Romans 14:14-23
“I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that
there is nothing
unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him
it is unclean.
15 Yet
if your brother is grieved because of
your food, you are no longer
walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.
16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil;
17 for
the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace
and joy in the Holy Spirit.
18 For
he who serves Christ in these things
is acceptable to God and
approved by men.
19 Therefore
let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which
one may edify another.
20 Do
not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed
are
pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense.
21 It
is
good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor
do anything by which your
brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.
22 Do
you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy
is he
who does not condemn himself in what he approves.
23 But
he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because
he does not
eat
from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.”
Romans 14:14-16
– Walk in Love!
The Old Law
was dead, and so were the food prohibitions –
Acts 10:9-16;
however, convictions ran deep in some. It is believed in many cases that
Vs. 14
should be parenthetical.
(15)
If
Vs. 14 is
in fact parenthetical, this verse is directly connected to
Vs. 13.
We once again must be aware of the convictions of our brethren not to be
guilty of
1 Corinthians 8:9.
The
connection shows clearly that the warning against doing anything whereby
a brother is grieved means more than simply a warning against doing
something to hurt his feelings; the next sentence states,
“Do not destroy with your food
the one for whom Christ died”.
Christians
may do many things that are in and of themselves lawful;
however,
the end result may be disastrous,
as a side effect
to those whose convictions are strong against it.
Romans 14:17-18
– The Nature of the Kingdom!
The kingdom
of God does not consist of or exist in any physical place, or thing;
however, no child of God through Jesus Christ should conclude that freedom
from this gives them the right to use such to offend others.
Righteousness, in many cases, is demonstrated by how we treat others.
The Body of
Christ that is truly concerned with each other, and is actively teaching the
true nature of the Body of Christ and righteous judgment; this is the Body
that will know peace and joy in the Holy Spirit and will be acceptable to
God!
Romans 14:19-21
– The Focus of our Efforts!
·
Do not push
your personal opinions on others.
·
Do not push
your personal rights on others.
·
Do not
think of yourself as higher than you are!
·
Seek to
oversee yourself in humility in every aspect of your own service!
·
Look to the
good of others before you judge their liberties.
·
Seek to
always teach the specifics of truth, which in turn truly builds.
Peace is so
delightful and helpful, that no thoughtful Christian will needlessly cause
confusion and strife (remember
16:17-18),
but will give
“Diligence to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”
Ephesians 4:3.
1 Corinthians 10:23-24
Romans 14:22
– Your Faith!
The faith
being spoken of here is not the faith that we must be sharing with the
world, but that which lies in liberties (personal convictions –
Vs. 1-2).
It makes
more sense now, doesn’t it!
·
You want to
wear a head covering, be convicted in your own heart.
·
If you
think watching Harry Potter is evil, be convicted in your own heart!
·
Etc…
Romans 14:23
– The Doubter!
Believing a
thing right does not make it right; but doing a wrong thing, believing it is
right, shows an honesty of purpose!
Saul of
Tarsus – as an example (persecuted Christians in good conscience).
The brother
who ate in violation of his conscience in order to fit in, or to keep from
being called a fool, sinned against himself.
If a man
has a doubt about the righteousness of a thing,
he should avoid it. This is what is meant by eating without faith.
Kind refusal should have been the choice!
Once again,
the faith being spoken of here is that which is born in liberties (and in
this case, doing something against one’s convictions).
Here is the
truth concerning this entire concept of liberty; if a Christian is divided
between this world (including traditions born outside the Doctrine of
Christ), and faith in Jesus Christ by the Doctrine of Christ –
unrighteous judgment will always reign in the Body, by these who are weak!