UNITED IN DISAGREEMENT (32 OF 52)
Scripture: Romans 14:1-12
This content is part of a series.
United in Disagreement (32 of 52)
Series: Discipleship Part Two
Christopher B. Harbin
Romans 14:1-12
We don't always agree. There will always be issues on which we will not see eye to eye. As some colleagues phrased it, ''If two of us agree 100% on everything, one of us is irrelevant.'' Part of our not seeing eye to eye on everything is what makes for progress, learning, and growth. If we agree on too much, at least one of us is not thinking critically. We are not challenging one another. We are not living up to our potential. We are not maturing in Christ Jesus.
We learn from one another. We grow in community. We bounce ideas off one another and learn to hear different perspectives. It is the process of learning, discovery, and maturing. Stopping that process can be dangerous, as it stunts our growth and development. We turn inward and begin to see any challenges as threats or attacks upon ourselves. Instead of growing, we begin to decay.
Paul was dealing with conflict in writing the believers in Rome. Most of his letters had at least some conflict they were written to address. In Rome, it seems there were at least two issues dividing the church. One was a dispute over food, while another over schedules of worship. Both of these issues had to do with the departure of the early church from its Jewish roots. On the one hand, there were concerns with mixing Judaism with pagan idolatry. On the other, there were concerns over keeping the Sabbath or shifting to a regular observance of the resurrection with worship on Sunday.
While the issues at hand may seem petty to us, there were arguments to be made on both sides of the concerns. The only reason these are not issues for us is that we are removed from the emotional and traditional components of the claims and that our own history and tradition have settled those discussions. At heart, however, Paul was not as focused on the details of the arguments. He was more concerned with how we live with one anot ...
Series: Discipleship Part Two
Christopher B. Harbin
Romans 14:1-12
We don't always agree. There will always be issues on which we will not see eye to eye. As some colleagues phrased it, ''If two of us agree 100% on everything, one of us is irrelevant.'' Part of our not seeing eye to eye on everything is what makes for progress, learning, and growth. If we agree on too much, at least one of us is not thinking critically. We are not challenging one another. We are not living up to our potential. We are not maturing in Christ Jesus.
We learn from one another. We grow in community. We bounce ideas off one another and learn to hear different perspectives. It is the process of learning, discovery, and maturing. Stopping that process can be dangerous, as it stunts our growth and development. We turn inward and begin to see any challenges as threats or attacks upon ourselves. Instead of growing, we begin to decay.
Paul was dealing with conflict in writing the believers in Rome. Most of his letters had at least some conflict they were written to address. In Rome, it seems there were at least two issues dividing the church. One was a dispute over food, while another over schedules of worship. Both of these issues had to do with the departure of the early church from its Jewish roots. On the one hand, there were concerns with mixing Judaism with pagan idolatry. On the other, there were concerns over keeping the Sabbath or shifting to a regular observance of the resurrection with worship on Sunday.
While the issues at hand may seem petty to us, there were arguments to be made on both sides of the concerns. The only reason these are not issues for us is that we are removed from the emotional and traditional components of the claims and that our own history and tradition have settled those discussions. At heart, however, Paul was not as focused on the details of the arguments. He was more concerned with how we live with one anot ...
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