EPISODE · Aug 25, 2019
Real Unity
from HopeInMadison · host Andy Wulff
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. - Romans 14:1–3 (ESV) For what was supposed to be a group founded on love and should be characterized by unity, we seem to be highly skilled at dividing. We seem to do it over a lot of things. We group together with other Christians that think like we do, school like we do, vote like we do, do culture like we do, eat and drink like we do. And on and on and on goes the list. Honestly, sometimes I look around at the greater church and think God has to be in this somewhere because only He could possibly hold this thing together, and only He could make it even close to fulfilling its mission. How do we think about and live in these differences? Should we just get into our self-perpetuating groups? Or do we just become people with fluid convictions that don't really stand for anything? Is there a core we can't lose? The next few weeks we are going to look at Romans 14-15. The Roman church was far from monolithic. They were made up of Jews, former idol worshipers, slaves, and more. They thought differently about their faith and what it meant to live it out. Paul wanted them to wrestle with the application and implications of the gospel he had presented. As we do this I want to challenge you to think about your own assumptions of living out the Christian life. I want to you to consider what will bind Hope Church together. Take a few minutes and read through Romans 14-15 to prepare your heart and mind for Sunday.
What this episode covers
As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. - Romans 14:1–3 (ESV) For what was supposed to be a group founded on love and should be characterized by unity, we seem to be highly skilled at dividing. We seem to do it over a lot of things. We group together with other Christians that think like we do, school like we do, vote like we do, do culture like we do, eat and drink like we do. And on and on and on goes the list. Honestly, sometimes I look around at the greater church and think God has to be in this somewhere because only He could possibly hold this thing together, and only He could make it even close to fulfilling its mission. How do we think about and live in these differences? Should we just get into our self-perpetuating groups? Or do we just become people with fluid convictions that don't really stand for anything? Is there a core we can't lose? The next few weeks we are going to look at Romans 14-15. The Roman church was far from monolithic. They were made up of Jews, former idol worshipers, slaves, and more. They thought differently about their faith and what it meant to live it out. Paul wanted them to wrestle with the application and implications of the gospel he had presented. As we do this I want to challenge you to think about your own assumptions of living out the Christian life. I want to you to consider what will bind Hope Church together. Take a few minutes and read through Romans 14-15 to prepare your heart and mind for Sunday.
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Real Unity
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