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Principles for Promoting Peace and Preventing Conflict and Controversy

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Principles for Promoting Peace and Preventing Conflict and Controversy

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Principles for Promoting Peace and Preventing Conflict and Controversy

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Romans 14 offers fundamental principles and admonitions for how to deal with the inevitable differences of belief and practice of congregation members. This Bible study expounds the key verses of Romans 14 and how the information applies to us today.

Sermon Notes

Romans 14 – Principles for Promoting Peace and Preventing Conflict & Controversy
Bible study by Larry Walker

 

Introduction – One of the fundamental facts of life is that God is the author of diversity. The
Bible begins with a description of the creation of life on earth in a wide variety of forms and
features. God created human beings and animals as male and female, genders that are very
different in many ways.
The fact that no human being has the same design of fingerprints should serve as a reminder that
each of us in unique in many other ways as well. We are all the product of heredity and
environment, which are different for every one of us, even identical twins.
Some of the same dynamics apply to how we understand and apply the teachings of scripture and
doctrines of the church. Just as no two people are exactly alike, it is also true that no two people
believe and live exactly the same. This aspect of diversity poses a challenge for maintaining
peace within congregations and between religious organizations. The key to promoting peace
and preventing conflict and controversy is determined by how to treat others whose beliefs and
practices differ from ours.
SPS – Romans 14 offers timeless principles, instructions and admonitions regarding this
important topic.
1) The chapter begins with an admonition to “receive” members without “disputes over doubtful
things.”
 “receive” = “to extend a welcome, receive in(to) one’s home or circle of acquaintances”
(BDAG lexicon), “receive hospitably, accept, welcome” (Friberg lexicon).
 “disputes over doubtful things” = “.: i.e. disputes in order to settle the points on which he has
scruples.’ (Alford’s Greek Testament)
 not to argue over controversial matters of conscience or try to “straighten him out” by
seeking to change his belief and practice.
 “Make it your practice to receive into full Christian fellowship people who are
overscrupulous, but not to criticize their views” (Williams translation).
 “… a weak Christian should be received into the local fellowship, but not with the idea of
engaging him in disputes about his ultra scrupulousness. Christians can have happy
fellowship without agreeing on nonessentials” (Believer’s Bible Commentary).
2) Since Paul was not intimately acquainted with the church of God in Rome, this example is
likely hypothetical rather than a specific case of a church member.
 “The over-scrupulous Jew … was afraid of pollution by eating meats sacrificed or wine
poured to idols: or even by being brought into contact, in foreign countries, with casual and
undiscoverable uncleanness, which in his own land he knew the articles offered for food
would be sure not to have incurred. He therefore abstained from all prepared food, and
confined himself to that which he could trace from natural growth to his own use” (Alford’s
Greek Testament).
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 “Meanwhile, many of the believers from different backgrounds had no such problem. To
them the meat was meat—nothing more or less—and the fact that it had possibly been in a
pagan temple did not alter that fact. They also felt it was the best meat in town! The two
different attitudes—"to eat or not to eat"—created a highly volatile situation, because those
who felt free to eat sometimes treated their brothers with utter contempt, while those with
scruples were highly critical of those who were more free. Criticism and contempt were
equally unacceptable in the fellowship of believers, and Paul sets out to deal with both” (The
Preacher’s Commentary).
 It may also be a case of hyperbole (exaggeration to make a point).
 “all things” = “all food items”
3) The first three verses set the tone for the entire chapter.
 “Paul bids the stronger brethren to welcome such a person and not to besiege him with
continual criticisms” (The Daily Study Bible by Barclay).
 The chapter offers principles and admonitions for maintaining spiritual unity and avoiding
offense that can and must be applied to a wide range of controversial matters of belief and
practice, many of which are not limited to weak vs. strong members.
 Examples?
 Health and dietary issues
 Sabbath conduct – ex. eating out on the Sabbath
 Others?
 “This problem is not confined to the days of Paul. To this day in the Church, there are two
points of view. There is the more liberal which sees no harm in many things and is well content
that many an innocent pleasure should go on within the Church. And there is the narrower point
of view, which is offended at many things in which the liberal person sees no harm.
 “Paul's sympathies are all with the broader point of view; but, at the same time, he says that
when one of these weaker brethren comes into the Church he must be received with brotherly
sympathy. When we are confronted with someone who holds the narrower view there are three
attitudes we must avoid.
 “(i) We must avoid irritation. An impatient annoyance with such a person gets us nowhere.
However much we may disagree, we must try to see the other person's point of view and to
understand it.
 “(ii) We must avoid ridicule. No man remains unwounded when that which he thinks precious
is laughed at. It is no small sin to laugh at another man's beliefs. They may seem prejudices
rather than beliefs; but no man has a right to laugh at what some other holds sacred. In any event,
laughter will never woo the other man to a wider view; it will only make him withdraw still more
determinedly into his rigidity.
 “(iii) We must avoid contempt. It is very wrong to regard the narrower person as an oldfashioned
fool whose views may be treated with contempt. A man's views are his own and must
be treated with respect. It is not even possible to win a man over to our position unless we have a 
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genuine respect for his. Of all attitudes towards our fellow man the most unchristian is contempt”
