Many find themselves reluctant to adopt new ideas because they have a vested interest in the old. Some will always suggest that “the old is better” (Luke 5:39). They possess an interest so significant that they resist anything that threatens it- whether right or wrong. This, I believe, was the crux of the early church’s resistance to accepting Gentile Christians for who they were.

One issue that repeatedly surfaces in the New Testament pertained to what could or could not be eaten. Could a Christian consume meats that had been sacrificed to idols? It surfaces in Acts 15 and was referenced by Paul in several epistles, namely 1 Corinthians and Romans. For several years now, I have sought out explanations for how, why, and when a position on this subject changed. I’ve found very few answers, and I think I know why.

The initial position derived from conclusions reached by those at the Jerusalem Council concerning the Gentiles who came to Christ was that they should

“abstain from things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood” (Acts 15:20, ESV).

This was affirmed to Gentiles by way of a letter that suggested that this was what “seemed good” to church leaders and “to the Holy Spirit” (v. 28). So the initial position was to abstain from things polluted by idols.

Fair enough. But by the time Paul writes 1 Corinthians 8 something has changed. When? How? Why? These may be definitively unanswerable questions. But the fact is…something changed. Suddenly, the question becomes an issue of conscience. Delicate concern for the souls of others needed to be taken (8:10-12), but the hard stance of abstaining was no longer normative. In fact, this was an issue that fell under the category of an earlier statement made by Paul: “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful” (6:12).

This was Paul’s approach to eating according to Kosher guidelines, as well.

“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 14:3).

What could or could not be eaten wasn’t an “either/or” proposition. There wasn’t one correct position.

“Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats” (v. 20).

We need to make efforts to assure we are not creating problems for others by what we do. But we also need to see that this was an issue that over the course of the early church’s maturation changed. Convictions about eating meats sacrificed to idols or eating unclean things weren’t mutually exclusive. One wasn’t damned if he ate or damned if he didn’t eat.

What drove the need by some for uniformity? It was the interest they had in preserving their traditions. It was the belief that their traditions had been galvanized into the exclusive way of life with God. But the early Jewish church was grossly mistaken, and things don’t tend to be much different today.

While Jews that came to Christ were allowed to continue various practices (eating according to kosher guidelines and etc) that were a way of life for them, they were not allowed to bind their preferences on others. They couldn’t compel Gentiles to be circumcised in order to be Christians. They couldn’t force Gentiles to dress like them. This simply wasn’t right.

Unity could be had without uniformity. Gentiles Christians didn’t have to see everything like Jewish Christians did, and vice versa. This issue alone proves it. And until someone comes up with a definitive explanation for why the position on eating certain foods changed, we’d better be careful in being dogmatic towards others who don’t see everything exactly as we do!

Bobby, thanks for the invitation to be a guest writer at Here in the Real World!

Doug

Consequently, I’ve noticed that when it comes to Farmers and State Farm agencies, in particular, there are more than just a few of each. On my short drive to the office I count four different State Farm agencies and there is at least one more not on my route to the office.  Knowing the insurance business is extremelycompetitive, I wonder if all the State Farm agents get along. Is there enough business to go around, or does the competition create tension? Do these agents, serving the same company, get along? I’ve come to learn something of an answer to the question. After all, I’m a fan of my State Farm agent, Mike Morris, the one not on my route to the office.

Over the years, I haven’t had the best of relationships with other preachers in communities where I’ve lived. My relationship with ministers of other faiths was non-existent, but it wasn’t much better with those of other Churches of Christ.

Especially in the South, Churches of Christ are ubiquitous in communities. Large cities are prone to having tons of congregations. Sadly, though, a lot of small communities are prone to having a significant number of them, as well. I’m no longer certain whether this is good or bad. We are a people who’ve been prone to division. Much of that division is born out of people believing they were doing the right thing, which may or may not have actually been the case. That it looks so terrible that communities of 10,000 or less might have five or more congregations, I wish more would see. All you have to do is ask around and you’ll discover that we’ve marginalized ourselves because we struggle to get along with one another.  

My time in Clovis, though, has been different for me personally. I have a wonderful relationship with Larry Tittle, the preacher for the West 21st Street Church of Christ. He’s become a very dear friend to me. In the year that I’ve been with 16th & Pile, we have done a lot together. We’ve played golf, had coffee, ate lunch, worshiped, studied, and prayed with each other. We’ve done all of these activities, and more, on more than one occasion.

I am proud of the relationship Larry and I have forged. Sadly, I am on my way to the NM Christian Children’s Home and will no longer be preaching at 16th, but that doesn’t mean we will no longer be getting together. After all, Portales, NM is only 20 miles from Clovis.

Here’s what I love most: for the last twelve months, anyone who might have wondered if the preachers from the 16th & Pile Church of Christ and the West 21st St. Church of Christ got along could be answered in the affirmative!

2 Corinthians 12:11-21 is a passage I find terribly saddening. That Paul felt compelled to bring the epistle to a close with such words is so unfortunate. Once again, it’s proof that relationships can be incredibly messy.

I can think of only one relationship that is devoid of such dysfunction: Father, Son and Spirit. And yet Christ prayed as if it were possible for his followers to actually function in divine harmony,

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe on me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them as you loved me. John 17:20-23.

The trinity sets the precedent for relational harmony. This is why living by the Spirit and walking by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25) is requisite. Our relationship with the divine paves the way for harmonious accord in the body (Romans 8:5-11; Romans 12:4-8). Where the divine is absent in human relationships, so is the potential for perfect oneness one with another.