Romans 14:1-12 "Do Not Judge?"

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 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. 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.

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. 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.

Romans 14:15-15:3

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. 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. 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. 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.

15 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

Video Notes:

Not “weak” as in about to fall from the faith, but weak in that they lack understanding or feel unable to move away from, in this case, the Jewish practices, practices they may well have done their whole lives.
Welcome him, doesn’t quite encompass the idea here. It’s to fully integrate them into the worship life of the church.
The issues at hand are the O.T. Jewish laws and customs, like clean foods and holy days. Thus, the “weaker” Christians are likely Jewish or Greek proselytes who are having difficulty letting these go.
- This is similar to, but not the same as the issue in 1 Corinthians and Galatians.
The “strong” were not to despise (hold in contempt) the “weak” and the “weak” were not to judge the “strong” (judge as lawbreakers).
They were all to receive the other unto themselves because God had received them unto Himself. IT’S GOD’s CHURCH!!
- In fact, God didn’t just receive them unto Himself, He do so at great cost in Jesus Christ’s suffering and death. How much more should we be willing to suffer in order to receive our brothers and sisters in Christ.
- Romans uses the language of servants. The person is God’s servant, not yours. That person’s standing, therefore, is God’s choice, not yours, and is solely determined by whether God establishes them…which He has.
Both practices can be God pleasing, just as in Romans both those who followed the food laws and those who ate freely, those who observed the Sabbath and holy days and those who worshipped on Sundays with different holy days were both done in faith and were both pleasing to God.
We belong to Jesus whether we live or die. We also belong to each other in Christ (Romans 12:5) This was accomplished in Jesus death and resurrection which resulted in all authority in heaven and earth being given to Him.
- The point here, however, is more than the universal lordship of Christ. It is the relationships, both our relationship with God and with each other. What is true of me is true of you, even if we disagree on something.
So, there is no judging each other.
We are then reminded that we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. This is not about “facing the consequences.” It’s reminding us who the judge is. Jesus is the judge…not you or me.
Isaiah 45:23
All will stand before the judgment seat of God. For those in Christ, their sins having been forgiven, their righteousness coming from Christ, and their works made pleasing to God through the Holy Spirit will hear Jesus say, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34). Those who do not believe, who have rejected God’s salvation in Christ, and still stand in their sins, will hear Jesus say, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). It’s not our place to judge someone’s salvation.
- Keep in mind also that this is about judging according to our own standards, not God’s. We are to judge actions as good or evil based on God’s Word. That judgment is appropriate and commanded. We are not to judge where God has given freedom.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Kurt

Romans 14:1-12 "Do Not Judge?"

Video Notes:

Faith Lutheran Church in Wesley Chapel, FL serving Lutz, Zephyrhills, Land O’ Lakes, and New Tampa, FL