Who is the "Weak" Christian?

An Exposition of Romans 14:1-12

Romans 14:1–12 NKJV

Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.

There are “strong” or “mature” Christians. And there are “weak” Christians also. Paul here does make a distinction here. But what constitutes being a “strong” Christian or a “weak” Christian? We might suppose that the strong Christian is one who has been a Christian for a long time and has spent much time studying the Bible and is a regular attender at church. The weak Christian, then, would be one who is new to the faith or is irregular in his study of Scripture and attendance at church. This might often be the case, but if this was a certain way to distinguish the strong from the weak Christians we could proceed to the benediction right now and go home. Some of you might like such a short sermon.

However, as we shall see in today’s text from Romans, we will find Jews in the Church who had studied the Scripture from youth and attended to the worship at the synagogue on a regular basis. And unlike many of their fellow Jews, they had accepted Christ. They were Christians. They would fit our previously defined “strong Christian.” Yet, as we shall see, Paul refers to them as actually being the “weak” Christians. There were Gentiles in the Church as well, many of whom were novices to the faith. Yet by inference, they seem to be called the “strong” Christians, or so it seems.

We need to examine this text a little further, as even this distinction is not entirely correct. Verse one tells those who seem to be mature in the faith to accept the weaker brother, but not to involve them in disputes over doubtful speculations from Scripture or philosophy. We can see the havoc such disputes caused in Corinth, the city from which Paul sent Romans. Some liked Cephas (Peter) because he seemed the most “Jewish.” Others liked Apollos because he was a great orator and scholar of both Scripture as well as Greek philosophy. Others clung to Paul, not because he was a great orator, but because he was the one God sent to found the church at Corinth. Then there were those who said “I am of Christ.” Of the four these were doctrinally correct. We, or course, follow no man or even an Apostle, but Christ, realizing that God sent the message of Christ though Peter, Paul, Apollos and others. But it seems the “of Christ” group seems to have had a sense of superiority over the other factions. They were right, but had the wrong attitude towards their fellow believers. Instead of patiently bearing with them, they considered the others to be inferior. There seems to have been a similar group of spiritual elites in 1 John that the Apostle John had to deal with. They seem to have abandoned their fellow church members as apparently being too unenlightened and set up their own assembly. They thought that they were “strong” Christians, but John says that they weren’t Christians at all because they did not show love to the brethren.

The divisions in the church at Rome did not seem to be as harsh, but they were there. Paul has to deal with them. The controversy seemed to be between believers who had come from a Jewish background and those who came from the Gentiles. The Jews, or more correctly the Israelites, had been given the Law at Mount Sinai which was written by Yahweh’s own hand on stone tablets (stele). These were delivered unto Moses for the people of Israel to live by in addition to the many other commandments which were given by time to time and written by Moses in the Torah. Israel’s many failures to keep this law caused them misery, including the exile of the Northern Kingdom to Assyria and Judah into Babylon. The Jewish people responded to this trauma by determining themselves to keep this law. Although they made many mistakes in interpretation and added commandments with the purpose of not transgressing the greater commandments, something which Jesus continuously brought out, many of the Pharisees bound themselves to keeping the Law.

Paul addresses here the Jewish food laws and Sabbath keeping in particular. The keeping of these as well as circumcision became stumbling blocks concerning the inclusion of the Gentiles into the Church. Shouldn’t the Gentiles make a commitment to these in addition to accepting Christ. A few years earlier, the controversy became so intense that the First Church Council was addressed at Jerusalem to address these. The result was that justification by faith was established as the means of both Jew and Gentile to become Christians, But some deference on the part of the Gentiles was given to certain of the food laws and fornication.

Paul had to deal with the problem of boasting in Corinth. For example, part of the solution to the party spirit which divided the Corinthians, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:31:“that, as it is written, ‘He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.’” In Romans, the inclusion of the Gentiles to the same privilege as the Jewish believers served as an antidote to spiritual pride on the part of the Jews. The Jews had at one time been given special privilege. It was to them that the oracles of God were delivered. (Romans 3:2) However, Paul’s argument in the first chapters of Romans placed both Jew and Gentile equally under sin. Both groups stood in the need of God’s grace. This alone should keep one from boasting and keep one humble before God. This grace was made equally available to both Jew and Gentile on the basis of faith alone. One is saved by believing in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

