Thursday Romans 14:1-12

Do not divide over secondary issues.

Click here for an online Bible. Romans 14:1-12

The church in Rome had a mix of people. Some were Jews who had come to faith in Christ. Others were Gentiles. They had very different backgrounds. They were having trouble with how to be Christians together. They each carried a lot of baggage. The trouble is that we all have baggage and it’s all different. I don’t really notice my baggage. I just think it is normal. It is your baggage that really annoys me. Your baggage is not normal.

When Christians come together from different backgrounds come together, there can be friction. They each have their own “normal.” Traditions are often more fervently clung to than biblical truth. It is especially true when people are weak in their Bible knowledge and application. All that they know it tradition. They will defend tradition fiercely.

All the Roman church had was tradition. They had the gospel in oral form, but they did not have the New Testament. The Jewish Christians were still wanting to follow a lot of the Jewish tradition. They followed the dietary restrictions of the Old Testament and were observing special days. This created some friction between the Jewish and Gentile Christians.

Paul tells them not to let these secondary issues create divisions. He said that they should not judge each other. We must be careful and not take this to mean something other than what Paul meant. He was talking about the secondary traditional issues, not biblical commands. In other writings (1 Corinthians) Paul commanded us to judge each other on issues of morality.

Issues that we get worked up over are things like style of music, which Bible translation to use, or architectural styles, or types of furniture in the church. We know what is right and wrong based on our experience and tradition rather than biblical knowledge.

We must be very careful not to confuse like & dislike with right & wrong.