Romans 14:1-23
Paul’s words in chapter 14 are dependent upon our
understanding of chapters 1-8. You
remember that in these chapters we were instructed concerning justification and
sanctification.
In chapters 1-3 Paul spent much time focusing upon
justification. Justification is when a
person is declared right in the sight of God.
All have sinned and as a result we are all in trouble with God. The only way that our relationship with God
can be restored is if we can be somehow obtain righteousness. The problem of course is that this is not
possible for us. One popular that many
people try to obtain righteousness is by the keeping of the law, the Ten
Commandments or as most people refer to it “just being a good person.” In chapter 3 verse 20 however we are told
that no one, no exceptions, will be justified by works of the law, in other
words, there is nothing you can “do” no good works you can perform that are
going to justify you, or make you right with God. No one is able to meet the righteous demands
of the law therefore no one will ever be declared righteous by it. The law cannot make us right with God, rather
it reveals to us that we are not right with God.
Then in the rest of chapter 3 and on into chapter 4 Paul
shares some good news with us. He
reveals to us that there is a righteousness that has been made available to us
but it does not come from our good works, our keeping of the law. Instead it comes by grace through faith and
nothing more. Faith in the work of Jesus
Christ alone is what justifies a person in the sight of God.
Next Paul moved us into chapters 5-8 where he revealed that
not only is the law unable to justify us but the law is also unable to sanctify
us, sanctification simply means “to set apart or make holy.” So the law cannot save us nor can the law
make us holy. Holiness is not the result
of adherence to an external code of conduct, nor is it the result of rule
keeping. Rather holiness is the fruit or
the byproduct of an all satisfying all consuming love relationship with our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We love
God and we understand that it is sin that keeps us from Him. Because we want nothing to come between us
and Him we throw off all those things that would hinder our relationship with
Him thus we become more and more set apart.
Now when we summarize this concept of sanctification it
seems so cut and dry. Make your
relationship with Christ the sole focus of your life and holiness will follow. That’s seems easy enough right? If we’re honest we know that it’s not really
that simple. We struggle with
sanctification by grace through faith for the same reasons we struggle with
justification by grace through faith. We
want our performance to count for something.
We want to feel like we are earning God’s favor in some way. This desire is within all of us. We want to feel like we’ve earned what we
have, and we see this even in our relationship with Christ. We want to feel like we’re doing something
that makes Him love us more, or that makes us more spiritual in His eyes.
In Romans 14 Paul is addressing two groups of people; the
weaker brother and the stronger brother.
When Paul speaks of the weaker brother here he is not
speaking of one who is somehow inferior to other Christians nor is he speaking
of one who is morally weak. This is not
what Paul means when he uses the term weak.
The weaker brother is simply one who has not come to terms with chapters
6-8. He has not fully grasped the
freedom and liberty that comes with a relationship with Jesus Christ. Remember that a relationship with Jesus
Christ give us a “get to” perspective rather than a “have to” perspective. The weaker brother is a believer who
struggles with this truth. While he has
been set free in his mind he still feels the weight of the “have to” pressing
down on him. For whatever reason, be it
past experiences, fear, or insecurity, he still struggles with rule keeping. This person is very sensitive to sin, which
in and of itself is a good thing, but his sensitivity is such that it causes
him to focus on things which are amoral, neutral things. These things are liberties that we may enjoy
in Christ but this person feels by taking part in these liberties he is sinning. In reality this person is, to one degree or
another, a legalist. He feels that by
abstaining from certain things or doing other things he is somehow earning
favor with God. To do or not do these
things is, in his mind, is to displease God.
The stronger brother on the other hand is one who has come
to terms with the freedom and liberty that comes with a relationship with Jesus
Christ. He understands that he is no
longer bound to a list of rules and that with the Christian life comes great
freedom. Alva McClain says this of the
stronger brother; “The strong are those who have laid hold of the great faith. They have fully grasped the wondrous things
that Christ has done for the world, which Paul has been revealing in the book
of Romans. They are the men who have
entered completely into the rest of Jesus Christ. They know that justification is apart from
works; they have realized that liberty Christ has given us and are done with
the rules of legalism and ceremonialism forever. They are strong in the sense of comprehending
the meaning of the Christian faith.” The stronger brother then is one who understands
and accepts that Christ has pronounced all things clean. Jesus said it is not what a man eats that
defiles him it is what comes from within a man that defiles him, his sinful
heart and motives.
Which person is correct?