(The Daily Study Bible by Barclay).
 “God has received [same Gr. word as in v. 1] him (the weak person).”
 If God has received him, who are we to reject them?
 Are we more righteous than God?
 What is God’s reason for accepting him?
1 Samuel 16:7 For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks at the heart."
4) “Who do you think you are to judge another man’s servant?”
 We are fellow servants, not judges of each other.
 God is able to stabilize a weak person in the way that is best for all concerned.
 We, “not so much.”
 So stay out of God’s way!
5-8) “Here the recurring phrase is "to the Lord," indicating that whether one be thought of as
"weak" or "strong," the important thing is that he conduct his life in the consciousness of God's
presence, because God's approval is more significant than the approval or disapproval of fellow
Christians” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary).
9-12) Pretty plain and strong words to remember and heed before we take it upon ourselves to
judge, criticize or condemn a brother or sister in Christ.
 “There is one basic reason why we have no right to judge anyone else; and that is that we
ourselves are men under judgment. It is the very essence of humanity that we are not the
judges but the judged…. Paul's advice is clear. It is a Christian duty to think of everything,
not as it affects ourselves only, but also as it affects others.” (The Daily Study Bible by
Barclay).
Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests but also for the interests
of others.
13) Replace this evil action with a proper, righteous action.
 “judge” and “resolve” are the same Greek word (krinō).
 Use your mind to determine how to avoid offense rather than building a legal case against
others.
14-18) “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” (spiritual priorities)
 “The tragedy is that in so many cases it is little unimportant things which disturb the peace of
the brethren, matters of law and procedure and precedent and prestige. A new age would
dawn in the Church if we remembered that our rights are far less important than our
obligations if we remembered that, while we possess Christian liberty, it is always an
offense to use it as if it conferred upon us the right to grieve the heart and conscience of
someone else. Unless a church is a body of people who, in love, consider one another it is not
a church at all” (The Daily Study Bible by Barclay). 
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John 13:35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another."
19) “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may
edify another.”
 Another positive action to replace the negative action of judging:
 “pursue” = “to move rapidly and decisively toward an objective” (like police “in hot pursuit”
or a dog chasing a rabbit)
 “The entire church is urged to pursue peace …, which alone can provide the atmosphere in
which "mutual edification" can take place. ... Mutual edification implies that the strong,
despite their tendency to look down on the weak, may actually learn something from them. It
may be that they will come to appreciate loyalty to a tender conscience and begin to search
their own hearts to discover that they have cared more about maintaining their position than
about loving the weaker brethren. Through the fresh manifestation of love by the strong the
weak will be lifted in spirit and renewed in faith and life” (The Expositor’s Bible
Commentary).
20a) “destroy” (Gr. kataluō) = “to destroy completely by tearing down and dismantling” (LouwNida
lexicon)
Romans 14:22-23 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not
condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he
does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.
 What we believe and practice is a private personal matter between each individual and God,
based on his or her understanding and convictions regarding the will of God in their lives.
 We must practice a “live and let live” approach and avoid creating controversy.
NLT Romans 14:22-23 You may believe there's nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep
it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don't feel guilty for doing something they
have decided is right. 23 But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something,
you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do
anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.
Romans 15:1 ¶ We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to
please ourselves.
NLT Romans 15:1 ¶ We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about
things like this. We must not just please ourselves.
 The Christian fellowship should be marked by the consideration of its members for each
other. Always their thoughts should be, not for themselves, but for each other. But this
consideration must not degenerate into an easy-going, sentimental laxity. It must always be
designed for the other person's good and for his upbuilding in the faith. It is not the toleration
which tolerates because it is too lazy to do anything else. It is the toleration which knows that
a man may be won much more easily to a fuller faith by surrounding him with an atmosphere
of love than by attacking him with a battery of criticism (The Daily Study Bible by Barclay).
 “The inevitability of differences and the possibility of controversies in the Christian church
can be viewed either positively or negatively. Some believers are not prepared to allow for 
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differences of position in matters of secondary importance and insist that everything must be
spelled out so that unity might prevail. This approach avoids the unpleasantness of
controversy but does nothing to enhance diversity or produce maturity. Other groups allow
for freedom of conviction but become so embroiled in feuding that they never achieve a
unified position of strength and stability. Paul teaches the Roman believers that they must
allow for differences but they must avoid division. In summary, they must commit
themselves to working in love to produce a unified body that demonstrates the diversity of
God's wonderful handiwork” (The Preacher’s Commentary).
Conclusion – Diversity is one of the cardinal truths of God’s creation.
 Our differences can be a source of discord and division or a way to learn from each other as
we seek to edify each other by promoting an environment of peace and love.