Romans 14

Romans 14:1

Here, in the final five chapters of the Book of Romans, Professor Paul takes us to class: Applied Christianity 101. Chapter 12 deals primarily with functioning in the body. Chapter 13 deals with functioning in society. As we are about to see, chapter 14 deals with functioning in controversy, particularly controversies within the church family. You see, even here in Rome, the early church had already engaged in that most favorite of Christian indoor sports: trying to change one another. Truly, there is something within each of us that wants to change those around us. Why is this so? What is it within me that wants others to see everything the way I do, to conform to my opinions and perspectives? I suggest two possibilities… The first is depravity. Depravity began the moment Lucifer wanted to be like God (Isa_14:14). He passed on this desire to Eve by suggesting that if she ate of the forbidden fruit, her eyes would be opened and she would be like God (Gen_3:5). There’s something diabolically depraved within us that still wants to be godlike, which desires to create people in our own image and get them to see things our way. The second possibility is misery. I want people to see things my way because a lot of times I’m miserable. And if I’m miserable, I want others to be miserable too. So rather than saying, “Let the Lord guide you. Let Him work in you. Let Him give direction to you,” I say, “If I can’t do a certain thing, I’m going to make sure you can’t either.” That is why oftentimes you can tell the difficulties a preacher has personally by what he preaches against most vehemently. Be it depravity, misery, or some other reason entirely, there is unquestionably a tendency in people to want others to conform to their image. Thus, Christians are forever engaged in controversywhich brings us to Romans 14… The phrase “but not to doubtful disputations” means “without passing judgment on disputable material.” In other words, Paul’s injunction is to receive those who are weak in the faith. Embrace and enjoy them without passing judgment on the areas in which you don’t see eye to eye. Who is the one who is weak in faith? The answer, to me, is shocking…

Romans 14:2

The weak brother, as we are going to see as the chapter unfolds, is the one who seems to be the most morally upright, the one who is most rigid in discipline, the one who appears to have the highest standards of conduct. In Paul’s day, the controversy in the church at Rome centered on meat. Those who didn’t eat meat were uptight and upset with those who did because the meat had been sacrificed to idols before being sold in open-air markets at a discount. “How can you eat meat that has been offered to idols?” asked the vegetarian believers. “It’s a bargain,” answered the carnivores. Perhaps the controversy arose because Jewish legalists were trying to burden Gentile believers with Jewish dietary laws. Whatever the reason, the vegetarians looked down their noses on the meat-eaters. But in reality, the vegetarians were the weaker brothers. Amazing. The more legalistic and uptight a man is, the weaker he is. It’s not those who walk around as though they’ve been baptized in lemon juice, looking down their noses and reciting a list of do’s and don’ts that are the stronger Christians. Quite the opposite. “Receive the weaker brother,” Paul says. “Receive the one who is religious, the one who’s uptight, the one who’s always looking down on others. Don’t engage in controversy with himjust understand he’s a weaker brother.” Do you realize God doesn’t care about a lot of things we get upset about, fight over, and debate? The Father’s agenda is a whole lot different from ours. Sad to say, the things that shock us most are insignificant when compared to the bigger issues of eternity. We become so engaged in miniscule rules and regulations, political discussions and theological hairsplitting that we miss the big picture entirely. I’m convinced God doesn’t care about most of the things we discuss endlessly. He’s concerned about people being saved, brought into the kingdom, walking in the Spirit, and growing in grace.

