PART 3 PERSONAL ASSOCIATIONS

If opinions differ concerning matters of discretion, how should they be addressed?

Knowing When to Maintain Them and Knowing When to Avoid Them

�-�Matters of Personal Discretion

CHAPTER 4

Matters of Personal Discretion

How should the strong (in conviction and conscience) believers treat those believers who are weak (those who pass judgment on opinions as to which ones are preferred as being more correct)?

Suggested Reading: Romans 14:1-15:4

The early church was made up of Jews and Gentiles, as it is today. Because of which there arose concerns as to how to address differences in regard to such matters as: eating certain foods, observing certain days of the year, should the Gentiles be mandated to observe the tenets of the Mosaic Law, what are the conditions for a widow to be able to receive financial support from the church, etc.? The resolution to any of these matters of importance was not always easy. Let’s take a look at some of them and see how they were addressed.

 A.    Eating Certain Foods:

For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. (Romans 14:2-3)

Many of the Jewish Christians continued to obey the mandates of the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law placed restrictions on the Jews as to what they were allowed to eat. In the church at Rome, there were some Gentiles who believed they could eat whatever they wanted to, and some Jews who proclaimed that a believer should only eat vegetables. This came to a head when the Jews and Gentiles would meet on the first day of the week for worship, for the breaking of bread (communion), and the agape feast. An agape feast was an expression for the religious common meal of the church. Apparently, the Gentiles would bring meat and drink, which contained blood in them. Because of their dietary laws, the Jews were repulsed by these offerings and subsequently refused to continue to attend these gatherings. The resolution was for the Gentiles to no longer bring food or drink which had blood in them.

 B.     Esteeming or Not Esteeming Certain Days:

    One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. (Romans 14:5)

Another area of contention was in the observance of certain days of the year.

And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. (Acts 15:1)

And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: (Acts 15:23-24)

The newly converted Jews would attend the temple service at Jerusalem on the 7^th day Sabbath, and on the following day, the first day of the week, they would attend the Christian service. Many of them including the apostles continued to: pray in the temple; observe the four yearly feasts; worship in the synagogues; and observe many of the aspects of the Law. As time went on, intense contentions began to develop as the Jewish apostles would speak about Jesus whether inside or outside of the synagogues or temple. Soon persecution arose against the entire church both by unbelieving Jews and the Roman authorities. And not only so, but conflicts began to immerge within the Christian churches as to whether observance of the Mosaic Law had any relevance in terms of salvation or sanctification. Over time it became clear that obeying the tenets of the Law had no relevance in any of these areas. 

          This didn’t mean that the Jews couldn’t practice their customs, but with the understanding that Christ fulfilled the Law and the prophets. As to the Law he fulfilled the many sacrifices and rites by the offering of himself as a sacrifice to God the Father, and as to the prophets he accomplished their many predictions respecting his coming and death.        

          Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. (Matthew 5:17)

C.    Eating meat or anything that was offered in sacrifice to pagan idols:

           I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to beunclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. (Romans 14:14-15)

           For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; (1 Corinthians

          What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. (1 Corinthians 10:19-21)

    Another area of contention concerned the Gentile Christians. Many of them before their conversion would attend the pagan temples to partake of the free food that was made available from the animal sacrifice, which was a part of the worship service. In some cases, the priests of these temples would take some of the food (meat) and bring it to the public markets for anyone to buy. When some of the believers who had previously attended these pagan rituals, decided to no longer participate in them following their salvation, saw some of their fellow believers going to the pagan temple and partaking in these sacrifices, they considered what they were doing as wrong and began to judge them.

    So what was the solution?

    The solution was twofold.

    First, those who were attending the pagan temples were asked to stop going there.

    Second, if they decided to buy meat in the marketplace or attend a feast that was held outside the pagan temple they were told not to ask if any of the meat came from any of the pagan temples.

          If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. (1 Corinthians 10:27)

       What can we conclude about this idea of making decisions as to: dietary restrictions; observing certain days of the year; eating certain foods offered in sacrifice or for that matter anything else that might cause contention? Another way of saying this is, how does this apply to us today? If a fellow believer is vegan does this mean if we were to go out to a restaurant with them that we can’t order a meat dish? If a fellow believer chooses not to drink alcohol does this mean that we should abstain? To what extant should a believer not do this or that because another believer has chosen not to do this or that?

