The Besetting Sin of Conservative Christianity

I’m writing as a reformed baptist, so this is the world I’m most familiar with, and there’s a significant problem I’ve observed in my circles. It’s not limited to reformed Christians, however, it’s something I’ve seen in many conservative denominations and traditions. It’s the culprit behind church conflicts, divisions, and disunity.

When I say “conservative Christianity” I’m broadly referring to Christians who share two characteristics: (1) a commitment to sound doctrine and (2) a commitment to Christian obedience. In a normal world, we would describe all Christians this way, but alas, we do not live in a normal world. Many who consider themselves Christian do not care much about such things. I’m speaking to my own tribe here, and in my view, this is a significant blind spot.

So what am I talking about? The besetting sin of conservative Christianity is a weak conscience. A weak conscience leads to purity spiraling—an endless ratcheting of standards where everyone is trying to be holier than everyone else—which causes enormous harm in our churches.

How a Weak Conscience is Formed

Conservative churches take doctrine and obedience seriously, that much we’ve already established, and those are good things. But if we’re not careful, these very commitments can make us rigid, which brings us one step closer to being straight up legalistic. That’s an easy trap to fall into, because everyone is convinced their beliefs are biblical, and thus the ethical conclusions we draw from our biblical convictions take on greater moral force.

From an outsider’s perspective, the man with a weak conscience appears to have great zeal for the Lord. But ironically, his apparent zeal for Christ might actually indicate a weakness in his faith, because beneath his strongly held opinions is the fear that he isn’t spiritual enough, and thus he compensates by becoming dogmatic about issues of lesser importance.

Spiritually insecure believers can often develop quirky convictions as a way to justify themselves before God. It’s a timeless temptation. Some Christians will measure their spiritual maturity by the number of strong opinions they hold, and then to use those opinions as a way to distinguish themselves from others. They regard their scrupulosity about a wide range of issues as a sign of greater commitment to Christ, when it is actually a fig leaf to cover their deep seated fear that they aren’t doing enough to please God.

This is obvious on the internet, where an endless stream of fads and micro-controversies cycle through every week. The internet rewards such controversies. But it can happen in the church too, when people develop a subtle spiritual pecking order based on their views about secondary matters.

This is the same species of pride that afflicted the Pharisees, who developed rigid, man-made rules and imposed them on others to feel more righteous about themselves. This is what Paul was talking about in Romans 14 when he addressed what he called “weaker brother” who held many strong opinions about how believers should behave in the grey areas of the Christian life.

The stronger brother in Paul’s framework, is the one who is fully confident in the grace and love of Christ. He doesn’t doubt his status as a child of God and rests secure in the gospel. Because of that security, he enjoys his freedom in Christ without anxiety. He can hold his convictions with an open hand, not feeling any need to recruit everyone to his point of view, even though he’s personally convinced they’re wrong.

Three Characteristics of the Weaker Brother

The stronger brother has opinions—even strong ones. But he doesn’t need other people to agree with him in order to feel okay about his standing before God. The man who is “weak in faith” (Rom 14:1) is also a true believer, but he is less spiritually mature. There are three things to notice about him.

(1) First, his spiritual immaturity is due to a weakness of faith. This isn’t primarily about intellectual doubts, it’s more of a spiritual insecurity that makes him less confident in the love of God. He believes in Jesus, but he doubts God’s grace in his own life. That insecurity has to go somewhere, and it usually goes into rule-keeping.

(2) Second, his weakness of faith shows up as an overly scrupulous conscience. He’s developed a long list of rules that God never actually prescribed. He thinks God requires things of him that God doesn’t require, which makes him uptight. He feels guilty about things that aren’t sins, but they feel like sins to him because his conscience is weak. His instinct to obey Christ in all things is good, but that keeps him from enjoying the freedom Christ purchased for him. He’s so focused on avoiding bad things that he can’t enjoy good things, fearing they might be bad. He approaches his spirituality with an “err-on-the-side-of-caution” attitude.

(3) Third, he can become divisive, because he makes his personal scruples the standard for everyone else. Since his conscience makes him more rigid in more areas, he claims the moral high ground with an air of spiritual authority. We’ve all known people like this, and we may even be this way ourselves. When we have a strong conviction about something, it’s natural to feel a little superior to others who don’t have that same belief. And sometimes, the people with the most convictions seem most wise. Someone else might think, “he’s obviously thought this through and even has Bible verses to back it up. He must be right about this, and now I feel guilty.”