Romans 14:4

I like that! God makes to stand the person I can’t understand. The person I want to put down, God Himself holds up. Others may think, You’re not going to make it. But what they fail to factor in is God’s grace and mercy and His faithfulness to see us through. Judge NotFor You’re Not Judged A Topical Study of Rom_14:4 The story is told of a poor, simple woman who visited an upper class, sophisticated church… After attending for some time, she applied for church membership. Her application was rejected. She sent a second one a few months later, which was also returned. After a third and a fourth, she went to the chairman of the membership committee and said, “Why are my applications being rejected?” “You need to go home and pray,” answered the chairman. “And I think the Lord will show you what the real issues are.” A few years later, the chairman saw her scrubbing floors in a hotel lobby and said to her, “You haven’t made application for membership lately. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen you in church at all. Tell me, when I sent you home to pray, did God speak to you?” “Why, yes,” answered the woman, “He did. He told me not to feel bad about being rejected because He tried to join your church for twenty years before He finally gave up.” All too often, there are those in churches who are super-spiritual, who look down their noses on others, who put heavy burdens upon others. They set standards for who will be accepted educationally, financially, or spiritually. And inevitably a sense of exclusivity creeps into the church. This is nothing new. The same thing was true in Paul’s day. You see, when Paul was writing to the brothers and sisters at Rome, there were those who came into the fellowship and who judged others over the issue of diet. They maintained that those who ate certain kinds of meat were not quite up to par spiritually. Why was the issue of eating meat so controversial? Some suggest it was due to the Essenes in the church at Rome. The Essenes were men who lived in the desert and were very Spartan in their discipline. John the Baptist, many believe, was part of the Essene community before he went into public ministry. Having been converted to Jesus, the Essenes propagated the thinking that people who ate meat weren’t spiritually minded. Others suggest that the issue of meat arose in the church because of Jews converted to Christ in the Church at Rome who were still bound by Levitical traditions of what should and should not be eaten. I believe, however, the question of meat in the early church was due to the buying and selling of meat in places called “shambles.” Shambles were open-air markets that sold the best cuts of meat for the lowest price. The owners of these shambles could keep their prices low because their meat was “second-hand,” since it had already been offered to pagan idols. Whatever the reason, Paul was aware of the tendency of some of the brothers and sisters in the Roman church to question the sincerity or spirituality of others within the family. Perhaps you have gone through a week where you have been judged because of some liberty you have enjoyed. Paul would encourage you who feel judged, you who feel condemned, you who feel looked down on because some seemingly “super-spiritual” saint has come and “tsk-tsk-tsked” in your face or found fault with the liberty you enjoy in Christ. You can have hope, and I can find peace as we listen to what Paul says to those who put down believers who enjoy freedom in Christ. It’s Presumptuous to Judge Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth.Rom_14:4 (a) A conductor on the train from Basil, Switzerland, to Germany looked out the window and noticed unfamiliar scenery. “Leave immediately!” he said to everyone in the car. “You are all on the wrong train!” The passengers looked at one another quizzically and confused. Questioning the conductor, they learned that it was he who was on the wrong train. Those who judge others essentially tell everyone else they are on the wrong train. Paul says, “It’s Jesus to whom you must answer. It’s Jesus to whom you must give account"not to any man or leader, spiritual person or pastor. “We do not seek to have dominion over you,” he said, “but are simply helpers of your joy” (see 2Co_1:24). You see, if a man is a true spiritual leader, he will not seek to have dominion over you or to lay burdens upon you. Rather, he will seek to come alongside of you and undergird you in order that your joy might be made full. A woman was seeing a psychiatrist. After several sessions, sensing parenting problems were the root of her difficulty, the psychiatrist asked her which of her three children she loved the most. “I love them equally,” she answered. “Impossible,” said the psychiatrist. “You’re deceiving yourself, and it is this self-deception that is keeping you from experiencing liberty. You must be honest, or I will have no other choice than to terminate these counseling