When we are in the occupied territory of the risen Christ, we were commanded in Part 2 to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and to make no provision to gratify the flesh. What does it mean to “wear” Jesus?
“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (Rom 14:1-4).
Disagreements over personal opinions among believers often leads quickly to passing judgment on each other. Sadly, it happens all the time. But Paul reminds us that the person with a different opinion regarding what God is telling him to do has been welcomed by God himself.
Do we really want to judge someone who is a servant of God? This is a strong temptation by the evil one that leads to disobedience and disunity. And if I assume that I am correct and the other person is wrong, that person will be upheld in the eyes of Jesus and made able to stand strong in faith.
This is like crossing a mountain pass in the dead of winter while wearing only a bathing suit! The absence of perfect unity starts here, but it can be corrected by the chilling conviction and repentance for judging the person whom only God has the right to judge:
“One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God” (Rom 14:5-6).
Is everything we do intended to give honor to the Lord? Yes. So how can judging a brother or sister on their means of giving honor to the Lord be anything other than disunity?
Walk away from these situations and pray fervently, not only for the other person, but for yourself!
“For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Rom 15:7-9).
This is powerful: be sure to focus on the word “might” in verse 8. It is used in the subjunctive case, which means there is some doubt and that it is up to us to decide. Jesus cannot force us. We must decide in faith to welcome our brothers and sisters in Christ – period. So the impact of judging each other is huge – it renders us faithless:
“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God’” (Rom 15:10-11; Isaiah 45:23).
No, none of us can lose our salvation because of judging others! But facing God in person one day will be much easier if we take the time right now to repent of our tendency to judge and to seek perfect unity:
“So then each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Rom 15:12).
There is one more aspect of this teaching from Paul – hurry back for Part 4!