Romans 14

Grace Christian Fellowship

Christ plus Nothing

Romans Chapter 14

Romans 14

1. Him that is weak in the faith receive ye but not to doubtful disputations.

 2. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another who is weak eateth herbs.

3 .Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not: and let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

4. Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

5. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

6. He that regardeth the day regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks, and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

7. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

8. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

9. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that He might be Lord both of the dead and the living.

10. But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ.

11. For it is written (Is 45:23) As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

12. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

13. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

14. I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

15. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.

16. Let not then you good be evil spoken of:

17. For the Kingdom of God is not food and drink: but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

18. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.

19. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

20. For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.

21. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any other thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

22. Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

23. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Introduction

Romans chapter 14 deals with the greatly misunderstood area of Christian liberty. The Church, as we should all understand, is made up of people from all walks of life. Some of us came from a Protestant culture, others from a Roman Catholic culture. In other places churches will be composed of those who have come from Judaism, Islam, and Mormonism etc. Hence we need to make room in our thinking for believers who started out from a different place as you or I. That is why we need this chapter. It will help us cut other believers a ‘bit of slack’ as they seek to get to know the Lord better and walk with Him.

At the outset of this study may I make two important statements:

1.                  Christian liberty does not give a believer license to sin.

2.                  Christian liberty only concerns those areas that are not expressly forbidden in the word.

The Human Nature (Flesh / Old Nature)

The human nature, as we are aware, wants to maintain its grip, and retain control, of the Christian’s life. As Christians we are not to permit this as we are commanded to walk in the spirit, in our new nature, by faith. Yet many believers today are trying to live the Christian life in the energy of the flesh. All of our problems come from the flesh. In the spirit we cannot sin but when we choose to yield to the flesh we sin and cause problems for ourselves and those around us.

The human nature loves “law keeping” as it becomes a measuring device to judge one’s performance against others. In our study of Romans we have learned that, no system of human effort, religion, or any system of law or rules will enable a believer to mature in Christ. It is only through a persistent and diligent walk with Christ, in the spirit, that spiritual growth is possible (Know, Reckon and Yield – Romans 6).

Perhaps you already disagree with this statement because you have become secure in some system of your own. You, at least, outwardly are a good Christian. But what about the inner person? Are you growing? Are you learning how to live the Christian life as Christ would want you to? Or are you judgemental and lacking in love? Christ does not want you to go through the motions of the Christian life but to be living in liberty and love and to be experiencing His joy and peace. Switch off the automatic pilot and let the Lord take control of your life.

Please study this chapter thoroughly even if it appears to run contrary to your present convictions.

Some Observations

The church at Rome was made up of believers who had come from both Jewish and Gentile traditions. The saved Jew brought with him a tradition of law keeping and adherence to certain dietary and religious laws. On the other hand, the Gentile kept no such laws, diets or days.

“The believers in Rome were divided over special diets and special days. Some of the members thought it was a sin to eat meat, so they ate only vegetables. Other members thought it a sin not to observe the Jewish holy days.” W. Wiersbe

Clearly there was potential for disunity in this Church. Paul writes to instruct these believers on how the Christian life is to be lived in liberty and love. It is possible to disagree, on non essentials, but to maintain unity in a fellowship.

Receive one another.    

1. Him that is weak in the faith receive ye but not to doubtful disputations.

2 .For one believeth that he may eat all things: another who is weak eateth herbs.

3 .Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not: and let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

4. Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

5. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Contextually this passage is dealing with meat offered to idols and the keeping, or not keeping of the Sabbath, or other holy days.

Unlike the Churches in Galatia, which were composed entirely of Gentiles, the Church at Rome was composed of Jews and Gentiles. The Gentiles came from an idolatrous culture where meat (that had been offered to idols) was sold openly in the market. The Gentiles believed that the gods took only the spiritual animal and left the meat for their consumption.

No Jew, in this Church, could be absolutely certain that the meat he was eating had not previously been offered to an idol, so, the Jewish believers ate only vegetables. The Gentiles, however, had no problem buying and eating this meat as it had been normal practice before salvation.