sessions. Which of your three kids do you care about the most?” The woman broke down in tears and said, “You’re right. When one of my kids is sick, I love that one the most. When one of my kids is lost in the store when we’re shopping, that’s the one I love the most. When one of my kids is bad, that’s the one I love the most. The one who’s hurting the most at any given point is the one my heart goes out to most fully.” The same is true with our heavenly Father. While others might judge you because you’re lost, hurting, or badthe Father looks upon you compassionately and says, “Those who are hurting and lost are the ones I particularly care about.” Jesus Himself told us this in the parable of the Good Shepherd. Ninety-nine sheep were okay. But He left them to go find the one who was lost (Luk_15:3-7). Therefore, don’t let anyone come down on youfor even if you are a bit lost, the Lord loves us especially when we need Him most. It’s Humorous to Judge Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.Rom_14:4 (b) The Lord will hold up the one we put down. The Lord will make stand the one we can’t stand. As freshmen at Biola University, we had brutal dorm wars during spring semester. I recall walking into the quad of Stewart Hall, only to have the trashcan of water that was balanced on top of the door come crashing down on us. This called for retaliation and set off a series of skirmishes during finals week so brutal, that, fearing for our lives, we barricaded ourselves in our rooms every night. We found a way, however, to penetrate the barricades of Stewart Hallnot by knocking down the doors or bashing in the windows (which we tried to no avail). We went to McDonald’s, downed as many milkshakes as we could and brought the empty cups back to the dormwhere we filled them with a mixture of shaving cream and mud. We then pinched the tops closed and quietly slipped the lips of the cups under the doors of those who needed to learn a lesson. After strategically positioning ourselves outside each door, on the count of three, we stomped on the cups, effectively coating the inside of the rooms with shaving cream and mud. It was great! That same semester, after my roommate broke his arm jumping out our second-story window, the Resident Assistant, a Bible major, came to me and said, “Jon, you’re never going to make it in ministry. Neither will your roommate.” My roommate was Rick Booye, pastor of Trail Fellowship. It’s humorous to me because the people who thought we would never make it failed to take into account the great grace, goodness, and faithfulness of God. Looking at us, they had every reasonand still doto be dubious, but only if they forget that it is God who holds us up. So, too, the very people I have judged negatively, those I thought would never make it, I look at years later and see God’s grace on their lives and the way the Lord is using them. I marvel at the goodness and bigness and grace of Godand I have to laugh. If you feel like you’ve been judged, the Lord says to you, “I’m with you. I’ll never leave you. I’ll never forsake you. People might come down on you and find fault with you, but I will see you through.” It’s Needless to Judge But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.Rom_14:10 Every Christianevery brother, every sister, every one of us, those who have been judged, those who are judgingwill stand before the judgment seat of Christ where all of our works will be tried by fire (1Co_3:13). Everything we’ve done in the name of the Lord will be put through fire. And only that which is gold, silver, and precious stonesonly that which was done sincerelywill remain. This means that there are people who are doing seemingly spiritual things, leading seemingly disciplined lives, doing seemingly wonderful worksbut for the wrong reasons. Truly, we do not know what motivates people. Jesus told us some would do their works only to be seen of men (Mat_6:2). But their true motives will be revealed at the bema, or judgment seat of Christ. Folks, we don’t know as much as we think we do. Because the heart is deceitfully and desperately wicked (Jer_17:9), it’s hard enough to figure out why I do what I do, much less try to figure out why another does what he does. About fifty years ago, a preacher was riding a train, studying for his Sunday sermon. Across the aisle from him, a two-year-old girl was being obnoxiously loud, throwing a temper tantrum, and crying. Finally, in his frustration, the preacher said to the woman with the baby, “Madam, please control your child.” “She’s not my child, sir,” the woman answered. “Well, is her mother on board?” “Yes. She’s on board,” answered the woman. “She’s in the next car, in the cargo departmentin a casket.” Feeling totally humiliated, the preacher spent the rest of the journey tending the crying baby as best he could. So, too, those who judge you don’t know the full story. Be patient with them. They don’t know what you’ve gone through. They don’t know where you’ve