“Power Robbing Judgmentalism” – Romans 14:1-12

Sunday, February 5^th, 2012 

Romans 14:1-12; Mt 15:1-14; 1 Cor 8:1-13; 10:14-33; Gal. 2:1-3:14; 4:10-11; 5:1-15; Col. 2:6-17; 1 Tim 4:1-8

“Power Robbing Judgmentalism” 

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Bible Memory Verse for the Week:  For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.         —  Galatians 5:6

 

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. — Luke 6:37

 

To Judge or not to Judge.  That is the question!

 

PASTOR KEITH’s MESSAGE DISCLAIMER: The bottom line of today’s message is that Christians are to do all they can to avoid giving offense.  And yet, I have come to the conclusion that in order for me to be assured that I have faithful proclaimed the principles of this text, I need to offend all of you at least once in order to insure you understand the teaching.  I promise you, I have tried to dull the pain of the scalpel as much as I can without compromising the surgery that needs to take place.

Therefore, at the risk of losing my job, and losing the respect and honor that many of you give to me as your pastor; I am going to do my best to teach this text without NEEDLESSLY offending realizing that I will have to (as the Apostle Paul had to) offend you to teach you.  Please note: There are a number of issues I will not bring up today, that really deserve being brought up, but I know that I could never do it without NEEDLESSLY offending.  Therefore, I will employ the principle Paul is teaching today in order to live out the reality of this teaching as your pastor.

Paul is ruthless in his defense of the Gospel.  And anytime he senses that the Gospel message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus alone is being compromised or eclipsed, by some requirement or prohibition that must be obeyed to be saved, he viciously fights back to insure the integrity of the Gospel.  I pray that is my motivation today as well.  Always remember the Gospel is Jesus + NOTHING!  Jesus saves . . . PERIOD!

 

Background Information:

• Chapter 13 ended with Paul telling us that we needed to be ever mindful of Jesus’ imminent return.  We should not be bogged down by orgies, drunkenness, sexual immorality, debauchery, dissensions or jealousy.  And yet it has long been a problem in the Church that a difference in opinion over scruples or what is permissible and what is not permissible for a Christian causes believers to create both dissensions and jealousy.  Paul addresses this issue in Chapters 14 and 15.
• Side Roads that must be traveled before we can begin to understand the issue:

–                       OT dietary laws

–                      Jesus’ teaching they were no longer applicable (Mark 7:14-23 & Acts 10:9-16)

–                      Jewish vs. Gentile application (Gal 2)

 

Why the Ceremonial and Civil Law to begin with?

 

• Israel is a special people with a special task

They were to maintain their spiritual integrity even while in exile

• The Laws were to demonstrate to them on a constant basis what was involved with having a relationship with a Holy God.

 

• The Law as to point them to Jesus who would ultimately satisfy  the ceremonial Law with his death on the cross, the civil law with his Millennial Kingdom here on earth and the moral law by the Holy Spirit living in each of us.

 

 

Adiaphora = Disputable things

 

• Every day is a feast day, and a holy day; and every kind of food is permitted.  So also every kind of garment is allowed.  All is free, and only humility, love, and what else the Apostle indicates must be observed.  Against this (Christian) liberty, for which the Apostle contends, many false apostles raised their voice to mislead the people to do certain things as though these were necessary.  Against such errorists the Apostle took the offensive with an amazing zeal.  (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans, 195)
• The sixteenth-century Reformers called such things adiaphora, “matters of indifference,” whether (as here) they were customs and ceremonies, or secondary beliefs which are not part of the gospel or the creed.  In either case they are matters on which Scripture does not clearly pronounce.  (E. F. Scott, D.D., Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, 358)
• The issue that Paul deals with in Rom 14-15, therefore, falls into the category we call adiaphora:  things neither required nor prohibited.  Paul’s plea for tolerance, therefore, cannot be extended to other kinds of issues.  The apostle could be very intolerant when the truth of the gospel was at stake (see, e.g., Galatians).  (Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Vol. 3, 82)

 

• But had not Christ, by his death on the cross, fulfilled and thereby abolished, the OT shadows?  And if even the divinely established dietary regulations had lost their validity, was not the same true, in fact more decisively, with respect to all man-made rules that had been embroidered upon them?

True indeed, but this legitimate inference was not drawn by every believer in Christ.  Many, especially in Jerusalem and vicinity, but also in Rome and probably elsewhere, held fast to their “traditions.”

Now as long as no saving significance or merit of any kind was ascribed to the perpetuation of such rules and regulations, and no offense was given, such persistence in clinging to the old could be tolerated.  The adherents must be treated with love and patience.  This was true especially during what might be called “the period of transition.”  (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 452)

 

Weak/Strong faith

 

• Paul calls the ultra-scrupulous man the man who is weak in the faith.  What does he mean by that?
• Such a man is weak in the faith for two reasons.  (I) He has not yet discovered the meaning of Christian freedom; he is at heart still a legalist and sees Christianity as a thing of rules and regulations.  (ii) He has not yet liberated himself from a belief in the efficacy of works.  In his heart he believes that he can gain God’s favour by doing certain things and abstaining from others.  Basically he is still trying to earn a right relationship with God, and has not yet accepted the way of grace, still thinking more of what he can do for God than of what God has done for him.   (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: Romans, 180)

 

• The strong were those who were able to grasp the significance of Christ’s death for daily living; that is, for eating and drinking, etc., the weak were not.  (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 452)

 

