Romans 14 Part 1
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1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.
3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.
4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.
8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;
11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
Last week we looked at the last half of Romans 13 where we are told to owe no debts. However, there is one debt we will never be able to repay - love towards one another. If we love others, we will not sin against them. We will treat them in a manner worthy of the love God shows to us by the sacrifice of His Son. Paul reminds us we are in no way worthy of the love God shows us, in the same way many of the people we are in contact with “may” not be worthy of our love - but should be shown that same love God shows us. We are a witness in our actions and the way we treat others.
Paul continues to speak of the way we are to show that same manner of worthiness in how we interact with others, especially the ones who may be weaker in their faith. We aren’t to “quarrel” - shouldn’t argue with - someone who is not as spiritually mature (regardless of age).
Top 10 “argument” sayings:
It takes two to argue.
Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; an argument an exchange of ignorance.
Convincing yourself doesn’t win an argument.
Arguing isn’t communication, it’s noise.
Behind every argument is someone’s ignorance.
Argument is meant to reveal the truth, not to create it.
There are usually two sides to every argument but no end.
A lot of arguments can be avoided if we simply stop and think about our response before we say it.
Never argue with an idiot. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.
Be able to defend your arguments in a rational way. Otherwise, all you have is an opinion.
Basically, Paul is trying to create an attitude and atmosphere of unity.
How often does disunity create fractions among churches?
In most cases, does the disunity EVER create a better outcome?
Two things that Paul addresses in the first part of Chapter 14 are food and the specific day of worship.
Don’t Argue with Spiritual Kids - Food
Don’t Argue with Spiritual Kids - Food
1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.
3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.
4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Do we choose to argue over things that have no eternal value?
Here Paul basically outlines this: ‘The man who eats everything’ (the strong) ‘must not look down on him who does not’ (the weak); ‘and the man who does not eat everything’ (the weak) ‘must not judge the man who does’ (the strong). A moral dilemma is here - passing judgment. The “weak” members probably reasoned as follows: “In this pagan city how do we know whether any meat at all is really ‘clean’? How do we know whether the animal from which it came was actually a ‘clean’ one? How do we know whether it was slaughtered in the prescribed manner? And how do we know whether it was not first of all offered to idols?”
We see this issue come up with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah when they were offered the king’s wine and food. They ate vegetables as a compromise…so that they wouldn’t be compromised. However, IF a person chose to eat vegetables only, then they should not be ridiculed by others in the church and they also should not do so with wrong motives. They should not also allow themselves to think that by being vegetarian they are doing God a favor and He owes them something in return. We should ALL be accepting of the positions each of us take in our own personal Christian stance.
Interpretation - the Cambridge Dictionary gives this definition an explanation or opinion of what something means. Now the issue comes with this…when we get more conviction over our “opinion” than the true explanation. One person, namely, the strong, is convinced that there is no valid restriction on the kinds of food he may eat and enjoy. Another person, being weak eats only vegetables. The strong one, or eater, should not look down with contempt on the weak one, or abstainer. The strong ones or eaters were mostly converts from the world of the Gentiles, and in the church of Rome constituted the majority and might think “why bother with the few”. The weak or abstainers, on the other hand, might be tempted to derive satisfaction from the very fact that they were in the minority—is not one on God’s side a majority?—and might therefore begin to pass judgment on the eaters.
Paul passes judgment on both. the eater or strong one is answerable only to “his own master,” namely, the Lord Jesus Christ; just as, by way of illustration, a servant or slave would be answerable only to his own master. The eater is certainly not obliged to give an account to the abstainer. The latter has no right to condemn him.
Don’t Argue with Spiritual Kids - Day of Worship
Don’t Argue with Spiritual Kids - Day of Worship
5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.
8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
Which day of the week is the right day to worship?
According to some it must have been the seventh day of the week, the Jewish sabbath. To another, it would be the first day of the week regarding the resurrection of Christ. Paul states one person may think a specific day as more “sacred” that the others. However, others think every day is the Lord’s day. “Each one be fully convinced in his own mind” that what he is doing is right. No one must do what is contrary to the dictates of his own conscience as illumined by the Word! The weak should not condemn the strong; but also, the strong should not look down on the weak.
As a comparison with verse 5 shows, “He who regards one day as being special” is the weak person. Now Paul states that the person who makes this distinction between days, a distinction which strong persons would not make, must not be looked down upon for doing so, for he does so with the purpose of honoring the Lord.380 Similarly, the one who eats, paying no attention to the Mosaic distinction between clean and unclean, cannot be accused of being indifferent to the will of God. On the contrary, he too honors the Lord by doing what he does. Both the weak and the strong, in this matter of indifference, are honoring the Lord; the weak, by giving thanks to him for their vegetarian meal; the strong, by giving thanks for their meat, etc.
In verses 7-9 we see the apostle reminding us we are not in this life alone. None of us lives to himself. Both the strong and the weak must get along because we are not to live a self-centered life. Our life should be lived for Christ. Our basic aim is to please Him. When we die we strive, even by means of our dying, to glorify the Lord. “So then, we are the Lord’s”. If we are the Lords, and He exercises Lordship over believers, then should we not then work together instead of worrying about quarreling with each other?
Passing Judgment
Passing Judgment
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;
11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
In verse 3 Paul had warned the strong not to look down on the weak, and the weak not to condemn the strong. That this was nevertheless actually occurring and is an inexcusable sin he makes clear in verse 10, where, in reverse order (now referring to the weak first of all) the apostle accusingly asks why one church member is sinning against another. The one whom they condemn or despise is, after all, a brother. Also, those who are passing judgment, or are looking down on a brother, must remember that not they are lords, but Christ is the Lord; and accordingly, that not they are the legitimate judges, but Christ is the Judge. They are therefore arrogating to themselves a prerogative that belongs to Christ and to God alone.
Simply put, we are all going to stand before God. The weak, the strong, the saved, the lost. There will indeed be a universal judgment.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Repeating the thought of verse 10 (“For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God”), Paul concludes his reflection on this theme by stating, “So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Note: each of us! Not a single one will be exempted.
Paul urges the weak to stop criticizing the strong, and the strong to cease finding fault with the weak. Both parties should decide not to place any hindrance in the way of their brothers. On the contrary—for the negative implies the positive—each group should help the other to become a more effective witness for Christ. In view of the fact that both parties love the Lord, repose their trust in him, and wish to walk in his way, it would be wrong to hurt one another’s feelings by insisting that there be absolute unanimity with respect to every aspect of the practice of religion.
Hendriksen, William, and Simon J. Kistemaker. Exposition of Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Vol. 12–13. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001. Print. New Testament Commentary.