Proclaimer Blog
Applying Romans 14/15
Here's a very practical illustration of the application of Romans 14/15 in our church setting. It's all to do with Halal meat.
We live (and our church is situated) in a Muslim majority area – one of the few in the UK. So when we put on events at church that include food we need to think about what Muslim's eat. We know from 1 Corinthians that:
"…an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no God but one."
And therefore we can eat Halal meat without any problem at all. So, why don't we make sure that all the meat we eat at church events is Halal? Answer – not everyone feels this way in the church.
"But not everyone knows this."
So, therefore,
"Be careful that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak."
These verses are all from 1 Corinthians 8 of course. But now Romans 14/15 kicks in which ensures that those who are strong in the faith (and presumably, technically, in the right) do not despise those who are weak. These are disputable matters. However, nor do we prohibit all Halal meat as that would hinder our outreach to the Muslim people around us. So we ask each side to exercise Romans 14/15 priniciples. In one sense, it does not matter who is the weak and who is the strong and even if the weak consider themselves the strong as well as the strong considering themselves the strong. Each thinks of the other before themselves.
Practically, in this case, it means we provide both Halal and non-Halal meat at our meals even though this is more tiresome. Unity is thus preserved.