When Jesus said, on this rock I will build my church (Matthew 16:18), he knew that some members of the Church would start off with weak faith and, in time with spiritual nourishment, grow to become strong in faith as well as every other vital characteristic, including hope, love, knowledge, and wisdom – not in any particular order. To enable this growth, as the previous Blog explained, he gave the Church spiritual shepherds, who feed the sheep of his pasture spiritual food through the Word of God. This Word, through the Holy Spirit in each person, enlightens and transforms them within. The goal is, as Ephesians 4:13-14 states, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Until that goal is attained, what are Church members to do to be unified?
Before I answer this important question, I think that it is necessary to emphasize the essential role that Church shepherds play. Preaching from the pulpit, as well as teaching in Sunday schools, classes, Bible studies, in written form, and every other way are all critical to the growth of the Church and individual members. So is careful personal study of the Bible by each Church member. When the Word of God is consistently received over time, Christians will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ (Ephesians 4:15). In the absence of truthful proclamation and reception of the Word of God, immature Christians are the inevitable result. Instead of the Church as a home of healthy and growing Christians, such churches are more like hospitals full of sick and dying patients.
Now, back to the question, how do mature and immature Christians live together in unity?
In Romans 14:1, Paul writes, “Accept…” I stopped at his first word because by itself it is a strong statement about the relationship of Christians without regard for their spiritual development. The word translated “accept” in the NIV means to take beside oneself or to draw to oneself. Receiving one another is at the heart of Christian relationships. Doing so is a step toward oneness. Paul’s statement assumes that people who are essentially alike accept each other, but where there are differences such acceptance is not natural. Thus, he wrote, Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. This acceptance does not allow differences in opinions about matters such as personal scruples to get into the way of the relationship. Paul’s words are blunt, calling the faith of a person dominated by personal scruples, “weak.” “Spiritually immature” might not come across as strongly as “weak,” but the ideas are similar.
Contrast Paul’s words here with Luke’s description of Paul in Antioch in Acts 15:1-2, where he wrote, Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch
and were teaching the believers: ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’ This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. In this case, the dispute and debate was not about a matter of personal opinion but a matter of basic truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Such matters are decided not by personal opinions but by the authoritative leadership of the Church. In this instance, it was decided by a Church Council in Jerusalem, as the remainder of Acts 15 describes. The Word of God is clear and uncompromising on such matters. To preach or teach otherwise is heretical. Thus we can conclude that the opinions that Paul wrote about in Romans 14 are not matters of Church doctrine.
Therefore, understand that Paul taught that Christians – strong and weak, mature and immature – are to live together in oneness. It is in this context that we can realize how Christians can coexist, or better said, live together in harmony amidst their diversity. Paul urged that instead of looking down on some considered weak or criticizing some considered less pious, both groups are to leave judgment to Christ, who has received both (Vv. 3-8). How then do we get from withholding judgment to unity? The answer is in Paul’s advice that those who he called strong bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves (Romans 15:1). He went on to explain that this is what Jesus does for all of us. He bears our burdens – through his suffering, his crucifixion, his patience and his continual priestly intercession. He is figuratively the adult in the house full of kids. His mature approach toward all of us promotes unity among us. More mature Christians are to imitate Jesus among their less mature brothers and sisters.
That may seem like a lot of responsibility to place on people, and it is. But Romans 14:5 assures us of divine help: May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had. The next verse reveals the beautiful outcome: so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the Holy Spirit in us, we grow increasingly like Jesus. Those who are spiritually mature figuratively become the adults in the room with less spiritually mature people. They exercise endurance, or otherwise, patience along with encouragement as they live and work together with their spiritual siblings. The outcome is peace. In time, the whole group, sharing a climate of truth in love, grows together in unity.
Yes, Christians can live together in oneness, regardless of the differences in their maturities.