This is the first part of a multipart article on Romans 13-14 and church unity during COVID.
Christ is Lord over the church. Period. All Christians will agree on this point. If you are hesitant to affirm this or pondering about qualifying that statement, I’m fearful that current events have unseated the primacy of Christ, not only in the church, but also in your heart. The confession “Jesus Christ is Lord” is foundational to Christianity. Men and women were thrown to the beasts for this simple confession.
If we agree that Christ is Lord over the church, then we agree that Christ rules and governs the church. The disciples, following Jesus’ instructions to “teach them all that I have commanded you” have set forth in Scripture, inspired and preserved by the Spirit of God, what is necessary for us to worship God and make other disciples through the proclamation of the gospel. We can all see from Scripture the pattern set down for congregational worship, singing, fellowship, preaching, public prayers, practicing hospitality, a host of “one-anothers,” celebration of the Lord’s Supper and baptism, and living as a family of faith—brothers and sisters under the lordship of Christ.
Enter COVID-19. The pattern of Scripture was interrupted. Churches around the world stopped some or all of these activities (or did them in new ways) out of concern for a viral threat. However, as time wore on, some found the risk of COVID-19 manageable and resumed the pattern of Scripture as it was practiced before. Some were exercising more caution, others were accepting more risk.
Enter government mandates. At some point, state authorities deemed that education or information was not sufficiently changing behavior. It must be assumed that the average person was willing to accept more risk than the governing officials deemed best. So restrictions with increasing enforcement and penalties have become the new normal.
Enter debate. At this point, we are left with two main options—conformity or conscience.
That is, to address the risk of COVID-19, we follow government mandates and have a conformity of behavior across our cities and province. Experts are tasked with making the rules that will meet the objective of limiting viral transmission. Of course there are downsides. A young family who contracted COVID last month and has recovered, must still conform to the same restrictions as an 84 year old couple who lives alone. Health orders apply to them both, regardless of their risk factor or their willingness or unwillingness to assume risk. When we have a top-down, state-led approach to controlling the spread of a virus, conformity is the only practical option.
The alternative is conscience. People are informed of dangers, risks, and data. This evidence and warrant informs their conscience which leads to beliefs that govern their behavior. Those who are convinced they are at high risk or have little risk tolerance, take great strides to ensure their safety. They may choose not to see loved ones over the holidays since the risk is too great. Others, perhaps having lower risk levels or a higher tolerance of risk, live their lives in a mostly normal manner. Of course there are downsides here, people may be ill-informed or not have the greater good in mind.
In the former case of conformity, we rely on expert opinion but we lose both responsibility and liberty. In the latter case of conscience, we gain liberty and rely on responsibility but may lose a cohesive response. In the former, responsibility is centralized in the expert, in the latter, responsibility is with the individual or family.
Enter church disunity. Now we have a dilemma. Some within the church lean toward conformity, others lean toward conscience. The former will make much of Romans 13 (conform to government orders), the latter will appeal to Romans 14 (leave it to the conscience).
I want to challenge you to read Romans 12 through 14 on your own before you read the second part of my article next week. Pay attention to the context and how the parts fit together as a whole. We should be asking what God has said and (so important but often neglected) why he is saying it here. Next week, I’ll be examining Romans 13 and 14 as we seek to be united in mind around the Scripture in the issues that press us today.