Jesus’ prayed for us, “That they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You” (John 17:21a). Living in the “bond of peace” is a delight to Christians. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). Satan gets nervous when there is unity in the Church.
Christian Unity and the Lordship of Christ
The Early Church in Rome was in danger of disunity. Believers were primarily divided not about fundamentals, but about incidental things.
Some in Rome had been saved out of paganism, and these believers saw some in the Church buying and eating meat that had been offered to idols. These new Christians were saying, “How could you partake of that?”
The Jewish believers who had been in the faith for a long time knew that meat is meat, and that an idol is nothing. They said, “There’s nothing wrong with this food.”
So, Paul said, “Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him” (Romans 14:3). It is really a question of lordship—the Lordship of Christ.
The Jewish believers still observed the high holy days of Judaism, but these days meant nothing to the former pagans. Again, Paul pointed out, “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5). That is, it’s all a matter of devotion. Jesus is Lord.
Unity, Liberty, and Love in the Body of Christ
Unity is a matter of liberty. “I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean” (Romans 14:14).
Unity is also about love. “Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died” (Romans 14:15).
“It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak” (Romans 14:21). There are certain things you don’t do simply because it may hurt somebody else who sees you doing them. Don’t do anything that would grieve your brother or cause him to stumble, even though you have every right to do it.
“Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another” (Romans 14:19).
Unity in the Church
Why should we welcome those who differ with us?
God Has Received Them
You are in the same body, the Body of Christ. If you hurt your brother, you dishonor the Father, and you harm yourself. “Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).
They Answer to God, Not to You
Paul asks, “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand” (Romans 14:4). Your brothers and sisters in Christ are servants of God.
“But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Romans 14:10).
The Key is Unity in Christ
How can we “seek peace and pursue it”? It comes back to one thing: Jesus Christ is Lord. “For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living” (Romans 14:9).
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