The Romans 14 Principle Says No

Recently there’s been a wave of arguments contending that the commandment to love our neighbor means that we must get the COVID-19 vaccine. Because of the severity of the charge and the ubiquitousness of it (it’s applied to a number of social issues these days) we should take a moment to consider the principles in play.

The problem with this argument lies in its over-simplification of the issue at hand (the reality and truth of the vaccine) and what the Bible actually says about love. Let’s look at the second issue first since it’s the most important.

God is the creator of all things and the source of love. He is, therefore, the definition of love. We must be careful not to be “conformed to this world” in our thinking while we claim to be espousing Christian truth. We must be vigilant against the all too common temptation to make our law supersede God’s law. This said, the context of Biblical love is gospel-rich. Only by living according to God’s word/law can we have peace with our neighbors. Sin is the usurpation of the authority of God to define moral law. In other words, the basic nature of sin is to make ourselves the final reference point of morality rather than God’s word. Remember that the Tempter asked the first question about God’s word – “did God really say?” So, what does God say about loving our neighbor? He says “owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8).” This is the only true and non-contradictory context of our interpersonal relationships.

Love is, toward my neighbor, the application of God’s eternal moral principles found in the second tablet of the Ten Commandments. It means, therefore, sexual purity (“you shall not commit adultery), no initiation of violence (murder), and sacred respect for the person, property and labor of our neighbor (you shall not steal or covet). To love our neighbor and do no wrong to him (Romans 13:10) is to apply these principles in all human interaction. Thus, to demand that our neighbor do something – anything – is inconsistent with the Bible. To make our neighbor “owe us something” in the name of love is to rewrite God’s moral law. This is the central flaw of all humanistic thinking. It twists the clear principles of God’s holy word/law.

When a young man tries to entice a young woman to commit sexual sin with him he often says, “…you will if you love me.” Clearly, though, God’s commandment to love can’t include the sin of fornication so this is a fallacious argument. Likewise, if a person demands charity in the name of love they are, in truth, committing theft (and guilty of covetousness). Love is not a cover for tyranny. Love is and must be expressed horizontally (that is, between image-bearers of God) only through free will. The commandment to love our neighbor gives no one the right to mandate behavior in the name of love or else the person who exerts that power is God.

In Romans 14 we discover the principle of what to do when two earnest believers hold disparate views over something not clearly detailed in the previous chapters (Romans 12-13). Paul speaks of dietary issues, observances of days and, by way of implication, all other secondary matters. Such issues are, in the main, matters of conscience for each believer since the Scripture doesn’t explicitly demand nor prohibit them. Any Christian, insofar as he/she is intellectually honest, must admit that there are perfectly reasonable objections over a type of vaccine (mRNA) that’s never been used in the past. (On a side note: it’s unloving, because it’s untruthful, for medical authorities to not be more forthcoming about the fact that mRNA technology has never been successful in the past. This is a new medical technology. That doesn’t mean it won’t/can’t work but is to say that there should be reasonable skepticism about it until it’s proven. Any contention otherwise is disingenuous).

And this brings us back to the first issue. Is the mRNA vaccine safe? This isn’t the place to fully investigate that but suffice it to say that many people have clear concerns and objections to it. I think the better question would be: can the medical establishment be wrong? Of course, they can. At the root of the conflict are two logical fallacies. First is the appeal to authority and second is the either/or or false dilemma.

What concerns me (and should concern everyone for that matter) is the manner in which the vaccine has been pushed. All concerns over its long term safety have been brushed aside with illogical appeals to authority. Christians should never surrender their critical thinking (1 Thessalonians 5:21 commands that we test all things) and mindlessly trust any human authority. The lack of humility in the so-called medical community is presently a grave concern. The hubris is seen by the ad hominem attacks used in defense of vaccine mandates. To called a hesitant person who has logical questions about it an “anti-vaxxer” is a slander, not an argument. Christians are right to resist on the grounds that appeals to medical authority don’t prove the issue.

There’s also a use of the either/or fallacy in favor of the vaccine that’s equally vexing. A young, healthy person who has virtually no chance of serious illness or death from COVID-19 is perfectly within their logical rights to hesitate before taking something they don’t trust. No data exists to suggest that healthy, non-obese young people are in grave danger from the disease. Furthermore, those who have already had it have natural immunity. And there’s more: it ought to be asked if there are other means of diminishing the virus short of giving the new mRNA vaccine to healthy people. In all, to present the vaccine in an either/or fashion is simply illogical.

Currently, nearly one-third of the elite NAVY SEALS refuse to take the vaccine over such concerns as well as the fact that many already have natural immunity against the virus. Why, they ask if only 20 people in all the armed forces have died from COVID-19 should they take a vaccine they don’t trust? This is a logical question that points out the nature of the either/or thinking in play. For this logical reticence they’re being removed from duty. Think about that. The tip of the spear…our elite fighting force is being diminished by one-third over this mandate. Does that seem logical to you or, like me, do you get a creepy tyrannical vibe from the whole affair?

And just to be clear, something that’s illogical can’t be, by definition, scientific.

This is just one point among many to explain the completely rational reticence that many have toward taking the mRNA vaccine. Thus, to call that reluctance a sin is unbiblical. Romans 14 says this:

    “Why do you pass judgment on your brother?  Or you, why do you despise your brother?  For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God…Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother…The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God.  Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.  But the one who doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith.  For whatever is not from faith is sin.”  

This is our guide and commandment. If our brother believes the mRNA vaccine is good or not, we may reason with him, and we may try and persuade him one way or another in the Lord. What we may not do given the reasonableness of the situation is pass judgment on him/her. Furthermore, we may not under any circumstances make him/her OWE us vaccination if they truly and reasonably believe that to do so is unhealthy due to the obvious unreliability of it and lack of long term knowledge as to its consequences. Christians are called to present their bodies as a living sacrifice to Christ alone (Romans 12:1-2) and to test everything, not being conformed to this world. We are not to usurp God’s authority and force our views upon our neighbor.

In summation, you are welcome to get the vaccine in the name of Christ. And you’re also welcome to refuse to get it in the name of Christ. Each person must be convinced in his/her own mind. I personally believe that the vaccine is far less effective against COVID-19 than natural immunity and may have serious long-term health consequences. I will respect your God-given right to make up your mind and ask humbly in the Lord that you do the same for me. We must both adhere to the clear Biblical teaching of Romans 14. We must not make a case that the other “owes” us anything.

Also, and importantly, the civil magistrate is not ordained by God to punish people for exercising their freedom of choice. They are tasked by the Lord to punish evildoers as defined by God in Romans 13. The government’s authority is under the Lord, defined by the Lord, and limited by Him. No government may make its own moral law lest that government declare itself to be god. Furthermore, President Biden’s vaccine mandate, besides being unbiblical on these grounds, is brazenly unconstitutional. Many states and private groups have already sued him and I earnestly believe they should and will prevail.

So, no, it’s not a sin against love to refuse the experimental mRNA vaccine. I pray that I’m wrong about it and that it proves to be very safe and efficacious. At this time, however, despite the persistence of some authorities and the president, I don’t believe that’s proven and strongly suspect that the opposite is true. And finally, I think the courts will absolutely vindicate the critics of the mandates.

Until the future is known, which is fully in the sovereign Lord’s hands, we are to live by the principles of tolerance put forth in Romans 14. Loving our neighbor means what God says it means, not man.