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Musings on Faith #53 One Faith ... One Belief | |
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"One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man . . . eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 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. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgement seat (Romans 14:2-11, NIV)." Here, Paul is speaking of those who have accepted Christ Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, and not of the lost. And what he is saying is more relevant today, perhaps, than in his own day, for then there were differences of opinion about various aspects of the faith, but now we have not only differences of opinion, but |
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totally different denominations. So, what is Paul telling us, today? Paul’s message is clear: We are not to judge our fellow believers, as to any practices done by them "to the Lord". In other words, if your brother or sister in Christ fasts once a week, do not condemn them; neither should you who fast condemn those who do not. We are all of one faith and one belief, the belief in Jesus as the Christ, and all the glorious things that are entailed with that belief. How we practice our faith is not for one or the other of us to judge, says Paul. This is a message of deep and solemn importance, but which is all too often ignored among the faithful. We allow ourselves, by our human prejudices and our traditions, to think that our way of worship and our doctrines are the only way. Paul is warning us against this, clearly. Whether we are submersed under the water, or sprinkled with it; whether we partake of the Lord’s Supper once a quarter or every week; whether we shout praises or assemble in quiet reverence; whether we sing to instruments or not, or wash feet, or not, we are all God’s children, and disciples of the one true God through His Son, Jesus Christ. "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. . . . So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God (Romans 14:19 & 22, NIV)." Yours in Christ, Tom Woodard |
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