• In every fellowship there are those whose consciences will not allow them to do this or that.  They have scruples.  They feel that if they violate certain taboos, the Lord will be displeased with them.  Those bound by such scruples, Paul labels as weak in faith.  Then there are those who understand that Christ has set them free from customs and tradition and they enjoy WIDE liberty in the Lord.  Their consciences allow them to do anything they can do as “unto the Lord” (Col 3:17).  They might mow their lawns on Sunday, live in an expensive home, have a glass of wine on special occasions, see a certain movie, or believe in cremation with complete liberty, doing so as unto the Lord.  Such a Christian the apostle regards as strong in faith.   (C. S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on Romans, 355)
• Most commentators conclude that the core of the dispute has to do with observance of the Jewish law.  The weak were those–mainly Jewish Christians–who could not bring themselves to abandon the requirements of the law they had observed all their lives.  They could not, as Christians, simply ignore the food laws, Sabbath observance, and so on.  The strong, by contrast, felt no need to observe these laws.  Most of them were undoubtedly Gentile Christians, although a few, like Paul himself (see the “we” in 15:1), were Jewish Christians.  The weak condemned the strong for cavalierly dismissing God’s laws, while the strong pooh-poohed the weak, looking down on them for clinging to the old ways when the new had come.  Paul sides with the strong on the basic issues involved, but his main concern is to get each group to stop criticizing the others and to accept each other in a spirit of love and unity.  (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 447)
• So because of his weakness in understanding the Christian faith, the tendency of the weaker brother is to become a legalist.  (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 14:1-17, 44)
• It is important to be clear at the outset that Paul is referring to a weakness neither of will nor of character, but of “faith” (14:1).  It is a “weakness in assurance that one’s faith permits one to do certain things”.  So if we are trying to picture a weaker brother or sister, we must not envisage a vulnerable Christian easily overcome by temptation, but a sensitive Christian full of indecision and scruples.  What the weak lack is not strength of self-control but liberty of conscience.  (E. F. Scott, D.D., Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, 355)
• The weak in faith are not necessarily lesser Christians than the strong.  They are simply those who do not think their faith allows them to do certain things that the strong feel free to do.  What Paul wants the strong to do is not simply extend grudging tolerance to the weak, but to welcome them (the verb proslambano, used here, means to receive or accept into one’s society, home, circle of acquaintance).  They should not allow differences over “disputable matters” to interfere with full fellowship in the body of Christ.  (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 448)
• We can’t overlook the fact that Paul was writing to Rome from Corinth, and he had faced one particular form of the eating problem there (see 1 Cor 8:1-13 and 10:23-33).  (James Montgomery Boice, Romans, Vol. 4, The New Humanity, 1734)
• Paul is no doubt thinking back to his earlier experiences in Pharisaism, where well-meaning students of the law endeavored to protect their traditions (“Fencing the Torah,” it was called) by detailed codes of conduct.  But in Christ he had found a freedom from such a restrictive view of righteousness.  Paul’s concept of Christian liberty was so expansive that it led him to propose that “love is the fulfillment of the law” (13:10).  With such a view of the gospel, Paul could only look at those who relied on specific regulations as “weak.”  (Clarence L. Bence, Romans, A Commentary for Bible Students, 222)
• Proslamban  (accept) is a compound verb, the prefix pros being a preposition that intensifies the basic verb, making it a command.  In other words, Paul was not simply suggesting, but commanding, that strong believers accept weak believers.

In the NT, proslambanō is always used in the Greek middle voice, which gives it the connotation of personal and willing acceptance of another person.  This meaning is clearly seen in Acts 28:2, where Paul uses the verb to describe the gracious hospitality of the Malta natives, who “kindled a fire and received us all” (emphasis added).  This meaning is also clear in Rom 15:7, where Paul uses the verb twice, first regarding Christians’ accepting one another and then of Christ’s accepting “us [that is, all believers] to the glory of God.”  (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 274-75)

 

• It helps to get a picture of what this involves by realizing that the phrases in Rom 14:10 rendered “God’s judgment seat” and in 2 Cor 5:10 rendered “the judgment seat of Christ” each contain the Greek word b ma, which refers not to the judge’s seat in a court of law but to the bench upon which the referees or judges sat at an athletic contest.  It was the place from which those who did well in the contest and triumphed were rewarded with a laurel wreath and from which those who broke the rules were disqualified or disapproved.  (James Montgomery Boice, Romans, Vol. 4, The New Humanity, 1757)
• The Bible here declares Jesus Christ to be the Lord God Almighty, the eternal Judge.  This is so obvious that commentators through the centuries have cited this passage as proof of His deity.  The original passage in Is 45:23 refers to the dominion of Jehovah over all His creation.  The quotation in Romans applies to the sovereignty to be exercised by the Redeemer Christ when He comes again.  Things equal to the same thing are equal to each other.  The Lord Jesus is the Lord Jehovah.  (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Discipline, 213)

 

The question to be answered is . . . How in the world do we ever get along when there are so many different cultural and personal value systems within the Body of Christ?

 

Answer: We need to adopt the position that Jesus adopted and that St. Augustine promoted: In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in everything, charity.  We must learn to accept one another in spite of our differences.

 

In these and other issues, today as in first-century Rome, the problem is how to handle conscientious differences in matters on which Scripture is either silent or seemingly equivocal, in such a way as to prevent them from disrupting the Christian fellowship.  (E. F. Scott, D.D., Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, 358-59)

 

Paul’s “ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor 5:18) took him beyond drawing unbelievers toward Christ to also unifying a divisive body of believers.  Here we see Paul endeavoring to steer an appropriate course between the twin dangers of legalism and license.  (Clarence L. Bence, Romans, A Commentary for Bible Students, 220)

 

The Word for the Day is . . . accept

 

What is Paul’s teaching here in Romans 14:1-13?:

 

1. I.                   Everyone of us has different values on disputable matters (duh!?!).  Accept those brothers with whom you disagree and don’t judge them. (Rom 14:1; see also: Mt 7:1-6; 1 Cor 4:5; Jms 4:11)

 

Christian liberty (14:1-15:13).  The longest part of these final chapters concerns Christian liberty.  At first glance this seems surprising, given the many great personal, social, and cultural problems that existed in Paul’s day as well as our own.  Why did Paul not condemn slavery, develop a Christian view of economics, or comment on war?  We cannot know with certainty why Paul chose to ignore these matters and address others, but his decision to deal with personal liberty at least indicates how important this matter was for him.  He does not allow Christians to disobey God’s moral law, and he offers no low standard of ethics.  The standard is the highest: the yielding of our entire selves to God as living sacrifices.  But Paul was nevertheless firmly opposed to one group of Christians imposing extrabiblical (or nonbiblical) standards on other Christians.  (James Montgomery Boice, An Expositional Commentary: Romans, Vol. 4, 1488-89)

 

