The Great Debate

DEVOTION

ROMANS

THE GREAT DEBATE

Rom 14:1-4

14:1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

NIV

Usually when we think of the great debate we remember a political debate which occurred back in the 1920’s between two men whom had great opposing views which are the roots of our two parties today and books have been written about them. Their names are not very famous to the common person but they are the great debaters. But this section, this passage has created a great debate in the church. Who can eat and drink and what should we not eat and drink. A great stand has been taken over the idea of drinking any adult beverage, even the fruit of the vine, wine. Perhaps the evangelical, holiness, churches are in the center of this hard core stand against drinking wine or anything alcoholic. We cannot be sure exactly what scriptures those opposed to wine use to substantiate their views, but we cannot judge them for choosing to abstain. We also cannot judge those whose views allow them to drink wine. There are scriptures which indicate wine was present in the life of the early church, in fact Jesus turned water into wine, and that was not grape juice, it was fermented wine. The wine steward bears truth to that. The point in that those whose views are abstaining and those whose views allow them the drink wine should have nothing to do with thinking poorly or judging each other. Both views about the allowed type of food and drink are reasonable and each should allow the others views to remain without trying to persuade the other to change their view or judge that view as against the biblical standard for a believer’s life. In the early church wine was not in the center of controversy, pork was. The Jews would not each pork because of the law, while Gentiles had no problem with pork. The modern church does not even consider pork any issue. We have taken a stand on a cultural stigma rather than on the law, or in our case the scriptures. Shame on us for allowing division to exist among us. Shame on us for passing judgement on either side. Can we not see it is about God, and he has not declared drinking wine as sin, nor has he declared abstaining as sin. So let’s get rid of this great debate.