May 24, 2020     Prepare your heart and mind for your next group

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Accepting

As believers we are called to be faithful to the unchangeable truths of the faith while not confusing matters of doctrine with matters of preference.

Romans 14:1-12

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person's faith allows them to eat anything, but another,

whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with

contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who

does, for God has accepted them. Romans 14:1-3 CSB

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Paul spent a good deal of his last instructions in this letter on how to live in relationship with other believers. In this section Paul made a distinction between matters that are doctrinal and matters of how one practices their faith. Doctrine is based on enduring truth that does not change. The methods used in living out the faith may look different while still being faithful to doctrine. The church at Rome was made up of Jews and Gentiles who sometimes had different practices regarding the observance of religious rituals. Paul said these are not matters over which the church should dispute and fall into disunity.

Paul spent the lion's share of this letter teaching on the absolute sufficiency of Christ. The law could not save from the penalty of sin, it could only point out their need for a Savior. The rituals and religious festivals in the law had pointed to Christ. Now that Christ had come these observances were no longer needed. But there were some believers who, in their faith practices felt guilty if they ate "unclean" food or failed to observe a Jewish holiday. Paul called these believers "weak in faith." Though these believers had overly active consciences regarding the practice of these observances, Paul said the church should welcome them; not criticize them.

Those who accepted their freedom from such observances were condescending to those who practiced these rituals. Those who believed it was right to observe food laws and holy days judged the faith of fellow believers who did not do so.

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None are more unjust in their judgments of others than those who have a high opinion of themselves.Charles Spurgeon

How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in your life you will have been all of these.George Washington Carver

Persistence in prayer for someone whom we don't like, however much it goes against the grain to begin with, brings about a remarkable change in attitude.F.F. Bruce

When have you observed personal preferences causing division between believers? How did the focus on preference impact the church's influence in the community?

Paul said they should avoid arguments over these matters. The Greek word Paul used indicates something insignificant and having no genuine substance. These practices were a matter of personal preference and not a matter of doctrine. Fractures in the church fellowship were far more serious and would divert the membership from the main mission of the church. A similar rift is recorded in 1 Cor. 8:1-13 when members disputed over whether it was right to eat meat that had been offered in idol worship before being sold at the market. 

Practices that are not matters of doctrine should not be used as a righteousness test to judge other believers. Paul reminded them that all believers are servants of God and all will give an account of himself to God who is their Master. It was not their job to take issue with matters of food and holiday observances. Rather leave that to each person's conscience.

It was more important that each believer practice his faith with a motive to worship God. Observance of holy days or food preferences were fine if done with the desire to honor God and not as an attempt to supplement the work of Christ. Our actions should be motivated by our desire to bring honor to God (1 Cor. 10:31). It was more important that each person be fully convinced in his own mind about how to go about doing that.

What motivates your worship and Christian service?

We no longer belong to ourselves. We live in the Lord and we die in the Lord. Paul used this same line of thought when teaching the Corinthians, the reason for maintaining sexual purity. Our bodies are

 

15 minute lesson overview video  

temples of the Holy Spirit and we no longer live for ourselves. We have been bought with the price of Christ's own blood (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Believers are unified by this.

Jesus is Lord and Judge over all - the dead and the living. The meaning of the phrase "give an account" relates to stewards who managed the assets of their employers. As stewards of the assets God has placed in us for the advancing of His kingdom, let us be occupied with the work God has given us to do and encourage fellow believers to do all for God's glory.

What is the central truth of this lesson for you? How will you respond?

 

Discuss in your small group common attitudes toward other believers who have different practices such as worship styles or music. In what ways can you practice unity with these believers?

Make a list of your skills, talents, and resources. Thank God for giving you these blessings. Evaluate how you are using God's assets to advance His kingdom.

Before your next group meeting, write questions you have about this session. Also, list one key truth from the session you can contribute to the group time.

 

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Romans, Lesson #13The Weak and the Strong / Romans 14Good Questions Have Groups Talking

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OPENDo you have any odd-ball beliefs? Do you have any beliefs that you think most people would disagree with you on?

