#upbuilding

To mask or not to mask, that is the question. Along with: to eat out in restaurants or not; to invite people into your home for a visit or meal, or not; to go to church for in-person worship services – or not. As restrictions are lifted, we all will be confronted with more and more choices – and responsibility – for our own health and safety – and that of others.

And we will make different choices for different reasons. We will make choices based on age, health condition, household and family situation, work situation, personal beliefs and convictions, and many other factors. Some people who appear to be in similar situations will make different choices – and we might wonder why they don’t do – or not do – what we are doing – or not doing. And we will be tempted to judge others for their different choices because, of course, we are making the right choices so that must mean they are not. This coronavirus is truly novel, and the societal shutdown is unprecedented in my lifetime. There is much about these days that is truly unique. Never be-fore in my lifetime have churches been prohibited from worshiping together in person in their facilities. Never before in my lifetime have we had to practice social distancing at church (or any-where). Never before in my lifetime have I worn a mask when greeting people at church. Never before in my lifetime have…. (I could go on and on – this is truly unprecedented).

You might think that the Bible would have nothing to say to us considering how unique these days are. There was nothing like this pandemic going on when Jesus walked this earth or when the New Testament was written.

But in fact there was something going on in the early NT church that is relevant for our days, namely: whether or not to eat food that was unclean according to the Law of Moses or had been offered to idols (Romans 14; I Corinthians 8). Animal sacrifices were part of religious worship in the first century. Among Gentiles, animals were sacrificed as part of the worship of idols (false gods) that was often accompanied by temple prostitution and other immoral activities, and whatever meat was not consumed at the pagan festivities was then sold in the meat markets near the temples.

Most Jewish believers would eat only kosher food as prescribed in the Law of Moses. Most Gen-tile believers would buy their meat in the marketplace – meat coming from animals that could have been offered to idols as part of pagan animal sacrifices. Many of these Gentile believers were converts from this kind of idolatry. They had once participated in these pagan revelries. But now that they had come to the one true God – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob – through faith in Jesus Christ, they were repulsed by these pagan practices and no longer wanted anything to do with them.

They would never think of eating meat as part of these pagan festivities at the temples, but what about meat being sold in the marketplace? Where did that meat come from? What if it came from animals sacrificed to idols? Was that meat acceptable to eat – or was that meat defiled and unclean by virtue of once having been offered to idols? Jesus had declared all foods to be clean. We are defiled by the sin in our hearts, not by the food we eat. So some Jewish and Gentile believers regarded all food to be clean and acceptable to eat. But some Jewish believers still fol-lowed the food regulations in the Law of Moses, and some Gentile believers absolutely could not in good conscience eat meat that was once part of pagan worship. They had repented of all that. They had turned away from idolatry and all its attendant practices. They wanted no part of any-thing associated with idol wor-ship – including buying or eating meat that had been offered to idols. So there developed within these churches strongly held opposing convictions regarding which foods could be eaten and which were “unclean.” How would Paul resolve these differences? Who was right and who was wrong? Paul wisely did not go there – declaring one side to be right and the other side to be wrong. His personal conviction was in line with Jesus’ teaching that all foods were clean (even though the Law of Moses had taught that some foods were unclean). And Paul certainly knew that the pagan idols of the Gentiles were not real gods like Yahweh. But Paul did not resolve the conflict by declaring: “I’m right; those who disagree with me are wrong; every-one do as I do.”

What did he do instead? Paul did not want anyone’s con-science to be defiled by eating meat they believed to be unclean or tainted by idolatry. Nor did Paul want to order everyone to abstain from eating meat due to the sensitive consciences of some. Rather than instituting a rule that everyone must follow such as, everyone must eat meat regardless of where it came from OR no one may eat meat offered to idols – Paul encouraged every-one to follow their own con-science without passing judgment on those with different convictions. “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… Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your broth-er? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God… Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love… So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” (Romans 14) Bottom line: Walk in love. Don’t pass judgment on one another. Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. That is biblical tolerance (in contrast to modern worldly “tolerance”).

As we move forward into in-person gatherings (adhering to state and CDC guidelines), we are going to treat people as responsible adults capable of mak-ing good decisions for them-selves and their families. The right thing for some people is to stay home and worship at home as we continue to provide online worship services – livestreaming the 8:15 service in Eldridge and the 10:00 service in DeWitt. The right thing for other people is to come to church in order to worship and fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ. This is NOT a matter of “What I do is right for everyone, and everyone who disagrees is wrong.” Rather, this is a matter of each person following their conscience as they seek the Lord for His guidance for their particular situation. Practicing biblical tolerance.

You might think wearing a mask is useless and unnecessary. Or you might think not wearing a mask is irresponsible and selfish and inconsiderate. Or you might think wearing a mask is called for in some situations but not in others. You might think May 31 is too early to return to in-person worship. Or you might think we should have resumed at-church worship two weeks ago. You might think the precautions we will be taking May 31 are excessive and hindering fellow-ship and interpersonal contact. Or you might think the precautions we are taking are not near-ly adequate to keep everyone safe. You might look around at others and think they are being overly cautious or not nearly cautious enough. Don’t go there. Please, don’t go there. “Let us not pass judgment on one another.” “Let us pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding.” There are all kinds of valid reasons for different persons making different choices in these days. Take personal responsibility for your own health. Trust others to do the same. Be considerate of others and their needs. Practice biblical tolerance. Respect one another’s convictions. Walk in love toward one another. Pursue peace and mutual upbuilding.