Keep Your Faith to Yourself

Romans 14:22 KJV

Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

We are experiencing a day of blatant disregard. It is seen in nearly every realm of the world:

• Homosexuality being openly flaunted
• Marijuana smoked in public
• Cursing being printed on t shirts and spoken by celebrities
• Promiscuity is practiced without shame

But these same blatant tendencies are also exhibited among Christians who, believing they have the liberty to do so, flaunt practices that would have been strictly prohibited just a few years ago. This is a violation of Paul's message of Romans 14. Concerning the eating of meats, Paul admitted that there was nothing wrong with eating all sorts of meats that are condemned in the Old Testament. But then Paul cautioned to be sensitive to the feelings of others who had not come to this conclusion yet. He told them that, should they believe it was all right to eat those meats, they were right. But then said they should keep that practice and that opinion to themselves. 

One might say that without the rebel who flaunts liberty the world would stay in bondage. That is simply not the case. It assumes too much responsibility upon men. It places the burden of working out the ages upon the restless and rebellious rather than accepting that God is alive and at work. Paul did preach and teach these doctrines of liberty but he did not flaunt them in the face of those who still wrestled over those issues.

Christian grace cares for the sensitivities of others. It does not need to fight for its rightful place but rests in the assurance that God who is will bring right to pass. This passage is not teaching us, then, to be quiet about our Christian faith. It is admonishing us to not flaunt controversial Christian positions about liberty in the face of those who do not hold those positions.