DIG1. Romans 14.1 – 12. Let’s read, then summarize this passage.

Paul has already established the equality of Jewish and Gentile believers. In this chapter he continues to discuss how that equality could work out in daily living. Paul focuses on two issues: dietary restrictions and

observance of special days. Next to circumcision, diet and calendar were the most sensitive issues that separated Jews from all Gentiles. Now, as Jews and Gentiles attempted to work out their distinctive character as Christians, these issues had to be resolved. — Bruce Barton et al., Life Application New Testament Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001), 629.

2. What would you say is the key word in this passage?The key word is accept, which also means “receive” or “welcome.” Believers in the church in Rome came from a wide variety of backgrounds. As we’ve already seen, the major differences were between Jewish believers and Gentile believers. But there were other differences. Some believers were slaves, some were masters; some were wealthy, most were poor. In addition, they were all at different stages of spiritual maturity. Growing in the spirit is like growing physically—everyone grows at different rates as God works in each life. So, the first instruction Paul gives the church is to accept, welcome, and love one another without judging or condemning—no matter how weak, immature, or unlearned someone’s faith may seem. Acceptance creates room for growth to continue; rejection stunts growth. — Bruce Barton et al., Life Application New Testament Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2001), 629.

3. What do you know about the background of this passage? What is the big deal about eating?Many of the believers Paul was writing to came from backgrounds that included worshipping idols by sacrificing food to them. In fact, finding meat in the markets that had not been sacrificed to idols was difficult. When these people came to Christ, some of them believed that nothing was unclean in itself—including meat (this was Paul’s opinion). Others felt that if they ate meat that had been sacrificed to idols, they would still be participating in the worship of those idols.Problems arose when those who were free to eat meat sat down to eat with those who weren’t. The meat eaters judged the vegetarians for not living in freedom, and the vegetarians judged the meat eaters for worshipping idols. Each group looked down on the other with contempt. Paul reminded both groups to follow their conscience but not to impose their opinions on others. — Tony Evans, Horizontal Jesus: How Our Relationships with Others Affect Our Experience with God (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2015).

4. Verse 5. One day more sacred than another. What is that talking about?In other words, if a day is special to you, let it be special to you. But you don’t need to force everyone else to make it special too.My late father-in-law did not celebrate Christmas. He said we didn’t know if it was actually Christ’s birth date. He also said it had become so secularized that it didn’t carry the meaning that a day set apart for Jesus Christ should. That being so, my wife, Lois, did not grow up celebrating Christmas. Instead, her family made a big deal about New Year’s.The family I was raised in celebrated Christmas. My parents didn’t have an issue with it, so in our home, celebrating Christmas was as normal as eating dinner. It was expected. However, we didn’t make a big deal out of New Year’s at all. When Lois and I came together and formed our own family, we decided to raise our kids celebrating Christmas, but we agreed not to pressure her parents or siblings to join in. We knew that was against their conscience, so we celebrated our way but gave them the grace not to. In addition, we often celebrated New Year’s with them out of respect for what they valued as well.Paul’s words to the Romans make clear that our different backgrounds and histories have created different value systems. We are not to impose our values on others who may have their own preferences or rationale for why they believe the way they do. Much of the confusion that we face in the body of Christ today is the result of a clash of backgrounds and histories rather than a clash of doctrinal beliefs. But Paul makes it clear that we are free to hold to our preferential values without imposing those values on others or looking down on them because their values are different from ours. Paul’s examples—food and holidays—aren’t problem areas for most of us today, but we do have differing opinions about plenty of other things, including dancing, entertainment, spending, clothing, and drinking. Yet what the Bible does not specifically condemn, you are free to enjoy. But you are not to condemn someone else whose freedom looks different from yours. — Tony Evans, Horizontal Jesus: How Our Relationships with Others Affect Our Experience with God (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2015).

