When Christians Disagree

KEY VERSE: “The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” —Romans 14:17

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: Romans 14:1-4, 13-21

AS THE family of God, the tie that binds our hearts transcends any earthly tie of family or affection. The realization of this should cause us to love the brethren. But love does not come merely because we are told such should be the case. Our love for one another is strong in relation to our love for the Father and our Lord Jesus.

Our concern and tenderness grow toward those whom God has named as our brethren as our appreciation and love of God grows. If he has drawn and begotten a member of the family, leads them daily, hears their prayers, should not we too view them in a special way? We can measure our love for God by our love for the brethren.

When we associate with the brethren, they and we must continually exercise patience. Our Father has called his children from varying backgrounds, greatly differing casts of mind. We all have dissimilar human frailties. The need of adjusting to each other will be ever present. It is as though our Father, as part of our development, brought together those who are naturally diverse and then said, “Now, my children, live together in love, cherish and serve each other.” If we maintain a strong love for God and our Lord, keeping in focus his plan and our relationship thereto, then the knitting of love between us and our brethren will be sure and firm.

If we can say that we discern and appreciate the family relationship of the brethren, then the witness of the Spirit is real and vital in our lives. If we find in our hearts a desire to be with and serve the interests of the brethren, then we have “passed from death unto life because we love the brethren.” I John 3:14 then becomes a “witness of the spirit” that we are the children of God.

The Holy Spirit is a spirit of liberty; God “seeketh such to worship him as worship him in Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23) Through the enlightening influence of the Spirit of God we have come “into the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom. 8:21), and are left without bondage to any law except that we shall love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and shall love our neighbor as ourselves.

To the Corinthians the Apostle Paul writes, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” (I Cor. 10:23) He declares that while nothing is forbidden the new creation under direct divine law, it is nevertheless true that there are many things that would be ill-advised and contrary to its best interest and development. When the apostle tells us not all things edify, he is not necessarily talking about sinful or unrighteous thoughts or deeds, but more particularly those things which would be within our rights, but if pursued would not edify, build up, or profit. And whatever is not to edification spiritually should not be practiced, regardless of any law on the matter.

Our supreme love for God, and our love for our neighbor, should bind us to thoughts and actions which would not only be harmless to ourselves, but also would be helpful to the welfare of others and to the glory of God.

Thus the apostle sums up his argument in favor of loving consideration for our brethren, and liberty of conscience for ourselves. “Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s. … Eat not for his sake that showed it, and for conscience sake. … Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other.”—I Cor. 10:24-29

He shows that we should be disinclined to do anything that might stumble one of the Lord’s little ones. And he declares, in the last verse of this chapter, that this was his course in life, that in line with his conscience he tried to be pleasing in all things. Disregarding his own advantage, he gave chief consideration to the profit of the many, that he might do all possible for their salvation. This noble spirit is the only one consistent with our law of liberty—love which is always generous, thoughtful of the interests and feelings of others, and desirous of doing all to the glory of God.

This is the true spirit of God, and is the all-pervasive law of his kingdom. This law of love we must learn and practice in our association with one another, and the world, until it becomes inseparable from our very beings.

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