Rubber bands and the Spirit of Unity
Romans 15:1-13
I became a Christian in 1983. Someone invited me to attend what I thought was a rock concert, but which turned out to be Mission To London with evangelist Louis Palau. It was the first time I heard a credible pitch for faith. I’d always thought Jesus was a fairy-tale myth – nice story, but never actually existed. After weeks of questioning, I came to the realisation I now believed; I was a follower of Jesus. Whatever this was, it was going to take over my life. When you realise your story is part if a much bigger story, God’s story, you can’t live the same.
At first, knowing very little about Christianity, other than Easter Eggs and Christmas Presents, I assumed there was Jesus, and then there was Paul. In church, a lot more time seemed focused on Paul than Jesus. During the 1990s ‘Pauline theology’ was a dominant theme. Then, in the ‘noughties’, at the turn of the Millenium, the Church pendulum seemed to swing back to a re-discovery of the radical Jesus. Now, we seem to have a healthier perspective of Paul in relation to Jesus. 
Apostle Paul pointed to Christ, he taught about Christ. But Paul was very clear: he was not the Christ – the Messiah. That was Jesus, Jesus Christ, God the Son. 
Paul had been born into the Jewish tradition, he was steeped in, what we now call, the Old Testament and an expert in the Law. For him, it was all about Israel, God’s ‘chosen frozen’, and justifying yourself by keeping on the right side of God by sticking to all the Laws, sacrifices and festivals.
But then he encountered Jesus. Scales fell from his eyes, he could now see what God was really like: generous, merciful, gracious, full of grace, mercy and love (albeit, with some strong words to say to religious uptight people that used their twist on religion to exclude or put others down.) How could his life ever be the same? He devoted himself to calling ALL people - Jewish and everyone else – to follow his example and follow Christ.
Paul was clearly a brilliant mind, forensic in the way he established his case for Christ. No wonder his letters are so packed full of meaning. Romans, in particular, is a magnificent explanation of the Gospel, the good news of Jesus. If Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the what, Romans is the why. You can read it in just 30/35 minutes, but Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones famously spent 10 years preaching through it, verse by verse. Every sentence is packed full of meaning.
Last week, with the aid if traffic lights, we got into Romans chapter 14. This week, it’s Romans chapter 15. To help us, we’ve got some string and rubber bands.
The Church in Rome was faced with some strong opinions, some mutually exclusive. Christians had different ‘takes’ on food laws and the Sabbath. We’re going to use some string and rubber bands to illustrate this. 
Jewish Christians were all cut from the same string. They had come to believe they – and they alone – were God’s chosen, the Elect. They felt passionately that those who follow Christ should still observe the ‘Old Testament’ food laws – all of them. They quoted Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14:
•	Only eat mammals with split hooves that chew the cud. So, beef, lamb, goat were permitted. But not pork, because pigs don’t chew, they just swallow.
•	Chicken, turkey, duck, and goose were acceptable (Christmas lunch was looking good. Oh, wait...), but ostrich, sea gull and vultures, were strictly off menu.
•	Fish with fins and scales were allowed, but not shellfish (no prawn sandwich.)
•	All reptiles, amphibians and insects were forbidden, but four kinds of locusts were (so, a limited I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here bushtucker trial)
•	No mixing of meat and dairy – so no cheeseburger.
•	And, how and where the animal was slaughtered was very specific; all the blood from the animal had to be drained.
Just as there is no ‘give’ in string, so there was no ‘give’ in Jewish Christian’s approach to the Law. They said, if you can’t be 100% certain of the meat’s provenance, only eat vegetables. They believed it wasn’t just distasteful or even cruel to animals to break these food laws; it was a sin. For them, it was a matter of avoiding sin and judgment, and pursuing holiness.
Before anyone rushes to criticise, by the time of the Roman Occupation, what you ate marked you out as Jewish. To break their spirit, the Roman oppressors would force the Jewish population to eat pork. Keeping the food laws was a sign of their:
•	identity and self-respect – who they were
•	defiance against Roman oppression
•	devotion to God. 
They were doing it for good reasons.
But then came Jesus, the Way, Life and Truth, and His Gospel was good news for everyone, Gentiles as well as Jews. Let’s say, along came the rubber band (Pub Quiz research: first introduced in 1845).
Just as this ball of rubber bands contains more than I can see/ count, and has such diversity, the Gentile Christians came to realise God was for ALL people (not just Jewish people) ALL nations (not just Israel).
A rubber band comes into its own when it is stretched. It’s not meant to accommodate just one pen, but lots of pens. God’s Kingdom stretches to include those previously excluded: 
•	Those born into the wrong sex (women),
•	those born into the wrong communities,
•	those who do jobs that others look down on (e.g. shepherds),
•	those with disabilities,
•	those who found themselves divorced,
•	those attracted to the wrong gender,
•	religious law breakers
All those judged ‘sinners’, now found this grace was stretched to include them too. It stretches for YOU too.
Inevitably, stretch leads to tension. That can feel unnerving.
Gentile Christians were saying, go with the stretch. This is what God’s Kingdom is all about. And they were right. Christ had fulfilled the Law, He had set them free from it and they were now free to eat anything. It wasn’t so much about you and what you ate. It was all about Jesus and what He has already done. Grace!
Jewish Christians were saying, if you deviate, it’ll snap. And they were right too. If you stretch beyond the given limitations, it will snap. Paul was not saying (and neither am I), anything goes; do whatever you like. God’s Kingdom, like all kingdoms, has boundaries. There is a right way to live and that’s the radical way of Jesus.
