Do Not Judge
14:1-12
This passage, from 14:1 to 15:13 deals with the relationships between those who are strong and mature in the faith and those who are weak and immature in the faith.
In every congregation there are those who are strong in the faith and those who are weak. There are those who have studied their Bibles diligently for years and those who have not. Many are influenced in their beliefs by what they have been taught in the past, whether or not it is accurate. Many are influenced by the experiences of their family members
In Paul’s time, the acceptability of certain foods was an issue. Jewish Christians were influenced by the dietary laws of the old covenant. Gentile believers were influenced by the practices of their pagan religions before they came to Christ.
In the old covenant, there were clean foods and unclean foods. Jews were not supposed to eat unclean foods. In the New Covenant, those rules do not apply.
God taught Peter a lesson about this. Acts 10 records Peter having a vision of animals of all kinds appearing on a great big sheet. God told him to kill and eat. Peter refused because some of the animals were unclean. God told him what God has made clean, men cannot call common, or unclean. This was to prepare him to go to Gentiles and preach the gospel.
Paul believed all foods were available for eating. He told Timothy: “For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:4)
In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul said it was acceptable to eat meat offered to idols since idols are not real beings. And, here in Romans 14:14, Paul said he was convinced that nothing is unclean in itself.
Yet, some people still had problems. Some only ate vegetables, believing meat to be unclean, or bad, maybe because it may have been offered to idols. (1) Paul calls these people weak, meaning weak in the faith.
But Paul did not condemn these people for their weakness and instructed those were strong in the faith not to judge or condemn them either. (3) Likewise, the person who abstains from eating meat should not despise or pass judgment on the believer who eats meat. (3)
The reason they, and we, are not to pass judgment on those who disagree with us on these matters is that God has welcomed that person into his kingdom. He is the judge of his servants, not the fellow servants. God will uphold every believer in the faith. And God will judge all as is his right. Paul cites Psalm 22:29 for this. Eventually, everyone will bow before God and confess that he is God. (11)
Paul also applies this to the observance of special days. (5) Some do this and others believe all days are equal. This seems to be applied to the Sabbath observance of the Jews. Paul indicates this is not required.
However, one who observes it should do so in honor of the Lord. The one who eats and the one who abstains should do so in honor of the Lord. Everything should be done in honor of the Lord. We are never independent of him in life or death. (8)
Do Not Cause Other Believers To Stumble
14:13-23
As further consideration of those who are weak in the faith, we do not do anything that will cause another believer to stumble. The weak believer should not judge the one who is strong, but the strong should avoid causing the weak one to stumble.
Paul was strong and mature in his faith and he knew that nothing is unclean for the believer in matters of food and drink. (14) Yet, he said that if a person thinks something is unclean, it is, in effect, unclean for him. For example, if he thinks meat that had been offered to idols is unclean, he should not violate his conscience and eat it. It is effectively unclean for him.
Since it is unclean to him, or he or she has doubts about it, eating will be a sin since it was not pursued by faith.
So, the stronger or more mature believer, should protect the conscience of the weaker believer. In love, he should not sit at dinner with the weaker believer and eat something he knows would cause difficulty to him or her. He does not want to destroy the faith the weaker person because that person is still one for whom Christ died. (15) He repeated this instruction in verses 20-21.
We must remember that the kingdom of God is not about the trivial things of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. (17) Those are the important things. We pursue those things which build up our brothers and sisters. (19)
So, the stronger believer keeps his mature faith between him and God and not force it upon someone whose faith would be damaged by it.
Verses 20-23 are a summary of the thoughts of this chapter. Although all food and drink are clean, we put the work of God above them and do not do anything to make another stumble because of our use of them.
If you have the strong faith and spiritual maturity in these matters, you are blessed. (22) But, if not, and you doubt, do not violate your conscience and partake. Since you are not doing it in faith, it is sin for you. (23)
Takeaways
Paul’s vision of the church is a body that accepts each other even with flaws and lack of understanding.
The church’s members build each other up, taking special care of the weak in the faith.
We seek peace and not division.
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