It is sad to contemplate that one of the prevailing sins of Christians is the criticism of and lack of consideration for fellow Christians.  All our dealings with fellow Christians must be brought out at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The innuendo, slander, backbiting, envy, jealousy, gossiping and lying among Christians is a first-class scandal.  Christians even slander each other by the tone of voice in prayer; “O Lord, we pray Thee for dear brother So-and-so!  Thou knowest how much he needs our prayers!”  From the tone, a stranger wonders what the “dear brother” has been doing.  In fact, some Christians satisfy the carnal inclinations of their old nature by just such fleshly practices, and they think they are being “spiritual.”  But all motives will be brought to light in the day of Christ.  (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Discipline, 198)

 

Some time ago when I examined every verse in the NT on the subject of separation, I discovered that nowhere does the Word of God countenance separation between Christians on a point of doctrine.  We must separate from a Christian who is guilty of a moral lapse; but not on the ground of doctrinal difference.  Not even one verse justifies such separation.  (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Discipline, 163)

 

When we are confronted with someone who holds the narrower view there are three attitudes we must avoid.  (I) We must avoid irritation.  An impatient annoyance with such a person gets us nowhere.  However much we may disagree, we must try to see the other person’s point of view and to understand it.  (ii) We must avoid ridicule.  No man remains unwounded when that which he thinks precious is laughed at.  It is no small sin to laugh at another man’s beliefs.  They may seem prejudices rather than beliefs; but no man has a right to laugh at what some other holds sacred.  In any event, laughter will never woo the other man to a wider view; it will only make him withdraw still more determinedly into his rigidity.  (iii) We must avoid contempt.  It is very wrong to regard the narrower person as an old-fashioned fool whose views may be treated with contempt.  A man’s views are his own and must be treated with respect.  It is not even possible to win a man over to our position unless we have a genuine respect for his.  Of all attitudes towards our fellow man the most unChristian is contempt.   (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: Romans, 180-81)

 

The Reformers called these non-essentials adiaphora, or matters about which

Christians may differ without endangering their salvation.  There are, of course, far more adiaphora than there are diapheronta (2:18), or essentials of faith.  Understanding this, Paul makes no attempt to take sides.  Rather, in the irenic spirit of Second Isaiah (cf. 40:11), he exhorts his readers not to judge fellow Christians on points which from God’s perspective are not of ultimate importance.  “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (15:7).  (James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans, 319)

 

The weak, who have not (yet) thought through the full implications of the faith, attempt to impose their doubts on the strong to prevent them from a full exercise of the Christian liberty that their faith allows them.  The strong are enjoined to welcome the weak not for purposes of settling accounts with them or of trying to show them the folly of their beliefs.  They are charged to accept them genuinely for what they are–as fellow Christians.  (James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans, 320)

 

Growing in the spirit is like growing physically–everone grows at different rates as God works in each life.  So the first instruction Paul gives the church is to accept, welcome, and love one another without judging or condemning–no matter how weak, immature, or unlearned someone’s faith may seem.  Acceptance creates room for growth to continue; rejection stunts growth.  (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 260)

 

These kind of disputes are not about doctrines essential to salvation, but are discussions about differences of life-style.  Paul says we are not to quarrel about issues that are matters of opinion.  Differences should not be feared or avoided, but accepted and handled with love.  We shouldn’t expect everyone, even in the best church, to agree on every subject.  Through sharing ideas we can come to a fuller understanding of what the Bible teaches.  Our basic approach should be to accept, to listen to, and respect others.  Differences of opinion need not cause division.  They can be a source of learning and richness in our relationships.  (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 260)

 

You refrain from your meat to the glory of Christ; I will eat my meat to the glory of Christ.  We both belong to Christ and we will let Christ make the decision.  We are not supposed to fight with each other over it.  (RC Sproul, The Gospel of God: Romans, 234)

 

The very suggestion of “accepting” (?) them with the purpose of adversely criticizing them for their “opinions” (or “scruples”) must not even occur to anyone.  (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 456)

 

14:1 This verse assumes there will be differences of opinion in the church (disputable matters).  Paul says we are not to quarrel about issues that are matters of opinion.  Differences should not be feared or avoided, but accepted and handled with love.  Don’t expect everyone, even in the best possible church, to agree on every subject.  Through sharing ideas we can come to a fuller understanding of what the Bible teaches.  Accept, listen to, and respect others.  Differences of opinion need not cause division.  They can be a source of learning and richness in our relationships.  (Tyndale House Publishers, Life Application Study Bible, 2053)

 

Paul is saying, then, that we must receive the weak person with a warm and genuine welcome, “without debate over his misgivings” or scruples (REB), or “not for the purpose of getting into quarrels about opinions” (BAGD).  In other words, we are not to turn the church into a debating chamber, whose chief characteristic is argument, still less into a law court in which weak persons are put in the dock, interrogated and arraigned.  The welcome we give them must include respect for their opinions.  (E. F. Scott, D.D., Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, 360)

 

Don’t, Paul says, welcome the “weak” simply “for the purpose of quarrels over disputed matters.”  The “disputed matters” are those differences of opinion respecting the eating of meat, the observance of days, and the drinking of wine that Paul mentions later in the chapter (vv. 2, 5, 21).  Paul wants the “strong” to receive the “weak” into full and intimate fellowship, something that could not happen if the “strong,” the majority group. Persist in advancing their views on these issues, sparking quarrels and mutual recrimination.  (Douglas J. Moo, The New International Commentary on the NT: Romans, 836-37)

 

The specific area Paul addresses is disputable matters–those religious convictions that often divide sincere Bible-believing Christians, who interpret the meaning of scripture passages in different ways.  (Clarence L. Bence, Romans, A Commentary for Bible Students, 221)

 

One of the marks of the church should be cordial relations even between groups of distinctly different character.  Segregation has no place within the life of the fellowship; least of all should it follow the lines of special interest or limited concern.  The phrase Paul uses presupposes a community sufficiently inclusive to have a place within it for those who differ widely in insight and in attainment.  (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 615)_

                                                               

1. II.    There will be other Christians who have different values than yours who will try to convince you that you are wrong and should change.  Follow your convictions unless THEY change.  (Rom 14:5; 1 Cor 2:15; 4:3-5; Col 2:16)

 