5. Who is the weak Christian?Paul identifies the two opposing groups in the church at Rome as the ‘weak’ and the ‘strong’, and he addresses both groups. And we get a

surprise, for the ‘weak’ Christians are those who have a conscience about diets and days. They have not understood their liberty in Christ, or matured sufficiently in their faith to enjoy this liberty. In Romans 14:1–2, Paul describes them as weak in faith, not in saving faith, but in the application of their faith. And in 15:1, he refers to ‘the failings of the weak’. — Alec Judd, Love Is the Key: Developing and Maintaining Relationships That Honour God (Leominster: Day One, 2005), 66.

6. Who is the strong Christian?‘Strong’ Christians, on the other hand, refuse to accept the bondage of man-made rules. They will have their list of dos and don’ts, but they will draw it up for themselves, in fellowship with the Lord Jesus, and treat it as a guide not a chain. And they will certainly not insist that every other believer must live by it. They prize their liberty in Christ too much, and they want other Christians to enjoy it too. — Alec Judd, Love Is the Key: Developing and Maintaining Relationships That Honour God (Leominster: Day One, 2005), 66.

7. What does it mean to accept? It clearly does not mean that we agree with. What does it mean?Beneath the problem of diets and days in the church at Rome, and lurking out of sight like some dirty underground spring, lay a deeper problem, the problem of acceptance. So Paul starts with that, and brings it to the surface. In 14:1, he addresses the ‘strong’ in faith. He says, ‘Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgement on disputable matters.’ I like the vigorous pictures that Petersen uses in his paraphrase of these verses. He says, ‘Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with.’Acceptance means treating other believers as brothers and sisters, without insisting that they dot all our ‘i’s and cross all our ‘t’s. Christian fellowship should never depend on agreement about the ‘grey areas’ of Christian conduct. Charles Swindoll says, ‘Let me give it to you straight. Don’t give me your personal list of dos and don’ts to live by! And you can count on this: I will never give you my personal list of “do”s and “don’t”s to follow. Being free means you have no reason whatsoever to agree with my personal list; nor should you slander me because it isn’t exactly like yours.’

After all, if God has saved us, he has accepted us, v. 3. What better reason could we have for accepting one another without hedging our acceptance about with our own rules and regulations? In 15:7, Paul says, ‘Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.’ And Christ accepted us with open arms! — Alec Judd, Love Is the Key: Developing and Maintaining Relationships That Honour God (Leominster: Day One, 2005), 67.

8. What does acceptance feel like?To accept others is to welcome them positively, joyfully, and kindly. It is to embrace them even when they don’t do things you like, or do things the way you like, or relate to you the way you like. They are free to do what they believe is right. Regardless of the differences between their preferences and yours, you are to accept them just as God in Christ has accepted you.One of the quickest ways for husbands and wives to kill their relationship is by trying to change each other. Differences exist, as do preferences. The Lord never said, “Change one another.” Rather, we are told to accept one another. We are not all at the same place in our spiritual or emotional growth. In fact, Paul points out that one person may have what is considered to be “weak faith.” We are all growing at different levels. So none of us are in a position to pass judgment or try to change someone else. Only God knows where He wants us to be in relation to Him. Transforming someone’s life is the Holy Spirit’s job, not yours or mine. — Tony Evans, Horizontal Jesus: How Our Relationships with Others Affect Our Experience with God (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2015).

9. The issues they dealt with back in the day… acceptance, rejection, arrogance, pride, and contempt… these are not really issues we have to deal with in our day, right?The real problem in the church at Rome was not diets and days but the Christians’ wrong attitudes to one another, and they lie at the heart of our disagreements. In Romans 14–15, Paul uncovers the rejection, arrogance, pride, and contempt that were destroying Christian fellowship. And undergirding them all was a sad lack of love. No wonder the Christians at Rome found it hard to handle their disagreements! Paul seeks to correct these wrong attitudes by laying down certain principles that we should all take to heart. — Alec Judd, Love Is the Key: Developing and Maintaining Relationships That Honour God (Leominster: Day One, 2005), 66–67.

