August 22, 2013

Romans 14:13 — Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

Yesterday’s devotion spoke of my sense that the church, the house of God, is under judgment. Judgment is a challenging topic in the Bible. There is, for instance the often quoted and often misunderstood opening to Matthew 7, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” I was prompted today to follow the reflection that the church is under judgment with a thought that this is not an occasion for finger pointing, but rather for working together to put the house in order and build it up.
Paul says that there are two things going on, and that they need to stop!
First we are judging each other — members of the family, right now, are making rules for each other and then complaining if they are not being followed. Paul was talking about the same sort of legalism in the church of his days as is all too prevalent in today’s church. That’s where the passage from Matthew comes in. Jesus said “Don’t keep picking at the tiny faults your fellow Christians are dealing with. If you do, watch out!”
Second we are putting obstacles and hindrances (“occasion to fall”), snares and traps (“stumbling block”), in each other’s. way. Paul feels so strongly about it that he repeats the notion … we need to stop doing things that might be damaging to the faith of another believer.
This is a complicated topic. Many of us feel that some things are just wrong. Unfortunately, “It ain’t necessarily so”! Sometimes it’s not a question of right and wrong, but a question of taste and preference! Then again, some of us might feel that those same things are perfectly fine — so can’t we just go ahead? “Not so fast,” Paul says, “if doing what you like rubs someone the wrong way it might damage their faith. Judge yourself!”
We need to be working together, looking kindly on each others foibles, being prepared to give up some of our own little pleasures that we cling to. Working together, exercising our own particular gifts to build the house of God. This is our job. In another letter Paul wrote to the Ephesians:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

The unity of the faith is so very precious. Together we can turn back the tide of judgment. Obstructing each other, and judging each other, we will be a crumbling ruin of a church instead of the radiant bride of Christ.