Paul admonished believers in Colossae: “Let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day” (Col 2:16).  He did not advise either the forsaking or the following of such customs, but rather reminded his readers of their unimportance.  Those were “things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ” (Col 2:17).  (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 281)

Paul is therefore giving a two-fold command: do not compromise your own conscience in order to conform to the conscience of another believer and do not attempt to lead another believer to compromise his conscience to conform to yours.  (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 282)

 

Fellowship among Christians is not to be based on questioning and disputing, toward the result that the one adopts the other’s view and accepts it as the norm of action.  Such a sameness is not a Christian ideal.  Acceptance ought not to rest on such secondary considerations.  Christians are not all alike, nor should they be.  (Anders Nygren, Commentary on Romans, 443)

 

If each Christian had kept his convictions to himself, there would have been no problem, but they began to criticize and judge one another.  The one group was sure the other group was not at all spiritual.  (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Right, 151)

 

But he insists on one thing.  Whatever course a man chooses, let him be fully convinced in his own mind.  His actions should be dictated not by convention, still less by superstition, but altogether by conviction.  He should not do things simply because other people do them; he should not do them because he is governed by a system of semi-superstitious taboos; he should do them because he has thought them out and reached the conviction that for him at least they are the right things to do.   (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: Romans, 185)

 

Whereas the man with liberty is not to despise the man with scruples, the weaker Christian is not to JUDGE his stronger brother.  That is the temptation.  It seems natural to believe that God approves the Christian with many scruples rather than the one who doesn’t worry about minor morals.  It is not, for example, easier to believe that God is happier with the man who refrains from wine altogether, then the one who takes it with his meals?  But what does Paul say? The man with the pinching conscience hasn’t yet learned to honor the Lord with that kind of faith.  It takes more faith to appropriate one’s liberty in Christ than it does to try and please God by observing scruples.  Caution: I am not speaking of unscrupulous living (license), but being able to enjoy many things as “unto the Lord,” which the weaker (scrupulous) brother will not allow himself.   (C. S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on Romans, 357)

 

Such questions as, “Can I do this?  Can I go here or there?  How should a believer act in this situation?”, are all matters of individual conscience.  The Lord wants believers to make up their own minds about such things.  Why?  So they will mature.  The only way He can get us to grow up and be like Him is to put us on our own for such things.  That’s why we are guided by principles rather than rules.  That’s why He leaves so many things to conscience.   (C. S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on Romans, 359)

 

The violation of one’s conscience, even if it is a misinformed conscience, is a serious matter.  That does not mean we should stand back and allow our weaker brother to make his scruple the law of the church.  Paul makes clear in his teaching that though we are to be sensitive, loving, and kind to the weaker brother, we ought never to to allow him to exercise tyranny over the church.  (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans, 475)

 

We walk a very thin line.  The weaker brother is not to destroy the freedom of all in the church.  At the same time, we can forego our freedom for a time out of consideration for our weaker brother.  Paul is opposing a spirit of arrogance that leads us to insist on our rights to do whatever we please no matter what.  That is the wrong approach.  The stronger brother has to be willing to forego his strength for the sake of the weaker brother, yet the church must never allow the weaker one to establish his weakness as law for the Christian community.  (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans, 475)

 

Notice that verse 5 does not say, “Let everyone do what he or she feels is right, because, after all, the person is convinced in his or her own mind.”  He does not say the person involved is convinced and therefore should not be challenged, but rather that he should be convinced.  This means that Paul is willing to treat each believer as a responsible, thinking person, not merely one to be led about docilely by a self-styled “stronger” believer.  Therefore, we have a responsibility, each one of us, to search out these matters for ourselves.  (James Montgomery Boice, Romans, Vol. 4, The New Humanity, 1744)

 

14:1 Who is weak in faith and who is strong?  We are all weak in some areas and strong in others.  Our faith is strong in an area if we can survive contact with sinners without falling into their patterns.  It is weak in an area if we must avoid certain activities, people, or places in order to protect our spiritual life.  It is important to take a self-inventory in order to find out our strengths and weaknesses.  Whenever in doubt, we should ask, “Can I do that without sinning?  Can I influence others for good, rather than being influenced by them?”

In areas of strength, we should not fear being defiled by the world; rather we should go and serve God.  In areas of weakness, we need to be cautious.  If we have a strong faith but shelter it, we are not doing Christ’s work in the world.  If we have a weak faith but expose it, we are being extremely foolish.  (Tyndale House Publishers, Life Application Study Bible, 2053)

 

Now here is the consequence that is difficult: if I believe that to eat meat is a sin, and then I go ahead and eat the meat, I have sinned.  I have not sinned because eating meat is a sin, but it is a sin to do something that you believe is evil.  If I think that something is evil and then I do it, then I have acted against my conscience, and to act against one’s conscience is to commit a sin.  At the same time, this gets complicated, because the conscience can be distorted and the conscience can be misinformed.  But the only one who can bind my conscience ultimately is God; God is the Lord of my conscience.  (RC Sproul, The Gospel of God: Romans, 233)

 

14:13  Both strong and weak Christians can cause their brothers and sisters to stumble.  The strong but insensitive Christian may flaunt his or her freedom and intentionally offend others’ consciences.  The scrupulous but weak Christian may try to fence others in with petty rules and regulations, thus causing dissension.  Paul wants his readers to be both strong in the faith and sensitive to others’ needs.  Because we are all strong in some areas and weak in others, we need constantly to monitor the effects of our behavior on others.  (Tyndale House Publishers, Life Application Study Bible, 2054)

 

The important thing is that one should “be fully convinced in his own mind” as to the rightfulness of his observance.  More important still is the certitude of the individual involved that his motivation is his desire to honor the Lord in what he is doing.  It is possible for the observant and the nonobservant to do this, as illustrated by the giving of thanks at mealtime (cf. 1 Tm 4:5).  The one partaking can give thanks for the meat before him, while the one abstaining from meat can give God thanks for his vegetables.  The latter should be able to do this without resentment toward his brother who enjoys richer fare.  (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 10, 146)

 