We know from Acts 10 that God allows believers to eat all food. Jesus also taught  that that which defiles a man comes from within – not from his food. As stated above we sin because we choose to walk in our sinful nature not because we choose to eat a steak that was offered to Apollo.

What is most interesting is that the weaker brother is the one who cannot eat. This runs contrary to the belief system of many believers who feel that the law keeper (Legalist or rule keeper) is stronger. We know, from experience, that those who have very strong convictions tend to voice their opinions and criticise those who don’t agree with them. Some folks tend to misinterpret this as strength.  However, Paul is clearly stating that the ‘strong in faith’, are those who understand their liberty in Christ and were not enslaved to diets or holy days. The stronger brother could eat! The ‘weak in faith’ were those who were immature, because of a weak conscience, and who felt obligated to obey legalistic rules concerning what they ate and when they worshiped. They had not yet been enlightened to the liberty they have in Christ.

Whether or not meat had previously been offered to an idol did not affect the food. It was still good to eat. We know that idols are lifeless and powerless. Meat offered to such inanimate objects does not change – it remains good (providing it hasn’t gone off naturally of course).

We know that believers can eat all foods as food is neutral. Clearly these Jewish believers were new to the teaching of the Church and were still holding onto their Jewish laws. Their security was still in the Mosaic Law and not in Christ alone.

But Paul is also telling the stronger believers to receive the weaker brother ... receive ye but not to doubtful disputations. Yes, he may be weaker, in the sense that he cannot eat meat offered to idols, but he is walking in the light that he has. When they received him it was not for the purposes of straightening him out or correcting his doctrine. It was to accept him in love. God will see to it that all believers who genuinely walk with Him will be brought into more light. So we don’t need to sort anyone out. We do not need to argue, debate, or play politics. It is sad that in many churches today believers do not receive others openly into their fellowship. So often they leave it up to the oversight or leadership. But Paul here is stating that we (ALL) should receive new believers. Get to know them and help them to grow. We also need to believe God to work in the believer’s life.  Remember that:

• God receives us – this happened at salvation.
• God sustains us – all we have is from God.
• Jesus Christ is our Lord
• Jesus Christ is Judge of His own.

Notice too that the weaker brother is the one who judges. Such is the case with all legalists. They have a system of rules (usually man made and unscriptural) and dear help anyone who does not keep their rules. Usually the character assassination starts when a legalist finds something that you do that he doesn’t do. Ask yourself – is this consistent with the Christian life? Did Christ do this? The Pharisees did the same to Jesus. In fact it was a consequence of a sect of saved Pharisees, who were forcing the Galatian believers to keep the Law of Moses that led to the Council at Jerusalem (Acts 15). Pharisees had rules for every day of the week and yet they could not keep the spirit of the law themselves.

The Church today is under Grace – not the Mosaic Law. For the Christian it is Christ plus nothing for salvation and Christ plus nothing for our walk. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.” Col 2:6  How did you receive Him? – by faith. How are you to walk with Him? – by faith - not works, not law, not rules.

But let’s look beyond meat offered to idols. Where do the legalists focus their attention in the church today? The list is endless and stems from their own preferences and practices, but I shall name a few.

• Head covering must be worn by women in the fellowship and, in particular, at communion. The argument is based upon a reference in I Corinthians 11. However, this adds to grace, and, therefore, should not be forced upon believers as a law (see my comment above). It was, certainly, a cultural practice of the Corinthian Church but head covering, or the lack of it, cannot change a believer’s position before Christ or enhance a believer’s walk with the Lord. This should not even be an issue in Churches today.

I am reminded of a story told by one of the missionaries I know who served in P.N.G. A church had been formed in the tribe and the believers were being discipled. When this missionary arrived back at his home church in England to give a report  an old woman came up to him at the end of the meeting and said, “Did the women in your tribal church wear head covering?” He thought for a moment and answered, “Well dear, if they had their heads covered that’s all they had covered.”

You see we try to force our customs and traditions on others and if we can find a bible verse to support our argument we feel empowered to do so. But the cultural example above shows that people in other parts of the world do not even wear clothes never mind hats. They need to be taught, that for modesty’s sake, they should wear clothes. Clothes do not make them more acceptable to Christ but it helps when the missionary and his family come to visit.

