I once heard a sermon in which the pastor told a story regarding a past experience in which he told the people in his congregation – in the midst of a sermon – to write something in the margin of their Bibles. He then proceeded to tell about an older lady in the church coming up to him after the service and telling him that she had always been taught never to write in your Bible because it is the holy Word of God. The pastor then declared that his response to this woman was “Where did you hear that – the first book of stupid?” The story was recounted for the purpose of drawing a laugh from the crowd. However, I remember sitting there listening and being unsettled in my spirit. It felt to me like there was something wrong with what the pastor had said, but I just couldn’t seem to figure out exactly what. I just knew it did not represent the heart that one Christian should have toward another.
As I studied the text for this week, I was reminded of that incident because I think this text deals with the very issue that made me uneasy. These last few weeks in Romans, we have seen Paul tell his readers very explicitly how they should live in everyday life. He has told them to recognize that they are part of a larger body – the body of Christ (12:3-8). He has told them how they should relate to the world, other believers and enemies (12:9-21). He went on to tell them how they should act toward governing authorities (13:1-7). And he reminded them of their responsibility to live in love (13:8-10) and to constantly remember their coming salvation (13:11-14). In our text today, Paul addresses another very explicit area of life. He addresses the issue of how we should respond to differences of opinion within the church. While Paul will focus his attention on specific issues within the church at Rome, we will see that his purpose is grander than addressing those issues. He desires to preserve the unity of the church, and – fundamentally – he desires to see the Kingdom of God advanced in the most unhindered way possible.
The text divides very neatly into three parts with each part having a specific point. We will walk three each section in turn.
Paul sets the tone for his discussion by writing, “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions” (14:1). So we know from the start two things about this section of Paul’s exhortation. First, it concerns those who are “weak in faith” over against those who are “strong in faith.” Though the “strong” are not mentioned until 15:1, it is clear that Paul has them in mind throughout chapter 14. So we must notice first of all that Paul is concerned with relationships within the church – between people who share a common faith. Second, we notice that Paul is concerned with matters of “opinion.” He speaks more specifically about these matters of opinion in the following verses. He writes, “One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables” (14:2). Later he writes, “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike” (14:5a). So we see from the start that the issues on which Paul’s readers differ are secondary issues. They are not primary issues of faith. They are matters of opinion on which Paul’s readers have different views.
Simply from the outset, then, it would do us good to make this statement – there are issues that are not of crucial central importance to the Christian faith. This is not to say that they are not important issues, but it is to say that differences of opinion on these points are okay. Indeed, as we look at the text, we see that Paul’s concern is not the issues as much as the proper response to differences over those issues. This is what occupies Paul in this opening section.
So if people within the church at Rome differ over what foods can be eaten and whether some days are better than others, what is the answer? Paul writes, “Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats” (14:3). So, without addressing which side is correct, Paul makes the blanket statement that it should not matter who is right. Neither side should judge the other for their position. The one who refuses to eat certain foods or drink certain things because they believe it is prohibited should not judge those who eat and drink whatever they please. And those who eat whatever they please should not look down on those who refuse to eat certain foods.
But why is this the case? What is the reasoning for people in the church not judging others over differences of opinion? Paul gives two specific answers. First, he tells them not to pass judgment on a brother or sister “…for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (14:4). Paul’s first point is that we should not judge one another on matters of opinion because judgment belongs to God. As brothers and sisters, we ultimately give an account of ourselves to God and not primarily to each other. And it is God who will render judgment about our actions and not other brothers and sisters. And Paul goes on to make clear that, if someone is a believer, God will cause them to persevere and stand in the judgment. The implication is that if their opinion on a particular matter does not preclude them from being a Christian, then it should not be grounds for us to judge them.
Paul goes on to give a second reason. Not only should we avoid judging because we are not in the position of judge, but we should also avoid judging because the central issue is that God be honored (and not that we unanimously agree on a particular matter of opinion). Paul writes, “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God” (14:5b-6). Paul’s point is that God is honored by both the weak person and the strong person because each one of them is doing what they do in honor of God and giving thanks to God while they do it.
But, we might ask, how can God be honored by two people doing the exact opposite of one another? To answer that question, we must remember that we are dealing with secondary issues and not issues of central importance to the faith. In these secondary matters of opinion, the goal is that God be honored by hearts that act in faith – whatever those hearts choose to do. Paul writes, “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. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (14:7-9). At first glance, those verses might seem a bit confusing, but all that Paul is saying is that Christ died so that he might be the sovereign Lord over those of us who have been saved. That means that our responsibility as Christians is to honor him and serve him. Again, we give an account to our Lord and not to any other believer. And so, as fellow Christians differ on these matters of opinion, we should keep in mind that the central issue is that God be honored by all who claim Christ as Lord. If we understand that, we will not judge or despise each other; we will welcome each other. This is Paul’s thought as he closes this first section by writing, “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us will give an account of himself to God” (14:10-12). We should not judge one another on matters of opinion because we are not the judge and because the central issue is not absolute agreement on every issue but the honoring and glorifying of God.