Religious freedom is related at every point to conscience; it is not an outward pattern of behavior, but a proper correspondence between our insight and our actions.  Unless conviction points the way, we may easily sustain spiritual injury by acting in exactly the same manner as someone else.  It may be all right for him but entirely wrong for us.  (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 614)

 

It is difficult to exaggerate the significance which the apostle attaches to conscience.  We are responsible to God for the standards we accept.  When we see his will–even if it is imperfectly–and take it as our rule, we have begun to live the truly religious life, and more perfect understanding will be the reward of honesty and perseverance.  The place at which a man actually stands is relatively inconsequential.  At present he may very dimly grasp the implications of Christian liberty, but if he faithfully follows the light God gives him, it will finally bring him to the full day of perfect understanding.  (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 619)

 

Now by these words Paul means that we must think these things through carefully and thoroughly.  We must not act mechanically in this matter, nor must we act ignorantly.  I will go further: we must not act on the verdict of somebody else, but must determine this issue for ourselves.  (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 14:1-17, 91)

 

In other words, you must study the Scriptures.  You must say, “It’s not a question of what I think or of what people have told me.  I’m not a slave.  I’m no longer under law.  I’ve been given understanding, the Holy Spirit is here, and I have the Scriptures.”  So you take this problem and you work it out in terms of the Scriptures until you understand what your position is.  Then you are able to discuss it with others, and produce your reasons.  So we can put it like this: “Let every man act according to his own conscience in these matters.”  (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 14:1-17, 92)

 

1. III.             We all belong to the Lord not to our brother or sister.  Do what the Lord tells you to do.   It is HE who will ultimately judge you. (Rom 14:7-8)

 

Nor was it only food that was causing the potential problem.   It was the keeping of holy days (verses 5 and 6).  Pagan societies kept special feast days and holidays, of course, but Paul is probably referring to Jewish practices.  Some Christians would keep the major Jewish festivals; other would not.  For Paul it had become a point of indifference.  What mattered was that whichever decision you made you did what you did in honour of the Lord (Someone today who lounged in bed on Sunday morning, claiming that Paul said it didn’t matter, would I suspect get a sharp retort from the apostle).  (N. T. Wright; Paul for Everyone: Romans: Part Two, 97-98)

 

The essence of the Christian life is a love relationship with God.  Our standing in the Christian life rests with Christ; when the virtues take on too much importance, that is, when acquiring virtues and avoiding sin become the primary focus of our walk, we have elevated the (admittedly important) secondary over the primary.  Another way of putting it is that we have made an idol out of our own piety.  (Gary L. Thomas, Seeking the Face of God, p. 79)

 

No Christian has the right to “play God” in another Christian’s life.  We can pray, advise, and even admonish, but we cannot take the place of God.  What is it that makes a dish of food “holy” or a day “holy”?  It is the fact that we relate it to the Lord.  The person who treats a special day as “holy” does so “unto the Lord.”  The person who treats every day as sacred, does so “unto the Lord.”  The Christian who eats meat gives thanks to the Lord, and the Christian who abstains from meat abstains “unto the Lord.”  To be “fully persuaded–or assured–in his own mind” (v. 5) means: Let every man see to it that he is really doing what he does for the Lord’s sake, and not merely on the basis of some prejudice or whim.  (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Right, 153-54)

 

The weak judge the strong for what they believe to be illicit uses of freedom; the strong despise the weak for their lack of freedom.  Each side judges the other from its own conscience in an attempt to compel the other to its opinion.  Thus a great pitfall imperils the unity of Christ’s body.  (James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans, 319)

 

Our culture may teach that individualism and self-fulfillment are the sole guarantors of happiness, but Paul exults not in who we are, but in whose we are, for we belong to the Lord (v. 8).  (James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans, 323)

 

We are not the masters of our own lives.  We cannot arrogantly say, “It’s my life, I’ll do with it as I please.”  The fact is the Lord bought us with His own blood and we are His.  He is the Master now, not ourselves.  It is the clearly defined will of God that we should be conformed to the image of His Son.  We are obliged to follow the example of our Master.  What we are free to do, is decide for ourselves which is the best way to submit to His lordship.   (C. S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on Romans, 362)

 

In condemning the strong believer, the weak believer is, in effect, claiming to be that believer’s master.  But the Christian has only one “master”: the Lord Jesus Christ.  (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 449)

 

We belong wholly to Christ because we “have been bought with a price” (1 Cor 6:20; cf. 7:23) that He Himself paid with His own blood for our redemption (Eph 1:7; Col 1:14).  Paul charged the Ephesian elders to “be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).  (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 283)

 

He does insist, however, that “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!  Let not the weak condemn the strong; but also, let not the strong look down on the weak.  (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 458)

 

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.  (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 460)

 

NOTE: I’m beginning to believe more and more that for the Final Judgment before the throne of God, the standard of judgment will be God’s Law in ADDITION to your own confessed standards to which you expected everyone else to conform (Mt 7:1-2). If that is the case, you would be wise to shut up and never judge another by any other standard than that which you know God Himself will uphold.

 

CONCLUSION/APPLICATION: What is the bottom line in what Paul is attempting to say?:

 

1. A.     We will all be judged and are accountable to God.  We must ultimately answer to Him.  Make sure your convictions are based on knowledge of truth (God’s Word) not just tradition or superstition.  Judge rightly! (Mt 12:36; 25:31-46; 2 Tim 2:15; 1 Pet 3:15; 4:5)

 

Accountable to God for all things:

                –     We are accountable for every word (Mt 12:36-37; Eph 4:29; 5:4)

–     We are accountable for the gifts and talents we have been given (Lk 16:2; Mt 25:21-26)

–    We are accountable for the resources or money we have been given (Mt 6:19-24)

–   We are accountable for the use of our time

 

“I am in earnest about forsaking ‘the world’ and following Christ. But I am puzzled about worldly things. What is it I must forsake?” a young man asks. “Colored clothes, for one thing. Get rid of everything in your wardrobe that is not white. Stop sleeping on a soft pillow. Sell your musical instruments and don’t eat any more white bread. You cannot, if you are sincere about obeying Christ, take warm baths or shave your beard. To shave is to lie against Him who created us, to attempt to improve on His Work.”