The specific issue Paul was addressing in Romans 14 was meat that had been offered to pagan idols and then sold in the market. The weaker brother believed eating this meat was a form of idolatry. His conscience was sensitive about it, probably because it reminded him of his life prior to becoming a Christian when he participated in such idolatry himself. So he wants nothing to do with anything that reminds him of his former sins.

The stronger brother, however, isn’t troubled by it. For him, it’s just meat, and there’s nothing wrong with eating it. Give thanks to God and have steak for dinner.

Interestingly, Paul doesn’t correct the weaker brother for this error, because the weaker brother is abstaining as an act of worship (though God did not require him to do so). Paul wants to honor his conscience, even when it is more scrupulous than it needs to be. But Paul draws the line at allowing the weaker brother to establish policy for everyone. The moment he says, “eating this meat is a sin and no one should eat it,” he’s gone too far.

Challenges for Application

It’s important to realize that “weaker brother” and “stronger brother” aren’t fixed categories of personhood. You might be the stronger brother on one issue and the weaker brother on a different one. It’s not as though people in the Roman church were walking around with name tags that said “Hi, I’m Bob, I’m the weaker brother.”

So the challenge of applying this teaching is twofold. First, (1) we must recognize which ethical issues we encounter as Christians are truly matters of conscience and which issues are clear moral commands. For example, sexual immorality isn’t a grey area, it’s a clear, moral command. The man who rebukes someone else for sexual sin isn’t being a weaker brother, he’s being a faithful brother.

We live in an age of moral decay, where hard hearted people are eager to cast off all restraints. They want no king to rule over them so everyone can do what is right in their own eyes. Conservative Christians rightly want to resist this trend, which means we want to raise standards of living wherever we can. But since we also live in an age of increasing fragmentation, there is little consensus about how to do it. So from our desire to see order restored to our society, conservative Christians will be tempted to make their particular set of standards the rule for everyone, and thus unnecessarily bind the consciences of others.

Second, (2) we must recognize where we are personally tempted to be the weaker brother. There are areas of my own life where I have seen the tendency to be the weaker brother, and so I have made a point to be careful to not bind the consciences of others. This is especially important since I’m a pastor, which means I need to steward my influence more carefully.

Churches that take doctrine and obedience seriously will always attract people with a weak conscience, because that culture of seriousness feels like home to them. Their scrupulousness feels like it belongs in a place that cares about getting things right. And it does belong—but it also needs to be identified and addressed, because it will tear a church apart if it’s left unchecked.

Six Principles for Preserving Unity

Paul’s driving interest in addressing the weaker brother is to preserve unity in the church regarding matters of conscience. I’ve identified the following five principles for dealing with these issues.

(1) First, the stronger brother must not despise the weaker brother. Romans 14:3 says, “let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains.” Suppose you’re at a men’s night at your church and some guys decide to smoke cigars and drink bourbon. Now, suppose someone approaches those men and says, “you shouldn’t smoke that, your body is a temple! You shouldn’t drink that, you might get drunk!”

How do you think those men will feel? Most likely, they’ll find it quite annoying. So Paul says, don’t despise that guy, even though he’s being judgmental about an area that’s a matter of conscience. Yes, he’s got scruples that trouble his conscience, but don’t despise him. Rather, you should “welcome him” (Rom 14:1). He’s a brother in Christ, after all.

(2) Second, the weaker brother must not judge the stronger brother. Romans 14:3 says, “let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.” This exhortation is for the more scrupulous man. Your personal judgment doesn’t get to override God’s judgment. God has welcomed him, and that’s all that matters. You might be offended at his choices, but it’s not your place to litigate his convictions on gray areas.

(3) Third, weaker brothers don’t realize they’re the weaker brother. This is the irony that makes the problem difficult to address. Weaker brothers always think they are just being biblical. They think their scruples are a sign of their spiritual maturity. This is why Paul says, “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions” (Rom 14:1). In other words, the weaker brother should be welcomed in the church, but he should not be allowed to let his opinions about everything dictate policy for everyone else. He doesn’t think of them as opinions—in his mind, these are convictions. If you don’t do it his way, you are in sin. That’s why these people can be dangerous if they aren’t corrected.

A man once visited our church a few times with a strong conviction that churches should only sing Psalms. His reasoning was that we should sing the Bible’s own words, and modern worship music is too sentimental and weak. I don’t disagree with his point about much of modern worship music, but there are lots of great modern worship songs that are powerful and edifying if you know where to look. Besides, the scriptures tell us to sing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Col 3:16). Nevertheless, he held his view with the air of a man delivering a moral correction. His way is the right way, and our church was in the wrong because we don’t do it his way. For the weaker brother, his opinions aren’t matters of conscience, they are matters of obedience or disobedience. To him, they are sins, and as such, they are morally urgent.

