Day 213

2 Chronicles 30:1–31:21; Romans 15:1-22; Psalm 25:1-15; Proverbs 20:13-15

IN YESTERDAY’S READING from Romans, the apostle Paul discussed unity and the postures we should hold toward one another as brothers and sisters in the faith. Today, he continued with this theme, further revealing some of the struggles the early church was grappling with.

In Paul’s time, there weren’t a smorgasbord of Christian denominations and worship styles. The church had just begun to form. But there was plenty of discussion about precisely who would be allowed into the church and how they would achieve that inclusion.

Throughout the entire letter to the Romans, Paul built an argument of including anyone who believed —even non-Jewish people (Gentiles). Unfortunately, not everyone agreed with this idea, and heated disagreement arose around the issue. Many of the earliest Jewish believers saw Jesus as the Savior of the Jews and a continuation of the Hebrew story. For them, a person who wanted to follow Jesus first needed to convert to Judaism, because Jesus was Jewish and His ministry was largely fulfilled in a Jewish context. As a trained Pharisee, Paul certainly understood the argument. However, Paul saw Jesus as not only the Savior of the Jews but also the Savior of the world. He put it like this:

Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them.

Paul used Psalm 15 to support his view that God was indeed fulfilling His promises to the Jewish people through Jesus but that this fulfillment was to include Gentiles as well.

Today, we don’t wrestle as much with this specific issue. The Christian faith is largely made up of people who would be considered Gentile. However, we’re still wrestling with the underlying issue —who gets to be included. It boils down to a core question: Can a person who believes in Jesus but differs from me on certain theological points —or who does things I consider wrong or incorrect —still be a Christian? Our faith is made up of many different camps, and each one believes that it is holding on to and protecting the true faith.

Paul largely considered this conflict a waste of energy, because only God will be the final judge of such things. And Paul provided counsel as we continue to wrestle with these issues:

May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.

Remembering Paul’s guidance will help us when patience and grace for our brothers and sisters have run dry, and all we are left with is a battle over theological interpretation. We haven’t saved God’s life every time we win a battle over doctrine. God would prefer that, rather than hiding behind our theological nuances, we do as Paul suggested and “join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

BENEDICTION:

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.