Elizabeth Elliot comments on the above dialogue, “Does this answer sound absurd? It is the answer given in the most celebrated Christian schools of the second century! Is it possible that the rules that have been adopted by many twentieth-century; Christians will sound as absurd to earnest followers of Christ a few years hence?” (Elizabeth Elliot, The Liberty of Obedience,  45-46)

 

In spite of all that, Paul pleads for sympathy between the narrower and the more liberal brethren.  His point is that, however different their practice may be, their aim is the same.  In their different attitude to days, both believe that they are serving God; when they sit down to eat, the one eats meat and the other does not, but both say their grace to God.  We do well to remember that.   (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: Romans, 184)

 

While the church must be uncompromising in its stand against activities that are expressly forbidden by Scripture (such as adultery, homosexuality, murder, theft), it should not create additional rules and regulations and give them equal standing with God’s law.  Often Christians base their moral judgments on opinion, personal dislikes, or cultural bias, rather than on the Word of God.  When they do this, they show that their own faith is weak, and they demonstrate that they do not think God is powerful enough to guide each of his children.  When we stand before God’s judgment seat (14:10), we won’t be worried about what our Christian neighbor has done (see 2 Cor 5:10).  (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 263)

 

Because the weak are inclined toward judgmentalism, they are told not to “condemn” meat-eaters.  The weak tend to be censorious, to pigeon-hole other believers according to their checklists.  “That man cannot be a good Christian because he __________!”  (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Romans, 261)

 

Paul suggests that two believers can differ on a disputable matter, and both may be right.  The question is not who has the most verses to back up his position or who can present the best logical arguments.  The question is one of honest integrity before God.  (Clarence L. Bence, Romans, A Commentary for Bible Students, 223)

 

If we are acutely conscious that the right to judge belongs to God, we will be slow to censure our brothers; if we know that we need to be forgiven, we shall be more charitable toward those who stand in similar need of pardon.  Each one of us is accountable to God, and to God alone (v. 12).  While this disciplines our impulse to condemn others, it should sharpen our sense of responsibility to God.  If we do not feel obliged to set others right, we may have a better chance of giving a proper account of ourselves to God.  (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 623)

 

But as you notice, from the beginning of this chapter, Paul has not been coming down on one side or the other, and here he is telling us not to be concerned only about our liberty or our views or our arguments, but primarily and above all to be concerned with the glory of the Lord.

If, therefore, you are talking with a man who regards a day as special, then look to see if he regards it “unto the Lord”, or is merely someone who is opinionated.  If you see clearly that the man is really concerned about glorifying the Lord, and honoring Him, and is demonstrating what it means to be a Christian, then, says Paul, you must be very careful how you handle him.  Though you do not agree with him, you must recognize the rightness of his motive, and recognize that he is not just asserting himself and his own opinions and ideas.  As long as both of you are concerned with God’s glory rather than with yourselves and your own liberty and ideas, then you must get on together.  (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 14:1-17, 96-97)

 

Now this is most important and it is what the Apostle is saying here.  He says: Be very careful how you express your judgments on one another, because every one of you will have to appear before your Lord in this kind of judgment.  (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 14:1-17, 139-40)

 

1. B.     Always keep in mind you may be wrong.  Don’t push your values on others as you will be judged by your own standards. (Mt 12:36; Lk 12:41-48; 1 Cor 11:28; 2 Cor 7:1; Heb 13:17; 1 Jn 2:28)

The work of Christians is to serve the Lord, not to usurp His lordship by self-righteously judging fellow believers.  Our concern, rather, should be for being judged ourselves by the Lord.  For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.  (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 284)

 

If it is not what goes into a person’s mouth that defiles the person but what comes out, then we should exercise even more care than the ancient Jews did to get, have, and keep a pure heart.  Our hearts are not pure naturally.  Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jer 17:9).  But because “with God all things are possible” (Mt 19:26), my heart and your heart can be changed.  They can be changed by Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit.  That is what we should be concerned about.  If we had any idea how impure our own hearts were and were concerned about them, we would be far less inclined to scorn and judge other believers.  (James Montgomery Boice, Romans, Vol. 4, The New Humanity, 1735)

 

In one place Jesus said that you will have to give an account even of every careless word you have spoken (Mt 12:36).

If that is true, don’t you think you have enough to be concerned about without trying to straighten out the other Christian?  Of course, no one is always right in everything he or she does, but let Jesus worry about straightening the other Christian out, especially in those areas that probably don’t really matter anyway.  (James Montgomery Boice, Romans, Vol. 4, The New Humanity, 1737)

 

1. C.     Never forget you are saved by grace through faith and not by your works.  Never forget how gracious God continues to be with you therefore extend grace to others. (Bk of Galatians; Rom 5:17, 21; Eph 2:8-9)

 

When the issue was the Christian’s freedom from the law, Paul was inflexible.  (Anders Nygren, Commentary on Romans, 442)

 

He knew that the doctrinal teaching of Scripture favored the position of the Christian libertarians.  But he also realized that the deeper issue was not theological but attitudinal.  The crucial problem that needed to be addressed was the critical responses of the groups to one another.  (Charles R. Swindoll, Relating to Others in Love: Romans 12-16, 35)

 

The libertarian Christians were acting superior to the more scrupulous ones.  Rather than exercising their biblical freedom discreetly and responsibly, they were flaunting it in the faces of those who could not handle it.  As such, they were entirely discounting the feelings and beliefs of the weaker group.  The narrow-minded believers, on the other hand, also displayed a faulty attitude.  They became judgmental of the more liberal Christians (v. 3b).  Rather than broaden their understanding of freedom in Christ, they adopted a view of condemnation toward those who ate the wrong foods and treated every day alike.  (Charles R. Swindoll, Relating to Others in Love: Romans 12-16, 35)

An attitude of superiority stems from blindness toward one’s own faults, and results in hardness toward the faults of others.  When Christians must judge, they judge only as fellow sinners.  To think that they are anything other than that, or that they are exempt from the faults (or similar ones) which they see in others, is to fall victim to self-righteousness, which is what Paul condemns in 2:1ff. and here.  (James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans, 321)

 

