On Receiving One Weak In The Faith

“ON RECEIVING ONE WEAK IN THE FAITH”

Romans 14.1-2

In a series of meetings that began Sunday morning, June 27th, and ending July 7, 1993, the members and friends and guests of Calvary Road Baptist Church heard 21 sermons preached by seven different preachers. During that time scores of men and women and boys and girls trusted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, some having been religious but lost for years before their conversion. That was twenty-six years ago.

For the rest of us, the meetings were for a different purpose. We had opportunity after opportunity to examine ourselves to see whether we were actually in the faith and to deal with sin in our lives and consecrate ourselves to the Lord’s service. Still others sat through one Gospel sermon, or many, and succeeded only in storing up God’s wrath against the Judgment Day as they steadfastly argued in their hearts that they were already saved because of what they had done or because of what some preacher has said. But, sadly, though everything else in their lives was right, the one needful thing, knowing Jesus Christ in a personal way, was lacking.

What this all meant is that of those three groups, the newly converted and the freshly consecrated who were already Christians faced some important decisions in their Christian lives. The religious but lost among those attending were still faced with the prospect of eternal damnation. But among the most important decisions the newly saved and the freshly consecrated needed to consider was a decision about this matter of separation. Let me state again, Christians must make decisions about separation.

Separation is one of the most clearly taught but most frequently overlooked doctrines in the Bible. But how can one overlook the doctrine of separation from sin without slighting the holiness of God? Because God is holy, He has commanded His Own to be holy, as well. “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” And God commands this because His holiness is not a passive characteristic. It is not a benign attribute. God’s holiness is at the very center of the essence of His being. Holy is what God is. Therefore, obedience in this matter of personal holiness and separation is of critical importance.

Preliminary to the reading of my text for today, I want to read to you Second Corinthians 6.14-18, a passage significant to this matter of separation:

14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Let us understand two things about this passage: First, understand that being unequally yoked together does not refer only to being married to an unsaved person or to being partners in business with an unsaved person. The idea Paul has in mind there is far broader in scope than marriage or business only. What he has in mind is for Christians to separate themselves from unsaved people. Other passages go beyond this to command us to separate even from professing Christians who live like they are lost. Second, according to verse 18 of this passage, understand that the believer’s willingness to obey God in this matter directly affects God fulfilling His fatherly role in the Christian’s life. So, we understand, one’s willingness to obey God and separate from ungodliness and the ungodly has consequences beyond the damage we cause in other people’s lives by living lives of spiritual compromise.

New Christians, and newly consecrated Christians? God’s Word challenges us to evaluate our lives. Examine what you are doing and who you are doing it with. And separate from ungodly practices and ungodly people so that you might live a life of close fellowship with your holy God. And do not think for one moment that God will tolerate the small-minded effort to be friends with those who are not friends with God, or the futile attempt to be godly while hanging on to ungodly practices. God will even chasten His children so that we will be partakers of His holiness.

The question is how to put Biblical separation into practice. So much wisdom is required. Issues are not always as clear as we might want them to be. Others believe differently than I do. How do I know where to draw the line of separation, particularly when the person in question is a believer who is not engaged in sin? And how do I separate from the lost while befriending them, loving them, and seeking to bring them to Christ? As you can see, the child of God needs wisdom from on high to live the life Christ has provided for us.

In our text for today, Romans 14.1-2, Paul begins to provide for us the insight that we need to obey God:

1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.

2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

Our text addresses the believer’s relationship with another believer. What are you supposed to do when another Christian you know believes differently and practices differently than you do? Are you supposed to be open and accepting of all differences that exist between Christians? Though that is the practice of so many in the Southern California milieu of contemporary evangelicalism, that concept cannot be supported in Scripture.

On the other hand, there are also Christians who separate from anyone and everyone. I know pastors who I went to school with, and even pastors who taught me in school, who separate from virtually anyone and everyone, for reasons I have not quite figured out. They even declare open hostility to the great men of God of the past whose beliefs and practices differ only slightly from their own.

As we so often find in the Word of God, what God wants you to do, in terms of separating yourselves, even from Christians at times, is somewhere between the one extreme of separating from no one no matter what they believe or do and separating from everyone unless they agree en toto with you in every practice of the Christian life.

In these two verses, Paul gives us some instructions regarding who to receive as brothers and sisters in Christ with whom we can enjoy sweet fellowship. Three observations can be made of this passage before us:

First, OBSERVE THE DESCRIPTION TO PERCEIVE

In verses 1 and 2, we find described for us those to whom Paul is referring. Notice that they are described in two ways by Paul in considering them. Though Paul writes about the principle and then the particulars, allow me to consider the verses in reverse order, verse 2, and then verse 1.