Well, strictly speaking the stronger brother is correct in his theology
in that he understands and practices sanctification by grace through faith.
This does not however mean that because the weaker brother
struggles with his Christian freedom and liberty that he is sinning. He is simply in a different place, you might
say, in his spiritual walk.
Because this is a rather large portion of Scripture it might
be beneficial for us to break the passage into three parts.
The first section is vs 1-5 where we are given specific real
life examples from the first century church conflicts between weaker and
stronger brothers.
The second section is vs 6-12 were we see an examination of
the motives of the weaker and stronger and their responsibility to God.
Then we see the third section in verses 13-23. Here Paul shares some practical application
when it comes to the weaker and stronger brothers relationship to each other. How do they live together in harmony within
the body of Christ.
Let’s begin with verse 1 “As for the one who is weak in
faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.” Paul starts of by addressing the stronger
brother. He says when one comes to you
who is “weak in faith,” meaning they have not fully understood that their
freedom from the law, when they come into the fellowship, welcome them. Welcome them, but a warning is included. Paul says welcome them but not with the
intention of arguing over your opinions.
In other words don’t welcome them into the fellowship with your right
hand while holding a baseball bat in your left hand.
He continues in verses 2 with some specific examples; “One
person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.
3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one
who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Paul says suppose a man may comes into your
assembly and he believes that it is wrong to eat anything besides vegetables. When he comes in you are not to despise him,
or look at him with contempt or ridicule.
Don’t make snide comments and remarks about him. “He’s uptight,” or “Oh
he’s a killjoy.” Don’t talk about your
brother like that.
Likewise, Paul instructs the weaker brother “Don’t you pass
judgment on the one who believes it is ok to eat anything. Do not condemn him or accuse him of being in
sin. Don’t claim that he is somehow not
right with God because he eats meat.” If
you do this you are in the wrong. Why? Because God has welcomed him. If God has welcomed your brother than you are
obligated to welcome him.
Remember Romans 8:33-34 “Who shall bring any charge against
God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who
is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died…” There is only one person who has the right to
pass judgment or condemn and that is Jesus Christ. If a person has been welcomed by Him than we
have no right to condemn him.
This is the point Paul makes in verse 4 “Who are you to pass
judgment on the servant of another? 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.” Each believer is a servant of the Most High. The Master is the judge. The key here is that the stronger brother’s
ability to stand in his freedom and liberty comes from Christ. Apart from Christ the stronger brother falls. You see to practice Christian liberty apart
from Christ is to fall. It is Christ our
Master who makes us stand. Apart from
Christ all we are left with is law.
If I am a weaker brother and I see another believer doing
something that I would not do, yet it is not a black and white issue in
Scripture then I need to leave it in the Lord’s hand and trust that my brother
is standing in the Lord. We are not
talking about clear cut sin issues here but rather personal convictions.
In vs. 5 Paul says “One person esteems one day as better
than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully
convinced in his own mind.” The weaker
brother holds up one day, separating it from all others, saying “This is the
Lord’s day.” The strong brother however
recognizes that all days are the Lord’s.
The weaker brother believes that the stronger brother is making the
other 6 days common while the stronger brother believes that rather than making
the other 6 days common he is elevating all seven days as holy days or Lord’s
days. Paul says “Look both men can live
in harmony with their differing opinions but whatever either one decides he
should be fully convinced in His own mind.”
What does this mean?
Well, it means that each man should come to his own conclusions, his own
convictions. He should not simply adapt
what someone else has told him nor should he hold to tradition for the sake of
tradition. Each man should study the
Word and form his convictions. Our minds
should be biblically informed on these things.
Feelings, traditions, or presupposition are not adequate when it comes
to forming convictions.
While Paul does not openly mention Jewish believers it seems
that these two issues would be significant hurdles for any devout Jew who
converted to Christ. There were many
laws observed by the Jews but there were two that seemed to crop up often in
the gospels, Acts, and the epistles. They
are the observance of the Sabbath day and the Jewish dietary laws. If you were Jewish you knew that the O.T. law,
the Word of God clearly stated that the Sabbath day was to be kept as a holy
day to the Lord. You also knew that the
O.T. law the Word of God laid down very strict dietary guidelines. Your entire life, your religion and even your
family traditions revolved around these things.
Then you hear the gospel.
You recognize Jesus Christ is your Messiah and you trust Him as Savior
and Lord you and become part of the church.