In the second section of our text, Paul focuses his attention on the “strong” in particular – that is, he seems to be speaking directly to those who feel the freedom to eat or drink whatever they please. Having just said that we should not judge one another in these matters of opinion, Paul now goes even further and tells those who are “strong” that they should do everything in their power to make sure that their freedoms do not cause their brothers and sisters who are “weak in faith” to stumble. He writes, “Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother” (14:13). So Paul goes a step further now by saying that we should not only refrain from judging others but we should even do whatever we can to keep others from stumbling over our freedoms.
The flow of Paul’s thought is instructive to us, so we will walk through it piece-by-piece. Notice first of all that Paul makes very clear his opinion that all foods are permissible and clean and okay to eat. He writes, “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself” (14:14a). He also writes, “Everything is indeed clean” (14:20b). And he even tells those who feel free to eat and drink whatever they please: “Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself or what he approves” (14:22b). Paul is clear that, in his mind, the dietary restriction being observed by the Jewish Christians are no longer binding upon followers of Christ. All food is clean and okay to eat.
But Paul also makes clear that this is not the case for everyone. After writing that “nothing is unclean in itself,” he writes, “but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean” (14:14b). He even goes on to say, “But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats” (14:23a). So having made clear that it is not a sin to eat the food, Paul turns around and makes clear that it is a sin to eat the food for those who believe it to be unclean. But how can this be? How can eating the food be a sin in one case and not be a sin in another? The answer lies in verse 23: “But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” The issue is not the eating of the meat but the presence of faith. It is the presence or absence of faith that determines whether something is sin. Understanding this point will help us understand Paul’s thought in this entire section of Romans. In matters of opinion – matters of secondary importance that are not direct moral norms in Scripture – our primary concern is not whether or not they can be done but whether or not they can be done in faith. If a person cannot eat a particular food in faith, they should not eat the food. If a person cannot drink wine in faith, they should not drink wine. If a person cannot watch a particular show or listen to a particular thing in faith, they should not watch or listen to that thing. As Christians, we must do everything in faith – without violating our conscience by doing anything that we believe to be wrong.
But Paul does not stop there. He goes on to say that the one who is strong in faith and believes that they can eat or drink whatever they please should be willing to refrain from doing those things around those who think it wrong to do them. Paul writes, “For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died” (14:15). He goes on to say, “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God” (14:20-22a). Paul’s point is crystal clear: if exercising your freedoms or voicing your opinions in these secondary matters causes your brother or sister to stumble, then you should be willing to not exercise or speak about those freedoms before that brother or sister. The central question is whether or not you are loving your brother – just as Lee looked at last week in Romans 13. If we love each other, we fulfill the law. And it is not loving to cause a fellow believer to stumble. Paul uses strong language because he wants us to understand the importance of this reality. We should not destroy the one for whom Christ died. We should not destroy the work of God. If our eating causes a brother to stumble, we must be willing to stop eating that food. If our drinking causes another to be hindered in their faith, we should we willing to stop it. We must be ready and willing, at all times, to do whatever we must to keep our fellow brothers and sisters from stumbling.
But why is it such a big deal that this be the case? Why is it so important that we refrain from doing anything that might cause a brother or sister to stumble? One answer, that we have already seen, is because their very eternal soul might be at stake. But Paul goes on in this second section of the text to give another reason. We should take this exhortation about not causing another to stumble seriously because our primary concern is the advancement of the kingdom of God. Paul writes, “So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (14:16-19). Most likely, in verse 16, Paul is telling his readers to ask in such a way that those outside of the church (i.e. unbelievers) cannot speak ill of what is good (i.e. the kingdom of God). It seems that Paul can envision a scenario where disputes within the church over issues such as food and drink and days can actually cause those outside the church to speak ill of the kingdom of God. And Paul reminds them that the kingdom of God is not about such things as eating and drinking. Rather, it is about righteousness and peace and joy. If that is the case, then the church needs to be concerned with those issues and not differences of opinion. Paul wants his readers to be unified around the core doctrines of the faith (around Christ) that they are “acceptable to God and approved by men.”
So, fundamentally, in this second section of our text, Paul is telling those of his readers who are “strong” in faith and in regards to these matters of opinion to be so consumed with concern for the kingdom of God and the faith of their brothers and sisters that they are willing to forsake whatever privileges and rights they may have for the sake of those things.