10. Paul is calling for acceptance in our attitude toward others. How does he invite us to think about ourselves?HumilitySecondly, we must get off our self-built and self-appointed pedestals. In Romans 14:2 Paul describes the situation in the church at Rome. He says, ‘One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.’ As we look through the window of that verse we see differences of opinion, for God’s people viewed things differently, and had they left it there, all would have been well. But they did not leave it there, as v. 3 makes clear. Paul says, ‘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.’ The ‘strong’ were looking down on the ‘weak’, and the ‘weak’ were condemning the ‘strong’.But we cannot ‘look down’ on others, or ‘condemn’ others, without implying that we are more spiritual, that we stand on higher ground. What arrogance! Such a practice smacks of pride, for who gave us the right to pontificate on the ‘grey areas’ of Christian conduct? We must resist the temptation to ‘play God’ and allow others to make up their own minds. Paul says bluntly, ‘Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?’ (v. 4). — Alec Judd, Love Is the Key: Developing and Maintaining Relationships That Honour God (Leominster: Day One, 2005), 67–68.

11. Verse 4. What exactly does it mean to stand?God can make us standSometimes we want to legislate for other Christians because we fear for them. Maybe they are new converts, and we want to throw a hedge around them. We think our list of dos and don’ts will protect them from the temptations of an ungodly world, but we take too much on ourselves. For God has not appointed us to be their conscience. They are not accountable to us for what they do. If God has saved them, then he is at work in their lives, and he can direct them. We must leave them with him. Paul makes this very point in v. 4. He says, ‘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.’ — Alec Judd, Love Is the Key: Developing and Maintaining Relationships That Honour God (Leominster: Day One, 2005), 68.

12. Verses 6ff. In our attitude toward others, acceptance. In our attitude toward ourselves, humility. What does this passage teach us about our attitude toward God?The Lordship of ChristThirdly, we must all submit to the Lordship of Christ. In vv. 6–9, Paul repeats the word ‘Lord’ seven times. He uses it like a trumpet to summon us from our self-made pedestals to the feet of Christ, to take our right place before him. If we really heeded Paul’s summons, we would have no difficulty in handling our disagreements with tolerance and love.In v. 8, Paul brings the whole of human experience under the Lordship of Christ. He says, ‘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.’ Our living and our dying are his business, which makes us answerable to him for our conduct, not to one another. So, we should consider him in everything. We should filter the ‘doubtful’ things of life through such questions as, ‘Can I thank God for it? Will it honor him? Will it please the Lord? Can I share it with him?’A boy asked his girlfriend to go to the cinema with him. She said, ‘Could we buy three tickets?’ He looked at her with astonishment. He said, ‘Why would we want three tickets?’ She said, ‘One for the Lord Jesus!’ The boy was clearly embarrassed. He said, ‘I don’t think the Lord Jesus would want to see the film that we’re going to see.’ His girlfriend said, ‘Then I don’t want to see it either!’For some years Charles Spurgeon, ‘the Prince of Preachers’, saw nothing wrong with smoking. He did not regard it as a sin. He smoked cigars in all good conscience, until he found that a tobacco firm was advertising ‘the brand that Spurgeon smokes!’ From that day on he gave up the habit for he realized it was not honoring to the Lord. — Alec Judd, Love Is the Key: Developing and Maintaining Relationships That Honour God (Leominster: Day One, 2005), 68–69.

13. What is a stumbling block?Paul continues, “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” (Romans 14:13). He later adds, “It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles” (verse 21).

What does Paul mean when he tells us not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in another believer’s path? He means we are not to cause others to trip spiritually. A stumbling block is anything that causes someone to trip when walking, so a spiritual stumbling block causes someone to trip spiritually.You and I are to refrain from doing things that cause other brothers or sisters in Christ to regress rather than progress in their spiritual life. This includes things that even may not be sinful themselves. For example, I don’t drink wine—not because I don’t have the right to, and not because I believe drinking in moderation is a sin. Rather, because of my role as a pastor and leader in the body of Christ, I have decided not to drink any alcohol simply because some people could stumble spiritually if they saw their pastor drinking. — Tony Evans, Horizontal Jesus: How Our Relationships with Others Affect Our Experience with God (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2015).

