How are weak and strong believers to treat one another in a local church? Paul’s charge to the strong is this, “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things” (Rom. 14:1). The church needs this message today. While there are certain non-negotiable truths, not every hill is one to die on. Strong faith ought to show itself in a tender heart toward the weaker brother. The truth is, God is in charge of both the weak and strong, so we must stop fighting over preferences and give Him time to work.
Sermon: https://churchandfamilylife.com/sermons/68f5d0774e3ca8de8fb387b1
The Apostle Paul Romans 14, 1-4 issues a command. Receive one another. Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. Here the Apostle Paul is calling the Roman church to love one another. We're all different.
We have different upbringings. We have different levels of knowledge, different maturities, different scruples, different family backgrounds, different preferences. And Romans 14 is teaching us to accept and love one another despite differences. In other words, not every issue is a hill to die on or for you to kill your brother on. In Rome, the church was in a cultural crossfire.
The Jews and the Gentiles together, it was a little bit like a powder cake. You had people coming from really, really different backgrounds, different holidays, different foods, different habits. But one Lord had saved them. And Paul says the strong must not despise the weak and the weak must not judge the strong. The weak are accusing the strong of being libertines, but the strong are despising the weak because of their unbiblical narrowness.
The heart of this whole chapter is we are brethren, we have differences, we are growing together, but we're not twins, and you don't have to be twins to be friends. Strong faith really ought to show up in tender hearts and we should not be turning our preferences into our matters of division. God did not make you or I the conscience police of your brother. There's a brilliant illustration of this that was written long ago. Karen Maines wrote an essay called The Bride is Brawling And what she was giving this illustration of this wedding, everything is beautiful.
And then the bride comes in and she's limping, she has a black eye, her clothing is torn, she's bruised. And so what happened? Karen Main says the bride has been brawling again and so that's a tragedy in the church and it was happening in Rome. So receive one another as Christ also has received you to the glory of God. The Apostle says it so clearly, therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which we may edify one another.
Because God in Christ has forgiven you. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Scripture applied as a production of Church and Family Life. Visit ChurchandFamilyLife.com for more resources.