       As far as the decision concerning the Gentiles of not bringing food or drink that contained blood to the agape feasts, remember this was done so that they could share a meal together. I’m sure once the Gentiles went home they ate or drank whatever they wanted to. In regard to observing certain days of the year, the Gentiles were not under any obligation to do so. The Jews were allowed to observe the tenets of the Mosaic Law with the understanding that this would not provide salvation or sanctification (spiritual growth). As to the eating of the animal sacrifices in the pagan temples, which were associated with the worship of false gods or idols, the Gentiles were asked not to attend not just because of the issue of eating sacrificial meat, but because the entire worship service was associated with false gods, false doctrine, and false everything.

       Here are my thoughts on this.

       If I am going out to dinner with a fellow believer, who I am aware has had an issue with alcoholic consumption should I abstain or not? Some believers would say, you shouldn’t order a drink, because your Christian brother has an issue in this area. If we choose not to drink, then we are indicating to them that we don’t drink. If this believer sees us at another time in a different setting and witnesses us having a drink I’m sure they might become upset, because they thought we had abstained from drinking like them. I think it’s better to be honest right up front and let them know that we do drink albeit in moderation. We could also ask them if they would have an issue with us ordering a drink. If they said they do, then don’t order it.

       As far as food restrictions go, if I were asked to participate with other believers in a supper where food was being shared and I was informed by the host of some concerns, then I wouldn’t bring certain foods. However, when I left this gathering and went home this wouldn’t affect what I would normally eat.

       As far as observing certain days of the year as relating to the Mosaic Law a Christian could commemorate them as long as they understood that they were fulfilled in Christ, and there was no obligation to keep them.

       The last issue is the most controversial in my opinion, because this involved a lot more than just eating meat in a pagan temple. The animal sacrifices, which were offered in these temples, were a part of the pagan worship service. So, when a Christian partook of the meat or drink that was offered, this wasn’t just viewed as enjoying a good meal, but was also seen as someone partaking in the worship of idols or false gods. Paul’s admonition would be to not attend these pagan temples at all for any reason.

       I know of some believers, who would disagree with this assessment. They would say the love of God which they have in their heart would allow them to attend a pagan temple or the worship service of another faith that: doesn’t believe in the gospel message; believes that salvation is attained in some other way (e.g. by water baptism, by good works), believes in a different god (e.g. Buddha, Allah, etc.) so that they could witness Jesus to them. What they don’t seem to grasp is that when a Christian is listening to contradictory teachings from different faiths other than Christianity, unless they are solidly grounded, this could cause them to be led astray and formulate perspectives that are contrary to the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith. Unfortunately, some of them are unable to see the distinct differences or as one might say the individual trees in the forest. God’s love they would say is ecumenical meaning all roads lead to the same place so there would be no harm in this. Christian teaching which emphasizes that there is: only one gospel, one God in three persons, only one way to get to heaven is seen by them as being unloving and judgmental.

       I can relate to this scenario because I have experienced reproach, when I was overseeing a Christian fellowship assembly on Sunday mornings in my home town. Born again Christians would come and hear my teachings and then would go to a different faith and hear different teachings. At some point, they began complaining about my teachings, because they said that these: emphasized that there was only one way to get to heaven; focused on not doing good works for God, but on learning how to address personal areas of human weakness or strength by means of repenting and recovery (putting on the mind of Christ); encouraged the assembly to help one another to be an overcomer in their spiritual walk. They claimed that this was not exemplary of God’s love as his love: would accept that there were many ways to get to heaven and thus bring about the unity of the faiths: would focus on doing good deeds for others; would let fellow believers live the way they wanted to live without interfering in their decisions. Eventually, they concluded that these teachings were not of Christ, and because of such they left the assembly, and went on their way attending to the teachings of a different faith which were contrary to the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith.

       In the early church, matters of personal discretion, which involved the fellowship of Jewish and Gentile believers, along with engaging in the practices of a pagan faith needed to be addressed. The instructions for how to address each one and why each one was to be addressed in such a such a manner was presented. Hopefully, these examples will help you when a matter of personal discretion comes up that relates to your walk with God and your fellowship with other believers.

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