Romans 14
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CHAPTER 14
Do Not Condemn Your Brother (14:1-12)
1 In every church in every country there are those whose faith is weak, those who have trouble distinguishing between essential and non-essential beliefs. Those who are weak in faith are strongly influenced by non-essential beliefs and rules, and they live according to them. If they fail to follow these beliefs, such people begin to doubt if they are truly saved; their faith is indeed weak.
Paul says that we must accept such brothers and sisters without criticizing and judging them for these unnecessary beliefs. These beliefs concern disputable matters. It is no sin to believe in them, and it is no virtue not to believe in them; either way, these matters are not important to our salvation or to our fellowship in Christ. These matters are not worth arguing over.77 Above all, we must not look down on our brothers or sisters whose faith is weak. We must not pass judgment on them for their beliefs about these disputable matters (Matthew 7:1). Rather, we should accept them in love just as they are.
In this section, Paul mentions two of the non-essential beliefs or rules that were followed by some of the Roman Christians whose faith was weak. The first rule was: We must not eat meat. The second rule was: We must regard certain days as “better” or more sacred than other days (verse 5). Paul mentions these two rules as examples. As we study this section, we should ask ourselves: Are there other examples of such “rules” which might exist in our own church? Because Paul’steachingheredoesn’t apply only to these two particular beliefs in the Roman church; it applies to any such beliefs in our own churches as well.
2 Those in the Roman church whose faith was strong knew that only by their faith could they please God; it was not necessary to observe all the Jewish religious regulations in order to please God.
But the weak in faith (mainly those who had formerly been Jews) thought that it was still necessary to obey all the Jewish regulations. Thus in the Roman church two opinions had sprung up: the weak in faith said it was wrong to eat meat; the strong in faith said it was all right to eat meat.
3 When two such conflicting opinions arise in a church, what usually happens? An argument develops, and then, eventually, a split comes in the church. “Let this not be!” is Paul’s plea. The brother who is strong in faith must not look down on the brother who is weak in faith. And at the same time, the brother who is weak in faith must not condemn the brother who is strong in faith for breaking some non-essential rule. The strong brother can’t be condemned, because he has been justified by his faith; God has accepted him. How common it is in our churches to see those of weaker faith condemning and criticizing those whose faith is stronger! How grievous this is to Jesus!
4 In this verse Paul speaks to the brother with weaker faith, and tells him not to judge the stronger brother.
We must never judge another Christian. He is not our servant, but Christ’s servant; and he will give an account of himselfnot to us but to Christ. Our job is to love and accept that Christian, just as Christ loves and accepts him. Let us not reject one whom Christ accepts; let us not criticize one whom Christ values.
How quick we are to judge each other! But let us not do so. We must leave all judging to Christ. He is the master of us all, and He will judge each one of us. Since we will all have to give an account of ourselves to Christ one day, we’d be better off now to concentrate on our own faults rather than on the faults of others.
5 In addition to the Sabbath day,78 the Jews observed many other special days throughout the year. They considered these days to be more sacred than other days. On such days they would fast and observe other Jewish religious traditions. Some of the Jews who became Christians continued to observe these special days; they thought they must do so in order to please God. They didn’t realize that Christians didn’t have to observe such days. Their faith was weak; perhaps they didn’t feel that God would be pleased with their weak faith alone. They thought they had to add something—some work or ritual—to make God happy.
Those Christians who are strong in faith consider every day the same. Every day they must give their lives fully to Christ’s service. Every day must be spent completely for Christ—not more so on one day, or less so on another. Therefore, they say, how can one day be more sacred or important than another? It cannot. Are we to be more holy on one day than on the next? No. We are to be equally holy every day.
True, God commands us to rest one day a week (Exodus 20:8). On that day we have more time to worship Him and go to church. But that doesn’t mean we are more holy on that day.
Furthermore, the Bible doesn’t say which day of the week should be set aside as the day of rest, or Sabbath. The Bible only says we should work six days and rest the seventh. The Jews early in their history chose Saturday to be the Sabbath.
