Last evening, Matt spoke about the second half of the Book of Romans and, specifically, on the topic of disputable matters. If you’re curious about what this term means, inside the context of the New Testament, it’s pretty simple: these are the things that exist in that vast gray area that resides between the black and the white.
We are talking about the shrug emoji stuff.
The Apostle Paul had the desire to unify the early church by focusing on what all Christians have in common, and not spending much time wrangling over petty disagreements derived from different cultural or religious traditions.
Love the Lord and love your neighbor, these are indisputable commandments that all Christians agree on; but, where there are not clear directives from the scriptures (things that require interpretation) we find disputable matters.
Today, we have major divisions among Christians stemming from a whole host of issues: the proper way to worship, how and when (and who) to baptize, the authority of scripture (is it without fault?), marriage rights for homosexuals, etc. The list goes on and on. We also have a growing divide on political issues that often filters through and ultimately impacts our relationships with our Christian brothers and sisters.
To unify the early church, Paul argued, did not require anyone to do away with certain long-held traditions — it didn’t require Jews to be less Jewish, or Gentiles to be more like Jews. Many of the issues that were dividing the church back then did not define who was in God’s family (or who wasn’t). People of good conscience were free to disagree on such matters.
Paul put it this way in Romans 14:
Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.
Romans 14:1 (The Message)
You might be surprised to find out that there are thousands of Christian denominations and, if you’re anything like me as a child, you are led to wonder why. Why so many?
Well, one answer is that many churches have divided over issues that the Apostle Paul may well have considered disputable — and others that likely would not be considered as such. Matters of church doctrine, for instance (what do we teach and how do we teach it?) has been a major source of division both then and now.
There are examples of churches splitting, and new churches being formed, over disagreements on how a church takes a stand (or doesn’t) on issues of civil rights — as in the failure to recognize another’s basic humanity, and to love them as God loves us.
As Christians, we must focus our energy on the things that matter most in life: Love of God and love of others. Paul believed that if we focus on these two things, and keep love at the center of the law, we could be united as Christians regardless of our thoughts on disputable matters.
Not everything in life is as certain as Muhammad Ali being the greatest, or Lotus Room having the best Chinese food in Genesee County.
Thanks be to God!
The Pipe 