Liberty, Romans 14, and What We Are to Do With Disagreement by Rev. Benjamin Glaser
In Sabbath School the past several months we’ve been working through the Book of Romans, hitting chapter 14 on the Lord’s Day prior. While one of the less time-investing portions of the systematic theology of the Christian faith written by the Apostle Paul, it involves just as vital a testimony of what matters to believers than any other part. For my monthly installment here at Seventeen82 I’d like to take a minute while you sit right there and I tell you a little bit how we are to treat one another when we find places in the life of the Church where we seem to be at odds.
Christian liberty is not the freedom to decide for myself what I want or don’t want to do. One of the shortcomings of modern translations of the English Bible is a failure to distinguish between the singular and plural forms of you. That has led folks to read themselves into “you” when they should be seeing the community of faith every time the “you” gets namechecked by an author of Scripture. There is no sense of individualism in the good book. The Bible isn’t about you (sing.). Joseph Bonanno was fond of saying the problem with Americans is that they don’t understand family, the trusts, the sacrifices, and the need to place the total over the single when considering what the right thing to do is in any given situation. Likewise, the corporate body of the Church is the focus of Paul’s admonitions, warnings, encouragements, and joys in the chapter. When we come to Romans 14 and the testimony of how we are treat one another in the Church our minds must be set against the temptation to use the words of the apostle as a cudgel to get what we want. As our Confession of Faith says in the chapter on Christian Liberty:
“. . . they who, upon pretense of Christian liberty, shall oppose any lawful power, or the lawful exercise of it, whether it be civil or ecclesiastical, resist the ordinance of God. And for their publishing of such opinions, or maintaining of such practices, as are contrary to the light of nature, or to the known principles of Christianity, whether concerning faith, worship, or conversation; or to the power of godliness; or such erroneous opinions or practices, as either in their own nature, or in the manner of publishing or maintaining them, are destructive to the external peace and order which Christ hath established in the Church; they may lawfully be called to account, and proceeded against by the censures of the Church."
The first issue Paul deals with concerns discussions over doubtful things. What he is referring to at this point are matters which are not known by the believer, nor can be readily deduced from Scripture. A thing does not become “doubtful” merely because the people involved in the discussion do not know the answer. It is right and good to correct folks who are wrong about the truth of a matter. It is not loving a weaker brother to allow them to sin in ignorance. That is different from what Paul has in mind in this chapter. The early Church before the death of the Apostles was a time of transition. Gentiles and Jews were learning to live with one another and both were bound by a history they did not share. The fleshly sons of Abraham had lived under the rubrics of the ceremonial law for generations. It was not easy to break one’s reliance on tradition. Likewise when it came to former worshippers of Zeus to ask them to eat meat sacrificed to an idol was more than their consciences could bear, hence the call by Paul to be mindful of one another’s walk. The same was true of the question of days. Romans 14:5-6 for instance is not a quibble over the 4th Commandment. There is no sense in which the Apostle would be countenancing a violation of God’s Law. That is not a doubtful matter. It is not an act of mercy to see or allow a brother fall into transgression.
Our hope as believers is founded in the certainty we have in the Lord and part of that assurance is the knowledge of what the Ten Commandments say and do. Also in Adult Sabbath School the past couple of Sundays we have been looking at the Third Commandment. In their shorter explanation the Divines say, “The third commandment forbids all profaning or abusing of anything whereby God maketh himself known.” Often it is the case that folks will reduce the breaking of the command to just words we say, but if you notice our Westminster brothers note that when we abuse anything whereby God maketh himself known we are in violation of this statute of Jehovah. That means the ordinances of the Lord’s Supper and Baptism as well as vain man-made worship and the desecration of the Sabbath or any other testimony of God’s grace and love. That matters when we conversate about Christian Liberty. Romans 14 can never be used to excuse weak brothers from flouting the Law. The freedom we have in Christ is the freedom to freely obey, not antinomianize the Scripture.
Let’s get back to the question about doubtful things. In v.7-10 Paul says:
"For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 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."
It is an unfortunate reality that weaker and stronger brothers spend much time in disdain for one another. Whether it is quietly mocking them for their beliefs behind their backs or anathemas of Legalist!!! on one hand or Licentious man!!! on the other there is a refusal to understand or comprehend where folks are coming from. Because more than we might admit what we are discussing aren’t really doubtful things, but matters which are serious. They come down to how we read the Bible and what traditional comforts we are afraid of confronting. Some bristle at the idea of giving up long-held “freedoms” which actually are holding them back from experiencing the blessings of the commandments God has graciously provided His covenant people. What we may interpret as an act of conscious binding may be merely a brother reaching out in love to bring correction where it could be needed, and we need to be willing to hear these words of comfort in the spirit in which they are given. Likewise as Paul notes in the section above the one doing the correcting needs to reach out in a spirit of sugar and spice and all things nice. No brother is ever won with vinegar and spite.
In closing, it is needful in a time of struggle and strife to be clear about what subjects are adiaphora and those that are not. It is unhealthy to make tiers out of subjects which emanate from God’s commandments. Our Lord is not keen on the division some make between “gospel issues” and other matters, because when it comes to the Christian life obedience to the Law is a gospel issue. We help no weaker brother by reducing only justification to stuff we have to all agree to. Salvation is a life-long production guaranteed by the work of the Holy Spirit, which includes without a doubt a love for the totality of the counsel of God. Romans 14 is a gift, but it is not tool for Rodney Kingites who just want everyone to get alone.
To paraphrase a wise man, moderation in the service of vice is no virtue.
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Benjamin Glaser