. However, some regard all days alike. To these all days are the same. When I was young, I thought that Paul was sacrificing the truth. I said to myself, “Paul, how could you receive people who feel that today they have to keep the Sabbath? Why didn’t you tell us definitely that to keep the Sabbath is wrong? Today is the day of grace. There is no need for us to keep the Sabbath. How can you say that it is okay?”
Suppose a brother of the Seventh-day Adventists begins to meet with us and insists on keeping the Sabbath. What would you do? We all have to learn the spirit of Paul in Romans 14. I have learned this lesson in a hard way. When I was young, I got the best teaching about immersion. Because of this, whenever I met another Christian, the first question I asked was, “By what way were you baptized?” If he said by immersion, I was happy. If he said by sprinkling, I would express my disapproval.
Also, in my early years when I met a Christian, I would check with him, “Do you believe in the Lord Jesus’ coming back?” If he answered yes, then I would ask him when he would be raptured. If he said something not in agreement with me, I would show him many verses proving that what I believed was accurate. In a sense, those teachings that I was so fond of were my toys.
Today many Christians are talking about the Body in Romans 12, but nearly all of them have neglected Romans 14. Without Romans 14 we can never have the Body life. Most who are talking about the Body life do not have it; they only have division. Today the Lord’s recovery is mainly of the oneness. If we are going to have the oneness, we have to become so general. When a brother who is a Seventh-day Adventist comes and insists on keeping the seventh day, we should say to him, “Brother, if you like to keep the Sabbath, you do it. If we have the time, we will come to be with you. We have no problem with you, and we have no argument.” This is the attitude, the spirit, taken by Paul in Romans 14. But this does not mean that Paul was not clear about the teaching of the Sabbath. He was very clear, but he did not insist. We are clearly told by him in Colossians 2 that the Sabbath was a shadow of the Christ who was to come. The Sabbath was a shadow, and now that the body has come, the shadow is over. However, in Romans 14 Paul still tolerated it.
Also, when a brother comes and insists on only eating vegetables, we should say to him that we have no problem with it. When he eats only vegetables, we eat vegetables with him. Again, this does not mean that Paul was not clear about the matter of eating foods. He was very clear, but he did not insist. Can we be so general?
Now we come to another point. In 1 Corinthians 7, concerning marriage, Paul’s attitude was that it is better for the saints not to get married, to keep their virginity (vv. 7-8), and if they do not have a wife, to remain as they are (v. 27). He also said in verse 26, “I consider then that this is good because of the present necessity, that it is good for a man to be as he is.”
This was Paul’s attitude in 1 Corinthians. But if you go to his later writing, he says in 1 Timothy 5:14, “I will therefore that younger widows marry, bear children, keep house, give no opportunity to the opposer for reproach.” In 1 Corinthians 7 he discourages people from getting married, yet in 1 Timothy 5 he encourages the young women to marry, bear children, and keep house. If Paul were here, we might ask him, “Brother Paul, where do you stand? Do you stand with 1 Corinthians 7 or 1 Timothy 5?”
Was Paul wrong? We cannot say this. It is up to the circumstances. If the circumstances are such that it is good for you to be single and love the Lord with all that you are, that is proper. However, the circumstances sometimes do not allow this. Rather, you need a wife or a husband with a family. If this is the case, then the young ladies should get married. It is the same in principle as with the matter of eating things sacrificed to idols. It is not a matter of yes or no. It is a matter that depends on the circumstances. You should not say yes; neither should you say no. There is nothing legal or definite. It should not be like what is practiced in the Roman Catholic Church. They have set up a regulation that all the nuns, monks, and priests should not marry. That is too legal.
We all have to realize from these cases that in a local church, as far as all the teachings are concerned, we should not be so specific but general. However, as far as our Christian faith is concerned, we must be specific. Concerning the faith, we must be definite. But as for teachings such as immersion, sprinkling, head covering, foot-washing, eating, keeping days, marriage, and so many other things, we must be general. If we are not general, we will surely be divisive.
This is not only a principle for individuals; it is also the principle for all the local churches. We must not only be general toward individuals but also toward other churches. We should not be so definite. We should not be so set. Every local church must learn to follow all the other local churches. For example, the church in Los Angeles followed the church in San Francisco in the matter of pray-singing. Neither was pray-reading started in Los Angeles. The church in Los Angeles, as also a follower of the other churches, learned pray-reading from the church in Taipei and pray-singing from the church in San Francisco.
We do not know what will happen tomorrow in the church in one place or next week in the church in another place. There may be something new in a locality that will be so helpful to all the local churches. If so, all the churches should take it. We all have to learn to be general. We should not say that a certain way is the best way to practice the church life or that a certain way is the best way to have a local church. At the present time I and so many others feel that to exercise the spirit and to take care of the inner life by pray-reading and feeding on the Lord Jesus is the most profitable way for us to have the proper church life. But we are open to the Lord. We do not know how far the Lord will go on. We all have to admit that there is still a big field for us to explore. It may be that after two years something new will be discovered. We should not be so definite, so set. We should be open, and we should be general.
In the last two chapters I pointed out that teachings are not so good for the building up of a local church. I also stated that neither are the gifts so good for the building up of a local church. There is something better—the exercise of the spirit, the growth in life, the pray-reading, and the feeding on the Lord. These are the better things for the building up of a local church. I do not mean that teachings are absolutely of no use; neither do I mean that gifts are absolutely of no use. We have seen that a good number of people were raised up by the gifts, and a good number of saints were edified by teachings. To say that teachings and the gifts are absolutely of no use is wrong. However, to build up the local church with life, with the growth in life, and with oneness is the better way. Nothing can surpass the way of life, the way of enjoying Christ for growth, and the way of oneness.
We should never try to adjust or correct other churches. If the church you visit were under your direction, you might do things differently. But when it is not under your direction, you should not do anything. It is the same as driving or riding in a car. When you ride with someone, you should never say a word. That is his car under his driving. But if the car is turned over to you, you may drive it another way. We should never be a back-seat driver.
The problem, however, is that when we visit another local church, we may tell the saints there that the practice in the local church where we are is the right way. We may try to make the church in another city like the church in our place. We should not do this. We should never say that the way in our church is the normal way. It is absolutely not right to correct others like this. Your way might be the worst. But even if it is the best, there is no need for you to try to convince others to take it. To try to convince others of your way will only cause division. If you think that your way is the best and it indeed is the best, others will see it and will learn of it. If others do not care to learn of it, that is up to them.
Never be bothered by something different from your concept. If you hold the concept that the meetings have to be quiet, yet you get into a meeting that is noisy, do not be bothered. You have to learn to be general and go along with it. If your concept is to have a noisy meeting, a meeting that is full of praisings, and you come to a meeting that is quiet, do not be bothered. Be quiet with them. Be general.
By all means we have to keep the oneness. Do not make anything definite. Do not make anything specific. Do not have anything set. We should be open, we should be general, and we should be learning all the time.
