This chapter deals with matters of personal conviction which are indifferent, that is, matters which are neither right nor wrong within themselves. This chapter has been used to try to justify everything from adulterous marriages to instrumental music in worship.
However, the principles must be applied to things that are neither right nor wrong in and of themselves. For example, it is neither right nor wrong to eat meat or to refrain from eating it. Paul is showing us in this chapter how to receive those who might differ from us in such matters.
‘Receive one who is weak in faith’ means receive him into full fellowship. He uses in this chapter the examples of eating certain things and keeping certain days.
It is wrong to force one’s opinion, in matters of personal conviction, on others. It is wrong to force others to change their convictions before fellowship can be extended.
‘But not to disputes over doubtful things’ means the weak should not be received for the purpose of judging their doubtful thoughts. Some brethren thrive on controversy, and it causes a lot of problems and heartache in the Lord’s church.
Weak in ‘the faith’ means knowing what they ought to believe. The weak are usually those who are strong-minded but don’t argue with them. The weak in faith usually argue about everything. Orthodoxy means they think they have the right faith. Heterodoxy means they believe that others have the wrong faith.
Things not wrong in and of themselves. Paul’s examples in Romans 14.
1. Eating of meats, Romans 14:6.
One eats all things, another eats only vegetables, Romans 14:2.
2. Observing days, Romans 14:6.
One personally observes a day, another esteems every day alike, Romans 14:5.
1. Wearing the covering. Out of conviction from 1 Corinthians 11:1-16, one lady wears it during worship, another does not.
2. A woman speaking during the Bible class, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, one speaks during Bible class, another does not.
3. Killing for the government.
All agree that the government has a right to do it. One in good conscience does it for the government another, because of conscience does not do it.
4. Doing work on Sunday.
One is convinced that honouring the Lord’s Day forbids it, another is not.
5. Putting up a tree at Christmas time.
One is convinced that it sets a bad example, another is not.
Vegetables, garden herbs, Romans 14:2, is the Greek word, ‘Lachanon.’ Vegetarians, don’t despise them because they eat vegetables and don’t despise someone who eats meat.
The Essenes were the third Jewish sect, along with the Sadducees and Pharisees. The Essenes practised self-denial, a monk-like style, no eating or drinking for periods of time. In Rome, the Christians had problems with eating and drinking. Some said you shouldn’t eat meat, others said you shouldn’t drink wine, 1 Corinthians 8:1-6.
1. Pagans were brought up to believe in idols.
They believed that if they ate the meat, then the spirit of that god would enter them.
2. Pythagoras, the Greek philosopher, said they shouldn’t kill animals and eat them as you might be eating the soul of a dead relative.
In Peter’s vision, he saw clean and unclean animals and realised that God made all things clean, Acts 10:9-15.
Let not the one who eats all things view with contempt the one who does not eat, Romans 14:3. The non-meat eater would be apt to judge the other as sinning when he ate meat that had previously been offered to idols.
‘God has accepted them’, Romans 14:3, means don’t look down on people who eat vegetables or meat. God says you have a choice: do what you think is right, you might be right, you might be wrong. God has received the strong as well as the weak. When God approves, no one has the right to disapprove.
The word ‘judge’, Romans 14:4, is used in the sense of condemning, i.e., the weak or the strong condemning the other. ‘Another’s servant’, Romans 14:4, means we should not judge, that is, condemn one another in these matters of personal conviction. In many things, one’s personal convictions are between him and God.
‘To his own master’, Romans 14:4, means in all matters of personal conviction, each one of us stands approved or disapproved only to the Lord. One may stand or fall, but it will be by the judgment of Christ and not by the judgment of others. ‘For the Lord is able to make him stand’, Romans 14:4, means by His grace we are what we are, 1 Corinthians 15:10.
To personally regard a day is alright. In other words, if a brother wanted to set aside a special day for prayer and devotion, it is his prerogative. However, it is wrong to bind it on others, Galatians 4:10-11 / Colossians 2:16, as do some churches.
‘Another considers every day alike’. The whole Jewish system, which had a multitude of special days, has been nailed to the cross. The only day with special significance under the Gospel system is the first day of every week, Acts 20:7 / 1 Corinthians 16:1-2.
Each one must study for himself. It would be wrong to think that we should not scripturally determine the truth on matters of personal conviction. Remember, sinful practices and doctrinal errors are not under consideration here. For example, ‘If one is fully persuaded that he can (insert any sin for doctrinal error) with no pang of conscience, would God accept him?’ Certainly not!
Some people treat certain days as holy and dedicate them to God. We are to treat every day as holy because you belong to God and give Him the thanks due Him for that day. Some people restricted God to certain days and places. God is not the God of one day, He’s the God of every day.
Each in good conscience does so in honour of God. Both are honestly trying to serve and honour God. While one or the other is mistaken in his convictions, both are doing what, in the final analysis, is permitted either way and, thus, neither has sinned by their actions.
