Doubtful Disputations

Romans 14:1-3 Him that is
weak in the faith receive ye, [but] not to doubtful
disputations. (2) For one believeth that he may eat
all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. (3)
Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not;
and let not him which eateth not judge him that
eateth: for God hath received him.
Years ago there was a commercial for the Volunteer
Army that advertised “An Army of One”. The United
States Army was attempting to attract highly motivated
people to its ranks. To do this their commercial showed
an Army sergeant in full battle dress running through the
mountains. When he reached his destination he looked at
the camera and said, “I'm Sergeant ___, I'm an Army of
one”.

In reality there's no “Army of One”. Though the U.S.
Army expects each of its soldiers to be self sufficient
enough to drive through and complete the mission – and
though we have a well equipped and well trained Army –
no one person can BE the Army. The Army, by
definition, is a group of trained men and women working
together to accomplish the goals set before them by their
nation. As a retired Air Force sergeant I can tell you that
we always completed our mission and our goals by
working together. Teamwork is necessary to mobilize 72
fighter aircraft within a twenty four hour period.
Teamwork is vital. Each person must do his or her job to
the best of their ability while, at the same time, they are
moving toward the same goal. Standards must be kept,
and the chain of command followed, else confusion
quickly hits the ranks. With confusion come the loss of
the battle. Lose enough battles, and you lose the war.
A good illustration of this is seen in the old movie
“Twelve O'Clock High”. In this movie Gregory Peck
portrays Brigadier General Frank Savage, a man sent in
to turn a “hard luck squadron” around. The reason that
this particular bomber squadron was being beat to death
by the enemy is because its members wouldn't do their
job. Each aircrew was supposed to fly their bomber to
the best of their ability, and yet were required to stay
with the group of bombers. Each bomber watched their
companions. The squadron flew together toward a
common target. They dropped their bombs together on
that common target. When attacked, they stayed together
protecting one another. Those who straggled outside of
the group became quick prey for the faster and more
heavily armed enemy fighters. General Savage tells his
men at one point, “This Group. This Group. What
matters most is this Group! When you pull your bomber
out of the Group you reduce its firepower. You must
maintain the integrity of this Group!”

The Church of Jesus has much in common with the
military. We shed no Blood, but we preach the shed
Blood of Christ as the only acceptable payment for sin.
We who are Christ's are armed for battle against a
common foe, that fallen angel called Lucifer, also known
as Satan. We, like the Army soldier, wear battle dress
and carry weapons. The truth of God's Word
encompasses us, our flack vest is the righteousness of
Christ, given to us at the moment of our salvation. Our
combat boots are the Gospel of peace. We carry a
bulletproof shield of faith, and look through that shield
as we ever move forward against the enemy. The helmet
on our head is our salvation, our know so salvation,
and our offensive weapon is the Sword of the Spirit,
the Word of God. We work together in an
organizational structure called the local Church. We
have a set mission before us given to us by our
Commander in Chief Jesus Christ. We are to:

Matthew 28:19-20 Go ye therefore, and teach
all nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost: (20) Teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway,
[even] unto the end of the world. Amen.

We stay in constant communication with our
headquarters through prayer (Ephesians 6:13-18). Like
the sergeant in the “Army of one” commercials we go
where we are commanded, and do as our Commander
orders. We are trying to win the world for Christ.
Yet our enemy, Satan, does not want us to win. He wants
to see our children, our grandchildren, our neighbors and
friends to turn away from Christ. Satan loves to send
stumbling blocks and spies into the Church to get us off
of our mission. Sometimes – if we're not careful – we
ourselves can become unwitting accomplices to Satan.
We can forget our mission while we allow the Church to
become dominated by doubtful disputations. The
enemy always loves to bring in propaganda. In World
War II Tokyo Rose broadcast exaggerations and false
information to dishearten American troops moving
against Japan. Lord Haw Haw did the same thing to
troops moving against Germany. Both broadcasters did
everything they could do to derail the American troops
and win the war for Germany and Japan.
Satan follows the exact same tactics against the Church
of Jesus Christ. In our passage today the Lord warns us
to be careful lest we be used of Satan. Much damage is
done in the Church when doubtful disputations1 enter
in. Another version translates doubtful disputations as
doubtful issues, or disputable matters2. The soldier
going into battle must wear the properly issued battle
dress. He must follow the lawful orders of his
commander, and must work in cooperation within his
group. We as Christ's Church must work together to
accomplish His Will in His Way, leading others to accept
Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We must love others,
and conquer by love all who stand in our way. If we die
for the faith, then we die honoring Him Who first died
for us. No matter what may come we must never heed
Satan's propaganda, nor must we ever substitute the
humanistic clothing of the world for the holy battle
dress given us by the Savior. This group – led by the
Lord Jesus Christ, empowered by the Spirit of God, and
fueled by the Word of God, must continue to do what it
is called to do if we are going to be “the light of the
world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid”.
(Matthew 5:14) May God touch your hearts with His
Word!