14. We are not as concerned with diet as it relates to our faith and special days. If Paul were writing today, what issues do you imagine he might address?That’s a simple example, but many other things besides eating and drinking can cause our fellow members in Christ’s body to stumble. Our appearance, our speech, our spending, our entertainment, our use of free time…The issue isn’t whether those things are wrong. The question is, when people see the way you live, do they take a step backward spiritually, or do they move forward?Why is this important? Paul tells us the answer.

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. Therefore, do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:15-17).

This does not mean you can never do these things at all. It means you definitely do not do them when and where they will have a negative spiritual impact on others. We ought to care so much for one another that we will try to help one another move forward and not fall backward.You may feel free to do something that your brother or sister in Christ feels is wrong. Accept them where they are and don’t try to stuff your freedom down their throat or rub it in their face. My oldest daughter,

Chrystal, did just that when she no longer had to nap every day but her younger siblings still did. She was free, but they were not. One time I caught her sneaking to the bedroom where they were napping and saying, “Nah-ne-nah-ne-nah-nah!” Chrystal was using her freedom to tick off everyone else. That’s exactly what we are not supposed to do according to Scripture.The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. That includes accepting each other where we are at and not trying to impose our values or freedoms on others. — Tony Evans, Horizontal Jesus: How Our Relationships with Others Affect Our Experience with God (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2015).

15. What are some non-negotiables of the faith? What are those issues that you would say, “I can worship with someone who does not agree with me on this”?Jesus seems to have regarded himself as the Man for All Sides, but his followers often collapse back into Us vs. Them. The name “Christian” was apparently a derisive nickname given to believers by pagans; the historian Tacitus spoke of “a race of men detested for their evil practices, by vulgar appellation commonly called Christians.” Christians returned the favor: the word “pagan” was coined by Christians from the Latin word pagani. It could mean “rube” or “civilian”; Christians used it to refer to those who had not enlisted by baptism to become soldiers for Christ.We who follow Jesus have not just struggled with making non-Christians into them; we sometimes famously do it with each other.A man was walking along San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge when he saw a woman standing by herself, obviously feeling lonely. He ran up to tell her God loved her. A tear came to her eye. Then he asked her, “Are you a Christian, Jew, Hindu, what?”“I’m a Christian,” she said.He said, “Me too! Small world. Protestant or Catholic?”“Protestant.”“Me too! What denomination?”“Baptist.”“Me too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?”“Northern Baptist.”

He said, “Me too! Northern Conservative Baptist, or Northern Liberal Baptist?”“Northern Conservative Baptist.”“That’s amazing! Me too! Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist, or Northern Conservative Reformed Baptist?”“Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist.”“Remarkable! Me too! Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Eastern Region?”She said, “Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region.”“A miracle,” he said. “Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?”She said, “Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.”He shouted, “Die, heretic!” and pushed her over the rail.Miroslav Volf noted that the tendency to exclude the other, which religious leaders in Jesus’ day often regarded as great virtue, was regarded by Jesus as great sin. This often surprised the disciples. — John Ortberg, Who Is This Man? The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012).

16. 1 Corinthians 8. Look over this chapter silently. Did they deal with the same issue or something different?In 1 Corinthians 8, it seems like all the force comes down against those who exercise their liberty in areas that potentially harm weaker brothers. Romans 14 balances the picture, warning both both parties. The strong must not despise or hold in contempt the weak, and the weak must not judge the strong (v. 3). Even as the strong relinquish their rights, the weak must not legislate for the church. The strong must remain strong. The weak must grow strong. Meanwhile, the strong must not force the weak to be like them, and the weak must not force the strong to give up their strength. Again, biblical love is the answer, providing acceptance for both strength and weakness in the body.

I once was interviewed by a Christian newspaper in the Netherlands. The interviewers and others present were guzzling strong, black coffee. They poured some for me and were a bit surprised when I refused. They were all smoking cigarettes or pipes. They asked me if I smoked. I replied, “No.” They looked at me and said, “Don’t you believe in Christian liberty?” I looked at them and said, “Don’t I have the liberty to not do those things?” — Richard Ganz, Free Indeed: Escaping Bondage and Brokenness for Freedom in Christ (Wapwallopen, PA: Shepherd Press, 2002).

