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Rom. 14
What is a “disputable matter” over which you disagree with other believers? How does Paul say you should handle this? Why? Salvation is from God, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Period. There are certain things we need to believe in order to stand by that statement. When we hold these as core truths, we become changed people who serve God in faith. As servants of God, we are no longer bound by the law but are bound by His love to live according to His will and desire for us. There will be a similarity in this for all believers, who all now live in Christ, but there will be personal differences as well. These are what Paul refers to as “disputable matters.”
There are a couple of things I see from this chapter and the book of Romans in general that make a matter “disputable”. One is that they involve things that are between someone and God, without involving another person. Things such as circumcision, what we eat, and whether or not we set aside a day as sacred, all of which Paul mentions in this letter, are examples of this. The other is that, on their own, they have nothing to do with our salvation. They could, to some, be considered as signs of salvation, but that’s what makes them disputable. We are all individuals and serve God in different ways. But as long as we are serving Him in faith, who but God is to say whether or not our service is acceptable to Him?
The caveat to all of this, however, is how we handle our personal freedoms around others and whether or not such a freedom becomes our god. When either of these things happens, our actions become much less disputable. God’s basic commands are that we love Him with all we’ve got and love other as ourselves. Paul warned, “Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.” (Rom. 14:15b). It’s pretty clear how that violates God’s commands! To allow our personal freedoms to supersede God in our lives likewise violates those commands. In either case, we are no longer serving God, but serving self or something else and we are in need of some loving redirection!
Num. 13-14
Compare and contrast Caleb’s report with that of the 10 other spies. What was the result of the bad report, immediately and ultimately? What was Caleb and Joshua’s rebuttal to the bad report? Perspective is everything! A big part of putting our faith in God is that it should give us an entirely different lens through which we view the world and our position in it. What I mean is that, though we look at the same reality, we form a different opinion of it. All twelve of these tribal leaders saw the same good land, the same giant people, and the same fortified cities. But ten of them saw all of this through the lens of self, while the other two saw through the lens of faith.
The lens of self reveals our own limitations and causes us to focus on the negative aspects of the situation. Looking through the lens of faith, on the other hand, opens up the possibilities, because we know that nothing is impossible for God and that He desires good for us. Caleb and Joshua knew that God had promised them this land. So when they saw the difficult things, their eyes grew wide in wonder at the opportunities for God to reveal Himself in glory. We likewise know that we are destined for a Promised Land where life in abundance is assured. So when we see giants standing in the way, let’s take a cue from Caleb and Joshua. Let’s get excited with eager anticipation to see how God will show His hand.
I’m not trying to downplay hardship and loss. Many things in life are difficult and unpleasant. But we don’t need to fear those things because our God is greater than all of them. And we know that more than we could ever imagine awaits us on the other side. I believe God sent these twelve men on ahead in order to test and reveal the faith of the people. Or, I should say, the lack thereof. With or without seeing it coming, we know hard things lie ahead for us, too. May we, at least more often than not, choose to confront them in faith instead of fear, focusing on the greatness of God rather than our own limitations.