Are You Hard Shell?

The church at Rome consisted of Jews and Gentiles. This was important to Paul, who believed one of the greatest arguments for Christianity was its ability to bring people together. No matter their segments of society that would normally divide them, they were be as one in the church. Paul insisted that "in Christ" societal, cultural, economic, religious, and sexual barriers were broken down. This resulted in a preliminary view of heaven and a practical way of bringing peace on earth.

The real evidence of this is the assembly of local believers. Regardless of their life's situation, they all come together in mutual love of Christ (The Messiah with or without name), which is their common denominator. That is the theory. The reality is the walls have a nasty habit of putting themselves up again. Paul uses two important points of his day as examples - food and holy days. The examples could have been Jew verses Gentile, male verses female, forms of baptism, means of salvation, race, sexuality, music, etc., and etc.

Paul reminds us that one person's faith is another person's poison. He then writes us how wrong that is in the kingdom of God. We are to be governed by love in all that we do as the church. This is the decisive factor in Godly living. But in my exuberance of my own faith, how do I approve of what you do if it is something I abhor in my faith? How do I present and maintain God's love toward you? For the church in Christ advocates that we love all the world. How do I do that? If I am hard shell in my faith, I cannot do it, no matter how good my intentions.

Paul's solution falls naturally into three stages:

1. We must first resolve in our own minds that our approach to the situation is correct (the claims of conscience are sovereign). Vague suspicions are no substitute for a clear understanding of the issue. Know what you believe and why. "Just cause" is not good enough. And phrases like, "My Bible says" are indications of a closed mind, for we all read the same text. In and out of the church setting, do you stand firmly on your convictions?

2. This calls for individual restraint. We are to refrain from judging and being quick to judge those who differ from us. They are not answerable to us and we are not answerable to them for what we have chosen to believe. Paul says, in retrospect, each of us is responsible to God for our views and actions. It is also God who will give insight into the truth to those who seek it in earnest. The New Testament is adamant about this point and it is one of its most frequent points of instructions to the church. We have no right to sit in judgement of one another. That is the right of God.

3. This is a more positive point. The strong are not to place temptation in the way of the weak. If the elders and other leaders of the church are condemning of others, the newer members of the faith may follow suit. At the same time we must allow the newer members freedom to express their stages of faith as they grow in their faith. To condemn them is paramount to stunting or even stopping their growth. Let them be, whomever God has called them to be. That is the fullest expression of God's love known to the church. It reminds us that, "Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

Hard Shell? If you insist everyone believes as you do since you know all the truth; you believe you and your group are God's appointed standard bearers; and you refuse to give people leeway in learning about God from their perspective,

Not Hard Shell? You recognize everyone as valid and the object of God's love; you keep your nose out of other people's business and let them answer to God themselves; and you seek to nurture through example God's love to other human beings regardless of their life's situation.

Hard Shell or Soft Shell? I don't think their is a choice, but then that's only my opinion and I'll have to answer to God for it my own self.