Romans 14:1-23
The Law of Liberty
1 Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.
5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written:
“As I live, says the LORD,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.
The Law of Love
14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak. 22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.
We have liberty in Christ but this freedom must be expressed in love to not offend or cause others to stumble in their walk with Christ. If another is still weak in some aspects of their faith as their spiritual maturity progresses in their road of sanctification, we should note that and not argue over doctrinal points but instead discuss them from scripture with patience and love as they are taught by God’s Spirit in them of the truths they must learn in their own time. Paul wrote these instructions to the believers in Rome because it is a common problem more mature Christians face sometimes when they learn the depths of the doctrines of grace and are eager to teach younger believers what excites and motivates them to see the other grow. The example given here is concerning the Old Testament dietary laws and convictions about being a vegetarian instead of accepting all foods as given by God to eat, including meat, as from the day Noah’s Ark opened its doors (Genesis 9:3-4) on dry land. We are not to judge the one who eats or chooses not to eat and accept the convictions of others as far as they understand the scriptures and live by them as best they know. God accepts both these people with their un and convictions of conscience and so should we. Likewise, some see the Sabbath day as needing to be religiously adhered to while others celebrate the rest from their own works and reliance on Christ’s work for them (Galatians 4:9-10, Hebrews 4:4, 8, 9-10) as their rest instead. We have no right to judge either interpretation of the Sabbath rest but should see this as a non-essential doctrine with personal leeway in practice instead of harsh judgment as we all grow in faith in our sanctification by grace. We each live and die to the Lord and not ourselves or each other in these matters as Philippians 3:15-16 reminds us. We are not to pass judgment and condemn our brothers and sisters in Christ or look down on those who do not share our convictions in these matters as we all grow in conformity to Christ but should show forbearance and love instead. In the end we will individually bow to our Sovereign Lord and God in submission and worship as we give an account of all we have done, not for our salvation but for accountability to Him (1 Corinthians 3:14-15) whom we serve. Knowing these doctrinal truths, how can we condemn our fellow believers or cause them to stumble in their own walks with Him by manmade obstacles we put in front of them? Liberty that we enjoy to do many things does not allow us to neglect showing love to others by allowing their non-essentials as they grow in their faith. We know all foods are clean by God’s grace but must not flaunt our understanding of this truth to offend others who have not yet come to that knowledge themselves. Our good should not be allowed to be spoken of as evil in the way we judge others in these matters. To rightly serve God in these matters requires us to know that, “the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” and live this truth by bearing with one another in love and maintaining the fellowship in Christ with this mindset. This is the way to be acceptable to God and approved by men as it says here. The bottom line is that we should be striving to pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which we may build up each other and not tear down in harsh and unwarranted rebuke. We are not to be offensive or judgmental in discipleship. We love to God and have to justify our convictions to Him, not prove them by bashing others to make ourselves look better! Faith and not doubts is what we require because doubt in our practice of doctrine quickly turns to sin if we do not consider these things. This is living in liberty in the light of love for our fellow believers and the Lord who forgives and saves us.
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