A HIGHER LAW

“Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, to that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer eating in love. Do not by your eating, destroy someone for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what you know to be good be spoken of as evil.” Romans 14:12-16.

In the end, it’s not about me. It’s about you.

If I cling stubbornly to my rights and not consider yours, I may, in the end, destroy your faith instead of building you up.

This is the responsibility of the one who is strong in faith and free of rituals and taboos because he sees that nothing in the physical world has the power to affect his spirit. However, the strong one does not have the right to beat a weaker person with his freedom if the one weaker in faith does not think the same way. What we believe depends on how our conscience has been shaped from childhood.

Imagine, for example, how difficult it must have been for the first Jewish believers to set aside their scruples about not eating with Gentiles, or even entering their homes, for that matter. They were taught from babyhood to believe that it was wrong to mix with “unclean” people. To them, Gentiles were unclean because they did not carry out all the purification rituals of the Jewish faith.

What about the Gentiles? Most of them would have been idol worshippers. They had their own beliefs and rituals, not the least being the power that the gods, represented by their idols, had over their lives. Meat offered to the gods was sold at the meat market to be eaten at home. How much power did that meat have over them when they ate it? It all depended on what they believed.

It was difficult for these different groups of people to shed their beliefs and embrace the truth instead that Jesus Christ had set them free from these things to worship God alone because He is the only one with power over their lives. It did not happen instantaneously when they believed.  It was a gradual process that happened as they renewed their minds with the truth. There were many “young” believers who still had scruples about doing or not doing the things that belonged to their old lives.

In the end, it is fear that holds a person in bondage to his old practices; fear that, if he lets them go, something bad will happen to him. That’s how Satan keeps a person in bondage. Satan deceives him into believing that he has power over him and he has, as long as the person goes on believing his lies. However, Jesus exposed the lie that Satan is lord and defeated the devil through the cross. Until that truth replaces Satan’s deception, that person will be held captive to the false belief and go on living as though it were true.

However, the person who has been set free from his false beliefs must remember that he lives by a higher law – the law of love. He must not use his freedom as a weapon against someone who still struggles with his weak conscience. Since he is free from false scruples, he is also free not to parade his freedom in front of others who have a weak conscience. Instead, he can quietly abstain in the presence of a weaker brother or sister so as not to offend them.

Paul concluded:

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification.” Romans 14:17-19.

There you have it! Once again, in simple and practical terms, it’s about doing the right thing to benefit others more than ourselves. This attitude requires confidence in God. It is not our job to fix others who are not as far along on the journey of faith as we are. Jesus is their Master too. He is perfecting them just as surely as He is perfecting us. We can trust Him to do His work of grace in their lives without our help.

Our task is to administer grace where and when we can, and not the least by having a gracious attitude towards those who are behind us on the way.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.