Romans 14
Faith, Freedom, and Finesse
The Growing Church
• Romans 14:1 ESV
• (1) As for the one who is weak in faith,
welcome him, but not to quarrel over
opinions.
Example 1: The Controversy of Meat
• Romans 14:2-3 ESV
• (2) One person believes he may eat anything,
while the weak person eats only vegetables.
• (3) 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,
for God has welcomed him.
• Cf 1 Corinthians 8
Moral
Boundaries
Moral
Boundaries
Individual
Conscience
Moral
Boundaries
The Gray Area
Individual
Conscience
“My Freedom”
Moral
Boundaries
The Gray Area
The “Disputable Matters” (14:1 NIV)
Individual
Conscience
“My Freedom”
Moral
Boundaries
Which Extreme?
• The Romans (converted Jews) thought it was
bad to eat meat [legalistic]
– Concerns about uncleaness
• The Corinthians (converted idol worshippers)
had no problem eating meat [permissive]
– But the pantheonic could be confused
• In both cases, Paul wanted the brethren to be
concerned about the “weaker”
The Fears
• Fear 1: Evil is contagious – we will be infected
– Better not get near it, them, their stuff
• Fear 2: We won’t be differentiated
– If we don’t move away from sinlessness to a
position of visible separation we won’t be able to
reach the lost
The Answers
We are innoculated! God has called us to be Dual Citizens (as we just discussed in
Chapter 13) to work WITHIN the system we are in, as spiritually immune beings
that can be a light in the darkness!
• Fear 1: Evil is contagious – we will be infected
– Better not get near it, them, their stuff
• Fear
2: asWe
won’t
be
• As soon
you tell
someone
youdifferentiated
are a Christian they will already assume you are
judging them, and that you are different anyway.
–• IfWhywe
move
awayto separate
from sinlessness
toneed
a to reach?
go don’t
to non-biblical
extremes
from the people we
• position
It is our hearts
(Christ
in us) separation
that will reach them
of
visible
we won’t be able to
• Jesus had dinner in the homes of sinners, and he sought out sinners of all kinds
reach the lost
• Matthew 9:11-13
Should you Judge?
• Romans 14:4 ESV
• (4) 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.
Extra Biblical Constraints and Barriers
Individual
Conscience
“My Freedom”
Moral
Boundaries
The Same Problem – New Day
• Jesus scolded the Pharisees for creating a
heavy burden
• Extra biblical constraints and judgment over
the “disputable matters” can lead to:
– Recipient:
• Self marginalization
• Depression
• Power-robbing guilt
– Perpetrator:
• Loss of Focus
• Cloud Over Love
• Evangelistic Nullification
Example 2: The Controversy of Days
• Romans 14:5-6 ESV
• (5) One person esteems one day as better than
another, while another esteems all days alike.
Each one should be fully convinced in his own
mind.
• (6) 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.
No Sabbath?
• Romans was written to a church mixed of
converted Jews and Greeks
• It is likely that Paul was referring to the Feasts
and numerous traditions of days the Jews hade
been taught “to the bone”
• But the Sabbath must also be considered here
– Jesus bought (at an extraordinary price) extraordinary
freedom for us so that we could walk in his love, with
his law written on our hearts and “Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations”
No Seriously, Don’t Judge
(within the outer circle)
• Romans 14:7-13 ESV
• (7) For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.
• (8) For 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.
• (9) For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both
of the dead and of the living.
• (10) 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;
• (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 will give an account of himself to God.
• (13) 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.
No Seriously, Don’t Judge
(within the outer circle)
• This stern warning reminds us that Christ paid
that extraordinary price for both the dead and
the living and that we will all stand before him
and be judged
• We need to think about this – we are going to be
judged according to the law he has written on
OUR heart – we will not be judges on that day
• BUT, we are also called to NOT put a stumbling
block in front of our brothers
Two kinds of Stumbling Blocks
• I will judge you if you…
– even though Jesus would not have
– Even if it is not a moral absolute (God’s, not ours)
• I will confuse you because I believe I can do
something that I know you will not
understand as Christian Liberty
Clean versus Kind
• Romans 14:14-15 ESV
• (14) I know and am persuaded in the Lord
Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is
unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
• (15) 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.
So can we eat it or not?
• Tough for someone seeking moral absolutes
• God did not give us additional commands in
this area, so this becomes a “matter of
conscience”
• But Paul extends with the discussion of what
is loving!
The exegesis
• Romans 14:16-21 ESV
• (16) So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.
• (17) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking
but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
• (18) Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved
by men.
• (19) So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual
upbuilding.
• (20) 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.
• (21) It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that
causes your brother to stumble.
• Be conscientious of how what you do will be perceived
• Focus: Righteousness, Peace, and Joy (not eating and
drinking)
• Serving God in this way is acceptable to him AND to
men (whom he wishes us to reach!)
• We should pursue peace in these disputable areas and
work to avoid causing another to stumble
• Duplicitous? Of course not! We all understand what
Paul is calling us to. Doesn’t every professional,
politician, leader, public figure, executive, worker,
representative already get held to this same standard?
• The role of an ambassador (Dual Citizen)
Hidden Faith?
• Romans 14:22 ESV
• (22) The faith that you have, keep between
yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has
no reason to pass judgment on himself for
what he approves.
Hidden Faith?
• If you feel like God allows YOU to have a beer
every so often – do it at home, or in the
presence of others you know are similarly
minded and NEVER in the presence of an
alcoholic you are trying to lead to Christ
• Blessed is the person who is confident that
what they do in faith they have done
rightly/properly and without defiling their
conscience
Conscience as New Law
• Romans 14:23 ESV
• (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 Conscience!
• The conscience is the voice of the Holy Spirit, and
can lead us through nuance that our minds can
not navigate successfully
• If we submit
• Beautiful freedom!
– Submit to the conscience
– Be acceptable to God
– Enjoy the Freedom Christ bought – within the will of
God and without damaging our efforts as
ambassadors
• Cf Romans 2:15
The End!
• Chapter 15 and 16 next week!