9-17-06 Rom 14 1-8
9-17-06 Rom 14: 1-8
14 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
I. No Believer Should Be Judged by Another Believer Down Here (14:1–8).
A. We are not to criticize others’ legalism (14:1–8).
1. The rules (14:1–6)
a. Don’t judge in matters of diet (14:1–4, 6b): Some feel it is wrong to eat meat or any food that has been sacrificed to an idol.
b. Don’t judge in matters of days (14:5–6a): Some feel certain days are more sacred than others.
2. The reason (14:7–8): Both the weaker and stronger believer belong to the Lord and must love each other
Paul rebukes both the strong and the weak for their judgmental attitudes
The person described in this context whose faith is weak (1–2) is not necessarily one who is immature or lacking in faith in Christ in an absolute sense. Rather he is one who does not believe that his Christian faith allows him to engage in some specific practice
14:1–4 Paul’s letters were not intended as abstract treatises on matters ethical and theological but pastoral notes addressed to real life situations in first-century churches. At Rome there were Jewish Christians who were reluctant to give up certain ceremonial aspects of their religious heritage
Because of their Jewish background the weak were apparently continuing to observe Jewish feast days
14:5–8 There was considerable diversity in the early church. Some believers regarded certain days as more sacred than others. Those who observe special days do it to honor the Lord (v. 6). Those who eat meat do it in honor of the Lord. They bless the Lord for the provisions he supplies. At the same time, those who abstain from eating meat also do it in honor of the Lord. They too give thanks to the Lord. There is no difference in their motivation. Both conduct themselves in such a way as to please their Master.
“None of us lives to himself alone” (v. 7) often has been understood in the sense of John Donne’s “No man is an island.” Paul’s statement, however, is not a sociological observation regarding the unity of the human race. What he was saying was that all believers live out their lives accountable to God. Decisions about such matters as special days and eating meat are not made in isolation but in accordance with the will of God as understood by the individual. Even in death believers maintain their relationship to God. To live means to honor the Lord. To die is no different. Whether we live or die we belong to the Lord