We ask again, Can a person get drunk, ‘to the Lord’? Can one commit adultery ‘to the Lord’? Can one preach error ‘to the Lord’? Of course, the answer is, ‘Absolutely not!’
I ask such questions because many brethren try to use Romans 14 to find a loophole for their sin or error. Also, they often attempt to use Romans 14 to find a way to maintain fellowship with a brother who insists on teaching errors.
‘For none of us lives to himself’, Romans 14:7, means the Christian does not live a self-centred or self-seeking life, Ecclesiastes 12:7. The Christian lives and dies to the Lord, as shown in the next verses, that is, in every way, he promotes the Lord’s honour and glory.
Whether living or dead, we are the Lord’s property, Romans 14:8. We belong to Him, and whatever we do in life or death, we do to His honour and majesty. Christ died on the cross, arose from the dead, and now lives at the right hand of the Father, Mark 16:19 / Acts 7:56 / Hebrews 1:3.
Through His death and resurrection, He became Lord of all, Romans 14:9. By His death and resurrection, He secured the right to exercise Lordship over both the dead and the living.
Note the words, ‘why do you judge your brother or sister?’ Romans 14:10. This cannot be applied to all matters of judging. It cannot refer to sinful practices or doctrinal differences, for it would contradict Jesus, John, and Paul himself, John 7:24 / 2 John 9-11 / 1 Corinthians 5:10-12.
‘Why do you treat them with contempt?’ Romans 14:10. Why do you look down on your brother as someone unworthy of fellowship? ‘For we shall all stand,’ Romans 14:10. The reason we cannot judge our brethren in such matters is that Christ Himself is the judge.
Please note the judgment seat mentioned here isn’t speaking about salvational judgment, Acts 17:31. The judgment seat refers to the time when Christians will receive their rewards and responsibilities.
It’s about being judged for the things we have done in the body, either good or bad, not salvation, John 5:22 / Matthew 25:31-46 / 2 Corinthians 5:10 / 2 Timothy 4:7-8.
Smith, in his commentary, says the following concerning the judgment seat.
‘This is the bema seat, equivalent to the judge’s seat in the Olympic Games. After each game, the winners came before the judge’s seat to receive crowns for first, second, and third places. Likewise, the Christian’s works will be tested by fire, and he’ll be rewarded for those which remain. The judgment seat of Christ is only concerned with a Christian’s rewards and position in the kingdom, not with his salvation.’
Many Christians have built up a great reward in heaven, but we must ensure that we don’t forfeit those rewards, 2 John 4-10. John does not want any of us to lose our ‘full reward’.
He doesn’t want anyone to get to heaven and receive only a portion of what could have been theirs. He wants us to get all the rewards God wants us to have, 2 John 4:8.
Romans 14:11 is a quote from Isaiah 45:23. ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord’, and so, as certain as God is alive, everyone shall bow and confess to Him. We can either willingly bow or confess to Him now, or we will be forced to do so at the judgment, Philippians 2:9-11. Hence, we will not be judged as a church or as a family, Romans 14:12.
Also, no one will get lost in the crowd and not be judged, Psalm 33:13-15. Christ Himself will judge everyone. If we judge, in the sense of justifying or condemning, we assume the privilege of Christ.
The words, ‘therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another’, Romans 14:13, as I mentioned, are limited within the bounds of the things under consideration in this context. Leave all judgment to Christ in matters of personal conviction, Romans 15:14 / 2 Timothy 4:2.
Notice the words, ‘not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister’, Romans 14:13. These two expressions are very similar in meaning; the last one was probably given to explain the first. We should be careful not to influence a brother to go against his conscience or to drive him away.
‘Nothing is unclean in itself’, Romans 14:14, reminds us that the Mosaic distinctions were done away in Christ, Colossians 2:14-17. Under the Gospel system, there are no unclean foods, 1 Timothy 4:1-5.
‘If anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean’, Romans 14:14, means something clean can become unclean in the eyes of the one who so regards it, and if he violates his conscience in the matter, he thus condemns himself.
Our conception can convert right into wrong, but never wrong into right. One’s own conception of sin or error, cannot change it into purity or truth. ‘If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat’, Romans 14:15, means he is injured by your action because he sees you doing something he thinks is wrong.
‘You are no longer acting in love’, Romans 15:15, means your behaviour is not regulated by the principle of love. How could the eating of certain foods by the strong destroy another? Romans 14:15.
It does so when it influences one to go against their conscience. It does so when it forces him from fellowship with God’s people. We should not nullify the death of Christ by destroying a brother over indifferent matters.
Use your liberty so as to prove beneficial for all, and it will not be evil spoken of. The act of eating various foods is not wrong; Paul here calls it good, but if others believe it to be wrong, they could speak of it as evil, Romans 14:16.
