Christian Unity

Rom 14:1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.

The instruction in Romans 14:1 seems clear enough. Just accept your brother despite your disagreements. But apparently some people fear that this could be used as a license to violate all kinds of clear biblical teachings. Therefore they seek to narrow the scope of “disputable matters,” so that they would be permitted to pass judgment on matters where they are fully convinced the other party is in the wrong. Almost 100 years ago, in his commentary on Romans 14, J. W. McGarvey followed Moses Lard’s analysis, saying:

This section is, as Lard remarks, “pre-eminently a chapter as to duties in regard to things indifferent in themselves.” For things not indifferent there is another rule (Gal 1:6-10, 2)

In their comments on Romans 14:1, Lard and McGarvey introduced the notion of “things indifferent in themselves.” In other words, they held that you were only prohibited from passing judgment on your weaker brother when you are convinced that the issue really doesn’t matter. Think about that for a minute. If you are convinced that the issue does not matter, why would you pass judgment on your brother over the issue? You would only want to pass judgment over issus that you think are significant. So Lard and McGarvey essentially rendered Romans 14:1 meaningless. By their rule, if your brother is doing something that you disapprove, you are free to pass judgment on him. The widespread adoption of this interpretation of Romans 14:1 by churches of Christ is evidence of the vast influence these two men had on how events unfolded in churches of Christ in subsequent years.

Lard completed his position by applying Gal 1:6-10 to all matters that are not indifferent. That passage condemns adding anything to the gospel. So Lard was equating all non-indifferent matters to the gospel. But Paul had a much narrower definition of the gospel (1 Cor 15:1-11). The gospel itself consists of what was taught to a new convert, so that they could respond to the gospel. Lard and McGarvey vastly expanded the scope of “gospel” so that practically any disagreement became a basis for division.

It seems that Paul anticipated this curious approach when he said:

Rom 14:5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

Paul’s instructions in Romans 14 apply to situations where both parties are convinced of their position. Neither party sees it as an indifferent matter. So, if I were fully convinced that it is wrong for Christians to observe special religious days (ie. if I believed it is not an indifferent matter), I would still not be permitted to pass judgment over a brother who does observe them. And if I were fully convinced that Christians should observe the Sabbath, I would nevertheless be prohibited from passing judgment on a brother who did not observe it. The mandate to accept one another applies both ways.

Paul’s instructions in Romans 14 are not limited to the realm of “matters of indifference.” My degree of certainty about my position does not determine whether the matter is disputable. The context specifically addresses matters on which I am “fully convinced in my own mind.”

So, what is a disputable matter? I believe what is disputable is pretty obvious. We are expected to be able to recognize what is obvious. The works of the flesh are not disputable matters — they are obvious Gal 5:19-21. Things that are plainly stated in scripture are obvious. Things we infer from scriptures are not obvious. And things on which the scriptures are silent are not obvious. We should not pass judgment on one another over such subjects.

“…I will build my church.” (Matthew 16:18)

“…apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

I was recently alerted to a very interesting blog post about how we do ministry. The blogger was relating a message from an experienced minister and church planter named Kent Smith, who is now devoted himself to the development of other young leaders to plant more reproducible ministries.

I find it quite interesting to run across new groups that are seeking to spread the gospel through planting of churches that plant other churches. Coming from an ICOC background, it is easy to think we invented that idea and that we are the only ones that really care about it, or that we are the only ones that know anything about how to do it. That blogger’s article reminds me that is not the case. And it gives me some significant spiritual principles to digest.

Jesus is really the only church builder. And the church he builds belongs to him. We are all wretched blind beggars who are only part of his church by the grace of God. Who are we to think we know how to build a church? We should count ourselves blessed just to be a part of it.

Kent spoke of two motives that can taint our efforts to serve God in our ministries. The first is the desire to do something great for God, to make our lives matter. As the blogger relates,

We are often seeking to fill a hole in our lives that will give us some sort of meaning or significance.

That motive misses the point in ministry. It is not about us. We are not here to make ourselves significant. Christ already showed that we are significant, and made us more significant, by going to the cross on our behalf, and by giving us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. We don’t need any more significance than that! And of course we cannot do anything to improve on that.