Essentially, there lies at the bottom of this error–(doing good works from necessity)–the Pelagian view.  For although now there are none that (openly) confess Pelagianism and call themselves Pelgaians, yet there are many who in reality and in their views are Pelagians though perhaps they are not aware of it.  They believe very definitely and boldly that if they could only produce a “good intention,” then “infallibly” they would obtain infused grace.  So they go about their way most securely, expecting of course very definitely that the good works which they do are pleasing to God.  Therefore they have no more fear or anxiety so as to ask God for grace.  They are not afraid of acting wrongly, but are sure that they are doing rightly.  Why?  Because they do not understand that God permits the wicked to sin even in their good works (such as they themselves regard as good).  Hence they do not fear that their good might be evil, but they are full of self-confidence and regard themselves as sure (to please God).  (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans, 198)

 

The saints (believers) seek the grace of God with fear and anxiety, praying for it without ceasing.  They do not trust in their “good intention,” or in their zeal in general, but always fear that their works may be evil.  (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans, 198)

 

One of Jesus’ most somber warnings was against anyone who “causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble.”  It would be “better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.  Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks!  (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 275)

 

This does not mean that everything the other Christian does is right any more than everything you do is right.  But it means that the Christian is accepted because of Christ’s death on his or her behalf and the gift of Christ’s righteousness to such a one by God.  In other words, the basis of his or her acceptance is not works.  If you are making the other person’s acceptance (by you or, as your own conduct implies, by God) depend on what he or she is doing, you are operating on the basis of salvation by works and are denying the gospel.  (James Montgomery Boice, Romans, Vol. 4, The New Humanity, 1736)

 

Now, as man’s disposition is to slide from a difference in opinion to quarrels and contentions, the Apostle shows how they who thus vary in their opinions may live together without any discord; and he prescribes this as the best mode,–that they who are strong should spend their labor in assisting the weak, and that they who have made the greatest advances should bear with the more ignorant.  For God, by making us stronger than others, does not bestow strength that we may oppress the weak; nor is it the part of Christian wisdom to be above measure insolent, and to despise others.  The import then of what he addresses to the more intelligent and the already confirmed, is this,–that the ampler the grace which they had received from the Lord, the more bound they were to help their neighbors.  (John Calvin, Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles, 492)

 

In connection with his teaching that whatever enters a person from the outside is undefiling.  Jesus had pronounced all foods clean (Mk 7:15-19).  But if even Peter was slow in taking to heart the full implications of this dominical pronouncement, as Acts 10:9-16; 11:1-18; Gal 2:11-21 indicate, it is understandable that for other Jewish converts to Christianity the situation became even more difficult.  (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 452)

 

How dare we reject a person whom God has accepted?  Indeed, the best way to determine what our attitude to other people should be is to determine what God’s attitude to them is.  This principle is better even than the golden rule.  It is safe to treat others as we would like them to treat us, but it is safer still to treat them as God does.  The former is a ready-made guide based on our fallen self-centredness, while the latter is a standard based on God’s perfection.  (E. F. Scott, D.D., Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, 361)

 

Paul agrees in principle with the “strong;” I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself” (14:14a; cf. Also 14:20; 15:1).  But he spends no time developing this point.  His concern is not so much with the “rights” and “wrongs” of this particular issue but with the “peace” and “mutual edification” of the body of Christ (cf. 14:19).  And he makes clear that those who pride themselves on being the “strong” have a special responsibility toward this end.  It is they, those who truly sense their liberty on these matters, who are to put their exercise of that liberty in perspective and to subordinate it to the far more important “good” of their fellow believers’ edification and salvation (14:15-21).  (Douglas J. Moo, The New International Commentary on the NT: Romans, 832)

 

1. D.    Unity is achieved by judging according to the Lord’s standards and not by man’s standards; and also by doing all we can to understand how our brother can hold the opposing position he holds in Christ.  Grace must carry the day or judgment will. (Jn 10:16; 17:11-23; Rom 12:4-5; 15:5; 1 Cor 1:10; 10:17; 12:12-20; Eph 3:6; 4:3-13, 25; Col 3:14-15)

 

External manifestation of “Christlikeness” is not, however, the focus of the process; and when it is made the main emphasis, the process will certainly be defeated, falling into deadening legalisms and pointless parochialism.  That is what has happened so often in the past, and this fact is a major barrier to wholeheartedly embracing Christian spiritual formation in the present.  We know now that peculiar modes of dress, behavior, and organization just are not the point. (Dallas Willard; Renovation of the Heart, 23)

 

The Corinthians were divided over human leaders, and some of the members were even suing each other (1 Cor 1:10-13; 6:1-8).  The Galatian saints were “biting and devouring” one another (Gal 5:15), and the saints in Ephesus and Colosse had to be reminded of the importance of Christian unity (Eph 4:1-3; Col 2:1-2).  In the church at Philippi, two women were at odds with each other and, as a result, were splitting the church (Phil 4:1-3).  No wonder the psalmist wrote, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Ps 133:1).  (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Right, 150)

 

When God sent Peter to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, the church criticized Peter because he ate with these new Christians (Acts 11:1-3).  But God had clearly revealed His acceptance of the Gentiles by giving them the same Holy Spirit that He bestowed upon the Jewish believers at Pentecost (Acts 10:44-48; 11:15-18).  Peter did not obey this truth consistently, for later on he refused to fellowship with Gentile Christians in Antioch, and Paul had to rebuke him (Gal 2:11-13).  God showed both Peter and Paul that Christian fellowship was not to be based on food or religious calendars.  (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Right, 152)

 

Passing judgment on disputable matters simply exalts the strong and humiliates the weak.  It is an exercise of knowledge (1 Cor 8:1) rather than of faith.  Knowledge creates gulfs; faith and love build bridges.  To accept the weak is to accept Christ, for Christ comes to us incognito, as one despised and rejected, as one from whom men turn their faces (Isa 53:3), as one who “was rich, yet for your sakes …became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9).  (James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans, 320)

 

God does not desire sameness and uniformity within the body.  God frees believers from the consciences of others (even of other believers) and enables them to be transformed to the image of Christ.  “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Gal 5:1).  There are, of course, limits to Christian freedom (e.g., Gal 5:16-21), but the matters under discussion fall well within those limits.  (James R. Edwards, New International Biblical Commentary: Romans, 322)

