06.24.2012 Why the Church Needs to be Diverse and Accept One Another

I am concluding our series on Tolerance and Intolerance in American Religious and Political Life!
Are you Liberal or Conservative? Don’t answer that. But there are always liberals and conservatives in the church – and we need to learn to live together as a church. In case you’re scared – I am not talking about whom to vote for in November, nor am I talking about Republicans and Democrats.
Lord, we thank You for this opportunity to worship You – to come together and You are pleased that we are here. You have called us – and Your heart longs to be with us – to speak to us, to hear our praise, thanks, worship, song – and You take pleasure in it – and that is why we do it. It may bring some good emotions and that is good, but we worship You because it pleases You. We ask that You speak to our hearts today – transform and form us to be the people You want us to be. May we be salt to the world – in Your name we pray.
Romans 14:1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, [but] not for [the purpose of] passing judgment on his opinions. 2 One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables [only.] 3 Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him.
Paul addressed two parties – the weak and strong. Here he addresses the weak in faith – not a person who struggles doubting – and the strong in faith is not the one who says, Yeah, I know for sure God answers prayer – but rather, the convictions of what their faith allows them to do or not do.
The weak in faith have personal convictions who would say that their faith puts constrictions on what they can do in their personal life. The strong in faith, in this context, are the ones who believe in freedom. They have freedom in how to live – they are the liberated ones.
There is a problem – both groups are judging one another and putting the other down – they have missed certain aspects of God’s law – and they are disrespectful to God’s word.
The strong judge the weak for clinging to traditional old ways and fail to see this newfound freedom in Christ. This will relate to eating, keeping Sabbaths, and the Mosaic law that did not focus on the moral law. This is what we are dealing with – and today, I will make this very practical – and how might do these same things.
Receive – welcome – the one who is weak in faith – welcome/accept fully as part of your family. The person who has restrictive convictions – you are to completely 100% welcome them. And of course, the opposite works out as well. Both sides are not to just put up with, but to welcome completely.
We understand there is the verse in the church – but not just accepting, but really engaging and welcoming them as part of our family – AS THEY ARE – he is not expecting the weak or stong to change the other when it comes to personal conviction – but the motivation is found at the end of v. 3 – the one who eats everything – must not despise, vice-verse – BECAUSE that is what God has done with you – God has accepted you and welcomed you into His family – so we need to do the same thing.
God has made all churches diverse and wants the churches to have diversity so we can be like Christ. We tend to want everyone to be the same – because it is easier that way – and you can go through the lists of the different things – but what we see in the New Testament – in the Bible – we see diversity – people who would normally have nothing to do with one another and God is saying – Love/Welcome/Accept one another. Did Jesus welcome you because you were in complete agreement with Him? No!
4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
There is judging going on – and Paul is looking at Jesus’ comments – do not judge lest ye be judged – and it is amazing how much this is quoted – even this week – on SportsTalk radio I heard this phrase – totally misused, totally out of context. But who are you to judge another’s servant? Who are you to pass judgment? Say someone works at McDonalds – I can’t tell him what to do, he answers to his boss. When we look down at someone because of different personal convictions, we are judging Christ, we are judging the master, not the person. Judging is looking down and considering the other as inferior, bad. This does not include pointing out sin, immorality, or unrighteousness. To recognize that something is specifically prohibited in the Bible – that is not judging. As long as something is specifically prohibited in the Bible – it is not wrong to point that out. We are to still love the person who is doing it – but we need to point it out. We need to point it out lovingly, gently – that they might be restored. When we don’t confront lovingly and gently – we begin to judge them. If someone is doing something that isn’t right and we don’t gently and lovingly confront them, we begin to judge them. It is important to point out when something is specifically prohibited in the word – like the woman caught in adultery – he forgave her – but told her to sin no more. It is not a mushy love thing – we won’t truly welcome people if we are unable to deal with the heart issues. If we don’t bring up those tough issues, we won’t really love someone.
Marriage – if you don’t address the issues in a marriage relationship, the marriage will slowly decay. Ignoring that a problem exists – healthwise – will that concern get better? No, it gets worse – it has to be addressed.
5 One man regards one day above another, another regards every day [alike.] Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.
This is personal conviction – it sounds like not a big deal, but it was to them – much bigger than ‘are you a Democrat or Republican?’ This is generations of tradition that you gave your life for – and someone says, this is no longer important. It would be like getting rid of the US constitution and calling it irrelevant.
6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.
Personal convictions – we believe that God is pleased when we do it – live this lifestyle – restrict ourselves from doing certain things. Each side’s desire is to please God with the way they live. There are so many areas like this. The person who limits the amount of media they are engaged in do it for the Lord. They might not have the same standard as you – but they do it to be pleasing to God.
7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived [again], that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
Paul is concluding that it is all about the Lord – we should faithfully love and serve Him.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God." 12 So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Simple – when we judge, we take God’s position – and we are not to have God’s position. When we judge someone based on personal conviction – this is not judging whether something is right or wrong, but personal convictions.
13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this-- not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way. 14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
When it comes to your problems – Paul is saying – eating whatever you want is right – that is proper theology – and we are to ask – what is the right thing to do? And Paul says – they faced this decision – and Paul says the right thing is to eat whatever you want. But then Paul says…
15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
What is the right thing? Theologically and everything else says it is okay to eat – but when it comes to loving – self-sacrificial Christ love – Jesus says, Don’t do what you are free to do, rather, do the loving thing. Restrict yourself to do what is best for others.
When we have personal conviction – we must keep them. We must ask – How will what I do affect others?> How is this loving? How is this good?
Specific examples – first – most simple – the issue of alcohol. Very clear example: Drunkenness is specifically prohibited in the Bible. Drinking alcohol is specifically NOT prohibited.
There is freedom – however – because of addictions and other things – people choose, based on personal conviction – to abstain – because they want to be pleasing to the Lord. There are many who have chosen to abstain completely – others have freedom. What he is saying – don’t judge! It is a big issue in our culture. Don’t look down on those who have chosen a different way – that is the big sin.
Economic Status/Money – How do we judge? Those who are poor tend to judge the rich to say they are greedy. It happens all the time. Rich people think poor people are lazy. Though either of those could be true, it doesn’t matter if they are. Where this flows over into church – our responsibility to the poor. What is clear – we have a responsibility to the poor – you can’t miss that – and a responsibility to be generous – but there is a diverse opinion on how to do that.
Intelligence/Education levels. Another area we judge in – on both sides – one is not better than the other – but there should be diversity.
Another area we judge – the designated hitter and instant replay.
Political persuasions – Democrat/Republican – God has both in His community. We think there are specific words in the Bible prohibiting the other – but there are just as many verses on the other side.
Family issues – so many approaches when it comes to family stuff. Like with everything – there are good biblical principles, but then there is freedom.
Dress – yes, there are ways to dress that step across the line – but then there is a wide range before you get to those lines.
Tattoos/piercings – you laugh, but people judge significantly. It is a reality. People tend to judge.
18 For he who in this [way] serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. 20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. 21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or [to do anything] by which your brother stumbles. 22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because [his eating is] not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
Rather than liberal/conservative – weak/strong – the answer is not to become conservative or liberal, but to become like Christ to give yourself for the other person – to sacrifice yourself for the other.
15:1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not [just] please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.
It is a call for relational harmony – to create relational harmony by accepting those who are different in their personal conviction.