Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
500 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 678106
Whatever in the Christian’s life that “does not spring from faith,” that is, “is not in harmony with an inner conviction that what he is doing is in line with his Christian faith,” this person is sinning because he is trying to silence the voice of conscience…To be sure, a person’s conscience is not the Final Judge of his actions…that Final Judge is God, or if one prefers, the Word of God. [Hendriksen]
The believer who has a matured faith will have the spiritual strength to defer to the weaker believer. Exercise it. God’s blessing will come upon you, the Apostle Paul exhorts, for exercising forbearance. It shows forth the Spirit’s fruit when the believer is able not to take issue with the ways of the weaker believer.
The Apostle Paul is urging the believers to refrain from judging one another over inconsequential matters threatening to disrupt the harmony of the body of believers in the local church in Rome. Why does he have to repeat time and again throughout this chapter the same point? Why is he so longwinded? I believe this is a pertinent principle for the believers’ to learn for blessed church life.
God is doing a blessed work of sanctifying the lives of His people through the putting on of holiness in the believers’ life. May His children not impede the spiritual progress of God’s body by taking issue with the weak brother on inconsequential issues. Be willing to give deference one to another. Let Christian fellowship be sweet when the believers focus upon those things that work to build up one another in the faith.
The believers serve Christ and find approval in the company of God’s people by refraining from “bickering over inconsequential matters”as William MacDonald observes. He says well, “we should make every effort to maintain peace and harmony in the Christian fellowship. Instead of stumbling others by insisting on our rights, we should strive to build up others in their most holy faith.”
The believer serves Christ by living a life of holiness before God. This is what counts in God’s sight as Solomon said at the conclusion of his evaluation of life in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
When one receives Jesus Christ into his life through repentance and faith towards God through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells such a one. In the sight of God, he is righteousness, the divide before him and God has been bridged by Jesus Christ’s atonement on the cross. He receives eternal life. His spiritual eyes are opened to understand spiritual things through the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. He is now a child of the kingdom of God.
The Christians are exhorted to cultivate spiritual fruit their lives – to grow in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. He urged them not to be squabbling concerning differences in the physical aspects of life, scrutinizing and taking offense over one others’ eating habits. Rather focus on cultivating a strong walk with God through self-examination, confession of sins and obedience to God’s Word.
The Apostle Paul is asking the believer to guard his testimony that he is not charged by the weaker brother for being unkind and lack grace in accommodating his weakness. The weaker brother would understand that his weakness does not warrant such harsh treatment from a fellow believer.
The Apostle Paul is exhorting the believers to exercise forbearance concerning the differences in eating preferences and eating habits amongst them. No food is ceremonially unclean for the Jewish Christian. Let it not become a reason for disunity. His reason is that Christ died for such a weak one. As such, he is precious in God’s sight. Do not tear him down because he chooses not to eat meat.