02.26. VII. The Yielded Life in Relation to Weak Brethren (14:1 to 15:7).
VII. The Yielded Life in Relation to Weak Brethren (Rom 14:1-23, Rom 15:1-7).
1. Him that is weak in the faith receive ye (Rom 14:1). The believer’s normal attitude towards his weak brother in Christ is epitomized in this brief exhortation. Despite his weakness, he is a brother, and he ought to be acknowledged as such, received as such; and every action towards him should be in view of this relationship. The all-sufficient reason is given in the final verse of the section: Wherefore receive one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God (Rom 15:7)
2. But not to doubtful disputations (Rom 14:1). The margin here is, Not to judge his doubtful thoughts. The English Revisers have in their margin, not for decisions of doubts; and the American Revision has, in the text, not for decision of scruples. The meaning is plain. We are to receive our weak brethren as brethren, and not merely for purposes of argumentation. Receive them as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.
3. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Rom 14:1-23 and 1Co 8:1-13 are devoted to the question whether Christians should eat meat which had been offered to idols. It was a burning question in the early churches. Large quantities of meat were brought to the numerous heathen temples and presented in the worship of idols. Of course, the idols had no use for it, and even the priests could not consume all of it, and therefore it was sold to the public through the markets. This made it almost if not quite impossible for one to discover whether the meat on his own table had not come from an idol’s temple. The stronger Christians cared not for this, believing that they might eat all things. They knew that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one (1Co 8:4). Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge, and these weaker brethren found themselves unable to eat of a thing offered to an idol (1Co 8:7). To go on eating these things was to defile their conscience, and in order to be on the perfectly safe side, they ate herbs; that is, they confined their diet to vegetables.
4. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth (Rom 14:3). The need for this exhortation may be readily understood. The strong in faith would be under temptation to despise or set at nought his weaker brother (see Rom 14:10); while the weak in faith would be liable to censure his stronger’ brother. But this must be avoided: we must not despise our brother, nor judge him, for God hath received him. Who art thou that judgest the servant of another? (R. V.). To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand (Rom 14:3-4).
5. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike (Rom 14:5). Here was another problem, and one that may come nearer home, for it is a present-day problem. What is to be done in such a case? Some are stronger than others, and clearer on the doctrines of grace. They deny any man’s right to judge them, in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath: which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ (Col 2:16-17). They declare their liberty from the law, and insist that their freedom has been too dearly bought to be easily surrendered; they are constantly exhorting us to stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again in the yoke of bondage (Gal 5:1). On the other hand, there are weaker brethren who cannot see this at all. These dear ones are fearful; they are shocked to hear men talk of their eternal security in Christ: they are timid; they hope it will be all right and that they will somehow be saved at last; but they insist that there is such a thing as being too sure. What then? how shall these dear ones be dealt with? are they to be despised? or, are we to enter into doubtful disputations with them, and seek to decide their scruples for them? Nay, since God hath received them, let us also receive them, and love them, and pray for them, and bear with them. Meanwhile, let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. True it is, brethren, that ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another (Gal 5:13). Ye must take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak (1Co 8:9).
6. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord (Rom 14:6). The remainder of this sentence is omitted from the Revision, because it is not found in the best manuscripts. Dr. Moffatt translates: The man who values a particular day does so to the Lord. The eater eats to the Lord, since he thanks God for his food; the non-eater abstains to the Lord, and he too thanks God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself; if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. Thus we are the Lord’s whether we live or die (Rom 14:6-8).
7. For to this end Christ died and lived again (Rom 14:9). We quote the Revision, much to be preferred here. The purpose in Christ’s death and resurrection was to establish His lordship over all—”that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” In 2Co 5:14-15, it is written that One died for all, therefore all died: and He died for all, that they that live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto Him Who for their sakes died and rose again.
8. But why dost thou judge thy brother? (Rom 14:10). This challenge, addressed to the weaker Christian, is at once followed by another aimed at the stronger one: Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? This is not the time for judging. There is a time coming when the saints shall judge the world (1Co 6:2), but meanwhile, we are to judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God (1Co 4:5)
9. For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God (Rom 14:10). This is the correct reading, rather than the judgment seat of Christ, as in the King James Version. The thought of the passage is that each individual must answer for himself and not for another, for it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God (Rom 14:11-12; compare Isa 45:23; Php 2:10-11). The exhortation of the thirteenth verse follows logically: Let us not therefore judge one another anymore: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. The judgment that is needed’ is self-judgment rather than the judging of others (1Co 11:31-32)
10. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself. Paul saw his liberty fully; he was not under law, but under grace (Rom 6:14); he knew that the Lord Jesus had brought an end to the law (Rom 10:4); that he had set aside the dietary requirements of the law of Moses, making all meats clean (Mark 7:19, R. V.); and he taught clearly in all his epistles that every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer (1Ti 4:4-5)
11. But to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean (Rom 14:14). In such a case, it is better to abstain, because he that doubteth is condemned (that is, self-condemned) if he eat, because he eateth not of faith; and whatsoever is not of faith is sin (Rom 14:23); therefore he writes: If your brother is being injured because you eat a certain food, then you are no longer living by the rule of love. Do not let that food of yours ruin the man for whom Christ died. Your rights must not get a bad name (Rom 14:15-16, Moffatt).
12. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom 14:17). It is as if the Holy Spirit Himself had become tired of writing about eating and drinking, and longed to lead the Lord’s people out of such low considerations and into the higher atmosphere of the kingdom of God. Observe the order of these elements in the kingdom of God; first righteousness, then peace, then joy, in the Holy Spirit. No peace apart from righteousness! It is when we have been justified by faith that we enter into peace with God (Rom 5:1), and this peace leads to joy. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ ...and rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Rom 5:1-2). This is the right view of Christian living. As Moffatt again translates:
You must not break down God’s work for the mere sake of food! Everything may be clean, but it is wrong for a man to prove a stumbling block by what he eats; the right course is to abstain from flesh or wine or indeed anything that your brother feels to be a stumbling-block. Certainly keep your own conviction on the matter, as between yourself and God; he is a fortunate man who has no misgivings about what he allows himself to eat. But if anyone has doubts about eating and then eats, that condemns him at once; it was not faith that induced him to eat, and any action that is not based on faith is a sin (Rom 14:18-23)
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves (Rom 15:1). The rule of Christian love given in Rom 14:21 is here reiterated and amplified: Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification (Rom 15:2), and for the very good reason that even Christ pleased not Himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached Thee fell on Me (Rom 15:2-3; compare Psa 69:9; 1Pe 2:23).
14. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope (Rom 15:4). This illuminating reference to the Old Testament Scriptures is used here to sum up the exhortation begun in Rom 14:1, and is followed by the prayer of Rom 15:5-6, and the final word of Rom 15:7.