When I am the Stronger Brother/Weaker Brother
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for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.
The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him.
Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.
For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
For it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall give praise to God.”
So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.
I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.
So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.
Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.
It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.
The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.
But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
Today we are continuing our topic of Loving Others Well.
The Topic today is Weaker Brother/Stronger Brother dynamics.
How do we love our Brothers and Sisters in Christ well while we live our lives in front of one another?
Need to Define the Terms
Need to Define the Terms
One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.
Romans 14:2, 5-6
One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.
Romans 14:5-6
From verses 2 and 5-6
Weaker Brother - EATS Vegetables, VALUES one day above another
Need to Define the Terms
Stronger Brother - EATS Everything, ALL Days are alike
Weaker Brother - sees certain things as doable and other things as undoable (may struggle with legalism b/c misunderstands the relationship between faith and conduct?
we are not talking about issues of blantant sin! We are talking about so-called “disputable matters”
The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Epistle to the Romans 1. Christian Liberty, 14:1–12
Rather, the person he has in mind is the one who does not understand the conduct implied by faith; perhaps he is the person whose faith is ineffective. His faith is weak in that it cannot sustain him in certain kinds of conduct.
Weaker Brother - sees certain things as doable and other things as undoable (may struggle with legalism b/c misunderstands the relationship between faith and conduct?
Weaker Brother - sees certain things as doable and other things as undoable (may struggle with legalism b/c misunderstands the relationship between faith and conduct?
we are not talking about issues of blantant sin! We are talking about so-called “disputable matters”
ACTIVITY #1
ACTIVITY #1
MAKE TWO (2) Lists - you take 3 or 4 minutes by yourself to think about . I will write on the board to get a better sense of what we are talking about (I reserve the right to say that it does not apply.
What are some legalistic practices that we can indulge in that if we don’t see others doing can cause us to stumble (Example - Read Your Bible Everyday, Observing the Sabbath)
What are some things that people have done "unwittingly" to make you stumble or struggle with your walk with Christ? Think about this…as a Christian you have seen another Christian do something or do something to you that has caused. (Example - Drink in front of someone who does not think Christians should drink, Eating meat sacrificed to idols)
ACTIVITY #2
ACTIVITY #2
We are going to work through the passages as a group to pull out the EXHORTATIONS that Paul is asking us to complete! (An EXHORTATION is an urgent communication to DO SOMETHING)
I will get you a set of verses and I want you to find the exhortation. When you come up with an answer, check with your neighbor to see what they got.
v.1/v.13a - Accept the one who is weak in faith/ let us not judge one another anymore
v.13b - Determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.
v.15b - Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
v.16 - Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; (Our Faith in General)
v.20 - Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food
There is no arbitrary thing that is worth “hurting” another believer over
We have the power to break down in one another what God has been building up
We can build or we can destroy!
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.
Scripture for 5 Exhortations
Scripture for 5 Exhortations
#1
#1
#1
#1
Romans 14:1
Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.
#2-#4
#2-#4
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;
Romans 14:
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
#5
#5
#3
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
Romans