I think it’s worthwhile to read Romans “backwards,” that is, viewing the whole letter through the lens of its later chapters in which the worshiping community in Rome itself comes to the fore of Paul’s attention. Everything that is rich and challenging in Romans eventually adds up to the (strained) relationships between the members of the church. “Let us no longer pass judgment on one another,” Paul says in Romans 14:13. The whole letter has been working its way toward this. For instance, Paul’s words in chapter 4 flow easily into chapter 14: “Abraham is the father of all of us (4:16) … Therefore, let us no longer pass judgment on one another.” It is not how God designed the Church to be fractured by quarrels and judgement.
It appears that the Roman Christians are quarreling over whether or not Jewish dietary restrictions ought to be observed. The Jewish Christians cannot imagine abandoning the kosher diet they’ve had since the days of Moses. And the gentile Christians see no point at all in such a diet. In response, Paul empathizes with both points of view while at the same time getting underneath them toward something more foundational. “Nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who considers it unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love.” (14:14-15) As always in Romans (and in all Paul’s letters), doctrinal correctness is of little significance. Love is everything. Food is just food, yes, but if food is causing division and bitterness, then everything has gone wrong because the most central focus of all – loving one another – has gone wrong. “Do no destroy the work of God,” Paul goes on (14:20). It’s not the heathen outside the Church who destroy the work of God with all their godless activity. It’s not some terrible scandal rocking the Church that destroys the work of God. What destroys the work of God is – brothers and sisters in Christ quarreling and dividing.
The way forward is not to ascertain the correct answer to the food question. The way forward is something completely different. Paul directs our gaze elsewhere. “The kingdom of God is not food and drink, but justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (14:17) Justice – no one in the community matters too much or too little. Peace – every part of the church fitting together the way God designed it to. Joy – abundant happiness at loving and being loved by God, at loving and being loved by each other. That’s the DNA of the Church. Everything else is a distant second.
Are we creating more peace in the church, or less? Is joy increasing over time, or decreasing? Are we attending to the needs of those in one kind of distress or another? Are we doing everything we can to make sure everyone (and not just a special few) knows that they belong? Are we welcoming enough? Are we allowing for robust joy, or just focusing on what’s wrong and broken?
These are the measuring sticks we ought to be using to understand how aligned we are with God’s will for us. Quarreling has no place in the baptized, Christ-centered community, plain and simple. We are not just another club with the typical internal competition for who gets to be on top and make decisions. God has made us something completely different. “Let us pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding,” (14:19) because justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit is what God has made us.
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