been. Earthly judgment is based upon limited information, but Paul says the day is coming when judgment will be perfect and righteous. Past Judgment As He headed to the Cross, Jesus declared, “Now is the judgment of this world” (Joh_12:31). In this, He told us something freeing and exciting. That is, all of the sin we have ever done, are doing, or ever will do has been paid fully and completely when He died. The judgment we should have received because of our sin was poured out on Him. In the days of the pioneers, brushfires would break out so quickly, that they were impossible to outrun or outride. So the settlers soon learned that the only way they could be protected from such fires was to burn a large circle in their own field upon the first sight of smoke on the horizon. Then they would stand in the burned-out circle so that, having nothing left to burn, the fire would bypass them. That is exactly where you are today if you know Jesus Christ. You are at the foot of the Cross. You will never be held accountable for any sin you have done or ever will do as long as you embrace the work of the Cross and thank Jesus for doing what He did in your place. The punitive fire of God’s wrath and judgment will never touch you. You are absolutely safe in the circle of the Cross of Calvary. Present Judgment Having said that, Paul says there is a present judgment that is to be taking place in the heart of every believer (1Co_11:28). Paul says we ought to judge ourselves. Where? At the Communion table. Why? If you spend time with the Lord confessing your sin, you will save yourself a lot of heartache. What kind of heartache? If my son Benjamin had a propensity to stick knives into electric sockets when he was a boy, I would have loved him enough to discipline himnot because I would have been coming down on him, not because I would have been mad at him, not because I would have been trying to be cruel to him, but because I care about him. So, too, if I continue doing things that are dangerous to me spiritually, the Father will judge menot in order to punish me, but in order to save me from destruction. You see, I believe in “bungee theology.” That is, the Father hooks a bungee cord of love to us and then gives us all kinds of space. Now, although we can stretch this cord by walking contrary to God’s will, we must realize that we will come back. If you’re a believer, the Lord’s love is wrapped around you in such a way that He’ll let you go your way to a certain degree. But you will come back. The only question is: How hard will you hit? I talk to kids every week who stretch the bungee cord and say, “We’re cool. We can do what we want"until they end up crying in my office. “Didn’t you know you were doing something that wasn’t right?” I ask. “Didn’t you hear God’s voice in your heart? Why, then, did you continue?” “I don’t know.” I have never heard anyone say, “I’m sure glad I got drunk,” or, “I’m glad I did drugs,” or, “I’m glad I stole.” Never. But I’ve heard story after story of those who have said, “What was I doing?” “What was I thinking?” “Why did this happen?” “Judge yourself,” said Paul. Come to the Communion table and say, “Lord, search my heart. Show me where my attitudes or activities are amiss,” lest you find yourself splatting against the wall of God’s love. Future Judgment Finally, there will be a future judgment. Paul refers to this here in Romans 14 and talks about it further in the Corinthian Epistles. At the bema, or judgment seat of Christ, everything you have done will go through a fire of purification. Whatever gold, silver, and precious stones remain will be your reward. “Big deal,” you say. “I’m not into gold. I could care less about silver. Precious stones? They don’t mean much to me.” Listen, those things might not be important now. But they will be, for they will determine your capacity to enjoy eternity. They will determine what you do in the next zillion years. While I know that just being in heaven will be glory beyond words, I also know that when Paul came back from being caught up into heaven, his purpose in life was to win the prize (Php_3:13-14). Having seen the reality of heaven, he knew nothing else mattered. Jesus said the same thing when He said, “Seek first the kingdom” (see Mat_6:33). “Take my word for it,” Paul would say to you and me today: “Your house, your car, your hobbies, trinkets and toys will all burn. They will not matter ultimately. What does matter is the bema seat, the judgment seatwhere you will stand before Jesus and be rewarded.” Here’s the added bonus, folks: If you live for this life, you’ll always be miserable because nothing will ever be quite right. It will always be “one more piece of furniture to buy,” “one more flower to plant,” “one more promotion to get,” “one more person to date"but it will never be quite enough. If you live for heaven, on the other hand, this world is just a bonus. Therefore, you can relax, knowing you will find joy unspeakable in heaven.