Certainly ‘the bible says it’; however, as with any bible references, it must be studied using the ICE principle. Isogogically (understanding the times and customs of the land), Categorically (by categories) and Exegetically (from a study of the original source documents where possible).

The bible instructs us to ‘love your neighbour’ but this appears to be lacking in many legalistic churches. It is usually - love your neighbour until he does something you don’t agree with.

• Attendance at every meeting.

• Keeping a Sabbath (Was only given to Israel and was a Saturday). The early Church met on a Sunday so did not hold to the Sabbath. They assembled themselves together for fellowship, teaching, worship and breaking of bread.

• Being correctly dressed (The argument here is that if you were going to visit the Queen you would dress well. This is true, but again it has become a law that adds to grace.)

• Versions of the Bible (All bibles today are translations except for the original Hebrew and Greek texts; so, to suggest that believers use only one version is to impose law.)

Be aware, a believer cannot be under Law and Grace at the same time. You either settle for Law or Grace.

It is easier to live by rules because the flesh does not have to be denied. The flesh can live within the thin veneer of Christianity. It loves to keep rules. It delights in being told what to do to be righteous. But God has totally rejected the flesh. He will never accept anything done in the flesh so believers need to cast off these legalistic practices and start walking, by faith, in the spirit.

Some immature believers still fool themselves that they can please God by making their flesh more presentable to Him. Many unsaved people believe they only need God to help them get to glory. But when God put Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden (His Presence) they had no way back themselves. God made the means to save them through the blood sacrifices that pointed to Christ’s final sacrifice for sins for the whole world.

Too many churches today are being led by legalists. The blind are leading the blind. Preachers are measured by their eloquence and their articulation of the English language instead of their message. Believers are not like the Bereans who studied the scriptures to see if these things were true. They will not read or study the scriptures independently to find the truth.

Paul clearly states in the Epistle to the Galatians that believers are under grace and not Law. Yet I have never heard a preacher preach on Galatians (in N. Ireland). Why is this? I believe it upsets their belief system and would force them to have to do a radical re-think of what the walk of faith really is.

Many immature believers are ‘man pleasers’. They are conditioned to respond to praise; and if they are praised enough for doing certain things they will repeat the activities that earned that praise. Christ appropriately called people sheep because they will follow any leader that gives them a sense of security.

 Who is leading you? Too much rests upon our walk with Christ to accept the legalist’s view.  Do not just accept any spiritual food. Test it against the scriptures and check that it is spiritually nourishing.

We are told in scripture that without faith it is impossible to please God. So we need to be learning about this walk of faith. Christ wants to lead you into truth so study the word for yourself and learn what it is.

There is also another danger here. The enlightened brother, who by definition is stronger, can despise the weaker brother. “Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not. This is also wrong. Paul makes an interesting point in I Corinthians 8:1

“Now as touching things offered to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.” I Corinthians 8:1

The informed or ‘enlightened’ believer has discovered that it is permissible to eat all meats. He has knowledge and a clear conscience to eat. However, knowledge that causes us to look down upon, or despise, those who cannot eat leads to pride. We have found liberty but liberty has led to pride.

• Knowledge without love generates pride.
• Knowledge with love edifies others
• Knowledge with love and application sanctifies.

By application I mean getting along side the ‘teachable’ weaker brother and helping him. This may be done through teaching / discipling. Note, however, a believer must be teachable before he can be helped.

“It is interesting to note that our success in the Christian life does not depend on the opinions or attitudes of other Christians. God is the Judge, and He is able to make us stand. People who are busy winning souls to Christ have more important things to do than to investigate the lives of the Saints.”

W. Wiersbe

Jesus is the Lord of both the weaker and the stronger believer. The believer will stand or fall before the Lord.