The second motive Kent spoke about was a love of community. We may be trying to fill a void inside ourselves, a hunger for the closeness and common values that community can provide. Again, this misses the point. It is not about us. Christ’s church is a community about others. We are in that community, not to serve our own needs, but to serve others.

Kent referred to something Dietrich Bonnhoffer wrote in Life Together about community. I would like to add some other quotes from the same source on this topic:

The serious Christian, set down for the first time in a Christian community, is likely to bring with him a very definite idea of what Christian life together should be and to try to realize it…

God hates visionary dreaming; it makes a dreamer proud and pretentious. The man who fashions a visionary ideal of community demands that it be realized by God, by others, and by himself. He enters the community of Christians with his demands, sets up his own law, and judges the brethren and God Himself accordingly. He stands adamant, a living reproach to all others in the circle of brethren. He acts as if he is the creator of the Christian community, as if his dream binds men together. When things do not go his way, he calls the effort a failure. When his ideal picture is destroyed, he sees the community going to smash. So he becomes, first an accuser of his brethren, then an accuser of God, and finally the despairing accuser of himself.

Because God has already laid the only foundation of our fellowship, because God has bound us together in one body with other Christians in Jesus Christ, long before we entered into common life with them, we enter into that common life not as demanders but as thankful recipients…

In another place, Bonhoffer wrote:

Love community, and you will kill it. Love your brother, and you will build it.

These are some deep thoughts. Why do we think Jesus kept talking about loving each other, meeting our brother’s needs, loving our neighbor as ourselves? Why did he keep talking about giving a cup of water, or visiting the sick or those in prison? Why did he tell us to go and do what the good Samaritan had done? Isn’t there something more important than that?

Why did Jesus live that way himself? He had just three years to inject his message into the world, carried in a dozen common jars of clay. His entire ministry, the results from his suffering and death on the cross, all depended on the message getting out. He had to get these twelve men ready for the toughest and most important job in the history of the world. Why did he take so much of his time doing things other than preaching and teaching? Wasn’t there more urgent, more important work to do?

We forget. Jesus said “I will build my church.” He said “Apart from me you can do nothing.” For a church leader, nothing is more important than remaining in the vine. The greatest command is to love God with everything we have. We must cling to Christ, spend intimate time with him, rely on him, and strive to be like him with every fiber of our being. Apart from him we can do nothing.

And there is also a second command, like the first one. That command was not to love a mission, or to love a community. It was to love our neighbor– one person at a time, to love. As Bonhoffer said, by loving our brother we can build community. Love is how Christ builds his church. That love is carried in his body, the church. It is carried to individuals, one at a time. It is shown especially to those inside the church, but also to those outside.

Love is the work of the church — the kind of love that serves others; the kind of love that washes feet; the kind of love that lays down its life for a brother. Love is the greatest gift (1 Cor 13:13). If you want to do something great for God, then love. That is how Christ is building his church.

I want to continue examining the topic of doing good works. This is such a prevalent topic in the New Testament that we often read right over it without seeing it. We minimize the importance of doing acts of service, labeling it as the social gospel. Some Christians seem to think that doing good to others is of secondary importance compared to things like evangelism and private spiritual disciplines. But if the number of scriptures on a topic is an indication of its importance, we may be underestimating the importance of good works. Consider the following passages on the subject:

Mat 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Mat 12:12 How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Luk 6:27-31 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Act 9:36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor.

Act 10:37-38 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached– how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

Rom 2:6-7 God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

Rom 7:21 So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.

2Co 9:13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.

Gal 6:9-10 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Eph 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Php 2:4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Col 1:10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

1Ti 2:9-10 I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

1Ti 5:9 No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.

1Ti 5:24-25 The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.

1Ti 6:17-19 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Tit 2:7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good.

Tit 2:14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Tit 3:8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Tit 3:14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.

Heb 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Heb 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

1Pe 2:12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

1Pe 2:15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.

1Pe 3:10-12 For,
“Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from deceitful speech.
He must turn from evil and do good;
he must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

1Pe 3:13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?

1Pe 3:17 It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

1Pe 4:19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Even beyond these passages, much of scripture addresses the character issues that keep us from doing good works. As Eph 4:12 points out, it is the responsibility of church leaders to prepare the members of the church for works of service. That preparation includes instilling compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and a host of other character traits which lead to acts of kindness. Not only the leaders, but every Christian should be doing his part to build up the church toward good works (Eph 4:16). The fellowship in the assembly should be spurring us on to love and good works (Heb 10:24). The goal is that every member would be bearing fruit in every good work (Col 1:10).