Then you hear Paul and the Apostles speak of being free from the law and
you acknowledge that what they’re saying is true but you still struggle every
time you sit down to eat with your brothers and sisters in Christyou see your
Gentile brother eating pork or a bloody steak and there is something deep down inside
you that says surely this cannot be pleasing to God.
Then on top of this you head home after the church has
gathered on the Lord’s Day and you see your brothers and sisters in Christ
buying and selling down at the marketplace.
You see them doing landscaping work around the house. Surely God is not pleased with this you think
to yourself. Soon you begin to see grace
as bringing a bit more freedom then you are comfortable with. You would rather play it safe so you stick to
eating vegetables just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You also decide that you are going to keep
the Lord’s Day holy. You are not going
to work or do any business on that day.
Are your wrong in doing this? Well, doctrinally speaking yes. Are you sinning? No. You
may not have not fully realized the freedom you have in Christ and therefore
you still feel a need to observe rules, you are not sinning if you observe
these things with proper motives. What
constitutes proper motives?
This is what Paul addresses in verses 6-12 “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. While their opinions and actions may differ
the motive of the weaker and the stronger brother are the same, to glorify God
by what they do. Their heart’s desire is
to honor the Lord. This is the beauty of
this passage. Here we see the unity that
comes with being joined with Christ. That
is what makes the church so great. It
takes people from different cultures, income brackets, races, genders, ages,
and so on and brings them together in harmony.
The love of Christ allows us to lay aside all of the things the world
uses to divide and categorize people and recognize that no matter who we are or
where we’ve come from we are all sinners saved by the grace of God.
Notice verse 7 “For none of us lives to himself, and none of
us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we
die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of
the dead and of the living.” Paul says what we do we do not live for self we
live for the Lord. He is to be our focus
in both life and death. Christ died and
rose again and He reigns as Lord over all.
Therefore we live not to please or gratify ourselves but rather we live
to honor the Lord. Paul continues in verse 10 “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; 11 for it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every
knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of
us will give an account of himself to God.”
Here we are reminded that our motives matter because our motives will be
the basis of our judgment as believers. When
we stand before the judgment seat of Christ all of our works will be heaped up
and put to the test of fire and only those things done as for Lord will survive
the judgment.
In light of this we must make sure that all we do is for His
honor and His glory and not our own. If
we do all for His glory than we will not be preoccupied with looking down upon
our weaker brother or passing judgment on the stronger brother. We will recognize that we have enough on our
plate to give an account for. Also if we
understand that the motive of our brother’s heart in what he does is to bring
glory to our God then our hearts should be softened toward him. Our attitude will not be one of condescension
and condemnation but one of consideration.
In verses 13-23 Paul gives us some practical application. He has shared some spiritual principles for
the stronger and weaker brothers now he shares what it looks like when these
principles are fleshed out, lived out within the body of Christ.
“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.” Paul here, addressing
the stronger brother once again, stressing the importance of not running
roughshod over the weaker brothers, demanding our rights, and in doing so
causing the weaker brother to stumble in his faith. The picture of stumbling
here is one of placing an obstacle in the path of another which caused them to
trip and fall. It is something on the
pathway which hinders them on their journey.
For some it may be a simple bump in the road for others it may cause a
near fatal fall.
“I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is
unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For
if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By
what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.” Paul, says look I know that nothing is
unclean in itself. Jesus made this clear. Pork is not unclean in and of itself. A steak cooked rare may give me an upset
stomach but it is not unclean. Eating
these things will not in any way hinder my relationship with God.
But, if my brother believes that eating pork or a bloody
steak is unclean then it is unclean for him and if I insist that is my right to
eat that which he considers unclean and I eat these things in his presence and
even encourage him to join me, knowing he considers them unclean I am not
acting in love. I am not looking out for
the best interest of my brother. I am
looking out for myself and that is not agape, self sacrificing love.
Paul says “Don’t destroy you’re brother for whom Christ died.” What a powerful statement. Imagine if we all looked at our brothers and
sister as those for whom Christ died. When
I think about the grace of God in saving me and the great sacrifice He gave in
dying for me I am overwhelmed. But this
sacrifice was not for me alone. When
Christ died He also died for you! He
loved you as much as He loved me! Christ
loved the weaker brother and gave Himself up for him as well so we should never
do anything that would destroy his faith.
