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Romans 14 – Matters of Conscience

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Romans 14 – Matters of Conscience Romans 14 – Matters of Conscience Intro - I really like street vendor food (it’s usually delicious…as long as you don’t think too hard about potential health and safety violations) o On a visit to NYC, my brother Tim and I pretty much ate our way across Manhattan ▪ One of the best food carts we stopped at served Middle Eastern halal food ▪ Halal is the Muslim equivalent of the Jewish Kosher: food that is considered clean and acceptable to eat within their dietary laws ▪ Eating halal food makes some Christians uneasy because, depending on what you get, part of what makes it halal may be a blessing from a Muslim cleric o Similarly, one of my all time favorite foods is a Brazilian dish called acarajé that is usually only available from street vendors ▪ If you want authentic acarajé you’ll buy it from someone who looks like this: a Baiana (a woman from the state of Bahía) dressed in this traditional outfit ▪ Buying acarajé from a Baiana makes some Christians uncomfortable because this traditional outfit is also associated with the religion of Candomblé • It is an Afro-Brazilian religion (similar to Haitian Voodou or Cuban Santería) which includes participants seek to be possessed by spirits • In fact, the food sold by these vendors is similar (but not identical) to the food that serves as offerings to some of the spirits in this religion o Personally, I have no problem eating this food because any blessing that may or may not have been spoken over it by the worshipper of a false god does nothing to alter it ▪ I’m going to thank God for the food like I always do and enjoy a tasty treat ▪ A Christian who came out of Islam or candomblé might not feel that way about it…for them, partaking of something that has any sort of connection to their old religion might make them feel like they are participating in that religion - Almost this exact situation was dealt with multiple times in the New Testament o Outside of Israel, most (if not all) of the meat sold in the markets came from the local pagan temples and had been part of a sacrifice to false gods (Zeus, Apollo, Athena, etc.) ▪ Some Christians were unfazed by this. Who cares if they guy who butchered this was chanting a prayer to Zeus! Steak is steak…say grace & fire up the grill! ▪ Other Christians felt that buying/eating that meat once it hit the market was sinful participation in the idolatry of the ones who sacrificed it o Romans 14 provides principles for dealing with issues of conscience like this one - The implications of this passage are far bigger than whether you can eat at certain street vendors: they are applicable to any issue that is left up to individual conscience o Things like lying, theft, adultery, divorce, gossip, greed, etc. do not fall into this category because God has given us specific commands and guidelines relating to them o This is about issues that are not directly addressed in Scripture but about which many Christians have strong convictions - Some examples: o Music style (e.g. rock, rap, hip-hop) ▪ Some Christians are mainly concerned with content (are the words true and edifying) and view style as a matter of personal preference ▪ Other Christians associate certain music styles so strongly with the sinful lifestyles of secular artists that they reject those styles as unacceptable no matter how Scriptural and God-honoring the words to the song might be o Trick-or-treating ▪ Some Christians have no problem with children dressing up in costumes to get candy (and may even use it as a witnessing opportunity) ▪ Other Christians feel that the demonic/occult-related aspects of Halloween are so prominent that the whole thing must be rejected o Voting ▪ Different Christians will weigh principles and issues differently and come to different decisions on who they can vote for ▪ This is an area where Christians tend to be incredibly uncharitable to fellow- believers who come to a different decision than themselves o Piercings, tattoos, brightly dyed hair, and similar fashion choices ▪ New Testament guidelines on clothing, hair, and jewelry are pretty general ▪ This doesn’t stop most Christians from having a mental list of which fashion choices are appropriate and which are “a sign of rebellion” - So, how do we deal with matters of conscience? (1-4) Without Judging Those Who Differ - (1) Issues on which the Bible does not speak directly should not become topics of endless debate or division in the church o We are urged to welcome the one who is weak in faith; ▪ This is the person whose conscience is more sensitive than it really needs to be ▪ They feel that they must abstain from certain things that the Bible doesn’t forbid, or they put other limits on themselves not directly commanded by God ▪ They may be motivated by past history, their culture, traditions, personal preferences, questionably indirect