Romans 14

Contextually, this is still a continuation of the concept of reasonable service. Paul has discussed how to serve with regard to those outside the church, now he brings it home with regard to those inside the church. My aim in this chapter is not to get into all the matters of opinion vs. doctrine. I only intend to address the direct points Paul is making within the overall letter. 
==Romans 14:1==
1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. 
Paul's audience is still the predominantly Gentile Christians at Rome. Referring back to the previous sentence (at the end of chapter 13). "Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof." 
The last two in Paul's list of sins are strife and envy. This leads in to a discussion of what causes strife and envy within the church. Paul speaks of those who are weak brethren. Stronger brethren are to receive these people into their fellowship, but not in order to debate them over the matters where they are weak. In other words not to receive the weak into the fellowship just to look down on them and flaunt the stronger Christian's maturity. The words διακρισεις διαλογισμs are easily understood as "the debatable issues". 
==Romans 14:2-3==
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.
So, Paul sets up an example of one of these debatable issues, the idea of eating meat or not. The primary premise here is that eating meat is not sinful. The secondary premise is that some, who Paul calls weaker brethren, believes they can only eat herbs. Two conclusions are to be drawn from this set of premises. 1) The stronger Christian is not to despise the weaker for their belief. While technically incorrect to believe it is wrong to eat meat, it is not wrong to not eat meat. Despising a weaker Christian breeds envy and will ultimately lead a weaker Christian to sin by violating their conscience.2) The weaker Christian, who doesn't eat meat, but obviously cannot support their position from scripture since Paul has already established that it is not a correct position, has no foundation from which to judge (condemn) the stronger Christian for eating meat. 
==Romans 14:4==
4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. 
Please keep in mind that this context is about the debatable issues, not doctrinal ones. Paul's claim here is that Christians are the servants (literally slaves) of God. It is not the place for one slave to judge another in the sense of declaring what is sinful where God has not declared it. In Rome and other Gentile cities (see 1 Corinthians), the issue of meat was related to idol worship. Paul declares in 1 Cor. 8 that eating meat offered to idols is nothing, but there were some who had issue with it. It is not the place of man to come up with additional traditions that declare something sinful or not, which is exactly what the Jews had been doing (Matt. 15:1-11). It is interesting to note that in the passage in Matthew (vs. 11), Jesus makes exactly the same claim (in a general way) that Paul is making here. In other words, Paul is saying "don't act like the Jews". 
==Romans 14:5-6==
5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. 
Paul's second example is an inverse of the one before. The weaker Christian still holds to the celebration of certain days and festivals. I must conclude that these are observed in a non-religious sense else why is Paul using the observance of idol worship in an example on opinions? My modern examples would be celebrating Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Birthdays, and the 4th of July (here in USA) in a secular fashion rather than as a ritual actually intended to participate in the Catholic or pagan religions where most of those have their roots. 
In this context, the days would be based in whatever was celebrated in the Greek and Roman cultures. Note that Paul even declares in 1 Cor. 8:10 that the stronger Christian might go eat at a pagan temple because he doesn't acknowledge that it is anything of note, and be perfectly fine. A weaker brother, who still has that religious baggage from their old belief, might stumble. Therefore the stronger Christian, while not sinning by eating the meat in the temple of the idol even, needs to take note of any weaker Christians that they are aware of who has issues with their old pagan religion. Paul declares that neither weak nor strong is a sinful position to be in, but its just a matter of maturity. God accepts both. 
In principle, this can also apply to the Jewish feast days and some national practices so long as they are not seen as adhering to the Mosaical Law or cause one to violate the Law of Christ. 
==Romans 14:7==
7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. 8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. 
Again Paul declares that Christians are not purchased by each other and have no claims over one another to define what is right and wrong. Christians are blood bought slaves to Christ. They live and die in service to God (Romans 12 again). 
==Romans 14:8-12==
9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. 10 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. 
As Christ is the one who paid the purchase price, He is the one to whom we owe our lives, willing slaves to Him because of what He did to redeem us from death. We will stand before the judgment seat of Christ Two very important points of doctrine to make here: 
# Paul quotes Isa. 45 here. In that passage God declares a number of things. I recommend you go read the whole chapter. Ultimately Paul is pointing to Christ as God. 
# Paul is also pointing to Christ as Judge at this time just as Jesus himself declared in Matthew 25. This is in contrast to the end of time when Jesus will be our advocate and God the Father will be judge. 
Paul quotes the same in Phil. 2:10. This passage really echoes the parable of the talents. Weaker Christians are akin to those who only receive a couple of talents where stronger are akin to those who receive five. 
Christ was coming back soon to judge His people, to weed out those who were false, and to reward those who were faithful with more responsibility (and thereby greater glory). Paul's admonition then is simply "you don't have time to back-stab, gossip, and be a busy body over matters that don't matter". 
==Romans 14:13==
13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. 
This is actually a critical verse to this immediate context. At first reading, especially without context, Paul is literally contradicting himself. Don't judge, but judge. In context, though, it is again about judging on matters of opinion. The second command, to judge, is actually self-judgment for Christians, to discern whether or not your actions put a harmful stumblingblock in the way of a weaker Christian.
Pay attention though! To judge whether or not you are doing this, you have to know that a fellow Christian has an issue with what you are doing and would be tempted by it. Paul considers the inverse of this in 1 Cor. 10:29 wherein those who condemned certain things were trying to wrongly restrict the liberty of those who had no issue with the matter. Just because a person thinks something is sinful and would violate their conscience to participate, that does not mean that those who know it is not really sinful have to never do that which the weaker person has issues with. 
Paul is not talking about the so called "safe road". Doing that which is not sinful is perfectly safe. Stronger Christians are free because they know the truth (John 8:32). Weaker Christians have no right to bind and restrict the liberty of those who are stronger. The stronger Christian, however also needs to keep in mind what effect their actions will have on others. If by my liberty, someone gets angry or snooty who would never do what it is I'm doing, I'm not tempting them and am free to continue. If by my liberty, someone who looks up to me does something I know they think is wrong according to their conscience, then I need to not do that (and then study with that person as the opportunity arises so that I am free again around them). 
==Romans 14:14-17==
14 I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. 16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of: 17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 
Continuing with the meat (offered to idols), Paul writes that he knows that the meat is just meat, just a physical thing with no spiritual implications. He also declares that to violate one's conscience (in debatable issues only) is sinful. For the stronger Christian to use his liberty in such a way that causes the weaker to sin is to demonstrate a lack of love for that weaker Christian. So the stronger are not to let their liberty to do things, which Paul declares as good, be spoken of as evil because of causing a weaker Christian to violate their conscience. The kingdom of God, in which Christians are all citizens, is a spiritual nation and is not about things related to nourishment of the physical body. Its about things that nourish the spiritual Body. 
==Romans 14:18-23==
18 For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men. 19 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. 20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. 21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak. 22 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. 23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. 
Bringing this back to the idea of reasonable service, Paul commands that Christians are to do those things that bring peace (not strife) and things that lift each other up (rather than create envy). We see the importance of this issue, both to Paul's immediate audience at Rome and in general by the number of times he repeats the points made in this small section (chapter). The call for peace and mutual edification is the opposite of causing someone to stumble/condemning over debatable issues. I will leave it to others, or perhaps a later blog entry to examine some of these debatable issues that have caused strife in the church in modern times. 
In Truth and Love.
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Category:Apocalyptic