Passing Peace

Scripture: Romans 14:13-23

¹³ So stop judging each other. Instead, this is what you should decide: never put a stumbling block or obstacle in the way of your brother or sister. ¹⁴ I know and I’m convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is wrong to eat in itself. But if someone thinks something is wrong to eat, it becomes wrong for that person. ¹⁵ If your brother or sister is upset by your food, you are no longer walking in love. Don’t let your food destroy someone for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ And don’t let something you consider to be good be criticized as wrong. ¹⁷ God’s kingdom isn’t about eating food and drinking but about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Whoever serves Christ this way pleases God and gets human approval.

¹⁹ So let’s strive for the things that bring peace and the things that build each other up. ²⁰ Don’t destroy what God has done because of food. All food is acceptable, but it’s a bad thing if it trips someone else. ²¹ It’s a good thing not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything that trips your brother or sister. ²² Keep the belief that you have to yourself—it’s between you and God. People are blessed who don’t convict themselves by the things they approve. ²³ But those who have doubts are convicted if they go ahead and eat, because they aren’t acting on the basis of faith. Everything that isn’t based on faith is sin.

Questions

1. An argument over which food to eat seems strange how was this considered a major fight with Biblical significance?
2. How do we define peace and what does it look like in this world?
3. How do I build others up to bring peace in my community?

Background

Related Scriptures: Isaiah 9:2-7; Matthew 7:1; Romans 12:9-21; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Peace is not simply the absence of conflict it is the presence of a good and harmonious relationship.

Understanding this passage begins with understanding there are issues where Christians can disagree, but should remain united despite the disagreement.

The divide over food was probably between Jewish and Gentile Christians Gentiles who ate meat and Jews who did not.

“The apostle here gives a very balanced command because he knows perfectly well that peace depends on both parties, and the other party may well be hostile and block peace. What he asks is that our mind should always be ready for peace and that the blame for any discord should lie with the other side and not with us.

Of course there are times when this command cannot be applied; for example, we cannot have peace and fellowship with evil. It is one thing to love people but quite another to love crimes. Whoever loves people loves God’s creatures, but whoever loves crimes loves the inventions of the devil. Therefore, those who are perfect will love the sinner but hate his sin^[1]” Origen of Alexandria

Reflection

I have seen churches fight over whether or not to paint areas of the building, what color paint or carpet should be, whether to use real plates or Styrofoam, how to bring technology into worship and the list can go on. And at first glance the fight over food in Romans 14 might seem as trivial as these issues. But in truth none of these issues are as trivial as they seem the way they are written. In each of these cases there were both practical and theological concerns given for the positions taken. To me this is a reminder that in the moment and to me personally an issue can seem like a major theological issue but when approached from the outside it looks rather ridiculous. Disagreements and dissention are common, especially between people who are close, so we should come to expect these. Paul understood that there would be disagreements within the Church about how to best live out relationship with God. We are not told we have to align in all our beliefs rather we are told to foster peace when we disagree.

We all recognize that there are issues that are non-negotiable within Christianity. As Origen says in the above quote, “Of course there are times when this command cannot be applied; for example, we cannot have peace and fellowship with evil. It is one thing to love people but quite another to love crimes.” But these exceptions are relatively rare and are of high importance to the Church. The trouble is there is a human tendency to see every issue in black and white, good and evil. And when we do this then there are no issues where we compromise and every issue becomes divisive.

Take the issue of eating meat in Corinth and Rome. To us this looks like a silly controversy but to those in the Roman Empire it was a serious theological crisis. All meat in the markets had been sacrificed to an idol, and buying the meat supported pagan temples. How would you respond in that time? Would you buy meat knowing that not only was it part of a pagan religious ceremony but your money went to supporting pagan temples? This seems like a major issue to me and yet Paul is not giving a direct ruling on which side is “right” but is encouraging the two camps to look for unity. What does promoting unity and peace look like when you think your sister is supporting idolatry? What about when you think your brother is being legalistic? Our natural reaction might be to criticize, and call out this unchristian approach to life. But Paul tells us to seek peace.

Seeking peace is not simply about not creating conflict. Peace is not about “don’t make waves” peace is about actively loving the person you have conflict with. Peace is about taking the initiative to listen to the other person, to learn why they approach life the way they do and to seek harmony with them. As John Wesley said, “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences.”Peace is recognizing that I cannot make someone love God the way I love God, but me loving my neighbor requires me to love the person I disagree with.

There are so many issues tearing our society apart, and the Church is not immune. There are any number of issues that threaten to tear churches apart today. We must prioritize bringing peace. Prayer for peace begins with “Lord, help me to lay aside being right to love this person the way you do. Lord, help me to see where I can work with this person to spread your love to the world.” Promoting peace is about promoting gracious dialogue that seeks to find common ground on divisive issues. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit and results in a desire to have harmonious relationships that point us toward the source of peace, Jesus. And as we are committed to seeing peace flourish in the world we show others how to live in harmony with each other and God.

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^[1] Gerald Bray, ed., Romans (Revised), Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. 308.