Some prefer a more rigid approach - the certainty can feel comforting - but that’s more likely to break. Sin is not so much a list of rules that have been broken, rather a broken state of relationship that goes way beyond specific offences. The Law couldn’t – and can’t – bring us back into right relationship with God, only Jesus – through His sacrificial life, death and resurrection - could do that.
If, once the rubber band has been stretched, you release the tension, see how it pings back. We have all inherited experiences, beliefs, attitudes, assumptions that are our default position. We get them from our upbring, culture, church tradition, communities, media… They can be subtle yet powerful. Why are some opinions stronger in some locations or settings than others? Don’t be surprised, when they are stretched, there is an in-built pressure to ping-back. Sometimes, the Holy Spirit stretches us and our thinking in ways that are counter-cultural to what we have inherited.
Stretch can lead to revelation. When stretched, it reveals a message that was always there, but which only became understood when stretched. For God, it was never just about Israel and the Jewish nation. It was always about ALL people, ALL nations. You, me and everyone.
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” v.4
Scripture might not change, but our understanding of it sometimes does. That’s why Jesus frequently said, “You have heard it said... But I tell you. He had come, not to replace the Law, but to fulfil it. Jewish Christians know that Jesus was the promised Christ. Gentile Christians know that Christ is sufficient.
Paul wanted the Jewish Christians to know that God had included the Jews and the Gentiles. So, he gave four quotes from the Old Testament, covering the three divisions: Law, Prophets, Writings:
1.	David, though King of Israel, says: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name.” 2 Samuel 22:40 Where? Among the Gentiles - those who don’t follow the Law.
2.	Moses says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.” Deut. 32:43
3.	Psalm 117 says: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles; let all the peoples extol him”
4.	Prophet Isaiah says: “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.” Isaiah 11:10
This same Sunday last year, during the month we were exploring issues of race and racism, we looked at a progression:
1.	Tolerance: we know you have a right to exist, we’ll put up with you; you can come in, but it’s still our “club”, “people like us” are still in charge. you are welcome – so long as you conform to our roles / way of being. Leave your ideas, traditions, culture
2.	Diverse: this celebrates differences of age, ethnicity, gender, physical ability, sexuality, socio-economic wealth… When we see it, we think it’s a good thing. It makes us look or feel good; we assume it makes “others” feel good as well. And that makes us feel even better. If we were more caring, curious, and courageous, we’d ask more questions, actively listen, educate ourselves more
3.	Inclusive: proactively seeks to identify and then remove barriers that would otherwise prevent people from participating, belonging, thriving. It’s doing things deliberately to ensure diversity is not just an accident or about tokenism. At its heart is the genuine belief that life feels better when we are all included
4.	Affirming: when all people made in the image of God are able to be truly and freely the person God has made them to be, as God has wired them. It’s no longer about what I do or say (my power), it’s purely about what God does and says (His power)
We saw that as church we must keep stretching ourselves to move beyond diversity, and not even settle for inclusion, in order to become affirming of all people, irrespective of their ethnicity, colour or heritage. Of course, this doesn’t just apply to ethnicity and colour. It’s for ALL people, whoever they are, however God has created them.
Paul was teaching the same lesson to the Jewish Christians. Just as they were convinced to not follow the food laws was sin, so they were equally struggling to accept Gentile Christians, with their Gentile ‘take’ on faith. Paul was clear, the Gentiles weren’t an after-thought, people be tolerated. They were to be celebrated and affirmed as those beautifully made in the image of God. Today, we might say: Jewish/ Gentile, young/ old, male/ female, black/ white/ brown, gay/straight…
In Chapter 14 Paul had got as far as saying, 
“Let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.” Ro, 14:13
To the Jewish Christians, Paul said, if your ‘take’ on faith does not allow you to eat meat, don’t eat it. Stick with your Greggs Vegan Sausage Roll. To the Gentile Christians, Pau said, if your ‘take’ on faith DOES allow you to eat meat, do it. Eat you Pulled Pork Bap. Just don’t force others to abide by your ‘take’ and don’t rub it in their face. See Christ in each other, whether we agree with their ‘take’ or not.
This could lead to, as the old hymn goes, “You in your small corner and I in mine”. Just as Abraham and Lot agreed to go their separate ways. Paul says, instead of focusing on your differences, look instead at what unites you. See those you disagree with as Christ sees them:
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.” v.5
It’s the same language he uses in Philippians 2:
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!”
Paul says to the Jewish Christians: you follow Christ. So, follow Him, do what Christ does. And to the Jewish Christians, Paul says: you follow Christ. So, follow Him, do what Christ does. What does Christ do? He lays down His rights, His power, His life, for us. Christ, who was the ultimate strong, became, for our sake, the ultimate weak. We who are strong (including strong in our convictions), for the sake of others, are to exercise our freedom Christ’s way.
Paul calls for unity, not uniformity. Christian unity is not found in Christians but in Christ. Families don’t always agree. Yes, our differences can be real (we all think we're right/ strong logic), but what's far bigger than any other 'label' we carry is what it means to be family - brothers/ sisters in Christ. If you are a child of God and I am a child of God, we are brothers/ sisters. We are family.
It’s not just unity of thought, it’s a spirit of unity. It comes straight from the heart of God. At the core of God is Unity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit co-existing. We who are God-worshippers. More than that, we who are made in the image of God
When we see Christ in each other, then we – despite our differences – worship with ONE heart and ONE mouth. When we show the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, then ‘with one mind and one voice we glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.’
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” v.7

He ends by saying to those whose things differently to each other: 
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”
07840 046020   DannyBrierley@ChesterRoadBaptist.org.uk