It would thus destroy the influence of the strong and be an occasion of reproach both to him and the cause of truth. And so this encourages the strong to carefully consider their actions in the presence of the weak.
The kingdom of God is not made up of restrictions and non-restrictions on food and drink, Romans 14:17. What one eats or drinks does not affect, except in circumstances where the eating might lead another astray, his standing or relation to God.
‘Righteousness’, Romans 14:17, means attaining a state of justification and living righteously. ‘Peace’, Romans 14:17, is a kingdom of peace; its citizens have peace within their hearts. Its citizens endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
‘Joy in the Holy Spirit’, Romans 14:17, means happiness instilled and nourished by the Holy Spirit. It is joy inexpressible and full of glory, 1 Peter 1:8. Romans 14:18 shows the importance of the application of the things mentioned in this chapter. We serve Christ as we are instructed in His Word.
This is the only way we can know we are acceptable to God. When we secure acceptance with God, the approval of men, i.e., of our brethren, will follow. We should never, like the Pharisees, reverse the order.
They were to avoid strife, which results from disputes over doubtful things, and follow after things that promote peace and edification, Romans 14:19. They were to be constructive, not destructive, in their dealings with each other and thus work together toward peace and mutual up-building. However, we dare not espouse a false doctrine in order to have peace and unity.
The words, ‘do not destroy’, Romans 14:20, mean do not cause him to stumble, that is, to go against his conscience or drive him away. The word ‘destroy’ here is not the same word as ‘destroy’ in Romans 14:15. Here it means to ‘loosen down, or weaken.’
Hence, do not, for the sake of food, tear down or weaken the work of God, that is, a brother in Christ, which would be the opposite of edifying or building up. ‘All food is clean’, Romans 14:20. Again, he is referring to the things under consideration in this context. He is not referring to sin or error.
‘But it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble’, Romans 14:20. It becomes evil for the one who is eating and violates their conscience. Also, perhaps this refers to the strong who influence the weak to do wrong. In other words, it is evil for the one who is eating to give offence.
‘It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother or sister to fall,’ Romans 14:21. Under any of these conditions, it is wrong to engage in things that are indifferent in and of themselves.
Even though one does not see anything wrong in a given practice, congregational or otherwise, when it becomes an occasion of offence, a falling into sin to others, he must abstain from it.
We should abstain from things that might weaken or cause a brother to go against his conscience. One needs to be willing to surrender one’s rights for another’s good.
When we read John 2:1-12, the Canaan wedding, we can’t prove that this was non-alcoholic, and we can’t prove it was. Elders were to refrain from much wine, 1 Timothy 3:3 / Titus 1:7.
Whilst John the Baptist came neither eating nor drinking, Matthew 11:18, but the Son of man came eating and drinking, Matthew 11:19. There is a huge difference between drinking and getting drunk. Noah got drunk after planting a vineyard, Genesis 9:20-21. We can’t go to the Scriptures and say we can’t have a glass of wine.
Some things are between us and God, Romans 14:22. In matters of eating and drinking, let it be a matter between you and God, and not between you and your brother.
‘Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves,’ Romans 14:22, means we are happy when we do what is right. Unhappy when we don’t. One is happy indeed when he does not bring condemnation on himself or others in the things he judges commendable before God.
‘But he who doubts is condemned if he eats’, Romans 14:23, means the one who has questions, that is, doubts as to the lawfulness of practice, should follow the safe course and not engage in something which he feels might be wrong.
‘Because their eating is not from faith’, Romans 14:23, means if he engages in something which he questions, as to its right or wrong, he violates his own conscience and thus condemns himself, 1 John 3:20.
‘Everything that does not come from faith is sin’, Romans 14:23, means every act that does not spring from faith is sin, and every act that does spring from ‘the faith’ cannot properly be a matter of one’s faith, Romans 10:17.
The footnote for Romans 14:23 says the following.
‘Some manuscripts place Romans 16:25-27 here; others after Romans 15:33.’
To live in peace with God and himself, one must always do what he has determined to be lawful and right, his own faith from the Word of God, the faith. When one engages in something he does not believe to be right, that is, matters of indifference or otherwise, he sins.
Furthermore, when one engages in something he has doubts and questions about, that is, matters of indifference or otherwise, he sins. As a Christian, you have rights, but don’t exercise those rights if it may cause someone to stumble. Some might say if it’s OK for the preacher to drink, then it’s OK for me.
It’s all about the example. Paul says he has liberty, but he denies himself for others’ sake, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. Christian liberty means the right not to do things that are OK.
If you do something and you didn’t really believe in it, you’re a hypocrite. There are certain things you keep to yourself. In matters of faith, unity, matters of opinion, liberty. In all things, love. Matters of faith are things expressed in terms of the Scripture.
In John 3:2, Nicodemus came to Jesus at night; this is a matter of faith. Why did he come at night? Because it was cooler, because he was afraid, and because he was busy throughout the day are all matters of opinion.