Today is Day 18 of our 6 week Bible study, working through the Book of Romans with Hellomornings.
Our Bible text today is Romans 14: 1 - 4 ...
Accept anyone who is weak in faith, but don’t argue about doubtful issues. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, but one who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 One who eats must not look down on one who does not eat, and one who does not eat must not criticize one who does, because God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to criticize another’s household slave? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And he will stand. For the Lord is able to make him stand.
I imagine that the Jewish Christians in the Roman church felt somewhat superior to the Gentile Believers - after all, they knew the history of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in their DNA, they had kept the Law (in their eyes, anyway), observed the feast days, and at least they already knew how to pray.
What did these new, upstart, wild branch Christians know?? They weren't even circumcised!!
This is the context into which Paul writes today's verses. He warns the church not to argue over "doubtful issues", meaning non-doctrinal, non-salvation issues in the life of the church.
Having been in a local church for a fair while, I would guess that in a modern context these would be things like the brand of milk used at tea after the meeting, or the issue of homeschooling vs public school, or whether women should wear trousers to church.
It sounds silly when I list them like this, but these are actual issues that can cause churches to split!! And they are so unimportant in the grand design God has for His Church!
Paul is very firm in verses 3 - 4: "Who are you to criticize another’s household slave? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And he will stand. For the Lord is able to make him stand."
He is reminding the church that it is only one's faith in Jesus as Saviour that determines whether one is saved or not - and only the Lord is qualified to make that judgement.
On "disputable matters", issues that are not related to sin or salvation, Paul urges his readers to rather "pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another" (Romans 14: 19b).
In so doing, we not only build and encourage one another, and foster unity in the Body of Christ, but we also protect ourselves from developing a mean, judgemental spirit, "which, if left untreated, will inevitably lead to a spirit of bitterness" (Sabrina Gogerty).