Personally, I don’t have a problem if that’s what he prefers, but I do have a problem when a visitor wants to set policy for our church. It was evident he was a divisive man, and divisive people always think they’re right. He didn’t stay long.

(4) Fourth, the Holy Spirit is in charge of each person’s sanctification, so we can trust his work in other people. Paul writes: “It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (Rom 14:4). There’s enormous freedom in this. You don’t have to convince everyone else to agree with you, because they don’t answer to you, they answer to God. Even if they’re wrong about something, you can relax, knowing we’re not the Holy Spirit.

Further, Paul says “he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” In other words, God cares more about their sanctification than you do, and God has the power to ensure their perseverance.

(5) Fifth, every Christian should obey his or her own conscience. You should follow your own conscience, and you must also leave room for other people to follow theirs. Your have freedom in Christ, but your freedom stops at requiring other people to do it the same way you do.

Paul says, “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Rom 14:5). Personally, I find that statement astonishing. Even though the weaker brother is wrong about his view of eating the meat, Paul doesn’t tell the church to correct him! Rather, Paul is fine with him continuing to hold his view, provided he doesn’t bind other peoples’ consciences with his view.

(6) Sixth, Romans 14:6 gives us a rule of thumb that can govern how we view the various decisions we make about matters of conscience. It reads, “The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.” Thus, if Christians can act with heartfelt devotion to God and give thanks for what they do, there is room for people to have differences of opinion. Here’s a few examples of what I mean.

• One person thinks Halloween is a demonic celebration of witchcraft and evil, but another person thinks it’s just kids in costumes eating candy. As long as they are both obeying their consciences as an act of devotion to God, there’s room for unity in their disagreement.

• One family thinks a wife and mother should never be employed outside the home. Another family thinks her first priority is her home, but it’s lawful to have a job if needed. As long as they are both obeying their consciences as an act of devotion to God, there’s room for unity in their disagreement.

• One man thinks Christians should never carry financial debt because it’s a form of slavery. Another man thinks reasonable debts are lawful as long as he can afford the payments. As long as both are obeying their consciences before God, there’s room for both.

• One man thinks churches must serve wine for communion since that’s what Jesus used. Another man thinks using grape juice is a reasonable substitute that honors the spirit of the sacrament while accommodating those who may be recovering from addiction. As long as both are obeying their consciences before God, there’s room for both.

• One family believes homeschooling is a requirement of all Christian families. Another family believes there are other valid options they can utilize as long as their children are given proper Christian instruction in their home and church. As long as they are both obeying their consciences as an act of devotion to God, there’s room for unity in their disagreement.

I had an experience with this last example recently. At a pastors’ and wives’ conference my wife and I attended recently, a woman shared a prayer request during the ladies’ prayer time. The request was about a family in her church that had decided not to homeschool their children. In her mind, this was a clear sin issue of such gravity that church discipline was on the table.

From what I’ve seen, many Christian families make their conviction about homeschooling a conscience-binding law on every Christian family, even though scripture does not require it. Scripture does require every family to educate their children in the Lord, but it does not prescribe a particular method for doing so. That’s a matter of conscience. “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Further, both sets of parents will stand or fall before their own master, and God is committed to making sure they stand.

Unity, Not Uniformity

As stated previously, Paul’s interest in addressing these matters of conscience is to preserve the unity of the church, and in our day, the church is being torn apart by people who insist on rigid uniformity on secondary matters. The lesson of Romans 14 is that we must pursue unity, not uniformity.

You may hold strong opinions without imposing them on others. When it comes to the grey areas of Christian living, Scripture gives us permission to let other people be wrong. And chances are, you’re probably wrong about some things too. God is able to make you stand as well.

As I said at the beginning, the besetting sin of conservative Christianity is a weak conscience. Churches that take doctrine and obedience seriously will always be vulnerable to this temptation. The antidote is simple and wonderfully freeing: trust God, believe the gospel, and relax. God is doing a work in each of our lives. Some of us are more mature, some less. All of us need grace. God is committed to making sure every true Christian is faithfully preserved until the last day. The more we rest secure in those truths, the more we can enjoy our freedom in Christ — and the more unity we’ll have in our churches.

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