Have you ever found yourself arguing with your spouse, children, or friend over something that does not really matter? “You said 2 PM last week!” “NO! I said 2:30 PM!!” Meanwhile, bystanders are thinking who cares!
At the end of February this year, my wife and I had a disagreement over something not important. I honestly do not even remember what the topic of discussion was about! We ended up resolving everything that day. The following Monday, February 27, we decided to have a slower start after a few very full weeks of ministry. It was the morning of an ice storm, and I was still deciding if I should work at the office or from home. I was getting ready to leave for the office and check the roads for ice when I began having jaw pain. It was 8:15 AM. At first it reminded me of a tooth needing to be pulled. Tooth aches can be painful! As I started to consider calling the dentist, the pain moved into my chest. Instead of leaving for the office, I found Charis and told her I was not feeling very good at all. Everything escalated quickly. Pain was in my jaw, my chest, my arms, and shortness of breath was becoming alarming. Charis immediately said we are going to the ER. I had been to the ER over the years for similar lighter symptoms and it always ended up being a false alarm (perhaps more stress related?)…but this time was different.
My sweet wife (AKA, Speed Racer) took me to the ER. In all the excitement, we had forgotten the ER had relocated! When we walked into the ER at the old location, no one was at the desk. I was in distress. My legs were weak, shaky. A cleaning staff member helped us find a wheelchair and get us to the relocated ER department through back hallways.
The first EKG was negative for a heart attack. “Same as the other times,” I thought. “Why am I such a wimp?” A CT scan of the heart and two more EKGs finally revealed the heart attack. A nurse called for ‘Rescue One’ and about 12 to 15 people filled my room. In short order I was whisked off to the CATH Lab. While on the CATH Lab table, my heart went into V FIB on two separate occasions. Each time I had to be shocked. I would be told later that only 10% of those who go into V FIB away from the hospital survive. If I had gone into the office at the normal time…if I had been alone at church…if I had …well, God still had a purpose for me and preserved my life. I later found out that my left ventricle artery was 100% blocked and my diagonal artery was 90% blocked. I received a stent in each of the blocked arteries.
I spent the night in the CCU after leaving the CATH Lab. That afternoon I realized I could not lift my left arm or left leg. A stroke was eventually ruled out (thank you, Jesus). The next day it was determined that I had an allergic reaction to two different drugs and had 80 CCs of fluid on my knee.
Throughout the month of March, I was hospitalized three different times. Many unknowns and everything was out of my control – but it was in God’s control.
During the second hospital stay, it was believed something got caught in one of my two stents. I was placed on an overnight nitro IV drip. One of my cardiologists told me that they would remove the IV drip in the morning, and if the pain returned, they would take me right back into the CATH Lab. This was a breaking point for me. The last time I had been on that table, they had to shock my heart twice. Would this be the last time I saw my family before I saw my Savior? My wife and children gathered around my hospital bed that night and we prayed together. I gave everyone a hug and told them I love them before they went home that night.
God brought many miracles through this whole process – and He answered the prayers of so many who were praying over me and our family! Thankfully, I did not have to go back into the CATH Lab and the nitro IV seemed to do its job.
I came home feeling like someone took me into a back alley and gave me a good beating! I was very weak. Over the last 6 weeks, God has sharpened my focus on my love for Him, for my wife, and for my children. Sometimes, we get distracted with “life” and lose sight of what God calls important. The same is true for the church! We the church can become so distracted with what we believe to be crucial things that we leave little room for God. In Romans 14, God declares one of those things He calls ‘important’ – relationships in the church.
We must put high importance on harmonious relationships in the church…because God does.
The entire chapter of Romans 14 addresses “disputable matters.” Paul had noted that the Roman believers and the Gentile believers had found disagreement over certain issues – and they were now passing judgement on one another. What was Paul’s response to this observation? He told them to stop arguing over these disputable matters.
Disputable matters would be the gray areas not clearly defined within the scriptures (no clear Divine guidelines) and thus they fall into the category of ‘nonessential.’ These would be areas we ought allow more grace to our brothers and sisters in Christ. The “disputable matters” referenced in Romans 14 are what foods the church ought to be allowed to eat (14:2-3), the observance of certain holy days (14:5-6), and even the drinking of wine is touched on later in the chapter (14:21).
Let’s say your family has decided to take a family vacation; however, one wants to go north, and another wants to go south. One wants to drive, and another wants to fly. One wants to go away for a long weekend and the other wants to go away for 10 days. To move forward, we must actually agree on certain things.
There are certain things that we the church must agree upon. We would refer to these as the fundamentals of the faith. These are things crucial to the foundation of our relationship with Jesus. For example:
The Bible is the inspired and preserved Word of God (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:19-21; Ps. 119:89).
The virgin birth of Jesus so that sin was not passed on to Jesus through the seed of man (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:22-23; Rom. 5:12, 19).
Substitutionary death of Jesus (II Cor. 5:21).
Resurrection of Jesus from the dead (I Cor. 15:3-4, 14).
Salvation by grace. We do not deserve it. (Eph. 2:8-9).
Salvation through Jesus alone (Jn. 3:16-18, 36; 5:24).
Jesus is God (Jn. 10:30; Jn. 20:28).
The gospel (I Cor. 15:1-4; Gal. 1:8-9).
Monotheism. This is the belief that there is only one God (Is. 43:10; I Cor. 8:5-6).
Romans 14 concludes that we the church are not to be so focused on the nonessentials in the lives of other believers that we become distracted from what God calls important and that we believe it is our job to pass judgment on the disputable matters seen in others. The reality is, God places great emphasis on harmonious relationships in the church!
Look at Romans 14:8-9. It is in this context we are reminded of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. For what purpose? Jesus died and was resurrected that we might be His!
At the end of Romans 14:9 we read the phrase, “that He might be Lord.” This phrase in the Greek not only means “ruler,” but it also carries the meaning of “owner.” Jesus has dominion over the dead and the living as ruler and owner!
Our church family has faced with numerous health challenges over the past month: my heart attack, others with heart surgery and heart health complications, others with cancer, others with loved ones dying, others with advancing disease, and there is more than these! How can we respond to the things we do not ask for nor want? We are to respond in a way that embraces Jesus more than before.
So how is the New Testament church (the saved) to respond to the resurrection of Jesus Christ according to Romans 14? Because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, remember
1. God is the ultimate judge. (14:11-12)
2. Keep others from falling. Do not be a stumbling block to others in the church (14:14-18)
3. Pursue things that make for peace (14:19). So, pursue the gospel, pursue holiness, and pursue relationship with God.
4. Pursue building others up (14:19)
Jesus died and rose again from the grave to be His! He rose again to save us from strife, contention, and pride. Praise God for our resurrected Savior!