Romans 14:5

This controversy was not only about diets but also about days. There were some who suggested the proper day to worship was on Saturday, the traditional Sabbath. Others said worship should take place on the first day of the weekResurrection day, Sunday. This debate still rages today, as many Seventh Day Adventists who embrace the older traditions believe that those who worship on Sunday are in danger of losing their salvation. Let every man be persuaded in his own mind. You might have a conviction or persuasion. Terrific. But you needn’t force that conviction on anyone else. Rather, let us see you live it through and work it out. Let us observe the benefits and the fruit. Then we will come and ask you counsel. Let every man be persuaded in his own mind concerning what he should do without laying a burden on anyone else in controversial matters. The vast majority of the issues that cause division in the body are those that are not clearly spelled out in the Word. They’re opinions. They’re perspectives. They can be solid and excellent. But we must always be mindful to give our brothers and sisters great latitude and to allow them the freedom to be persuaded in their own minds.

Romans 14:6

When Applegate Christian Fellowship used to meet in the Western Auto building, we held one of our Sunday morning services on Friday nights. We found these times to be productive and fruitful. Yet some people were really uptight. “You can’t have a Sunday service on a Friday night,” they said. “Why not?” “Because Friday is not a holy day.” Attempting to honor their opinion, I said, “You don’t have to come on Friday night. You just come Sunday morning if that’s your conviction.” We need to exercise great latitude, folks. “Oh, Lord, thanks,” says the stronger brother as he sits down to the filet mignon he bought in the open-air market and sinks his teeth into the slab of beef. “Thank You, Lord, that I don’t have to clog my system with dead cow, that I am not causing the rain forest in Brazil to be depleted, that I have been given the ability to say ‘No,”’ says the weaker brother as he sits down to a fresh green salad. And Paul says both are right.

Romans 14:7

This is a key component in the equation of liberty and responsibility. There are those who say, “Jesus was right when He said, ‘I have come that you might have life and life abundantly,”’ as they eat their beef and live it up in the Lord. Others say, “Didn’t Jesus say if any man come after Him let him deny himself, take up the cross and follow Him?” as they enter a monastery and give everything up for the Lord. We are so blessed! We can learn from, be enriched by, and rejoice with those who are contemplative in their piety, as well as from those who are carefree in their joviality. What great latitude the Lord has given us and those sitting next to us in our relationship with Him. For whether we live it up in the Lord or give it up for the Lord, we can glorify Him.

Romans 14:10

In other words, “Why do you write off the brother who doesn’t see things the way you do, or who has regulations you don’t?” Every Christian will one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ not to be judged for sin, but to be given awards for that which was done for the Lord’s glory in obedience to Him (1Co_3:13-15). But until that day, we can’t know what the motives of men are. That’s why Paul says we are not to judge.

Romans 14:12

Of whom will you give account? Yourself. That’s all. You don’t have to give an account for the person in front of you or behind you. Every one of us will give account of ourselvesnot of our sins, but of what we did with the possessions the Lord gave us materially, the opportunities He opened for us in ministry, and the gifts He embedded in us spiritually. All of these will pass through the fireand whatever comes out will be all that matters. It was after Paul was caught up into heaven (2Co_12:2) that he said, “From here on out, my one goal is to win the prize” (see Php_3:13-14). Gang, be sure your lives count in light of the big picture eternally, where every one of us will give an account individually.

Romans 14:13

Sprinkled throughout Paul’s writings are negative exhortations directly followed by positive applications… Let him that stole steal no more: rather let him labour…(Eph_4:28). Let every man put away lying and speak the truth…(Eph_4:25). Flee youthful lusts and follow after righteousness…(see 2Ti_2:22). Be anxious for nothing but in everything give thanks…(see Php_4:6). So, too, here Paul says, “Let us not judge any man, but rather judge ourselves.” Is your legalism causing others to stumble by making them feel condemned, weighed down, and beaten up? Is your liberty causing others to stumble as they follow you to their own destruction? If we don’t judge ourselves, the Lord will judge usnot to condemn us, but to correct us. Yes, He gives us liberty for a while. But He loves us as well as those around us too much to let us travel a dangerous road indefinitely.