17. Do people feel from you what God feels about them?Let’s allow God to deal with each of his servants how, when, and as kindly as he will. And while we are at it, let’s be thankful that he has dealt as kindly as he has with us. If he had not, we would all be in deep trouble.Take notice here that Paul has two initial points of advice. In fact, what he says is stronger than advice—these are commands, and the whole sentence is made up of them: “Accept him whose faith is weak” and “Do not pass judgment on disputable matters.”Accept him whose faith is weak. This means we are to accept other Christians as Christians, and, as John Murray says, “There is to be no discrimination in respect of confidence, esteem, and affection.” [1]Accept is a strong term, because it is used of God’s acceptance of us in verse 3 and of Christ’s acceptance of us in 15:7. Verse 3 says, “The man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.” The other verse says, “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you.” If God has accepted the other person, who are you not to accept him?Do not pass judgment on disputable matters. Recognize that some standards of right conduct are unclear and that other matters really do not matter. In those areas let the matter drop and get on with things that do matter. Above all, accept the other believer for what he or she has to offer the whole body of Christ. And do your own part too! Tell someone about Jesus. Certainly, you have better things to do than to hunt out the speck in the eye of your fellow Christian while overlooking the plank in your own.Francis Schaeffer used to talk about “the chasm.” He said we put it in the wrong place, dividing ourselves from other Christians. It shouldn’t be there. True, there is a chasm between those who know Jesus Christ and those who do not, between Christians and the world, and it is a deep one.

But that is where it lies, between Christians and the world, not between Christians and Christians. All who know Jesus Christ are on this side of the chasm, and we must stand with them for Christ’s kingdom.It is a critical matter to examine ourselves. Do we allow secondary matters to divide us from other believers, keeping us from working and worshiping together? Pray, asking God to forgive and change our judgmental attitudes. — James Montgomery Boice and Philip Ryken, To the Glory of God: A 40-Day Devotional on the Book of Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2010).

18. How do we come to live so that people feel from us what God feels about them?Some of the house churches in Rome comprised Jewish believers, and others comprised Gentiles. Some may have mixed the two groups. In those communities, a degree of mutual acceptance and welcoming took place. Paul encourages these varied Christians to accept one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. His exhortation has a definite theological connotation and a pastoral intent: “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Rom. 15:7). By pointing to the way in which Christ receives those who come to him, Paul’s exhortation gets to the heart of the gospel he has developed in the epistle. Such mutual acceptance included accepting cultural differences such as different eating habits and culturally rooted prohibitions (Rom. 14:1–6). Paul’s missionary strategy, outlined in chapter 15, includes actions and teachings designed to foster mutual acceptance between Jews and Gentiles. For example, note the collection that the Gentile churches gathered at Paul’s initiative to help the impoverished Jewish believers in Judea (Rom. 15:25–29). — J. Samuel Escobar, “Mission Fields on the Move,” Christianity Today (Carol Stream, IL: Christianity Today International, 2010), 30–31.

19. I saw a post on Facebook the other day that posed the following question [paraphrased; I am going from memory]: Can you be an evangelical and support gay marriage, be pro-gun-control and pro-choice? How would you respond?These issues vary widely. Also, we must remember that the Bible says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” It doesn’t say to believe AND be right about political issues. It says believe. There are people who are wrong politically and right with Jesus.

Take the issue of being pro-choice. I believe people who hold this position are wrong. Terribly wrong and tragically wrong. But Jesus never made correctness on the issue of abortion a litmus test of salvation. We tread a narrow way here.

20. Summary. What do we learn about church life from this chapter? How would you summarize it?That divisions exist in the body of Christ is apparent to everyone. The spirit of exclusive denominationalism is evidence of it. Denominations need not be schismatic; they need not cause the entire body of Christ to accomplish less than God intended it. All born-again believers are members of the same body, with God-created differences. We are not uniform, but we need not fight each other on that account; we are to care for all the members of Christ’s body equally. Isolationism kills the effectiveness of the body of Christ. Paul says in Romans 14:1, “Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.” — AMG Bible Illustrations, Bible Illustrations Series (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2000).

21. How can we pray for each other this week?