A COMMON GRACE

Matthew 18:21-35; Romans 14:1-12

September 14, 2008 – Rev. Jerry Duggins

 

 

The strong see life as a gift from God, something to be enjoyed, to be thankful for. The strong don’t worry about what others may think about the things they do. They know perhaps that everything is good for them, but in general, life is filled with opportunity and the earth full of good things to be celebrated. They are bound by very few rules, understanding that God’s forgiveness is quick to hand should they misstep in any way. The “strong” understand Luther when he wrote “sin boldly.” It’s not that they presume upon God’s love, but they understand that God’s love invites them into a life characterized by freedom. Again it’s not that they believe anything goes, but that they need not live in fear anymore.

 

The “weak” on the other hand feel the love of God deeply as well and consider themselves indebted to live carefully, discerning the will of God in their lives and abiding by it closely. They see life as filled with temptations that can distract them from the life of faithful obedience. They see the world in opposition to God and seek to craft an alternative that reflects the way God would have things.

 

The strong are only strong because it is hard to have direction without rules. It’s hard to decide what they ought to do among such a wide range of options. The weak are weak only because the rule helps them live out their faith.

 

From the beginning up to the present day, the strong and the weak have been at odds with each other, each suspecting the other of not living out the faith with integrity. We still have those who consider violators of the Sabbath as lesser Christians while others regard keepers of the Sabbath as mere “legalists.”

 

Here at Westminster, we are in general for tolerance and consider Paul’s advice to refrain from judging good counsel. And yet, many of us have our own opinion about the right way to worship God, about the kind of music God prefers to hear, about what’s appropriate to share in prayer concerns and what isn’t. There’s some strong feeling about the presence or absence of political concerns in church. There are some who think social issues are a distraction to the gospel and others who consider them central to the application of one’s faith.

 

We believe in tolerance, but to practice it when someone has a different view of things or does things differently is not so easy. Easy to believe in diversity, not so easy to find unity and strength in it.

 

I’m not trying to scold anyone here, just pointing out that we aren’t all the same, reminding us that one of our strengths is our diversity. I’m wanting us to think about how we can honor the faith of one another and move forward.

 

As I read this 14th chapter of Romans, I think we have a text more relevant than any I’ve read in a long time. I hear two things I think worth pondering. First Paul doesn’t regard one side as better than the other. He regards both as seeking to honor God in what they do. Both the one who eats meat and the one who eats only vegetables do so as to the Lord. Sometimes we forget that we all belong to God, that God holds each of us up and that none of us can stand on our own without God’s love. Unity depends on us seeing each another as seeking to be faithful to God.

 

We share a common grace, each of us loved by God as demonstrated in the person of Jesus Christ. We share a common grace, a message of forgiveness offered without condition at a great price. We share a common grace, freedom as we live our lives out in the Spirit, and a mutual responsibility to one another as we follow the example of love in Christ.

 

The second thing I hear in this passage pushes each of us back to ourselves. As we have the same Lord, so we are each responsible to the same God. We need to ask, not of each other, but of ourselves: “Am I seeking to honor God in this action? Is it the love of God that moves me?”

 

It’s not that anything goes or that we shouldn’t be seeking a common direction as a church. It’s just that God didn’t make us all alike and we’re not all at the same point in our faith. Faith is as unique as each individual believer. We have but two responsibilities in this light: to make sure of our own faith and action and to honor the spirit that works in each other for the common good.

 

Amen.