Some Christians believe that the day Jesus was born (Christmas) and the day He rose from the dead (Easter) are especially sacred days. But other Christians say that in our hearts we should celebrate Jesus’ birth and resurrection every day of the year. Yes, on these special days it is suitable to have special services of praise and witness, and to spend extra time worshiping Christ. But we do this not because of some religious law or because the day is sacred in itself. Rather, we set these days aside by our own choice as special occasions to praise and worship Christ and to bear witness to Him. Christians do not celebrate days; they celebrate Christ.
There is nothing wrong with observing special days as long as we do it to the glory of God. There is nothing wrong with observing every day alike as long as we observe every day to the glory of God. If what we do is for God’s glory, then it doesn’t matter which of these two opinions we hold. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. That is, each Christian must decide what is right for him according to his own conscience. To his own master he stands or falls (verse 4). It is not our place to judge each other (see verses 10-13).
6 Therefore, whichever we do—eat meat or not eat meat, observe special days or not observe them—let us do it for Christ’s sake, to glorify Him. Let the man who eats meat give thanks for his meat and glorify God. Let the man who eats vegetables give thanks for his vegetables and glorify God.79
The main thing to remember is that the Holy Spirit will guide each of us in these matters through our conscience and according to the strength of our faith. Each Christian must obey his conscience. We must not judge each other’s conscience! The things of a man’s conscience are between him and God alone (verse 22).
7-8 The one purpose of our lives is to please God. It is not to please ourselves. When we believe in Jesus, we give our lives to Him. Our life is no longer our own, it is His. Before we believed, we lived for ourselves. Now that we believe in Jesus, we live for Him (see 2 Corinthians 5:15 and comment). And we will also die for Him, because through death He calls us to be with Him in heaven.
Therefore, whatever we do, we each belong to the Lord Jesus. Both the brother weak in faith and the brother strong in faith belong to the Lord, and He accepts them both.
9 After Christ died, He descended into hell and became the Lord of the dead. Then, when He rose from the dead, He became the Lord of the living. Therefore, whether we are dead or alive, He is our Lord.
10 It is not right to judge another man’s servant. Therefore, since we are all Christ’s servants, we have no business judging one another. Christ will judge His own servants (2 Corinthians 5:10). We will all stand before God’s judgment seat. In God’s sight we are all worthy to be condemned; thus none of us has the right to judge another. If this is so, why, then, does so much condemning and judging go on among Christians? Let it stop! (see Galatians 5:15 and comment). Rather we ought to be so busy working on our own faults that we have no time left over for judging our brother (see 2 Corinthians 13:5).
One more thing needs to be said on the subject of condemning and judging. The condemnation and judgment that goes on among Christians is an almost unconscious habit; we are hardly aware we are doing it. For example, whenever we say about someone else, “He’s not a good fellow,” we are really judging him. We say, “I’ve not judged anyone.” But the fact is that we do it all the time. Even if we don’t say a word, we judge others by our critical or disapproving look. And even if we make no outward sign, we still judge the person in our thoughts. We need to pray constantly that God will guard our tongues and thoughts.
11-12 Here Paul quotes from Isaiah 45:23 (see Philippians 2:10-11). Every man—both Christian and non-Christian—will bow down before God on the day of judgment. On that day every one of us will have to confess his sins to God. That is, each of us will give an account of him-selfto God (verse 12). And we won’t be giving an account of one another’s sins; we’ll be giving an account only of our own!
Do Not Cause a Brother to Fall (14:13-23)
13 The main teaching of Chapter 14 is summarized in this verse: Both the Christian who is weak in faith and the Christian who is strong in faith must stop judging each other. We must not judge either in word or in thought (see Matthew 7:1-5 and comment). From now on let us stop concentrating on whether it is right or not to eat meat, whether it is right or not to observe special days, or other such matters. Rather, let us concentrate on not putting a stumbling block or obstacle in our brother’s way. That is the most important thing (see 1 Corinthians 8:4-13; 9:22-23; 10:23-33; Colossians 2:16 and comments).
14 The Jews regard many kinds of food to be ritually unclean, and in the Old Testament many laws are written about what the Jews can and cannot eat.
But Christ canceled all of those food laws. Therefore, even though he was a strict Jew himself, Paul says here that he is convinced that no food is unclean in itself (see Acts 10:9-16; 1 Timothy 4:4). Jesus taught that it’s not what goes into a man’s mouth that makes him unclean, but rather it’s what comes out of his heart that makes him unclean (see Mark 7:14-23 and comment).
