Church and Disputes of Faith

<p> CHURCH AND DISPUTES OF FAITH  Romans 14:1 Accept and receive those who are weak in the faith, though not with a view to settling disputes. Don’t criticize them for having different ideas from yours about what is right and wrong.</p> <p>When Paul wrote his only letter to the church in Rome he had never been there and didn’t get to go there for many years to come. The Roman church was a mixture of Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians and there were disputes between the groups about how to honour God. The Jewish Christians believed that they had to stay faithful to the Old Testament food laws about abstaining from meat and to the observance of all the Jewish Sabbaths, while the Gentile Christians were growing in a robust New Testament faith with freedom in the simplicity that was in Christ. </p> <p>Each group had a differently developed conscience regarding the rights and wrongs of the practice of Christianity and harsh and unloving judgement of one another was going on between them. Paul had been among the most learned of Jewish teachers and was also the one that God had given revelation to concerning the Gospel of Christ as the Saviour of the whole world, so he was the one chosen by God to address these critical issues of religious division. Paul wanted to see the Jewish Christians become stronger in faith in the simplicity of Christ, and he wanted the Gentile Christians to not boast about their stronger faith but to exercise faith that worked through love (Galatians 5:6).</p> <p>Romans 14:2 For instance, don’t argue with them about whether or not to eat meat that has been offered to idols. You may believe there is no harm in this, but the faith of others is weaker; they think it is wrong and will go without any meat at all and eat vegetables rather than eat that kind of meat. Those who think it is all right to eat such meat must not look down on those who won’t. And if you are one of those who won’t, don’t find fault with those who do. For God has accepted them to be his children. They are God’s servant