Unity among Differences.

What I am going to talk about is unity in the body of Christ from the perspective of Paul. I am a vegetarian, and I have been so for over thirty years. I am saying this so that you can imagine my supprise when reading Romans 14:2. Given my time I am going to go immediately to reading the scripture. You can read it for yourself at your own pace, later. Romans 14 2 says "For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs." My initial response was, Paul why are you calling me week. I could not understand it. Nevertheless, the bible says in Philippians 3 15, "Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you." So I just sat on my lack of understanding, persuaded that eventually God would open up the scripture to me. Then in my regular bible study, God's servent and my mentor Andrew Wommack opened up the scripture to me.  
 
Paul wrote this epistle Romans 14, to the saints in Rome, dealing with the mistaken teaching, that Gentiles who became Christians had to keep the Old Testament laws in order to be saved. The only thing that God requires for the born-again experience is faith in what Jesus Christ did on the cross.  
 
The issue was, the eating of meats that the Law declared unclean. The Jewish Christians, were saying that the Gentile Christians had to keep these laws. The Gentile Christians, felt no obligation to old Jewish rituals. 
 
Paul stated that the Gentile Christians were correct doctrinally (Romans 14 20), but he warned them against despising their weak Jewish brethren who could not, in good conscience, eat meat. Therefore, Paul established a principle that those who have the greater revelation of their freedom in Christ have an obligation to try not to display that freedom in a way that offends their weak brethren. 
 
Who was the weak brother referred to here? It was the religious Jew who was converted to Christianity. Romans 14 2 refers to the weak one as the one who was eating herbs. This was a reference to the Jewish Christians who had not totally realized their freedom from the Old Testament dietary laws. Because the Jews who were in Rome could not always be certain of what type of meat they were buying or if it had been killed properly to drain the blood, many of them had become vegetarians to avoid any possible contamination. 
 
It is very interesting that Paul cited the religious person as the weak brother. Most religious people think that all their religious convictions make them superior to those who come to Christ without any religious background, but that wasn't Paul's assessment. A simple pagan background is easy to overcome in comparison to a heritage of legalistic religion. Paul ought to know; he was the Pharisee of the Pharisees. Paul was saying that we shouldn't be critical of or discriminate against those who are weak in their convictions. How does Paul's actions harmonize with unity in the body of Christ? 
 
There are some doctrinal points that are non-negotiable and others that are. When it comes to the doctrine of grace for salvation, Paul didn't compromise. He even said, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1 8). 
 
If these Jewish believers had taught that abstinence from meats, are essential for salvation, Paul would not have tolerated it. However, if these Jewish Christians were professing righteousness with God solely based on the work of Christ, yet had a personal conviction about these other things, that was okay. The thought or the motive behind the action, is what must be judged. 
 
Likewise, we cannot compromise on the matter of salvation by grace through faith (Ephesians 2 8). But there should be room for Christians to dwell together yet have different interpretations of scripture. We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak.  
 
Romans 14 2 to 3, and  6. 
2  For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.  
3  Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. 
6  He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.  
 
Romans 15 4, and 7. 
4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.  
7  Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.  
 
One says there is but one God, another says there are many Gods. One says women should be silent in the church. Another says there were women prophets, judges and other speaking offices in the body of Christ. One says that the gifts of the Holy Spirit have passed away with the death of the last apostle. Another says that fully preaching the gospel is followed by signs and wonders (Romans 15:19). Some say once saved always saved. Others say you have to endure until the end. Some say that everything in life is predestined. Others say that we are predestined to be declared sons of God or salvation is predestined. One says, God knows everything. Another says, God said I came down to see. I could go on and on like this. 
 
I realize that I lacked some of Solomon's wisdom. I think that often I can make a wiser decision by seeing that "a combined certainty of two possible interpretations is better than a singular uncertainty of one interpretation." 
 
Here is what I mean. Two things. One! Recently, I have run across a lot of admissions by great scholars and great minds that some things that they were certain of is more likely than not, something altogether different. The problem for them, quoting some famous translators, is that: "they are wise [that] rather have their judgments at liberty in differences of readings, than to be captivated by one, when it may be the other." Now that's a mouthful. 
 
Nevertheless, these scholars perceived themselves as potential fools for choosing just one interpretation "when it may be the other." We often behave foolishly at times, thinking I must be decisive and choose one interpretation, even in the face of real uncertainty. 
 
Martin Luther explained this principle this way: "Better a sparrow in hand than a crane in doubt." What is not doubtful is that one of the two interpretations with differing probabilities is correct.  This may not look like a majestic crane, yet it is a sparrow without doubt. 
 
Secondly, what I mean is this. 
 
Often times in life we must take a both and approach to life rather than an either or approach. We must keep in mind that the explicit statement takes precidence over the implicit statement. Both scriptural approaches are correct, in the sense that. For what saith the word? For these are not drunken, as ye suppose.  
 
There is but one God. Yet, there are many Gods in the sense that. There are women prophets and judges. Yet, women ought to keep silent in the church in the sense that. Fully preaching the gospel is followed by signs and wonders. Yet, the Holy Spirit is not as active as in biblical times in the sense that. You have to endure until the end. Yet, once saved always saved in the sense that. We are predistined to be declared sons of God. Yet, everything in life is predestined in the since that. God knows everything. Yet, God did not know a particular thing in the since that. ---- Moses talked to God face to face as a man talks to a friend. Yet, no man has seen God at anytime. Is there a need to say more? 

Proverbs, or the bible in general, many times don't give up their meaning easily. They say to the reader: you're going to have to work at this, because the mind is a muscle. And just like a bodybuilder will go into the gym and lift those weights to build those muscles, the wise person goes into the gymnasium of Proverbs and works that mental muscle to strengthen it. 
 
So if you read a proverb or the bible, and it doesn't make sense to you right away, that's by design. So if you're a lazy reader, if you're not serious about learning, many of these proverbs will never yield up their meaning to you. So my invitation to you is the same as my invitation to me, if you want to live a wise life, you've got to cultivate wisdom. And if you're going to cultivate wisdom, you're going to have to work at it. 
 
So don't blame the bible if you read it and you say, " Huh? That's by design, that's your challenge, that's my challenge to meditate, to prayerfully think my way through, " My challenge is to ask what is the message here? 
 
These words, though quick, I hope that they have been meaningful. Grace and peace be unto you, from God our father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. God Bless.