There are several passages in the Bible that are collectively known as the “one another” passages. We’ve looked at a couple of those passages earlier in the year.
As we saw in the last article, the term is most often translated from a derivative of the Greek word ALLELON, meaning “one toward another.” It is therefore reciprocal in nature.
The Apostle Paul used the term more often than the other writers, which is not surprising considering he wrote either 13 or 14 of the 27 books, depending on whether or not you think he wrote Hebrews (I don’t, but that’s for another time.)
In Romans 13, the apostle places love for one another in the context of debt. It is unfortunate that many arguments over “owe no one anything, except to love one another” have focused on arguments over Christians taking out loans and lost sight of the apostolic instruction.
The point Paul makes is not that we cannot borrow money. The admonition is to pay that which we owe, but that is secondary and used as an illustration of the point that we cannot ever repay the debt to love one another. Jesus gave the standard of our love for one another when he said, “As I have loved you.” That goes beyond simply dying for someone, by the way. To die in order to save someone else is rightly considered the ultimate of human philanthropic endeavor, but we should understand that Jesus went beyond even that. First, as part of the Godhead, he “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.” Keep in mind that the cross was an act of pure grace. God was under no obligation to save humanity from the sin that was not God’s fault. Jesus, however, not only chose to go to the cross, but he chose to come to earth as a human being – a child – to do so.
He chose to live a human life, tempted in every way possible and I would argue that the desert at least was temptation beyond what anyone else could withstand. He was motivated in his actions by love for humanity. That is the love that we owe one another. Jesus’ life, atoning death and resurrection not only places an unpayable debt to him on humanity, but his command to love as he loved places an unpayable debt to each other on humanity.
As a result, Paul says in chapter 14 of his letter to the Romans that we should stop judging one another.
Judgment passages have also caused Christians much trouble. Jesus says to make righteous judgments in one place, yet in another he says do not judge.
(You can guess which one is more popular.)
Of course, context can help us determine what Jesus and Paul were speaking about if we will use it. Unfortunately, when context gets involved, old pretexts and prejudices have go away and sometimes, we’d rather have them than truth.
The Bible is clear that God has given his creation the ability and responsibility to judge, according to the scripture, between the activities that are right and those that are wrong.
We are also given the right to judge some activities that, while not forbidden, are dangerous to our spiritual lives and are therefore to be avoided.
We are not, however, allowed to judge the worthiness of anyone to receive the gospel, nor are we allowed, if our judgments are to be righteous, to forbid any activity that is not forbidden in Scripture.
The first item is fairly easy to agree upon intellectually, but can we not think of those whose presence would make us uncomfortable in our churches?
This should not be so. This is not to say that we should not confront sin. Some who desire to live in sin may find themselves uncomfortable in a climate that “speaks the truth in love.”
Those who are seeking relief from a life of sin or even just acceptance as human beings should find a safe haven in the church where they can be loved and taught about a Savior that will change their lives for the better and eternally.
As far as the second, while disapproval of activities not expressly forbidden does not allow us to forbid others to participate, Christian conscience requires us to warn brethren of the danger in the most loving manner possible.
Finally, giving grace to those who participate in activities not expressly forbidden, but which we see danger or divine disapproval, does not require us to take part in those activities.
If we love one another, we’ll keep these things in mind as we work toward true fellowship.