The scriptures say much more about doing good works than about evangelism. Evangelism is a wonderfully good work–but not if we do it primarily for our own benefit. What motivates our evangelism? It is fairly obvious whether or not our evangelism is selfishly motivated. If we truly care about the other person, our service to them will address their physical needs as well. And our compassion toward them will not end after the evangelism is completed — whether they accept the message or not.

Yes, praise God that the gospel is proclaimed, whether from false motives or true. If people receive salvation because of selfish evangelism, their salvation is just as precious. But right now I’m focusing on the spiritual condition of the evangelizer. Without a genuine compassion for the people around us, our evangelism is hollow and hypocritical, and our hearts are far from the heart of God. The New Testament focuses on the heart and character traits (kindness, compassion, humility, gentleness, patience…) that will naturally produce properly motivated evangelism. I think that is the kind of teaching that church leaders should be emphasizing. And I think evangelism is one of the natural results of that kind of teaching.

Obviously the scriptures have a lot to say about Christians doing good works. I wonder if the teaching in churches emphasizes this topic to the same degree that the scriptures do. And I wonder if our good deeds are commensurate with the emphasis found in scripture.

One of the most important and most often ignored passages of scripture about Christian unity is found in Romans 14. That passage teaches us how to handle differences of conscience among Christians. I’ve written many times previously on the subject of the Christian conscience (for example: Conscience and Romans Part 14: Accept One Another).

The differences Paul addressed in Romans 14 were not minor. These were topics on which each party was “fully convinced in his own mind.” The matters were so significant that “the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats.” The two points of view were diametrically opposed. And the stakes could not have been higher. Violating conscience would bring condemnation. The controversy was a dilemma with eternal consequences.

The profound solution that the Holy Spirit provided through Paul’s letter consisted of three parts:

1. Accept one another anyway.
2. Do not violate your conscience.
3. Do not cause your brother to stumble.

It seems to me that Christians are much more focused on #2, and less on #1 and #3. People go to great lengths to avoid complying with #3, because that part requires us to give up our rights for the benefit of our brother.

Rom 14:20-21 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.

We hate the idea of giving up our rights. In our effort to avoid that, we sometimes go to ridiculous lengths. We argue about whether a matter is disputable or not (Think about how silly that argument is!) Or we argue about who is the “weaker brother” (What difference does that make? Regardless of whether he is the weaker or the stronger brother, I should not do anything to cause him to stumble). It seems that any argument will do, as long as it results in me keeping my rights.

Another curious argument that is sometimes employed is that a brother’s conscientious objection is not valid, because his conscience is improperly trained–and therefore that we do not need to take his conscientious objection into consideration. Of course it is true that a person’s conscience can be founded on faulty understandings. But he is still obligated to abide by his conscience. In the example of Romans 14, the brother who would not eat meat had a conscience that was improperly trained on the subject. Yet he would still be condemned if he ate. And the brother whose conscience was correctly trained was still commanded not to eat anything that would cause his brother to stumble. The fact that his brother’s conscience was improperly trained was not relevant.

In the general case, both parties must admit that their consciences are fallible. Even the inspired apostle Paul acknowledged that about his conscience:

1Co 4:4 My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.

So we really don’t always know with certainty which party has an incorrect view. We don’t know who is the weaker brother and who is stronger. And again, that really isn’t relevant to my responsibility toward my brother. In either case, I must accept him, and not cause him to stumble, while still following my own conscience personally.

The command to accept one another rests on the foundation of another command, the command to love one another.

1Jo 4:20-21 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

When we argue and look for loopholes rather than giving up our rights for the benefit of our brother, we are not loving our brother. (Rom 13:10 Love does no harm to its neighbor.) Why are we willing to do something that puts our brother’s soul in jeopardy? It really is my problem!

We need to mature to the point that we will gladly give up our perceived rights in order to protect the consciences of our brothers and sisters. Leaders should be the most mature, and therefore the most committed to this biblical mandate. Let’s not make excuses and let’s not look for loopholes. Let’s love one another.

