“So What’s the Difference?”

Scripture: Romans 14:1-12

In case you didn’t know it, the Christian life is unique. We have been warned over and over, in the Old Testament as well as the New, that as the faithful in Christ, we are called to live in a way that is totally different than the ways of the world. The Christian way, the Godly life, is despised by those who live by the standards and teachings of earth, just as Jesus said they would. As a matter of fact, he told us that not only will our beliefs and lifestyle be ridiculed and hated, but so will we! (Matthew 10:21-23)

And as if this series hasn’t put enough strange demands on our lives, this week’s passage will add some more. Today, we consider some thoughts that even contradict the teachings of some Christian teachers – and not just those of today, but those since the Church began. As an example, as the good news of Jesus Christ began to spread throughout gentile territories 2,000 years ago, it was expected that all converts would become Jewish in every way, including dietary, observance of the Jewish holidays, adherence to Torah, and even circumcision. Of course, these and other mandates would be overturned in time, and when the Christian - Jewish relationship was dissolved in 70AD, the break would become complete.

But the new teaching of faith would continue, and will do so until the day of Christ’s return, and today’s passage addresses some of what continues to stretch us.

Read Romans 14:1-4

“Accept the one whose faith is weak.” Don’t discriminate against those who’s faith may not be as strong as yours. These could be new Christians, who’s faith hasn’t begun growing yet; it could be a person who has believed for many years, but who has recently gone through a very difficult situation, such as the loss of a loved one, intense persecution, or other issues that can challenge your faith; it could be an issue that is coming from within the Church, such as false teaching, a fallen church leader, and so on. Faith is never a solitary quantity – it grows, it struggles, it may set off on a divergent path for a while, it may be corrupted by false teaching.

Unfortunately, there are those who believe that faith must be strong, or else it is no faith at all. But nothing could be further from the truth! The world has many tactics to plant doubt and fear in our lives, and the Church’s responsibility is to be encouragement and truth and love for all who call Jesus Christ Lord and Savior, regardless of the depth or duration of their faith.

Paul carries this new attitude to the issue of dietary requirements. One of the early controversies in faith hinged on the eating of meat or grains that had been sacrificed in the name of pagan gods. Some believed that this food had been tainted to the point that it was sinful to eat any of it, while others claimed that it was a worthless sacrifice, and that when food, any food, was eaten, it was digested and quickly passed out of the body as waste.

The other issue was whether it was acceptable to eat anything, or that vegetarianism was the only proper meal for believers. The truth is that, without going into any major discussion on the eating of vegetables versus the eating of meat, any food that provides us with good and safe nourishment is acceptable in the sight of Almighty God. After all, he gave this world both, and has placed humanity in stewardship over both, and God’s joy is based in our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, not in what we eat.

A third issue is one that is addressed in the gospels, as well as the epistles, and that is our judgment of others. He writes “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?” He implies that God is master of all of creation, and that he alone will be the final Judge of all people. In Matthew 7:1-3, Jesus tells us to leave judgment up to him, for if we do judge others, we will be judged in the same manner, using the same criteria, and will receive the same punishment that we meet out in our decisions. Now, before this is misunderstood, while we aren’t to judge others, we are to be discerning in matters related to the commands and teaching that the Lord has set down. We are to understand what they mean, and how we are to respond to them, but to never judge and condemn others who may not be following them.

We are to leave the final decisions up to the Lord, and him alone.

Read Romans 14:5-9

We might be tempted to think that Paul is talking about Sabbath worship in these verses. Remember that the Jewish sabbath, known as Shabbat, was from sundown on Friday until three stars appear in the Saturday evening sky. Christianity was still a Jewish sect, and he isn’t talking about Shabbat, either. Judaism had a number of holy days, with three of them greater and more obligatory that the rest. There were also a number of days that the gentile converts from other nations observed, and new Christians sometimes saw Jewish and Christian days as more holy than the ones that they had previously celebrated. Paul wants us to know that if we hold any day as being greater than other days, we should be sure that we are giving them a place of honor to the glory of our Lord Jesus! That, and that alone makes a day, any day, holy.

God isn’t honored by the food we eat, unless we offer the food up to the glory and blessing of the Lord.
God isn’t honored in any day we celebrate, unless we claim that day and its significance to the glory of the Lord.
God isn’t honored by our life, unless we are living it in his way, for his purpose, with his grace and mercy, and to his benefit.
And God isn’t honored in our worship unless we give our lives and worship and praise to Jesus Christ and all that he has done for us.

The point that Paul is making is that “everything that Christians do is done, not in relation to themselves, but in relation to the Lord.” (New Interpreter’s Bible) So the intent of this passage is that no matter what we are doing in this life, none of it matters one iota, unless we are doing it for the sake and purpose of Almighty God. Think about it – if we live in and for Jesus, as a way to celebrate his life and death and life again, all of which was done totally for us, how can we ever go wrong, and how can we possibly fail in loving him? As we read through scripture, we discover that, even though we all will die at the end of this life, the world’s death will have no hold on us either! And whether we are living or dying, as long as we are in Jesus Christ, we still win!

Read Romans 14:10-12

Paul summarizes our passage by basing it in quotations from both the prophet Isaiah 45:22-24 and his own letter to the church in Philippi (Philippians 2:1-11). His letter to the church at Philippi was one of gratitude for a gift they had sent him while he was in a Roman prison. The gift was a double blessing for Paul, as his first experience with these people was during his second missionary trip, which founded this church as the first on the European continent. In his opening words in Philippians 1:3-6, he writes “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” And in Philippians 2:1-11, the apostle writes:

"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 1that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

Did you hear that? “In humility, value others above yourselves” and “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus”. This is the proof of a Christian life – placing a higher value on other people, placing a higher value on the life of Christ, placing a higher value on the ways of the Lord – this is what the Christian life requires. Humility puts us last in the eyes of earth, but first in the eyes of Almighty God, and it puts us in the same attitude that Jesus displayed.

Each of us needs to strive to be first in the only way that will make an eternal difference – the way of Jesus Christ.