The Gentiles could be guilty of pride also. Some boasted in their spiritual liberty. They were accepted without the onerous works of the Law which no one could keep. These might look down on the Jewish Christians as still being under bondage to the Law and the traditions of the Fathers. Paul addresses this in Romans 11. He does affirm that the branches representing the unbelieving Jews were removed so that the Gentiles could be grafted in. However, Paul reminds the Gentiles that the Jews who were cut off could be placed back in the tree if they would only believe. In fact, Paul affirms that this would happen at a later time. As for the Gentiles, they stood by their faith. But they also needed to be careful, for if they fell into unbelief, they would also be cut off. The believer belongs by their faith in Christ alone. The believer’s boast is not in himself but in Christ.

Let us now look further into today’s text from Romans 14. The chapter begins with an admonition to receive the “weak in the faith” Christian, but not to involve him in “doubtful disputations.” The word “weak” can also be translated “sick,” people whose faith is sick. Some of the Jewish Christians found the faith of the Gentile Christians to be defective in that they did not observe Jewish food laws and the Sabbath. The Gentiles, on the other hand, considered the Jewish Christians to have a defective faith because they clung to outdated traditions. We can see that some of the Jewish Christians took their devotion to excess, even beyond the boundaries of the Law itself. Nowhere is it commanded that the Jews were to be vegetarians. It is true that certain animals were not to be eaten, but others could be eaten. Even Daniel and his three Jewish friends were not commanded to eat “pulse” (vegetables?). They did this in the light that the Babylonians were trying to convert them to the religion of Babylon. They would use these leaders to get the Jews to abandon their faith in Yahweh. Daniel did not want to live a life of privilege over his fellow Jews who may have been reduced to eating pulse.

The Gentiles were doctrinally correct that the food restrictions were no longer in force in the Christian era. Jesus Himself taught this (see Mark 7:19). The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 affirmed this apart from the restrictions from drinking blood and strangling the animal. Paul consistently taught this doctrine. As far as the Sabbath is concerned, it was a matter of conscience. Taking a day of rest from labor and including one’ animals and other servants is still a good idea, but it is not essential for salvation. In this, the faith of the Jewish Christians could be seen as defective. Their adherence to their customs and trying to keep the unkeepable Law would interfere with the joy of Christian liberty.

As far as liberty is concerned. Paul adamantly denies that it is a license to sin. We died to this life. The libertine life is as suffocating to one’s Christian faith as much as legalism. (see Romans 6) This is defect of faith that the Gentiles were susceptible too. There was a danger to one’s faith from each direction. Therefore, we need to accept one another as brothers in Christ in spite of our differences on matters of food and Sabbath. After all, we all will have to give our account one day to the Lord Jesus. Also, by realizing that God has accepted both Jew and Gentile in Christ, we must not judge one another, God has commited to the Lord Jesus all judgment. Jesus who has ransomed us in His own blood is now our new master as well, to whom we owe obedience, We are all His servants (slaves). He has a right to judge us.

Think of this illustration from the workplace today. There is the owner of the company as well as those who work for him. The owner may appoint someone as a supervisor of the other workers. If there is a worker whose work is defective, the owner has established the means of correcting this. It is not the fellow worker who calls the weak worker into the office to address the deficiency. It is the owner of the designated supervisor. In such a matter, Paul by his apostolical authority takes this time to correct the faults of both the Jewish Christian and the Gentile Christian. This fault was the attitude of both parties. Both were in some way “weak.”

The way Paul deals with their weaknesses is to remind them that those who keep or don’t keep days or food restrictions that they do what they do and give God thanks (glory). A thankful person realizes that he has received a gift they did not deserve. The Christian then is to orient his life towards Christ and not on the fellow believer. Then Paul reminds them in Romans 14:7:

Romans 14:7 NKJV For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.