But Paul does not stop at merely telling his readers how they should act. In the last section of our text, he goes so far as to give them an example meant to urge them to do the very things that he has exhorted them to do. Before laying out the example, he reiterates his exhortations by saying, “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” (15:1-2). So Paul not only exhorts his readers to bear with those who are weak, but he goes so far as to tell them that they have an obligation to do so. And notice that he does not even mention that, while bearing with the weak, the strong should all the while be trying to bring them over to their side. Rather, he explicitly tells the strong that they should give up any right to please themselves in order to please a neighbor so that the neighbor might be built up. This is strong language from Paul.
But this time, Paul takes his argument a step further. He began by telling his readers not to judge one another because God is the true judge and because the main issue is that God be honored by what his children do. He then exhorted the strong to do everything they could not to cause the weak to stumble because the main issue is that the kingdom of God be advanced and not that we get to eat meat or drink wine or do whatever. In this final section, Paul reiterates the same exhortations to the strong, but he grounds them in the glorious atoning work of Jesus Christ.
Paul writes, “For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me’” (15:3). So having just told his readers that their primary concern should not be to please themselves but to please those who are weak, Paul points out that this is exactly what Christ did. Rather than seeking to please himself, he “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but made himself nothing” and “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:6-8). The quote Paul uses is from Psalm 69:9 – a psalm that clearly points to Christ. And Paul quotes verse 9 to point out that Christ – rather than seeking to please himself by indulging himself – was willing to die a horrible death on a cross and bear the unjust reproaches of wicked men so that we might be saved. Jesus Christ was not concerned with his rights or privileges. He was concerned with saving souls and advancing the kingdom of God – even at the cost of horrible suffering and pain.
Paul goes on to write, “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, ‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.’ And again it is said, ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.’ And again, ‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.’ And again Isaiah says, ‘The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope’” (15:8-12). Again, Paul wants to make clear that Jesus was not concerned with serving himself. Rather, he became a servant to others – even to us – so that we as Gentiles, and the Jews as God’s chosen people, might glorify God for his mercy. Jesus pursued the will of God no matter what the cost to himself and regardless of what personal rights and desires he had to give up to do it.
In light of this example of Christ, Paul reiterates his exhortation by saying: “Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (15:7). And he also prays that his readers will imitate their savior: “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:5-6). Paul’s concern is not that his readers totally agree on all matters of opinion. His concern is that they be unified in their savior, Jesus Christ, so that they might rightly glorify God the Father. He voices much the same prayer at the end of our text: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (15:13). Paul’s desire for his readers was that they would not be distracted from the central concern of going and making disciples as the unified body of Christ.
As we think through ways to apply this text to ourselves, let me begin by addressing those who may not be believers. You may have listened to Paul’s words this morning and simply been dumbfounded about why this is such a big deal. You may even be confused by some of the intricacies of Paul’s argument. Let me say to you that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (14:17). You need not be concerned with what you should eat or drink or wear or watch. You should be concerned over the state of your soul. Your biggest problem is not that you watch immoral things or say hurtful things or even do hurtful things. Those are all symptoms of your greater problem – you have a heart that is sinful and refuses to submit to God and obey him and follow him. God is holy, and he will not allow such rebellion to go unpunished. His wrath hangs over you, prepared to fall on you for all of eternity if you do not turn from your sins and place your faith and trust and hope in Jesus Christ. If you will just repent and believe, you will be saved. You will be declared righteous, and you will be declared not guilty before God of all the wrong that you have done in this life. Repent and be saved today.
For those who are believers, I would exhort you in three ways. First, be careful not to judge each other in matters of opinion. If an issue is not a central moral norm of the Scriptures, then you have no right to impose your opinion on another. If you believe it wrong to eat certain things or watch certain things or drink certain things, that is fine. But do not judge others who feel the freedom in faith to do those things. For those of you who feel the freedom to eat what you please, say what you please or drink what you please, that is fine so long as it is done in faith. Do not despise or ridicule or hold in contempt those who disagree with you. They honor God by their faithfulness to what they believe to be true, and we should praise the Lord for that.
Second, to those who do feel the freedom to do more things than others, you must do everything in your power to ensure that your freedoms do not cause a weaker brother or sister to stumble. If someone has an issue with saying particular words, make sure not to say those things around them. If someone has an issue with watching certain things, make sure you do not watch those things in their presence. You have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak. Do not seek to please yourself at the expense of others. Jesus Christ did no such thing and neither should we.
Third, to all who are believers, we should make sure that the advancement of the kingdom of God is central to everything we do. May it never be said of us that we were willing to hinder the work of God because of our desire to exercise a particular freedom or “right.” The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, so we should be willing to give up any particular food or drink for the purpose of advancing the kingdom. Our greatest concern is not that all people agree with us on matters of food and drink. Our greatest concern is that people hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and that the body of Christ be unified so that we can seek first the kingdom of God. Amen.