In verse 2, we read Paul’s contrast of particulars:

“For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.”

There are two types of people mentioned in this verse. One person believes that he can eat anything in the world he wants to eat. He can eat worms. He can eat pork fat. He can eat snails. He can eat hot dogs. He can eat chocolate-covered ants. He can eat spinach. As far as he is concerned, there is no spiritual reason in the world why he cannot eat anything and everything he wants to eat. But the other person, for reasons we are not specifically told, eats herbs, eats only vegetables. Please note that no particular doctrinal reason is given for this difference in behavior, though there must have been one. Though humans are not entirely consistent, our behavior is determined by our belief, or our belief is determined by our behavior. Whichever it may be, these two types of people somehow and in some way differ in at least some of their beliefs. So, the contrast between these two types of believer is evidently in their diet, their behavior. But the implication is that there is some difference in what they believe in their heart of hearts. And one of those groups who differ in behavior, because of a difference in belief, is referred to by Paul as “weak.”

Going back to verse 1, we see Paul’s conclusion of principle, which he placed first. Notice that there he describes the vegetarians as “weak in the faith.” Two things catch my eye at this point:

First, we must be careful not to overlook the fact that those “weak in the faith” are, despite their weakness, “in the faith.” That is, they are Christians. They know Christ as their Savior. They are born again. They are blood-bought and blood-washed children of God.

Do you realize what this means, Christian? It means that it is possible for people to be different, at least to some degree, from your practices, and your beliefs, and still be saved. We are not yet sure to what degree their beliefs can be different than ours, and they still are saved. But we must not assume that someone must be just exactly like we are, either in practice or in belief, to be right with God. Is this not clear?

Of course, there are certain essentials that must be rightly understood for a person to be saved. And there are other essentials that a person must be straight on to be correct. But Paul’s whole line of argument here suggests that there is some leeway that is tolerable. And how much leeway is tolerable? It all depends on what Paul means when he describes the vegetarians as “weak.” Certainly, to describe a Christian as “weak” is not to compliment him. But it isn’t a scathing denunciation either.

What is meant by “weak in the faith?” There are so many differing opinions on this. Some believe that “weak in the faith” refers to those who think salvation is a combination of faith in Christ and doing good deeds to be saved. But a person who believes that works are required for salvation, either in whole or in part, is not trusting in Jesus Christ alone for his salvation and is still in his sins. Still others point out similarities between the practices of those mentioned by Paul here and those mentioned in Galatians and Colossians. But in Galatians and Colossians, Paul virtually skewered those who taught that works were necessary for salvation or as a requirement for Christian growth. These people in Rome, on the other hand, are treated with kid gloves. Is it because Paul was hoping to raise money from the Romans? No.

The weak brothers in Rome were folks who had genuinely trusted Christ as their Savior. They were truly saved, people. But they had not yet fully realized how the Christian life translated into daily liberties, such as allowing them to eat any kind of food they wanted. And they were not of the opinion that their vegetarian diet made them more spiritual or that others had to do what they were doing. So, because their beliefs did not deny the truth of the Gospel, and because they were not going about trying to make vegetarians of all the other Christians, “You need to do this so you will be more spiritual,” Paul treats them gently and kindly, even though he concludes that they are “weak in the faith.”

Perceive, then, Christian, that some who differ in behavior and to some degree in belief are genuinely born again children of God who are not marked off as carnal or disobedient, but are described simply as being weak.

Second, OBSERVE THE DIRECTION TO RECEIVE

This is a command that many Christians have a great deal of difficulty obeying. And why? Consider receiving anyone who differs in the slightest.

I’m not suggesting serious doctrinal errors here. I’m not referring to heresy. I’m talking about such differences as whether or not you think it’s still wrong to eat blood sausage or whether you think the prohibition against Gentiles eating blood in the book of Acts applied only so long as so many Jews were Christians. Can you have strong feelings about blood sausage? Sure. But that’s not an issue that should hinder fellowship or be an issue resulting in separation.

Another example: One pastor was invited to one of our Fourth of July meetings one time. When invited, he responded by asking, “Is this a certain kind of Baptist meeting?” When told “No,” he said, “I only go to certain kind of Baptist meetings.” Really? Ridiculous. Separation is an important doctrine and an important practice, but sometimes Christians go too far and trivialize it.

So, bless God, you’d better be ready to receive who God tells you to receive. You’d better be ready to fellowship with who God wants you to fellowship. Does this Christian have a different wrinkle or two? That’s okay. Consider him weak in the faith if you want to and yourself strong, only receive him.