Romans 14:15

A Pharisee of Pharisees, Paul had been a legalist in the strictest sense of the word. After spending time with Jesus in the desert (Gal_1:17), however, he emerged, as seen in this verse, a great champion of liberty. “Personally, I’m persuaded there is nothing unclean of itself,” said Paul. “But for those who esteem something to be unclean, then for them it is unclean.” Due to the presence of bikinis and alcohol at Applegate Lake in Oregon, some people question how Applegate Christian Fellowship can have after-=church activities there. To those people, I say, “If you have a problem going to Applegate Lake, then to you it’s unclean. Don’t go. But don’t put that trip on anyone else.” So, too, while it is unclean for me to smoke cigarettes, there are those who are Christians, who love the Lord, who are born again, who smoke cigarettes. Traditionally, the church has made smoking an issue of salvation, saying, “You can’t be saved if you smoke cigarettes.” This is nothing new… Charles Haddon Spurgeon could not understand how Joseph Parker could go to the theatre and watch plays. Parker, on the other hand, came down on Spurgeon, saying he couldn’t understand how Spurgeon could smoke cigars. Both of these men were powerful preachers who were greatly used by the Lord, and yet they had a public fight. Spurgeon finally gave up smoking in his later years when one day he opened the London Times and saw a full-page cigar ad under the headline, “The Cigar that Charles Spurgeon Smokes.” People are often shocked and appalled at how someone else could do something other than what they themselves have liberty to do. Trips are laid on people. Fights start. Churches split. Historically, entire denominations have actually been formed in protest of those who had the audacity to wear buttons on their clothes. Just ask the Hole and Eye Baptists. “Such ought not be,” said Paul. You might have the freedom to chomp down a big piece of meat, but don’t do it in a way or at a place where the weaker brother, the legalist, the vegetarian will be offended, turned off, or uptight. In the early days of World War II, German U-boats attacked Allied ships traveling from the East Coast to Europe. To remedy this, they traveled in large convoys. But the convoys could go only as fast as the slowest boat. So the faster boats slowed down to the speed of the slowest boat in order that they all might be protected from attack. The same holds true in spiritual life. You might be freer and faster and stronger than your brothers and sisters in Christbut keep in mind with whom you are traveling. We’re linked together. Don’t do something that will cause a slower boat to be exposed to the underwater attacks of the Enemy, to be torpedoed by Satan. Slow it down. We’re in this together.

Romans 14:16

There’s something about us that wants to be contrary and confrontational. But that’s not what the kingdom is about. You will be acceptable to both God and approved in the eyes of men if you focus not on meat or drink, controversies or confrontations, but on the righteousness, peace, and joy imputed to us and bestowed upon us by the grace and goodness of God through Jesus Christ.

Romans 14:19

Everything is pure, but anything with which you have a personal problem is unclean for you. Therefore, determine where you’re atbut don’t impose your convictions on others.

Romans 14:21

Stay away from anything that would cause someone in the convoy to stumble. Be careful with the liberty you enjoy.

Romans 14:22

You’re a happy man if you’re not condemning yourself, if you’re not bound up with regulations.

Romans 14:23

If you engage in an activity only to prove a point to yourself or others, you’ll bring damnation upon yourselfnot eternal damnation, but present depression and destruction. “Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity,” wrote the psalmist (Psa_133:1). What does this mean? Augustine summed it up best when he said, “In essentials, there must be unity. In nonessentials, there must be liberty. But in all things, there must be charity.” May God give us wisdom to walk in both liberty and love.