Over the last few weeks we’ve been considering whether Romans 13 and 14 can help us navigate the issues we are facing with COVID-19 and government restrictions. You can read those articles here and here. Today we look specifically at Romans 14 and seek to apply its truths to our situation.
Romans 14:1–12 says, “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
Let’s consider the situation that Paul is addressing. As Gentiles are grafted into the people of God, the dietary laws and Sabbath laws are abrogated with the dawning of the new covenant (Mark 7:19; Acts 10:15; Col 2:16–17). Jewish believers would clearly have difficulty eating what they have always believed was unclean and not keeping the Sabbath. So how can Jew and Gentile believer coexist?
They wouldn’t be able to have a service together (which at that time typically involved a meal afterward). Those who kept the dietary laws would regard the others as weak and worldly. Those who ate everything would regard the other side as caught up in lies and legalism. We may think it best to resolve the issue by having a service for meat eaters and another service for ones who kept the dietary laws.
But what if another controversy arose among the meat eaters. They were divided over traditional versus contemporary styles of music. So now, to keep unity, we need a service for meat-eating traditional worshipers, another for meat-eating contemporary worshipers, and another for non-meat-eating worshipers—and the pastor better remember which hat he is wearing as he preaches to each gathering.
Division is not the answer to address unity. Rather, Romans 14 explains how we ought to coexist—even in disagreement—and maintain the one body spirit of unity. We need to leave room for Christian liberty.
Commands, Prohibitions, and Christian Liberty
So how do we know if an issue is a Romans 14 issue where we can hold differing convictions yet are not to judge one another for them?
There are certain activities in Scripture that are commanded. We must agree to do those. There are certain activities in Scripture that are forbidden. We must agree to abstain from those. Then there are certain activities that are neither commanded nor forbidden. It is in these areas that wisdom, discernment, and Christian liberty must be exercised.
In this regard, Paul puts food (eating meat or not) and days (observing a special day in the calendar) as some of those issues that God has neither commanded nor forbidden. As such, convictions in these areas must not be used to judge your brother or sister in Christ. It is the Lord who evaluates and judges such convictions and practices.
The Bible does teach that dietary laws are abrogated, and that the Sabbath is no more—so these practices are not commanded. At the same time, the Bible does not command that a person must eat pork, nor does it forbid a day of Sabbath rest. These are the matters that Paul regards as matters of Christian liberty and areas where we can coexist together and not bring one another into judgment.
Christian Liberty and COVID-19
How does COVID-19 and government restrictions fit here?
One might seek to argue that all matters relating to health restrictions all fall under Romans 14. That is, it is a matter of conscience and conviction before the Lord. So whether one chooses to gather or stay home, to submit to restrictions in all areas or defy in others, it is all a matter of personal conviction not to be judged by any other. This is not my argument.
When considering Romans 14, we must remember that we are all bound to do what the Lord commands. These are not areas of personal conviction or Christian liberty. We are commanded to gather—especially as the Day draws nearer (Heb 10:25). We are commanded to practice hospitality (1 Pet 4:9; Rom 12:13), sing to one another (Eph 5:19; Col 3:16), and celebrate the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11:17–34). These are things we must be doing together as a church. We should not neglect these things or regard these commands as matters of Christian liberty that are optional or based on personal conviction.
At the same time, how one gathers, practices hospitality, and so forth is not commanded in detail. For example, there is nothing set in stone about gathering at 11am, singing 3 hymns, followed by a pastoral prayer and sermon. Certainly the elements of worship are expressly set down in Scripture, but their manner is not explicit. In this regard, one may choose to attend worship wearing a face covering. Others may choose not to. Some may wish to avoid physical touch, others may choose to hug. It should be in these areas where we should practice understanding and not quarrel over opinions.
This doesn’t mean that one should never seek to persuade others, or seek unity of both mind and practice. But it does mean that we will not judge someone who enters our fellowship with a face covering, nor should those who wear a face covering judge those who do not. Neither should dividing over face coverings be a way to maintain unity. Division in the church should only take place in matters in which the Lord has clearly commanded (1 Cor 11:19).
A Quest for Unity
Our society is divided right now. The church is similarly divided. This is why Romans 14 was written, so that we can have unity in the midst of diversity. If we regard face coverings as a Romans 14 issue (and not a Romans 13 issue) then we can have unity. We should not be judging or dividing over such an issue. From the very beginning, our church has sought to allow room for differing convictions regarding masks and distancing. Your medical choices are yours to make. If we can give one another room on this issue, then we can have unity together (and gather together), even though we have different convictions before the Lord.
Romans 14:13–19 says, “Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”
Some might argue that those who wear masks or those who do not, must give up their preferences for the sake of the others. There are times when this may be. But Romans 14 is not a call for all the early Christians to abstain from meat for the sake of the non-meat-eaters. Neither should this be a time when there is a call for all churches to mask up or go maskless. Romans 14 is a call for meat-eaters and non-meat-eaters to coexist together. That is, Romans 14 is a call for the masked and maskless to coexist together!
Ideally we would have a gathering of our church with people of varying convictions not judging each other. Rather than a church for anti-maskers or a church for the masked, we have a church of Christ where people can worship in freedom to worship the Lord according to their convictions—doing what the Lord commands, and not judging where the Lord has neither commanded nor forbid.
What a testimony to the world this would be! Here, in the church, is the only place where both sides—so polarized in the culture—come together in the church side by side for the sake of the gospel. This is the spirit and beauty of Romans 14.