Thankfulness

6. He that regardeth the day regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks, and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

7. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

Regardless of what we eat we should be thankful to the Lord. We live to glorify God. So our lives should not be consumed with things of lesser value. Be thankful always for all you have. We will also serve the Lord after death … none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

13. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

14. I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

Paradigm Paralysis

 Believers must never act against their consciences as to do so is sin. However, conscience is not absolute. In a sense, when you were born you were only partially programmed for life. You could breathe, eat, sleep, drink, and perform other bodily functions. However, your conscience was not formed. Your conscience is formed through your upbringing.                  

Your conscience is the result of your cultural experiences, education, religious experiences etc. But God can change your conscience through His word so that you realise, with teaching, that certain things are permissible to you even though all of the experiences of life have led you to believe differently. If you disagree with this then ask yourself this question- What is my basis of truth? Is it Protestant or Roman Catholic culture? Is it Jewish or Islamic culture or Humanistic or another? No! The basis for truth is God’s Word – not your culture, not you schooling not your religious experiences. Allow God to reveal His truth to you in His word.

In the Epistle to the Galatians we read about the Judaizers who taught the Gentiles that they needed to become Jews and adhere to the Law of Moses before they could be saved. Paul refuted this teaching and clearly taught that Gentiles and Jews enter the Church in the same way - through faith in Christ. Many Jewish believers were confused by these events and a conference had to be held at Jerusalem to settle the matter that salvation was by faith in Christ alone. Subsequently, it was established that the walk of faith too, is by faith in Christ alone and without works, rules or Law. A shift had   to be made in the thinking of the Jews and indeed some of the Apostles – Peter included. Their paradigms had to change.

A paradigm is the intellectual filter that we build through engaging in life’s experiences. Our paradigms are not absolute and must be refined to accommodate new knowledge. Those who fail to allow God to change their paradigms fail to grow. This is referred to as paradigm paralysis.

Peter’s conscience had to be changed. Remember, too, in Acts 10 when Peter was on the roof of his house in Joppa that he saw a vision of unclean animals and insects. God told him to eat but he initially refused because they were unclean. But God repeated the command and told Peter that what He has made clean was clean and fit to eat. Peter had to make a shift in his thinking and change his conscience. We understand that this also was a metaphor for the acceptance of the Gentiles into the Church.

Too many problems arise today in the Church because the Old Testament teachings to Israel are being applied to the Church. The Church is not Israel and the Laws that were given to Israel do not apply to the Church. The Church today is under the Law of Christ which in essence is:

“Love the Lord your God and love your neighbour as you love yourself.”

I have heard ministers of religion tell people that they can be saved by keeping the Ten Commandments. This, of course, is unscriptural. Salvation is in Christ alone. I have also heard ministers telling people to keep the commandments in order to grow as a believer. This too, is unscriptural. Christian growth can only occur when we gain knowledge through doctrine and by applying it to our lives. We walk by faith, in the spirit, and in truth.

If we analyse the Ten Commandments we can see the Law of Christ in them. They focus our attention on God and our neighbour.  There is one exception however, only nine of the Ten Commandments are reiterated in the Epistles and these alone relate to the Law of Christ. The Sabbath was a Law specifically for Israel and their ministry to God as a nation. This is not taught as a Church doctrine in the Epistles.                                                                           

Is it wrong then for a believer to keep a holy day / Sabbath?

If the believer is fully persuaded in his own mind, before the Lord, that it is what he should do, then it is right to do so; however, note that it is in his own mind – not because someone told him to do it.

No believer has the authority to impose a Sabbath on any other believer. Whatever convictions we keep we must keep before the Lord and be totally persuaded in our own minds that it is not out of bondage or fear.

15. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.

16. Let not then you good be evil spoken of:

17. For the Kingdom of God is not food and drink: but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

18. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.

19. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

All believers are accountable to the Lord. An interesting illustration of this truth is given in John21: 15-25. Jesus had restored Peter to his place as an apostle, and once again He told him, “Follow me.” Peter began to follow Christ, but then he heard someone walking behind them. It was the apostle John. Then Peter asked Jesus, “Lord, what shall this man do?” The Lord replied, “What is that to thee? Follow thou Me.” The Lord was telling Peter to be concerned with his own service and not the service of other believers.

Unfortunately, too many believers today are playing God; they are more interested in the service of other believers than maintaining a walk with the Lord themselves.

