Romans 14

https://odb.org/MY/2021/10/10/for-others-sake-2

Romans 14 is about how we use our freedom in Christ on debatable issues in our faith, not fundamentals. It is about how not to condemn others who don’t adhere to our convictions or how not to act in such a way that causes others to fall.

I think the issues that come under this category are like whether to watch fast action but violent movies, or horror movies. Should we celebrate the Jewish festivals as per the Old Testament? Should we celebrate Easter or Christmas as they were originally pagan festivals. Should we give more than 10% of our income as tithes and offerings. Should we listen to pop music or watch Korean dramas? It is not about whether Jesus is the Son of God or whether He had actually rose from the dead to conquer sin and death. There is no debate when it comes to fundamental issues of faith.

I have a personal experience with smoking and was struggling over it for many years as I recalled that I picked up smoking about the same time that I accepted Christ (not as a habit but just as a smoke although over time it became an addiction). Initially, I didn’t believe it was not a good thing from a spiritual point of view. I knew it was wrong because I was too young. But that’s different from it being wrong from a faith perspective. When I became an adult, I rationalised that this is a matter of personal conviction as the bible did not explicitly prohibit smoking like it didn’t prohibit consumption of alcohol or eating of pork. However, the local Christian culture (I’m not sure whether it’s the same elsewhere) was such that people don’t actually smoke and you tend to be looked at differently if you did. In the end, you cannot continue to smoke and be considered a matured Christian. I know it’s probably more perception than genuine personal growth but perception is equally important for testimonial purposes.

In Romans 14 the issue I believe was whether new Jewish believers of the faith should or should not eat pork, which is prohibited under Jewish law. Paul did not specifically address the issue directly but his advice was more along the lines that if you believe you should not, it is alright to continue to do so but you mustn’t impose your conviction on others. In other words, don’t condemn others who chose to eat pork.

So if you believe that you should celebrate Jewish festivals, go ahead and do so but don’t condemn those who didn’t and don’t insist that everyone else should do so. It’s the same with alcohol. If you believe that you should not drink, go ahead, don’t drink but there is no need to impose that on others.

In the end, when it came to smoking, besides the fact that my wife opposed it – I didn’t want my children to end up being smokers. It was bad for health – period. But more importantly it was not an exemplary testimony to others in the faith and to those who are outside the faith. Perhaps as Christians we should not drink too or watch violent or horror movies or listen to pop songs. If that’s your conviction, adhere to it but you should not condemn those who don’t have the same conviction and neither should you impose your own convictions on others. But there are also issues which are debatable and yet we ought to conform for the sake of others like smoking. Remember these are debatable issues, not fundamentals. Thus perhaps we should just conform for the sake of Christ and others.