application of biblical principles, etc. o This welcome shouldn’t result in constant quarrels: a person whose actions in the church are consistently divisive and argumentative in matters of conscience is living in sin and is in danger of facing church discipline (Titus 3:9-11) - (2-3) A quarrelsome or divisive spirit can come from either side of an issue, but should not come from either side (Paul’s examples: the eating of meat & later the observance of holidays) o The believer with the stronger conscience must not look down on the believer with the more fragile conscience ▪ They should not be made to feel bad for trying to stay far from sin ▪ They should not be thought of or treated as if they are stupid or of lesser value because of their greater sensitivity o The believer who has more rules for themselves shouldn’t accuse others of sin or worldliness when they have not violated a direct command or principle of God’s Word ▪ That includes assuming sinful motives in them: • “Well, they might not have directly disobeyed God, but they’re seeing how close they can come to it.” • “The fact that they don’t have as strict of boundaries as me shows that they want to dabble in worldliness” ▪ Judging others by man-made rules is what got the Pharisees in trouble - (4) Each brother and sister in Christ is ultimately responsible to our loving, merciful God and his perfect standard not to us and our opinions and preferences shaped by background and culture o We have no right to tell someone that they are living in sin when God has not done so o We should not be asking: ▪ “How can they be a Christian and go trick-or-treating?” ▪ “How can they be a Christian and not be moved by a Christian rock concert?” ▪ “How can they be a Christian and vote for [fill in the blank]?” ▪ …as if those who don’t agree with us on every issue of conscience are unacceptable to God o They can be a Christian and differ from us because being a Christian is about faith in Jesus Christ ▪ We are righteous and upheld by his will and his power, not by being little clones of each other ▪ Don’t enter into the judgmental spirit that creates rifts and “second class citizens” in the church over issues of conscience (5-12) To the Glory of God - (5-6) In issues of conscience, we are urged to come to a firm conviction in our own mind regarding how we can best honor our Lord Jesus Christ o Not “What can I get away with?” or “Has it always been done this way?” but: ▪ “What would reflect well on my Lord and Savior?” ▪ “What would it look like for me to show him love, thankfulness, praise, & trust in this matter?” o Being “full convinced” may involve some digging on our part to acquire: ▪ Greater knowledge of Scripture • If something is directly addressed in Scripture that becomes a matter of obedience, not just of conscience • Are their general principles that I need to take into account as I wrestle with this issue? (“guardrails”) ▪ Better understanding of the issue ▪ Advice from trustworthy spiritual leaders ▪ e.g. my research on Halloween or English Bible translations ▪ It is possible for our conviction in a matter of conscience to change over time as we grow in maturity and understanding o On some issues we may decide to refrain from something about which we have doubts so as to keep a clear conscience ▪ Like those in Paul’s example who decide to not eat meat or observe any holidays ▪ The goal is to be holy to the Lord, not holier than thou toward fellow-believers o On some issues we may decide that our conscience is clear to embrace God-given opportunities to enjoy his good gifts and share his love ▪ Like those in Paul’s example who thank God for their meat and set aside special days to really focus on God or celebrate his goodness ▪ The goal is to gratefully accept God’s blessings in the freedom that comes through faith in Jesus Christ - (7-9) In this, we are motivated by what Jesus has done for us o He died and returned to life for us so that we could be with him forever in the perfect universe he created for us – even physical death can’t stand in the way of that o Our highest allegiance belongs to him in this life and the next ▪ We must use the freedom he has given us to glorify him ▪ “Love so amazing so divine demands my life my soul my all” – Isaac Watts - (10-12) Knowing this, why would we obsess over judging brothers and sisters who do not serve and think exactly like we do? Why would we despise those for whom Christ died? o Jesus is the one who determines who will be rewarded for faithful service (1 Corinthians 3:10-15) o He will do so perfectly, graciously, and without our help o Our focus is on honoring God in our own life and on loving others (13-21) In Love - (13-15) When we are deciding how to act in matters of conscience, we must consider what effect our actions will have on our brothers and sisters in Christ o Paul recognizes that by New Testament standards there is no such thing as ritually clean or unclean food (cf.
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