I’d like to begin by taking a informal survey and we need to have everybody’s help with this. Those of you that have been born here in California would you raise your hands? Those of you who have been born someplace else in North America - would you raise your hands? Would all those who were born in Lebanon raise their hands? Those from Syria? Armenia? Cyprus? Turkey? And, let’s not forget Egypt. How many from Egypt? Did we miss anyone?

One of the great joys - one of the great advantages - of being a part of this congregation is the diversity we share. God has brought all of us here - from all of our diverse backgrounds - to worship Him and to share His love with each other - to glorify Him and testify of His Gospel by the way we love each other.

Sometimes that’s not easy. I’ve heard that Carl Sandburg - the author - once said, “There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.” We want to soar - to be a part of a congregation that is loving and accepting - to come to a community of healing and encouragement - and yet, there are times when we struggle to move past our diversity and to love each other.

How can we move past divisive issues and deepen our love for each other?

Romans 14:1: “Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike.”

The church of Rome was diverse and divided. Imagine what this would have been like - both Jews and Gentiles worshipping under the same roof. Diaspora Jews - coming from all over the Roman world - with diverse backgrounds. Jews from Judah with more of an immediate connection to their ethnic heritage. Gentiles from all over the known world - speaking different languages - with different customs - different foods.

There’s this saying, “All roads lead to Rome” - that was true of the Roman church. They came from all over - and seemingly the only thing they had in common was their relationship together in Jesus Christ. Someone has said that if you take two alley cats and tie their tails together you have unity but not union. That was the Roman church.

Because of this diversity there were conflicts in the church - areas of great disagreement. Paul highlights two.

The first conflict concerns what a person can eat or shouldn’t eat. Verse 2: “One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.”

The Jews didn’t eat pork - and even beef and lamb had to be kosher. So a Jew - after becoming a Christian - struggled with eating meat. Some said that the dietary laws still had to be kept. Others said that a Jewish Christian could eat anything they wanted.

Then there was the problem of eating meat that had been offered to idols. In Rome - the pagans would come to their temple to thank their god for its blessing of their lives. Then the meat used in the sacrifice of thanksgiving was sold in the butcher shop next to the pagan temple. If we wanted to buy meat in Rome the best way was to go to the temple butcher shop.

Some Christians said that if you ate food used in pagan religious services it was like worshipping that false god. Others said, “Oh, no. Meat is meat. The fact that someone else thinks of it as being offered to idols doesn’t mean that you have to. Lighten up!” So there was a problem.

Then Paul highlights the conflict over which day is the right day to worship God. Verse 5: “One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike.”

To the Jews the Sabbath - every 7th day - was holy - the day set aside to worship God. But, the Gentiles - with all their diverse backgrounds - had other days that were holy. Some said, because Jesus rose on the first day of the week, they should worship on Sunday. Others said, every day is holy - so worship God whenever you want. So there was a problem. On what day does the church hold services?

For every viewpoint in the Roman church there were adherents - individuals and groups that advocated the opposite.

The same is true today. Each of us - without much effort - could think of a least one or more issues we struggle with as a congregation and those who are supportive or against these ideas.

A while back I suggested that we should have a Tavli tournament at the Bazaar. I thought it would be fun. And there were some people who liked the idea. But, for many people Tavli is associated with gambling. It would be offensive to some people and a poor testimony if we played Tavli at church.

Do we allow wine to be served in the social hall? What type of music is appropriate for worship? What should people wear or not wear to church? Is it okay to for a Christian to go to movies? How do we respond to Christians who smoke? What about Christians who work on Sundays? There’s an endless list of these areas of struggle.

In looking at Romans 14 - there are three major points that Paul makes that we need to keep in mind if we are to move past divisive issues and grow deeper in our love for each other.

First, Paul says: STOP BEATING EACH OTHER UP OVER GRAY AREAS.

In verse 1, Paul writes: “Now accept the one who is weak in faith.” The person you have a disagreement with - accept him - literally - welcome him - like we would welcome a dear friend into our home. Accept him - “not for the purpose of passing judgment” - or condemning him - or trying change him because of his opinions. Verse 4: “Who are you to judge - or disapprove of your brother or sister in Christ - another one of God’s servants?”

