Day 29 – Disputable Matters – Julie Earl
Romans 14:1-15
“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters” (Romans 14:1). There are numerous behaviors that are clearly harmful to ourselves, others and God that are considered sin – lying, cheating, stealing, coveting, anger, murder, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, etc. But Paul brings up the point that there are disputable matters that are not considered sin if they are done in faith. “One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (Romans 14:2-4).
This brings us again to the central theme of Romans – that we are free from laws and regulations. We are no longer under outward rules to help us control ourselves, but we are submitted to the leading of the Holy Spirit living within us. A person who has weaker faith in the finished work of the cross and the freedom we have been given in Christ, will place themselves under more rules and laws. That person may feel it pleases God to restrict what they eat, such as the vegetarian mentioned above, or to set aside certain days as more holy than others, as the person mentioned below:
“One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God” (Romans 14:5-6).
The bottom line is that God is looking at our hearts, and we need to do our best to look at other people’s hearts and not judge disputable matters. “let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean” (Romans 14:13-14).
Not being a stumbling block is one of the reasons I have chosen not to drink alcohol. I know drinking alcohol isn’t a sin – Jesus did. [It only becomes harmful and sinful when a person gets drunk (see Ephesians 5:18).] But even though drinking in moderation isn’t wrong, there are four reasons why I have chosen to avoid alcohol. The first reason is because I don’t want anything to interfere with my ability to hear from the Lord at all times. I don’t want my brain to become fuzzy or confused. (Well, not any more fuzzy or confused than it normally is.) The second reason is because I have a hard enough time with chocolate and sugar, and I don’t want to add another temptation. Ha! The third reason is that many people struggle with alcoholism, and I don’t want to add temptation for them if they see me drinking. The fourth reason is that in our culture many people feel it is sinful to drink alcohol even in moderation. Many associate alcohol with backsliding and falling away from God, and I don’t want to mislead them even though drinking in moderation isn’t sinful.
“If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:15). I avoid alcohol as a way of loving people. I don’t condemn others who do drink because, again, drinking in moderation is not wrong. But this is simply my way of walking in love as best I can.
In everything we do – in what we eat, what we drink, what we wear, what we say, in our activities, in our judgments of others in disputable matters – we need to lay aside rules and laws, and walk in love. Love for God and love for others!
Many blessings!
Julie Earl with Crazy About You Ministries (CAYM)
All Scripture taken from the New International Version 1984 edition unless otherwise noted.