Neither Vaccinated nor Unvaccinated?

One of the great passages of Scripture is Galatians 3:28. In this verse, Paul tells the Galatian readers (part of modern Turkey), that “in Christ Jesus there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male and female.”

“In Christ Jesus” is one of Paul’s favorite ways of saying a person is a Christian. A person who believes in Jesus as savior and Lord and who confesses this faith is “in Christ.” They are included in God’s people, sons and daughters of God, part of God’s church, called to serve God in the world and promised eternal life together with all other believers.

This statement declares the breaking down of three social boundaries that dominated the Roman world. The first speaks of the breaking down of racial and ethnic boundaries for those who are Christians. Paul speaks of two categories. Jews were those physically descended from Abraham or who had converted to Judaism by becoming a proselyte. Such people, if men, were circumcised. They became submissive to the Jewish Law, and particularly what scholars call “boundary markers” including circumcision, the observance of the Sabbath and other important days in the Jewish calendar, and eating kosher food. The pressing issue in Galatians is whether new gentile Christians needed to be circumcised, become Jews. The “Greeks” in this text do not refer to the Greek people as opposed to say, Romans, or Germans, but, all non-Jews; equivalent to “gentiles.” Paul is declaring here that now that Christ has come, such racial and ethnic divisions are secondary, they are subsumed in Christ. The gentiles of Galatia do not need to Judaize (become Jews) to be in God’s people. Such racial distinctions are no basis for status differentiation in God’s people—for God does not show favoritism or prejudice (Gal 2:6).

Now, this can be applied to all races and ethnicities. In Christ Jesus there is neither Māori nor Pakeha, there is no English nor Irish, there is no North Korean or South Korean, etc. This envisages all people who believe welcomed together wherever they are from. All races can come and gather together and worship God. The final NT book, Revelation, is full of glorious pictures of God’s people from all over the world worshiping God in unity and without division and social differentiation.

The second category focuses on the two categories, slave and free. The Roman world had millions of slaves who served the citizens. The honor of citizenship was conferred by the Roman authorities as a privilege and it could be purchased. Citizenship gave a person certain rights that slaves and other non-citizens did not have. People were born into slavery or citizenship, depending on the status of their parents. As such, the world was divided along the lines of social class.

Here, Paul is announcing that in Christ and God’s people, no such divisions exist. Slaves can attend church and participate fully as can citizens. In fact, in Philippians 1:27 and 3:20, he tells the Philippians that they are all citizens of God’s Kingdom. Indeed, one slave, Onesimus, was one of Paul’s coworkers. Slavery continued among Christians for many centuries until eventually, the church worked through the implications of such passages and slavery itself was challenged. Still, whatever such boundaries exist in societies, in the church, no such divisions are to exist. We are one and without status differentiation. This includes leaders who are called to lead, but not to enslave; rather, they are to serve. All are one in Christ and on a level social playing field.

The third neither … nor sequence speaks of the breaking down of status on the lines of gender. The ancient world was patriarchal to the core with women in submission to men across every area of society except specifically female concerns, e.g., childbirth. Here, Paul is not advocating the removal of gender differentiation found in passages like Gen 1:26–27, but he is wiping away any notion of patriarchy and dominance. We see this in the many women who worked with Paul in his mission (e.g., Romans 16; Philippians 4:2–3). Like slavery, it has taken the church far too long to work through the implications of this. Now, many churches and denominations, while celebrating the complementarity and distinctives of being male and female, have moved to ensure men and women are treated equally and have the same opportunities in the people of God.

All in all, then, Paul is imagining a church and churches that have no such status distinctions in them. All who believe are welcome, whoever they are: men, women, slaves, the free, and people from any nationality and culture. There is no room for divisions along these lines in God’s people. They can all serve God in the church, they are not to look down on each other, no group is to dominate the other.

Now we have a new social boundary forming in the world: the vaccinated and the unvaccinated. The vaccinated have chosen to be injected with a vaccine to protect themselves from COVID-19, convinced it is the right thing to do (I am one of those people). Others are not so sure and are hesitant or anti-vax for a number of reasons and to varying degrees. Governments in places like NZ are siding strongly with the vaccinated and moving to limit the movements and freedoms of those who are not vaccinated. Soon, some will lose jobs and be severely limited in their ability to participate in portions of society. We have a new status differentiation forming in which the vaccinated will dominate and potentially oppress the unvaccinated.

What is the church to do?

Perhaps Paul’s words in Galatians 3:28 are helpful. While the world around us divides itself along vaccinated/unvaccinated, the church can choose a different path. It can choose to live by the slogan, “neither vaccinated nor unvaccinated.”

One’s race, gender, and social status in the Roman world do not define a person. What defines them is their humanity, and, where Christ is concerned, their faith. Similarly, one’s vaccinated status does not define a person. What defines us is our common humanity, and in the church, our common faith.

Still, there is a difference between the three categories and the contemporary issue. One’s vaccinated case (unless one is not able to be vaccinated) is a personal choice, unlike one’s gender, race, and social status at the time of Paul. So, one might argue that “neither vaccinated nor unvaccinated” does not quite apply.

Still, there are other passages where Paul discusses how to resolve differences of opinion on matters that are not essential to the faith. These can be found in Romans 14–15 and 1 Corinthians 8–10. In these passages, such things as what a person eats and their view of holy days are in view. Paul sides with those who say that a Christian can eat any food, and holy days are neither here nor there. However, he does not stop there, he urges those with a view like his to be supportive of others with different views, to be non-judgmental, to do everything they can not to cause that brother or sister to fall—to love them. He urges love over liberty.

We can apply that to the vaccinated and unvaccinated. We who are vaccinated should love the unvaccinated, and vice versa. We can respect each other’s differences. We work hard to find ways to be one people, without prejudice, but also ensuring the safety of all people.

So, perhaps the right response in churches to the great divide beginning to emerge is to say, “neither vaccinated nor unvaccinated,” i.e., we determine that we will not let this new division divide us.

It is not an essential of the faith to be vaccinated, nor is it to be unvaccinated. We can allow differences of opinion, liberty to disagree, and love one another. We can live by the saying, “In Essentials Unity, In Non-Essentials Liberty, In All Things Charity!”  

This may put the church at odds with the desires of the government. Still, the commands of Romans 13; 1 Peter 2:13–17; and Titus 3 to be submissive to the governing authorities is not absolute. We yield to God and his Son first, and then the government. So, there is a time to resist, without the use of violent force.

Perhaps the way ahead is to start with the premise, “there is neither vaccinated nor unvaccinated.” At the same time, we agree that we are pro-life, and want to do all we can to ensure the protection of those who are vulnerable to death through this virus. So, considering all the government is asking, we get together as denominations, churches, and leadership teams and work out how we can “do church” in ways that allow all to attend and yet all to be safe.

I think this would be done in different ways depending on the size of the church, the possibilities of its layout and seating options, the use of technologies, using different venues simultaneously, and so on. Each Christian group will have to work it out. We put our best thinking to ensuring “neither the vaccinated nor the unvaccinated,” and determine to find ways of meeting that as far as it depends on us, fits with the government requirements (which are designed to keep us safe).

Still, I do wonder, in whatever ways we deal with the present challenge, a great starting point is to apply Galatians 3:28 to our context declaring that, “in Christ Jesus, there is neither vaccinated nor unvaccinated.”