In the time that I have been a Christian, there have been a lot of "gray areas" that have been debated in the church. Should Christians go to movies? Should Christians attend a baseball game on Sunday? Should Christians listen to "rock music?" Should Christians drink? Not all of these questions are as hotly debated as they used to be. But they are all illustrations of questions that Christians have had some very nasty arguments over. These questions are not explicitly addressed in Scripture, or if they are addressed, Christians don't agree on what the Scripture says. And so Christians have judged each other's behaviors in these areas. Christians who listen to certain types of music or drink alcohol have been labeled "worldly." Those who choose not to do these things are accused of being "legalistic." The church becomes divided over Bambi or a beer.
How should Christians handle these disagreements? That is what Paul addresses in Romans 14 and on in to Romans 15. Paul's biggest point here is that Christians should handle these disputes without judging. I am not the master of my brother or sister in Christ. Only the Lord has the right to judge, especially on those issues that the Scripture is not explicit about. If I abstain, I should not think less of my brother if he has a beer. If I have a beer, I shouldn't think that my sister is too conservative because she doesn't join me. While Paul does call those who enjoy their freedom strong and labels those more inclined to stick to extra- biblical rules weak, I don't think that we should see those labels as pejorative. Paul wants us to avoid gauging spirituality and righteousness on issues where the Scriptures remain silent or vague.
This leads to an important point that Paul makes in this chapter. Not everyone's faith will look exactly the same. On some issues, we should be in total conformity. All of us should abstain from sexual immorality. We should speak the truth. We should be humble and loving. But in other areas, what is right for me may not be right for you. And what is wrong for me may not be wrong for you. If I am not sure that it is okay for me to drink beer, then I should not drink beer. Paul says not to do anything that you are unsure about because acting out of doubt is a sin. But if you are perfectly comfortable with drinking beer, then have a beer (just not to the point of drunkenness because that the Bible does say is wrong!) For some Christians beer may be a sin. For other Christians, beer may be okay. While there are certain things that are always right or are always wrong for every Christian, there are some things that may be right for one Christian but not for another.
Because this is true, Paul tells us that we have to be careful about how we live and how we exercise our freedoms. We need to be careful not to convince people something is right for them just because we can do it. We must use our freedom in such a way that we don't cause others to stumble into something that is wrong for them. Let me give an example. Several years ago, when I was pastor at my former church, I attended a soccer game on a Sunday night. We normally had services on Sunday nights, but this Sunday we did not because of a holiday weekend. I had an extra ticket, so I invited one of the men from our church to attend with me. As we were sitting at the game, he said to me: "You know, I really don't think it's okay to attend a soccer game on a Sunday. That's supposed to be our Sabbath. But since you're the pastor, I came. I figured if it is alright for you, it must be alright for me. But I feel really guilty about being here!" Oops. I had made a big mistake. I had allowed my freedom to lead someone else to violate their conscience. It never dawned on me that someone might have reservations about a sporting event on a Sunday, but this man did. My exercise of freedom had led him to stumble.
That is why Paul's words in verse 22 are the best advice on this matter: "So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God" (verse 22). In the gray areas, we should be very circumspect. We should enjoy our freedoms in as inauspicious away as possible so that we might not harm other Christians or break the fellowship of the church.
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