What does Paul mean by destroying his faith? Well, we know from chapter 8 that he cannot
be destroyed in the sense of being eternally condemned. Nothing can separate the believer from the
love of God that is in Christ Jesus. But
it is possible for a brother to be destroyed or condemned by his own conscience. Even if you were to convince your brother to
eat with you that which he believes to be unclean he is committing sin in his
own mind and this could lead to defeat. Don’t
do this Paul says. Look out for your
brother. Be sensitive to him.
Handly Moule penned these powerful words in response to
these verses. "The Lord may counteract your action and save your injured
brother from himself—and you. But your action is, none the less, calculated for
his perdition. And all the while this soul, for which, in comparison with your
dull and narrow `liberty,' you care so little, was so much cared for by the
Lord that He died for it."
Verse 16 “So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of
as evil.” Speaking to the stronger
brother here Paul says “By insisting on your liberty at the expense of your
brother, causing him to be destroyed and defeated, your liberty while perfectly
okay, will now be seen as evil. Other
weak brothers will now say “See I told you so!”
“For the kingdom of God
is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy
in the Holy Spirit.” When we make the
Christian life about temporal things such as food and drink or observance of
days we miss the point. When we insist
on our styles of worship, our style of dress (casual or formal), or whatever we
reduce the kingdom of God
to minor things.
Paul says the Christian life is about righteousness, holy
living in a sinful world! It is about
peace with God and peace in our hearts because of what He has done for us, and
it is about joy inexpressible. These are
tings which draw the body together. Friends
remember this; temporal concerns will always draw our focus away from God and
when our focus is off of God pride creeps in and as we saw a few weeks ago “Pride
destroys relationships.”
Paul continues “Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to
God and approved by men.” When we focus
upon service to the Lord and stop insisting on our rights and our opinions we
please God and we will also enjoy peace with our brothers. “So then let us pursue what makes for peace
and for mutual building. 20 Do not, for
the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it
is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not
to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.” Keep the big picture in mind. Seek to keep the peace. Avoid controversy when it comes to these
areas; instead seek to build each other up.
Don’t sacrifice the work of God for your opinions and your liberty. Instead sacrifice your liberty and opinions
for the work of God. Don’t eat, drink, or do anything that might cause your
brother to stumble, instead seek to build him up.
“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.” If you are able to enjoy your liberty
recognize that is only because of God’s grace. It is only because of His grace
that you have any understanding of the freedom and liberty that is in Christ. Apart from God’s grace you too would be
clinging to the law. We would understand
nothing if it were not for Christ. Remember;
your liberty is a blessing but with it comes responsibility. The responsibility to always remember where
it comes from and the responsibility to exercise it in a way that honors God.
One thing that is important to note about chapter 14 is that
Paul does not brow beat the weaker brother.
No where does he say “Grow up!” or “Can’t you see that you are free?” Rather he is patient. He understands that the truth of
sanctification by grace through faith is something that the Spirit of God must
reveal to Him. Paul understands, and he
wants us to understand that we must leave room for the Spirit of God to work in
the weaker brother’s heart. When we try
to force our own convictions on the weaker brother or we constantly ridicule
him or treat him with contempt we run the risk of him hardening his heart
against us and even worse against God Himself.
This is why Paul ends verse 23 with these words to the weaker brother. “But whoever has doubts is condemned if he
eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from
faith is sin.”
Paul says brother do not go against your conscience. If you are not able to eat, drink, or
exercise other liberties with a clear conscience don’t exercise them. Everything that does not come out of faith is
sin. Hendriksen puts it this way “whatever
thought, word, action, etc. does not spring from an inner conviction that is in
harmony with a person’s faith in God is sin.”
In closing consider the words of Handly Moule “You are
placed amidst the delightful liberties and resources of your Father’s home,
without grudging and without doubt. But you are placed there not simply to
enjoy, but to use; not only to be free, but to have the privilege of
contributing to the freedom around you.
“You are free—but as a child of the Father, and as a member
of the family. And such freedom would be only the harsh parody of itself if it
were not a freedom, to love, to be loyal, to serve, to share. Your rights are
given you as bright implements to promote the highest right. You are saved to
be serviceable; you are saved to build up other lives. And not all things are
serviceable. And not all things build up the lives of others.
“So live out the noble freedom of freely fulfilled mutual
duty. Let no one seek his own, but everyone another.”
With Christ comes great freedom. Not freedom to gratify the desires of the
flesh, not freedom to seek our own, but freedom to love, freedom to surrender,
freedom to serve, Freedom not only to enjoy that which we have a right to but
freedom to lay down those rights for the love of others.