Paul here teaches another thing. If anyone whose faith is weak thinks that some particular food is unclean, then for him it is unclean. This means that that person should not eat that particular food, because according to his conscience, to eat it would be a sin. We must never go against the promptings of our conscience. If something seems like a sin to us, then we must not do that thing. Even though it is, in fact, not a sin, we still must not do it if we have any doubt about it. That is why Paul says that each person should be fully convinced in his own mind what is sinful for him and what is not (verse 5).
15 Paul now mentions the most important thing determining our relations with each other: we must act in love. For example, suppose that a brother believes in his conscience that he should not eat meat. And you believe in your conscience that it’s all right to eat meat. Then suppose that you invite that brother to a meal and offer him meat. Not only that, suppose you pressure him into eating it—perhaps by making him feel bad if he doesn’t eat it. Afterward, of course, that brother will be distressed in his conscience; his conscience will accuse him of having sinned. Because he believed it was a sin to eat meat, for him indeed it was a sin. Therefore, because of what you eat, you have caused your brother to sin. You have put a stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s path (verse 13). If you continue causing him to sin in this way, you will certainly by your eating destroy your brother spiritually.
If we love our brother, how can we act this way toward him? Not only that, Christ died for our brother! Are we going to destroy one whom Christ has saved? Heaven forbid! if Christ has given up His own life to save our brother, can we not give up a little meat for him? (see 1 Corinthians 8:13).
16 To be strong in faith is a good thing. To be free from the regulations of the Jewish law is also a good thing. But Paul writes here: Don’t let what is good be spoken of as evil. That is, do not, by your good, do harm to your brother. If we do harm to our brother, then our “good” (our freedom, our strong faith) will be called evil. When this happens, both we and Christ are dishonored.
We know that no matter what we do, there will always be some people who will speak evil of us. However, let’s not needlessly provide them with opportunities for doing so!
17-18 Here Paul gives another essential principle. It is not our outward behavior but our inner desires and motives that are most important to God. Whether to eat meat or not to eat meat isn’t a very important matter. What is important is whether or not we love our brother. Our outward behavior arises from our inner mind, our heart, our character. If our mind, our heart, remains under the control of the Holy Spirit, both we and our brother will be led into righteousness, peace and joy (verse 17). This is pleasing to God (verse 18). God doesn’t care what we eat or drink; what He cares about is whether there is righteousness, peace and joy in His church!
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace (see Romans 12:18; Ephesians 4:3 and comments).
Make every effort to do what leads to mutual edification. “Mutual edification” does not mean rebuking and accusing one another. Rather, it means teaching, advising, and strengthening one another, all for the purpose of building each other up in the Lord.
There can be no peace or mutual edification when there is quarreling, accusation, and judgment going on among us.
20 Here Paul repeats the thought of verse 15. The work of God mentioned in this verse is “us”—mankind. We are God’s creation, His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10). Therefore, let us not destroy our brother, who is a work of God.
To eat meat (for example) is not in itself a sin. But if by eating meat we might distress our brother or cause him to stumble, then to eat meat in that situation would be a sin (see 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 and comment).
21 To eat meat and drink wine are just examples of many activities that can cause our brother to stumble. Let us be constantly on the watch, not only in our own lives but also in the church, for any other activities which could cause [our] brother to fall.
22 The person who is strong in faith and is convinced it is all right to eat meat should eat his meat quietly in his own home. His eating meat should be a matter only between himself and God. In this way, he will not condemn himselfby what he approves. That is, if his eating meat is approved between himself and God and gives no of fense to others, his conscience will not condemn him for eating meat. But if, by doing something he approves of, he causes others to stumble, then he is committing a sin—and his conscience will indeed condemn him for it.
23 The word faith in this verse does not mean “faith” in Christ, but rather a deep certainty or conviction, about which one is fully convinced in one’s mind (verse 5). One example would be the faith or conviction that it is all right to eat meat.
The man who has doubts is the man with weak faith, who believes he should not eat meat. Because he does not have the faith or conviction that it’s all right to eat meat, he must not eat it. If we don’t have the faith or conviction that something is all right to do, then we shouldn’t do it. Even when something is not a sin in itself, if we have doubts about it and don’t have faith that it’s okay, then we must not do it—or for us it will be a sin.