Romans 14
_1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3
The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and
the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does,
for God has accepted him. 4
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he
stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him
stand. 5 One man
considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every
day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6
He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats
meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains,
does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’”
12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. 14 As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 16 Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’”
12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. 14 As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 16 Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
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Some may think that surely this passage is the one we can go
to support the “do not EVER judge ANYONE” ideology. After all, Rom 14.1, 4, 10 & 13 condemn passing
judgment on others & it even says “Let us therefore make every effort to do
what leads to peace” (Rom 14.19) & “So whatever you believe about these
things keep between yourself and God” (Rom 14.22). Sorry.
There’s one problem with that interpretation – context. We can start to understand the proper meaning
by asking, what are “these things” of verse 22?
Verse 1 has the answer.
Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. – Rom 14.1
Disputable matters are those things that are not concretely defined in Scripture; they are not issues that God makes express moral determinations about. Another translation for the Greek word for “disputable” is “arguable”. Such matters ultimately don’t matter & are more about preferences & personal convictions which come back to man’s standard. The danger of passing judgment on “disputable matters” is that they give way to legalism, holding man’s standard (preferences) equal to God’s standard. This has been a problem that has plagued the church from the onset & sadly still occurs today.
How do we know this passage isn’t forbidding the judging of behavior altogether? Again, it’s context. While every word & word order in the original languages of Scripture are specifically given by God (2 Tim 3.16), the chapter & verse breaks were inserted by man (yet are useful). Therefore, chapter 13 gives us insight to chapter 14. Here the Apostle Paul mentions God’s moral law (Rom 13.8-10), then he explicitly condemns certain “deeds of darkness” that violate God's law, a.k.a. sinful behavior.
The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. – Rom 13.12-14
Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. – 2 Tim 2.14-16
Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. – Rom 14.1
Disputable matters are those things that are not concretely defined in Scripture; they are not issues that God makes express moral determinations about. Another translation for the Greek word for “disputable” is “arguable”. Such matters ultimately don’t matter & are more about preferences & personal convictions which come back to man’s standard. The danger of passing judgment on “disputable matters” is that they give way to legalism, holding man’s standard (preferences) equal to God’s standard. This has been a problem that has plagued the church from the onset & sadly still occurs today.
How do we know this passage isn’t forbidding the judging of behavior altogether? Again, it’s context. While every word & word order in the original languages of Scripture are specifically given by God (2 Tim 3.16), the chapter & verse breaks were inserted by man (yet are useful). Therefore, chapter 13 gives us insight to chapter 14. Here the Apostle Paul mentions God’s moral law (Rom 13.8-10), then he explicitly condemns certain “deeds of darkness” that violate God's law, a.k.a. sinful behavior.
The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. – Rom 13.12-14
Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. – 2 Tim 2.14-16
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