Diversity, differences, and the Gospel

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.- Romans 14:1‭-‬23 ESV

Mr. Travis Drake

The conflict

This is two groups of Christians. It is likely a racial divide, but Paul does not use that wording. He refers to them as those of strong and weaker faith. The Jewish observances of the Sabbath and abstaining from certain food are noted as examples. And not as good examples but rather something that Jews were mocked for. Paul refers to these things and tells Christians not to mock them for these things.

These are not doctrinal differences, but rather everyday practice. For our day and age, it would look like this. Do we wear suits or jeans to church service? Do you have drums and guitars or organs during worship? Do we only sing hymns or Psalms? What is the "right" way? But this is too one-dimensional. Faith allows for diverse practice. This is not a core Gospel issue. These are ethnically contextualized ways of practicing faith. We are taking what is a secondary concern and making it primary.

Are we trying to tell people how to live their lives? The strong are to welcome the weak and vice versa. God treats both with love, do we do the same? Do we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ with love? We need to be gentle and loving with those who are different from us. God accepts those differences; they are not sin. We should not elevate personal preferences to the importance of sin. God does not flatten our diversity. He uses it for His glory. Heaven is not a melting pot; it is a mosaic. The uniformity that God demands is that we act for the glory of God. The ethnic diversity will still exist in heaven.

The solution

We should not use our personal convictions to break down the protections around our weaker brethren. A weak faith well protected is better than a strong faith unprotected. The commands are directed at the strong. The strong are called to abstain from things to protect the weak. We should be ready to sacrifice for those who are not like us. We should be willing to be inconvenienced for others in the body of Christ. There's a personal cost. It is difficult. This is the nature of the Christian life.

How do we do this?

We are not given options here. We are called to love in diversity. This is not impossible. So how do we do this? If we feel like we are dying to ourselves, we are dying for the Lord. We can die. God can call us to death, but Jesus is Lord of the dead. Even if we need to die, Jesus is Lord still over our lives. He is our salvation and life. In Christ, we are dead, resurrected, and restored. We are already these things. God is calling us to what we already are. The spirit of God lives in us.  Our faithful life in diversity with our brothers and sisters in faith is what we are. So be it.

Learn, discern, and pray.

Learn to give things up. Become comfortable with being inconvenienced for small things. Do this at smaller things so that when it comes to a Gospel matter, we are ready. We need to read and learn about the cultures around us. Not to judge, but to understand.

Discern what is the impact of our actions on our neighbors, family, friends, and church. Are we curious about those who are not like us? Do we ask hard questions so that we can love those around us?

We need to pray for those around us. Pray for humility and for us to change. Ask God for the hard things. Pray for racial reconciliation. Pray that we could find someone in the next six months who is not like you and to befriend and learn more about them.