Just don’t try and convince yourself that a heretic, or someone who is lost, or someone who is in rebellion against God, is just “weak in the faith.” Paul wants us to receive the “weak” into intimate Christian fellowship, not the lost, not the heretics, and not the rebellious.

Finally, OBSERVE THE RESTRICTION TO RECEIVE

“but not to doubtful disputations.”

Here is an area in which Christians with strongly held beliefs often have a great deal of trouble. Let’s say you’ve obeyed the Scriptures and have received a “weak” brother or sister. You have received to yourself, and you have received into your Church fellowship a guy who thinks that Christians should never eat table grapes since table grapes are boycotted by the United Farm Workers.

So, you receive this guy as a Church member or into your home as a friend. But once you receive him into the Church, or once you welcome him into your home as a friend, you cannot resist the temptation to take a pot shot at him. “Say, Herb, where did you get the stupid notion about not eating grapes? You a closet liberal or something?”

That’s not the reason you received him. And don’t try to justify accosting him by saying that you think that you have a Scriptural mandate to straighten out every kink and wrinkle everyone around you has.

This position that he takes is not an overtaking fault that a spiritual Christian should feel bound to correct. It’s something a believer may have a brief difficulty with, but one that is likely to be resolved over time with growth and fellowship with stronger Christians.

Let me give you a similar type example: First Corinthians 11.14-16:

14 Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?

15 But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering.

16 But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.

Verse 14 declares that long hair is shown even by nature to be something inappropriate for a man. But verse 16 indicates that Paul felt that fussing about it was also inappropriate.

So, do I rush to every man with long hair and try to straighten him out? No. I have found, too many times, that simply by associating with stronger Christians, this man will eventually cut his hair. Or he will come and ask me about it, and I will show him what the Bible says. Or he won’t.

Thus, there are restrictions to my directive to receive this “weak” brother. I am not to receive him so that I can prey on him or fuss with him about his relatively insignificant area of difficulty. I am to receive him so that he can grow out of that weakness over time.

The Biblical doctrine of separation is important. It is integrally linked to the spiritual health and welfare of our Churches and our individual lives. We must separate from sin and unto God to be spiritually healthy. Many a Christian and many a Church has been ruined by failing to separate where God demanded separation.

But separation is a step that can be taken only by Christians after they have trusted Christ as their Savior. Any attempt by an individual to separate from sin and unto God before conversion is simply a lame attempt at self-reformation that is doomed to failure in the long run. It makes for Pharisaism. What the lost person needs isn’t a new leaf to turn over in an attempt to fix his life, but a new life. Therefore, separation is rightly seen as something important only to the Christian after conversion.

Separation can be, and often has been, so thoroughly misunderstood and misapplied in Christian practice that untold damage has been done to the cause of Christ. Understanding, then, that separation from the unfruitful works of darkness is commanded, and that separation from a brother who insists on walking in a disorderly fashion is commanded, we see that there are left those who are neither lost and nor are they openly and flagrantly in sin. It is just that some of their practices and some of their beliefs are different from ours.

Paul does not address beliefs that are of critical importance to Christianity in this text. He does not here refer to beliefs that make our faith what it is, such as the doctrine of the Trinity or the Person and work of Jesus Christ in dying and shedding His blood on the cross for our sins.

This passage addresses other things. Things such as what food you can eat. Things such as whether or not to do certain things on certain days of the week. Christian? Open the door to the possibility that God wants you to receive Christians into your life, into your fellowship, into your Church, into your circle of friends, who are not just like you are. They act a bit differently. They believe a bit differently. Within limits, that’s perfectly okay. But when you receive them, don’t you dare welcome someone just to lure them into the lion’s den so you can personally go after them and “straighten them out.”

You take them the way they are and trust God to work some things out. Amen? Only thing is, though they are “weak,” they must be “in the faith.” They must be genuinely converted Christians. That’s the question. We stand ready to receive you, even if you’re not just like us. Hey. We’re not just like us. We’re an entire Church of people with differences. But we have one thing in common, Jesus Christ.

Do you have Jesus Christ? Are you “in the faith?” Do you have Biblical assurance of that? Are you 100% sure that when you die, you will go to heaven? If not, how about you and I address the matter? When the service has concluded, I will count it a privilege to speak to you about your salvation personally. I urge you not to leave this place until you’re sure things are right between you and God. And things will only be right between you and God when you trust Jesus Christ to wash your sins away in His blood.

Question? Comment?

Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Fill out the form below to send him an email. Thank you.