 

We do not live in a vacuum; everything we do affects others.  We need to consider our responsibility to others.  We can demand freedom for ourselves, but we must also allow other believers that same freedom.  If demonstrating our freedom causes us to act in an uncaring, hurtful way towards other believers, we are not yet free.  (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 264)

 

It is foolish to judge those who will be judged by Christ.  But also be careful in order that you who judge may not be judged yourself (by God).  (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans, 200)

 

Judgment flows from the heart of God just as surely as grace does.  In fact, judgment arises because grace has been spurned and neglected.  (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Discipline, 213)

 

We must face the fact that all believers are to appear before the judgment seat of Christ.  This fact should reduce us to humble submission to our Lord’s judgment, and cause us to recognize that we are incapable of judging anyone, even for a moment, with complete, fair and final judgment.  We are not able to judge even our own hearts.  Therefore we must never judge others since we all must be judged by Christ, and to His judgment we must fully surrender.  (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Discipline, 214)

 

As God receives us by grace, we must receive one another by grace.  Love covers a multitude of sins as well as a multitude of misunderstandings and weak theology.  One who is weak ought not to despise one who manifests liberty, and one who manifests liberty ought not to despise one with a scrupulous conscience.  (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans, 474)

 

They may differ over specific practices, but each group needs to recognize the sincerity of the other.  (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 450)

 

The Lord did not plan for his church to be divided into a hundred varieties, based on distinctives of personal preference and traditions that have no ground in Scripture.  But for obvious reasons, diversity within a congregation can easily be used by the unredeemed flesh and by Satan to create division and discord, even hatred and animosity.  (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 273)

 

That there will indeed be a universal judgment is the teaching of Scripture (Eccl 12:14; Eph 6:8; Rv 20:11-15).  That believers as well as unbelievers will stand before the throne of judgment is also clear from Acts 10:42; 1 Cor 3:8-15; 4:5; 2 Cor 5:10, and from the teaching of Jesus (Mt 16:27; 25:31-46).  That it is, indeed, God who through Christ will judge is taught in Mt 16:27; 25:31-46; Jn 5:22; Acts 10:42; 1 Cor 4:5; 2 Cor 5:10.  It is as stated in Rom 2:16, “God, through Jesus Christ, will judge men’s secrets.”  (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 460-61)

 

Despising and judging fellow Christians (the same two verbs are used as in verse 3), “the smile of disdainful contempt” and “the frown of condemnatory judgment,” are both now shown up to be totally anomalous attitudes.  Why?  Not only because God has accepted them, because Christ has died and risen to be our common Lord, but also because they and we are related to one another in the strongest possible way, by family ties.  Whether we are thinking of the weak, with all their tedious doubts and fears, or of the strong, with all their brash assurances and freedoms, they are our brothers and sisters.  When we remember this, our attitude to them becomes at once less critical and impatient, more generous and tender.  (E. F. Scott, D.D., Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, 362-63)

 

These disputable matters, or adiaphora, still abound in Christian circles.  Unfortunately one cannot always clearly label issues that belong in this category.  While evangelical Christians all agree that adultery is sinful and contrary to the gospel, these same Christians differ on whether other actions and attitudes toward the opposite sex are appropriate for the Christian (e.g., social dancing, or mixed swimming at public beaches).  Christians agree that the Sabbath should be holy, but differ extensively on what activities are appropriate for Sunday.  (Clarence L. Bence, Romans, A Commentary for Bible Students, 222)

 

NOTE: Until you can convincingly argue for both sides of disputable positions, you should not begin to defend your personal position on any of these disputable issues.

 

Four theological truths, then, undergird Paul’s admonition to welcome the weak, and neither despise nor condemn them.  They concern God, Christ, them and ourselves.  First, God has accepted them (3).  Secondly, Christ died and rose to be the Lord, both their and ours (9).  Thirdly, they are our sisters and brothers, so that we are members of the same family (10a).  Fourthly, all of us will stand before God’s judgment seat (10b).  Anyone of these truths should be enough to sanctify our relationships; the four together leave us without excuse.  And there are still two to come!  (E. F. Scott, D.D., Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, 363-64)

 

Worship point: The more we understand how we are saved by the grace of God and not by what we do or do not do, the more we will worship.  Grace becomes proportionally more apparent to us in light of how much grace God provides for us to accept our weaker or stronger brother with whom we disagree.  We must not look to the weaker or stronger brother and judge; but we must see God’s grace evident in our lives and their lives and rejoice and worship in light of God’s grace for both our brother and ourselves.  Never forget the Gospel is Jesus + NOTHING!

 

Spiritual Challenge: Whenever you are tempted to criticize, attack, belittle, complain against, denigrate, judge, condemn, look down upon another believer, BEWARE!    Is this a disputable matter or are they flat out living in sin?   If you cannot point to clear teaching in God’s Word that they are sinning, then shut up and accept them even when they are doing something you abhor.

 

I have found, in my own spiritual life, that the more rules I lay down for myself, the more sins I commit. The habit of regular morning and evening prayer is one which is indispensable to a believer’s life, but the prescribing of the length of prayer, and the constrained remembrance of so many persons and subjects, may gender unto bondage, and strangle prayer rather than assist it. (Charles Spurgeon, in Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching & Preachers, W. Wiersbe, p. 235.)

 

Christians must do everything they can to avoid giving offense.  (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 14:1-17, 60)

 

The atmosphere which controversy engenders is always harmful to the Christian society.  A difference of opinion imperceptibly leads to the contentious spirit which does not recoil from quarrelling, and finally hardens into the antagonism which breaks the bond of peace.  (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 616)

 

One solution to the problem would have been simply to put the conservatives in one group and the liberals in another and keep them away from each other.  But to do this would not only have been a concession to human obduracy; it would have robbed the body of Christ of its unique characteristic of unity in diversity.  (D. Stuart Briscoe, Mastering the NT: Romans, 245)

 

You are to love your neighbor as yourself.  You are not to love your neighbor because he is like yourself.

 

What do you mean when you say, “I love you”?  Do you mean I love you or do you mean I love what little bit of me that I can detect in you?  Which in reality, is not love but arrogance, ego, pride, vanity, and narcissism.