The Unity of the Church
Read: Romans 14:1-12
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 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. 4 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. 5 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. 6 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. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 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. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. 10 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; 11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
I will leave it to Carson to explain the theological intricacies of this passage. However, as we prepare to gather on Sunday, I feel convicted by Paul’s call “not to quarrel over opinions.” Paul beautifully reminds us that we are all servants of one “master,” we live and we die for one “Lord,” and we will all appear before one “judge.” This master, this “Lord both of the dead and of the living,” this judge, this “God” is Jesus Christ.
As a church, we are united because we are gathered in Jesus’s name alone. We confess him and only him as Lord. We sing songs that praise him and him alone. This is what unites us; this is what makes our differences become secondary. If we “live to the Lord” and “give thanks to him,” as Paul puts it, it only makes sense that we would be a church that does “not quarrel over opinions.” Our unity lies not in our shared opinions on politics, the latest sports event, the president, parenting, or the volume and style of music in the service. Our unity lies in our confession that Jesus Christ is Lord.
So brothers and sisters, as we prepare to gather together this Sunday, would you join me in taking a moment to pray for unity in our church?
If it helps, you can pray this liturgical prayer out loud right now:
O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace to take to heart the grave dangers we are in through our many divisions. Deliver your Church from all enmity and prejudice, and everything that hinders us from godly union. As there is one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so make us all to be of one heart and of one mind, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and love, that with one voice we may give you praise; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God in everlasting glory. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)