Jay Guin has just completed a series on his blog titled “What’s Wrong With How We Do Church.” I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the entire series. It is well worth a careful, prayerful reading. But today I want to focus on what Jay calls the Jesus piece. Jay wrote:

You see, we’re often guilty of limiting our walk with Jesus to good moral behavior and sound doctrine, and certainly these are important to Jesus. But Jesus spent most of his time on earth preaching the good news and helping people in need our of selfless compassion.

Reading the gospels, we repeatedly see Jesus healing people and showing compassion to crowds. When he saw people in need, he cared, and he did something about it. That was the word on the street about Jesus — he cared, in a way they had not seen before. That was one of the main reasons crowds came to him.

Mat 4:23-24 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them.

Jesus healed people because he had compassion on them. By healing them, he showed us the compassion of God. That is how he drew the large crowds. Compassion was not only the tool Jesus used to reach the people– it was also how he taught his disciples to reach those around them:

Matt 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Similarly, the apostles taught the Christian church to reach out to the world around them through good deeds of compassionate service:

1Pe 2:12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

We are called to be like Jesus. That includes imitating his compassion and service. Compassionate service was the reputation of Jesus during his ministry. In like manner, the early church was well known for such deeds as caring for the sick and orphans. What are we known for?.

Doing good works is not just a good idea for Christians. It is our mission.

Eph 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Tit 2:11-14 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope–the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Jesus taught us about compassionate service through parables. The parable of the good Samaritan illustrates the kind of compassion Jesus wants from his followers. But the parable that brings home the importance of that compassion is the parable of the sheep and the goats. There we learn that showing compassion on the needy ones around us is not just a good idea, but a matter of salvation. Those who serve others will be invited into an eternal inheritance. Those who do not serve others will be cast into the eternal fire. According to the words of Jesus, our fate on Judgment Day hangs on this: Did we meet the needs of less fortunate people around us? Did we? Are we?

Jesus was not talking about participating in a program where we serve the needy at a scheduled time in an organized program. Jesus didn’t do it that way. Rather, he is calling us to serve as a natural part of our daily lives. He is calling on us to be something that leads to us doing something. That is the message of the parable of the good Samaritan. When we see the stranger in need, do we stop our scheduled activities and serve?

We don’t like to talk about that. But we need to talk about it. Our churches may be suffering because we pay little heed to this teaching. One premise of Jay’s series is that churches are not meeting the spiritual needs of mature Christians, precisely because we are not calling them to serve others. Jay wrote:

I think the reason so many Christians, especially mature Christians, get dissatisfied with church is that most churches aren’t doing what they were called to do. They’re doing some of it, but not all of it.

And

Notice that in all the practical wisdom found in scripture–lessons on how to live as a Christian–very little is said about inviting your friends to church. But there are dozens of verses about doing good deeds for others.

I don’t know why we duck this issue. When we do serve, it feels great!

Eph 4:11-13 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

It is the duty of church leadership to prepare God’s people for these works of service. Those who have reached maturity, who have attained the whole measure of the fullness of Christ, will be doing those works of service, like Christ did. Our churches have a long way to go. And as church leaders, we need to lead the way in compassionate service. We must do it, for the sake of the church and for the sake of our own souls. We have work to do.

Outreach Magazine recently ranked the top 25 “multiplying churches” in America. The list includes five independent Christian churches , an encouraging fact for those of us in the Restoration Movement who share the same roots.

For this list, the term “multiplying church” means a church that plants other churches.

Today’s multiplying churches are adopting new ways of planting, as well as new principles. As they multiply themselves—taking care to instill a DNA of reproduction in each new church they plant—these churches are increasing their Kingdom impact.

Quoting from the article at the Christian Standard:

Researcher Ed Stetzer said, “Among churches today, the conversation—a long overdue one—is moving from church growth to kingdom growth.” The 25 churches were selected from more than 300 surveyed and were ranked based on the total number of church plants over the life of the church, the average number of churches planted each year, dollars and percentage of budget dedicated to church planting, the number of daughter churches that have planted a new church, and the church’s influence on the church-planting community. Included in the top 25 were five Christian churches. Each of the five churches has a unique story of impacting the kingdom through church planting.

Those of us from the ICOC are familiar with our own story of church plantings occurring over the past 25 years. I hope the above-linked articles encourage and inspire us to greater things in the future. God is not through yet!