Tyndale Open Study NotesRomans 14

This section of Romans explains the moral and ethical demands of the gospel. God’s gift of salvation in Christ calls for a response from believers.

God not only forgives sin. He also wants to transform how people live.

Much of what Paul teaches here about the moral duties of believers also appears in his other letters. However, Paul also addresses issues that were especially important for the church in Rome. One key issue was the disagreement between people who were weak in faith and people who were strong in faith(14:1–15:13).

Paul addresses a specific issue causing conflict in the church at Rome. The church encountered a dispute between those weak in faith and those strong in faith about certain practices (see 15:1).

Throughout this section, Paul urges Christians to show patience and tolerance toward one another and their practices. He is convinced that people on both sides are genuine believers. He also believes that the issues they are arguing about are not essential to the Christian faith.

whose faith is weak: This means having a sensitive conscience about doing certain things that Christian freedom would allow.

In Rome, most believers who were weak in faith were Jewish Christians. Their consciences did not allow them freedom from some practices required by the Jewish law.

The weak in faith apparently believed that they should eat only vegetables. This belief likely came from a desire to maintain Jewish ritual purity while living in a pagan culture.

These Jewish Christians were following an example found in the book of Daniel. Daniel and his friends refused the rich food and wine offered by the king of Babylon (Daniel 1:3–16).

Other Jewish writings show a similar concern. Devout Jews living in pagan cultures often limited their diet because they could not be sure that meat had been prepared according to Jewish requirements.

• belittle … judge: The “strong,” who took pride in their freedom in Christ, looked down on those they considered to be weak. The weak, in turn, believed they were following the true path of faith. Because of this, they judged the strong for being too careless in their behavior.

  Similar attitudes have appeared many times throughout the history of the Christian church. Christians have often argued over different practices and judged one another in the same way.

• God has accepted him: Both "the weak" and "the strong" are true Christians. God has welcomed them into his family. For this reason, they have no right to treat one another as if they do not belong (14:4; see also 15:7).

One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike: The reference is probably to Jewish festival days and to the Sabbath (compare Colossians 2:16). Because Christ has provided salvation, Christians are no longer required to observe the Sabbath in its original form.

As servants of the Lord, Christians should seek guidance from God and seek to honor him in all things (14:4, 8). Because we are ultimately accountable to him, our desire should always be to please him, not to live for ourselves.

• Paul refers to standard early Christian teaching on the significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus (for example, 2 Corinthians 5:15).

• of both the dead and of the living: The original word order matches the sequence of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the redemptive events that make Jesus our Lord.

we will all stand before God’s judgment seat: Paul reminds the Roman Christians that it is the Lord, not other Christians, who will ultimately judge all of us (compare 2 Corinthians 5:10).

This quotation is from Isaiah 49:18; 45:23. In its original context, Isaiah 45:23 appears among strong statements about God’s sovereignty (Isaiah 45:22, 24). Sovereign means having the highest authority and complete power. When God is described as sovereign, it means that God rules over all things. Because God alone is sovereign, only he has the right to judge. For this reason, believers should not judge one another (Romans 14:10, 12).

• This verse serves as a bridge between two sections. The call to stop judging one another summarizes 14:1–12. The warning about causing another believer to stumble becomes the main focus of 14:14–23.

• stumbling block or obstacle: This phrase originally described objects that could trip someone while walking, or traps into which a person might fall. In the New Testament, it is often used in a figurative way. It refers to behavior that may cause spiritual harm to another person (see 1 Corinthians 8:9, 13; 1 John 2:10; compare Matthew 21:42–44; Luke 20:17–18; Romans 9:32–33; 1 Peter 2:8).

• nothing is unclean in itself (literally, nothing is common in itself): The word common shows that Paul is addressing Jewish purity rules. Jews described food as common if it was not clean, meaning it was not kosher. Eating such food would make a person ritually impure (see Leviticus 11; compare Mark 7:2, 5; Acts 10:14). Paul’s teaching is consistent with the instruction from Jesus that food does not make a person unclean (Mark 7:19).

• for him it is unclean: The teaching that no food is wrong to eat was difficult for devout Jews to accept. They had been raised to honor God by avoiding certain foods. Paul therefore urges believers who are strong in faith not to pressure others to act against their conscience (compare 1 Corinthians 8:1–13).

The word translated as destroy (from the Greek apollumi) often used to describe eternal judgment (see 2:12; Matthew 10:28; 18:14; Luke 9:24; 13:2–5; John 3:16; 10:10, 28; 1 Corinthians 1:18–19; James 4:12; 2 Peter 3:9). By insisting on their freedom to eat any food, believers who were strong in faith could harm others. They might cause sensitive Jewish Christians, for whom Christ died, to turn away from the faith.

The work of God involves both the spiritual life of other Christians and to the Christian community itself (14:15, 19). When the strong insist on doing whatever they want, they cause division. This behavior goes against God’s purpose to build a healthy and united community of believers.

or drink wine: Some Jews chose not to drink wine to avoid appearing ritually unclean. Wine was often used in pagan religious ceremonies, which could make its use seem improper (see Daniel 1:3–16).

• Keep your belief about such matters between yourself and God: Paul did not deny the freedom of the strong believers. However, he told them to limit how they show that freedom. They should do this out of love for other believers, so the whole Christian community can be strengthened.

• Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself: Guilt can result from harming the faith of weaker believers. Christian freedom has value only when it can be practiced without causing this kind of guilt.

everything that is not from faith is sin: God’s word teaches us what sin is. Sin also includes acting against one’s conscience (our inner sense of right and wrong). Some Christians in Rome did not yet believe they could eat meat, drink wine, or ignore Jewish holy days. Their consciences were still weak. They should not act against their consciences in these matters. The strong should also not pressure them to do so, either by their example or by showing contempt.