There are a number of black and white absolutes that the Bible speaks plainly and precisely about. Its wrong to steal. Its wrong to lie. Gossip is wrong. Adultery, fornication, and homosexuality are sins. There are many things like these that we find in the Bible that are always wrong.

The Bible presents several non-negotiable absolutes of our faith. For example - the Bible as the Word of God. Our need for salvation and how our salvation is accomplished. Who Jesus is as the Savior of mankind.

In these non-negotiable absolutes - the Bible tells us that we must speak the truth - that we are called on to lovingly teach - admonish - exhort - and reprove.

But in the gray areas - where we struggle the most with loving each other - Paul says that we need to accept each other - and to restrain ourselves from speaking in judgment and contempt of our brothers and sisters.

It would be so easy to exclude people from our fellowship in the church. The coffee hour after the Service of Worship is one of the best parts of our life here together. But unless we’re careful it can be the most segregated and divisive. It would be so easy to form cliques - to gravitate to our own families and friends and those who share our viewpoints and ideas - to speak behind the backs of those we disagree with - to criticize and condemn. Or, to only speak to others when we’re trying to influence their opinions and change them to our way of thinking.

The same can be true of our conversations at home - at Bible studies - whenever and wherever we’re together.

Paul writes - in these gray areas stop judging and condemning each other. Instead - welcome - accept - those with differing viewpoints.

Second, Paul says: BASE WHAT YOU DO ON GOD’S WORD.

Verse 5: “Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not the one of us lives for himself - not one of us does these things for ourselves - and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

Please notice this: The church of Rome was made up of believers all seeking to do what God wanted them to do - to serve God through their actions. People aren’t trying to be difficult - they’re just trying to do what they feel God wants them to do.

Paul’s says that each person - whatever side of an issue they’re on - each person needs to first be convinced that what they’re doing is right before God. “Do it - eat or not eat - observe or not observe - do it in obedience to the Lord.”

Don’t miss what Paul is saying: We’re not to act from tradition - because we were brought up a certain way or because doing certain things a certain way just “feels right” to us. We need to find some reason in Scripture for it - some justification out of the Word of God. We may even change our mind as our understanding of truth develops. But at least let what we do be based on hearts and minds convinced through prayerful study of God’s word and personal submission to God.

Third, Paul says - KEEP THE MAIN FOCUS IN FOCUS.

One day a man went to his doctor with a terrible cold. After his doctor examined him - the doctor said, “I want you to go home and take a very hot bath. Then go to the window, open it, and inhale as much cold air as you can. Then go to bed. In a few days, come back and see me.”

The man complained, “But, doctor, if I follow your instructions I’ll catch pneumonia and I could die.”

“Don’t worry,” said the doctor, “We can’t cure the common cold, but we do have a cure for pneumonia.”

Too often we’re focused on curing the wrong disease - we focus on the secondary things. All these other issues - gray areas - are not as important as our relationship with Jesus Christ - and our need to encourage each other to deepen that relationship.

The debates we Christians get ourselves into are like two guys riding in the back of a pick-up truck. As they’re traveling along they’re arguing about the security of their seatbelts - the color of the truck - the tightness of the shock absorbers - and on and on. What they should be focused on is who’s driving the truck.

Paul writes in verse 9: “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be the Lord both of the dead and of the living - He came that we might have a relationship with Him - But you, why do you judge your brother? - why are you focused on the secondary - gray matters - Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? 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 give praise to God.’ So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.”

Each of us is going to have to stand before God and give an account for how we lived our lives. God alone has that right to judge us. So who are we to judge each other?

Paul says, “You, the weak, why do you judge your brother? And you, the strong, why do you look down on your brother?”

We’re brothers and sisters in Christ. We’re all struggling. We’re all in the process. We’re all subject to change. We’re all trying to understand God’s truth more clearly as we go along.

So rather than judging each other - let’s help each other. Let’s encourage each other. Let’s love each other. God has called us to serve with each other and share His Gospel with a world that desperately needs to see and hear that they are loved by God and accepted by His people.

_______________________