Prepare
In Romans 14, Paul turns from love, the focus at the end of chapter 13, to welcome. It is a practical explanation of what that love looks like when we are living together with people who believe and practice differently than we do.
The church in Rome is struggling to get along. There are significant differences among the believers, especially around faith practices that affect daily life: what foods they should eat and which days should be treated as holy. Paul refers to some believers as “weak” and others as “strong.” Some scholars believe these differences also carried an ethnoracial component, with the former consisting primarily of Jewish followers of Jesus and the latter primarily of Gentile followers. Whatever the exact circumstances, these are not abstract theological disagreements. They affect how people eat, worship, and live together.
And Paul does not tell them to stop caring about these differences. In fact, he says, “Let all be fully convinced in their own minds” (verse 5). Conviction is not the problem. The problem is what happens when our convictions become a reason to judge, despise, or exclude another person.
Paul calls the church to hold deep conviction alongside deep humility. We may be convinced of what we believe, but our certainty does not make us God. We do not belong to ourselves; we belong to Christ. Whether we eat or do not eat, whether we observe one day or another, we do so for the Lord. Christ alone is Lord, and judgment belongs to God.
So how do the strong and the weak, and all those who hold different convictions, live together? They welcome one another. They hold tightly to what they believe without using those beliefs to push someone else away. Christian community does not require the disappearance of difference. Instead, Paul imagines a community in which conviction is accompanied by humility because all are held together by something greater than themselves: the love of Jesus Christ, Lord of all.
Opening Activity
Tell about a time you met someone who practiced their faith differently than you. This could be another Christian, someone of another faith, or someone with no faith at all. How did you discover your differences? How did you respond? Did it affect your relationship?
Text Read Aloud
Holding Conviction and Practicing Welcome
It’s been 25 years since 9/11. I was in second grade, Mrs. Claxton’s class when an announcement over the PA system told all the teachers to turn on the news. I couldn’t fully understand the magnitude of what happened that day. In the weeks that followed, I remember a strong sense of unity and people rallying together. It was only later that I learned not everyone experienced those weeks that way. Muslim Americans faced suspicion, discrimination, and violence in the wake of the attacks.
Most of you know 9/11 only as history. Yet, the way Americans view Muslims today is not something of the past. Just this week, Pew Research Center reported that 42% of U.S. adults say Muslim Americans have a negative impact on the country. Meanwhile, 59% of Muslim Americans say there is a lot of discrimination against Muslims in the United States.
What would it feel like to walk into school knowing that roughly four out of ten adults believe people who practice your religion are bad for the country you call home?
The church in Rome knew something about the damage judgment can do to a community. In Romans 14, Paul is not talking about people of different religions. He is addressing Christians who hold different convictions and practices. Some eat only vegetables while others eat meat. Some observe particular holy days while others do not.
Paul does not tell them to stop caring about what they believe. In fact, he says, “Let all be fully convinced in their own minds.” Conviction is not the problem, Paul tells them. Your judgement is, because it’s tearing apart the community.
That is where humility comes in. We can hold tightly to what we believe while remembering that our certainty does not make us God. Whether we eat or do not eat, observe a day or do not observe it, Paul says we do so for the Lord. Christ is Lord; we are not.
And humility makes welcome possible. If I do not need to be your judge, I can make room for you even when we disagree. Welcome does not mean pretending our differences do not matter. It means refusing to let those differences become a reason to despise, exclude, or push someone away.
Paul is speaking about relationships among Christians. But that posture should also shape the way Christians approach neighbors who do not share our faith.
You may have a teammate fasting during Ramadan, a Catholic friend who attends Mass every week, a friend who is atheist or agnostic, or a classmate whose family has different beliefs about food, prayer, or holidays. What does your faith ask of you when you believe you are right and the person sitting next to you believes something different?
Be fully convinced of what you believe. Hold that conviction with humility. And let that humility lead you toward welcome: loving, listening to, defending, eating with, learning from, and being a neighbor to another person.
Reflection Questions
- What differences among believers are causing conflict in the church in Rome?
- What do you think Paul means in verses 7 and 8, about not living or dying to ourselves?
- Paul tells believers to be “fully convinced” in what they believe while also warning them not to judge one another. How can conviction and humility exist together?
- What do you think Christian welcome looks like when we genuinely disagree with someone or believe differently than they do?
- Think about your school, team, workplace, friend group, or family. Where might you be tempted to judge or distance yourself from someone because of what they believe or practice? What could welcome look like instead?
Closing Activity – Conviction Line
Create an imaginary line across the room, from “strongly agree” on one end to “strongly disagree” on the other. Read each statement below and invite participants to stand somewhere along the line based on what they believe.
- Respecting someone’s beliefs means you should not tell them you disagree.
- Having a strong conviction means trying to convince others that what you believe is true.
- It is easier to welcome someone when you understand why they believe what they believe.
- You can be completely convinced you are right and still be humble.
- Welcome does not require agreement.
After each statement, invite a few people from different places on the line to explain why they chose their spot. Encourage participants to listen rather than argue or try to change someone’s mind.
- At the end, notice what happened: you held different convictions, listened to one another, and remained together. How might we practice that same kind of humility and welcome beyond this room?
Closing Prayer
Holy God, we give you thanks for all our neighbors: those who believe and act like us, and especially those who don’t. Where our beliefs differ, give us humility. Where judgement threatens our relationship, increase our welcome. Bind us together in the love and grace that only comes from you, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.