One who has read Hemingway thinks of the quote from “For Whom the Bell Tolls” has come across a paraphrase of this verse that no man is an island, entire of one’s self, that each is part of a continent, In this, He is quoting the English clergyman John Donne. What is remarkable is that Hemingway was an atheist who also said: “Hail nada, full of nada, nada is with thee.” Even the Pagan Hemingway knew the importance of society in which we all need one another. How much more should the Christian notice that we are not complete Christians in our own selves, We need our fellow believers which are not the part of a continent but the body of Christ. Paul taught the gifts of the Holy Spirit and that they are distributed among the believers. There are no Christian superstars. Unity occurs when all share their particular spiritual gift. So this answers the question whether Christians who are irregular in their attendance to the common worship are indeed weak, if they are Christians at all. The Bible tells us that we must individually believe and receive Christ as Savior and Lord. We are to follow in baptism. But Christians are not baptized unto themselves. they are baptized into the church body, the body of Christ, In many denominations, vows are made not only by the person being baptized, but by sponsors, the pastor, and the church body to bring up the baptized person in the nurture and admonition of the Lord that the new Christian might attain maturity. Even in the case of churches which baptize infants, the parents stand in the place of the child and make a promise to raise them in the Christian faith. Implicit in this is that the parents will be faithful to model Christ in the home and to attend worship and Sunday School and/or discipleship training events.

Paul says that even death does not separate us from Christ and His body. Earlier in chapter 8, he reminds us that nothing is able to separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 8:38-9). Here reminds us that Jesus is both the Lord of the living and the dead. This means that is is also judge of the living and the dead. He reminds us that Christians shall have to give account for their ministry. Seeing this is the case, how careful we must be not to offend our brother for whom Christ died. (see 1 Corinthians 8:11) The “strong” Christian builds his life upon Christ which is the only and sure foundation. To this, he build his house with precious materials and not wood, hay and stubble (1 Corinthians 3:11-13). No one should desire to enter heaven with the tinge of smoke, having lost his reward. It is God’s will that all of His children will grow to be strong. To this task, God has entrusted the church and equipped it.

The Christian who is strong is one who realizes that they are not beyond temptation. Galatians 6:1 reminds us of this. None of us are beyond falling into various temptations. It is truly said that no one can rightfully call himself “humble,” for as soon as one does so, he makes his humbleness a matter of pride. Others can see the humility. Hopefully, God sees humbleness in all his children. The Christian who would be strong is one who attends church regularly, studies the Bible, prays, and serves the brethren in humbleness of spirit. The strong believer listens to the Holy Spirit. The strong believer is willing to change one’s doctrinal opinions and/or behaviors if the Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and clear reason indicate that change is needed.

The strong Christian has a well-developed discernment. There are things which are doctrinally and behaviorally foundational to the faith which cannot be compromised. Then there are others which are of lesser importance. There might be some correction that needs to be administered, but these beliefs are not essential for salvation. Then there are other matters which should probably be overlooked as secondary. Here, in Romans, they included the keeping or not keeping of days, and the eating or not eating certain foods. It would be a great sin to tear up the unity which God desires in His Church.

Discernment is not an easy process. Is holding the correct view of baptism essential or of secondary importance? the Church is divided among those who hold to believer’s baptism against them who also allow infant baptism? Is the proper mode immersion, or can one pour or sprinkle? When it comes to the Lord’s Supper, are the elements turned by a priest into the literal body and blood of Christ? Or is Christ bodily present in the elements of bread and wine? Or is the communion a simple ordinance of remembrance, symbolized by the bread and cup? Should real wine be used in the communion, or can one substitute grape juice? Should communion be open or closed to only the members of the church? One can find support in Scripture for their opinions. I do believe in sound doctrine, and we should desire to be correct in both doctrine and practice. But how much hurt and offense has the desire to be correct has divided the Church into various denominations, some who feel that unless you hold to that denomination and its teaching, you are not a Christian at all. There are stronger and weaker opinions. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are indeed important. But the most important doctrine to be derived from these sacraments, or ordinances, is the celebration of the unity of the body of Christ. In our dogmatism, we might just commit a greater doctrinal sin.

Communion and baptism are just a few of the issues which divide the church. I could name many others, but this sermon is long enough at it is. So let us conclude this matter by reminding ourselves again that God wants us to be strong and not weak Christians. The strong Christian is one who studies the Bible, prays, lives a life worthy of the calling, and has a teachable spirit. The strong Christian always gives thanks to God who has saved Him in Jesus Christ.The weak Christian tends to be pridefully opinionated, not a regular attender at church or feels that it is good enough to have a one-on-one relationship with God. The weak Christian disregards what is essential and instead strains at theological gnats. So let us consider what we have heard today and apply what is good and wholesome to our lives.