15th September 2023
The meat of the matter
One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.
Romans 14:2-3 (NIV)
A few years ago, one of my sons bet one of my daughters that she couldn’t go for a year without eating meat. She accepted the challenge and enjoyed the experience so much, she has remained a vegetarian ever since. Vegetarianism is a popular lifestyle choice in our modern world and millions subscribe to it for reasons of health or support for animal welfare and the environment. But that is not why people in Paul’s time opted to eschew meat.
Tom Wright, in a study on this chapter, made the following comment: ‘The ancient world knew about vegetarianism, too, but often people took that option for quite different reasons from those we think of today. Hardly anyone in Paul’s world thought it cruel to slaughter animals for food. Most people at the time lived very close to the means of food production, whether animals or crops, and thought no more of killing a cow or a pig than of picking an olive off a tree.’ Paul for Everyone (Kindle Edition, P. 94).
Wright goes on to say that the people Paul is writing about in the header scripture were vegetarian for one of two reasons. Either they couldn’t get the right sort of meat, or they couldn’t be sure where the meat had come from. In his letter to the Romans, Paul is writing to a dual audience of Gentile and Jewish believers. Some of the Jewish believers living in that largely Gentile metropolis couldn’t be sure that the meat they were buying was ‘clean’ under the terms of the law of Moses. And in a city heavily studded with temples dedicated to every sort of pagan god and goddess, some of both Gentile and Jewish believers couldn’t be sure the meat they were buying hadn’t been offered to idols.
On the face of it, these seem pretty powerful reasons to give up eating meat. So why aren’t all the believers he writes to vegetarians? The answer, according to Paul, is a matter of faith. He describes people with two kinds of faith – weak faith and strong faith. But interestingly, he describes the vegetarians as the ones whose faith is weak! Clearly, to Paul the eating of the ‘wrong’ type of meat is not the problem: ‘I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself…’ (Romans 14:14).
What, then, is Paul getting at in this chapter? Paul asks: ‘…why do you judge your brother or sister?’ And ‘…why do you treat them with contempt?’ (v.10). Then Paul instructs, ‘… Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.’ (v.13). ‘For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…’ (v.17).
Amen. Amen. And Amen!
Prayer
Almighty Father, in our Christian walk, help us to avoid the threefold pitfall of judging our brothers and sisters, treating them with contempt or being obstacles to each other’s relationship with you. Instead, let us follow the path of ‘righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’. In Jesus Christ’s name, Amen.
Study by Peter Mill
About the writer:
Peter Mill is a minister in Grace Communion International and Co-Regional Pastor for Scotland, Ireland, and Northern England.
Local congregational contact:
Peter Mill
Email: edinburgh@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church