20. For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.

21. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any other thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

22. Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

23. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Believers must not force their convictions on others. If I am persuaded, as I am, that I am not under a Sabbath then that is fine for me and my conscience is clear before the Lord. However, I should not force this upon a believer who is not persuaded. I must with hold my liberty for his sake. But, on the other hand, believers who hold to a Sabbath should not force others to keep it.

I am reminded of a time when one of our girls was sick over her bedclothes on a Saturday night. My wife put the dirty items into the wash and put them out to dry on the washing line on the Sunday. Later that week an irate believer chastised my wife for doing her laundry on a Sunday. Clearly the love of Christ was absent as she never even asked after the child’s health or the fact that my wife lost a night’s sleep in caring for her.

Isn’t it strange that these legalistic believers often see fault but seldom offer encouragement or help. Her system of laws made her a judge and she proved just how immature she was. Unfortunately, twenty years later the same person is still at the same place in her Christian life. There is little spiritual growth.  Her laws were being reinforced by other legalists in her own church. There was no enlightened believer to help her – or more likely, she did not want help.         

If we are growing then our walk should give visual evidence that we love the Lord our God and love our neighbours as ourselves. Are you helping the ‘less well off’ believer? Do you encourage the young believer?

Liberty in Christ should never be used to cause offence.

A Distinction

V21. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any other thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

In our culture we often think of causing offence as hurting someone’s feelings. This, however, is not what Paul has in mind. The Greek word for offence is SKANDALIZO which literally means to entice to SIN. We must never cause an immature believer or any believer to act against their conscience as to do so will result in them sinning. They must be enlightened by the Holy Spirit through the teaching of God’s word.

There are occasions when believers will have to hurt the feeling of other believers to get them to deal with sin issues in their lives. So often we hear believers say, “judge not that ye be not judged.” Certainly this is true in the non essentials; however, believers must judge sin in other believers to enable their lives to count for the Lord. But remember believers are not sinning when they don’t follow your preferences.

I remember one believer saying to me that if you did not have your bible open when someone was preaching you were sinning. This clearly moves us from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Not to care is also wrong. The attitude that I don’t care what they think is ungodly. If we do not care what hope is there for this world?

These notes may hurt the feelings of some believers because they run contrary to their belief systems. I make no apology for this because I believe that the Lord wants to give many believers a wake up call in these days. You can criticize these comments if you wish; but please study the chapter, read Galatians, study Acts 15 and then do so.

If we take a look at the outcome from the Council at Jerusalem it will help us understand what Paul is driving at.

For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, (the apostles) to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things. That ye abstain from meat offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if you keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. Acts 15:28, 29

The Gentiles practised these things without it grieving their consciences. Clearly the act of fornication is sin and all believers must stay clear of this. The other points, however, were not sin issues to the Gentiles. But let’s consider the Jewish believer. As a new convert he only had knowledge of the Law of Moses that forbad all of these things. His conscience had not been modified through knowledge, faith and love to accept that these things were no longer sin issues for him. Yet the maturity of the apostles shines through here. Until the Jewish believers could understand their liberty in Christ they had to be protected so that they would not act against their consciences. The Gentile believers were being asked to with hold their liberty for the weaker brother’s sake.

Please do not confuse liberty with liberality. The Liberal of today will actually deny the facts of the Gospel. He will deny the physical resurrection of Christ. Some go as far as to say that Jesus Christ is only a myth - He never lived or died. They all agree, however, that Jesus did not die for our sins according to the scriptures.

Christian liberty is walking in that freedom that Christ died to give us. We who are strong in our faith must with hold our liberty for the sake of the weaker brother. But this is not to last forever. The weaker brother is to be edified. He is to be taught in love and encouraged to learn of his true position in Christ. In essence he is to grow up!

If a mother found that her baby was not growing after a few months she would be at the doctor’s looking for help. If her child reached twenty and was still (physically) a baby she would be in the Guinness book of records. But we accept twenty, thirty, forty, fifty and maybe even sixty year old baby believers in churches and don’t question it. In fact in many churches they hold office. They fall out with others over the mos