Peace and Mutual Edification Pt. 4: Don't destroy the work of God

Paul adds a concluding thought to how we ought to view one another within the Body of Christ here in Romans 14. The essence of his thought is this: outside of matters of the cross, don't destroy each other over matters of practice. In doing so, we destroy the work of God.

In the context here, Paul is dealing with cultural issues within the Roman church. There are divisions developing over the eating of meat, the observation of certain feast days, and other cultural issues. We see this throughout Paul's epistles, but perhaps most here in his letter to the Romans. The Roman culture was without a doubt the most diverse in all the Empire to which Paul was preaching. He was writing here to Roman converts who used to worship idols, Jewish converts who struggled with observing Mosaic law, as well as a variety of immigrants from other ethnicities who brought with them their own traditions. Paul's message to this pluralistic group is a simple one, one that should resonate with us today: Let's keep the main thing the main thing.

Paul correctly points out in this chapter that judging (condemning, not discerning) over these kinds of practices is an act of selfishness and pride on our part. Should we condemn our brother in this regard, we divide the Body unnecessarily and lay waste to the work of God, which is Christ's sacrifice to establish His Kingdom on earth. Similarly, if we stubbornly cling to certain rituals and flaunt them in the face of our brothers, we may cause division, causing them to "stumble."

Paul correctly points out that in matters such as these, the individual is answerable to God, not other members of the Body. "Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats because he is not eating from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin."

There's the definition to live by. There are countless non-salvific issues on which Christians in good faith disagree. In a pluralistic society, it cannot help but be so. And certainly, Jesus anticipated this eventuality as He encouraged His disciples to "go into all the world." As Paul points out here, our faith in God and His Son is of central importance. If we're not acting out of genuine faith, then we're no different than the Pharisees, who acted out of a sense of legal obligation rather than reverence for God.

Sadly, how often do we witness this in today's church: Self-assured legalists condemning the faithful actions of others and bringing division to the Body. There's nothing wrong with a faithful pursuit of God's will in our lives. What is sinful, according to Paul, is condemning our brother who genuinely comes to a different conclusion.