The Book of Romans, Chapter 14 – Principles of Conscience

 

The Book of Romans, Chapter 14

Principles of Conscience

I have said on many occasions that I do not pretend to possess the ability to write the in depth and theologically concise commentaries such as are offered by sources such as Biblegateway.com, BibleHub.com, Enduring Word commentaries or by the likes of pastor Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel, although I may use them as resources from time to time. But theologically deep or doctrinally focused commentaries are not my intention. My intention is to offer a Biblically accurate and doctrinally sound commentary that is focused on and for personal application. This comes from, first, a face value reading, then a contextual understanding and a “Jesus Model” of application. As Psalms 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet.” And, a light to my path”;
And as Proverbs 6:23 says, “For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And rebukes for discipline are the way of life.”
And, 2 Peter 1:19 says, “And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

My long held view is that unless you know what to do with what you know or what you possess, it is just idle information, good for little more than idle speculation. It is my prayer that His Word is that Lamp unto our feet, that teaching Light and the Morning Star that rises in our hearts so that in all we do we shall prosper. (I pray God will bless these commentaries for His Glory and our benefit. Amen).

Romans 14 addresses a divided church-like many churches today in our twenty-first century. Christians in Rome were divided over whether believers needed to continue to observe certain traditional Jewish practices derived from the law of Moses. Paul addresses this conflict that is occurring between the “weak” and the “strong,” likely Jews and Gentiles, and commends unity and welcoming each other.

Theologically, Paul teaches that every believer is ultimately answerable to God, not to other believers, for their conduct in this life. He treats food and holy days as neither harmful nor beneficial—practices that Scripture neither requires nor prohibits.

For application, the key principle in this chapter is our need to limit the expression of our liberty out of love for God and our fellow believers. Fellowship among Christians is not to be based on everyone’s agreement on disputable questions. Christians do not agree on all matters pertaining to the Christian life, nor do they need to when those matters do not affect a person’s salvation. (The preceding paragraphs are excerpts from Biblegateway.com. “It is human-reviewed, AI-generated”.)

Principles of Conscience

Romans 14:1, Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not to have quarrels over opinions. Verse 2. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but the one who is weak eats only vegetables. Verse 3. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Verse 4. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

(Commentary Break): These verses and this chapter contain some very interesting information about the attitudes and customs of converted Jews and Gentile believers. Attitudes and customs that were dividing the church-not unlike some issued on the current-day church. Some believers’ consciences remained burdened by former religious customs were to be welcomed as genuine members of Christ’s body. In Rome, Jewish Christians may have continued to avoid certain foods and to esteem particular days, while Gentile believers often understood more readily their freedom from such practices. Their incomplete grasp of liberty in Christ did not place them outside God’s family. Stronger believers were to receive them with the same grace by which Christ had received all His people. Love does not use knowledge as a weapon, nor does freedom become a cause for injuring a brother or sister for whom Christ died. Trust in Christ gave some believers confidence that ceremonial food laws no longer governed their standing before God. Jesus taught that food entering the body does not defile the heart, and Peter’s vision confirmed that God had removed the former distinction between clean and unclean foods. In Rome, Gentile Christians may also have faced questions about meat sold after pagan sacrifices. Those with settled conviction could receive food with thanksgiving, knowing that food neither commends nor separates a believer from God. Some Jewish believers retained scruples shaped by the Law, while others avoided meat because its source or association with idolatry could not be known. Their weakness lay not in insincerity or lack of devotion, but in an incomplete grasp of their liberty in Christ. Like Daniel’s resolve to avoid defiling food, their restraint could arise from a sincere desire to honor God. Paul requires stronger believers to receive them without contempt and calls the scrupulous not to judge those who eat freely, since the Lord receives both.
(this color text is an excerpt from  BibleHub.com study). It can be both troubling and comforting to know these matters are nothing new to the Church. But this I can say with certainty, if you are troubled to the point of distraction by a fellow believer’s customs, your eyes are not on Jesus. And if your focus in on anything or anyone other than the life and Person of Jesus Christ, you are without hope and your troubles will only multiply until you either change your focus back onto Him or you are swept away and held captive in a prison of your own making. As Romans 8: 5 says, “For those who are in accord with the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are in accord with the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. Verse 6. For the mind set on the flesh is death,” The Apostle Paul reminds us, in Romans 8:6  “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
The Greek language used here for a “mind set” is a picture of being “swept away, fenced in and locked up”, put into a prison within one’s own mind, soul and spirit, separated from God. (End Commentary Break).

Verse 5. One person values one day over another, another values every day the same. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. Verse 6. The one who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and the one who eats, does so with regard to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and the one who does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat, and he gives thanks to God. Verse 7. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; verse 8, for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. Verse 9. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

(Commentary Break): Jewish believers often continued to honor Sabbaths and festival days inherited from Israel’s covenant life. Such observance could be received as gratitude to God and devotion to the Lord, provided it was not treated as a means of justification or imposed upon Gentile believers. The Christian church, however, began observing Sunday instead of Saturday as the Sabbath by the end of the first century, primarily due to the significance of Christ’s resurrection occurring on a Sunday. The shift was influenced by the growing number of Gentile Christians and a desire to distinguish Christian practices from Jewish customs.

KEY: Convictions in matters not commanded or forbidden by God must arise from faith, informed by Scripture and governed by conscience. Christian liberty does not permit indifference toward holiness, but it forbids believers from condemning one another over practices that can be done sincerely unto the Lord. (This color text is an excerpt from BibleHub.com).

Herein, Paul is discussing and referring to the great freedom found in Christ and in His Church, remembering that “All things are lawful for you as a Christian, [that is, morally legitimate, permissible], but not all things are beneficial or advantageous. All things are lawful, but not all things are constructive [to character] and edifying [to spiritual life]. (1 Corinthians 10:23. The Amplified Version of the Bible).

Believers belong to Christ and are joined to one another as members of His body. In Romans 14, Paul applies this truth to disagreements over food, sacred days, and personal convictions, calling Jewish and Gentile Christians to receive one another rather than judge or despise. Christian freedom is never isolated self-rule, because every believer’s conduct affects the faith, peace, and spiritual welfare of others. The shared life of the church, seen in Acts 2:42–47 and explained in 1 Corinthians 12:12–27, displays Christ’s purpose that His people live in unity. (End Commentary Break).

Verse 10. But as for you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you as well, why do you regard your brother or sister with contempt? For we will all appear before the judgment seat of God. Verse 11. For it is written:

“AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, TO ME EVERY KNEE WILL BOW,

AND EVERY TONGUE WILL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.” Verse 12. So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

Verse 13. Therefore let’s not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this: not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s or sister’s way. Verse 14. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to the one who thinks something is unclean, to that person it is unclean. Verse 15. For if because of food your brother or sister is hurt, you are no longer walking in accordance with love. Do not destroy with your choice of food that person for whom Christ died. Verse 16. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;

(Commentary Break): It may seem unlike Paul to issue such a stern warning reminding the church of the consequences of sinful behavior as a Christian. But this is the model and method of Jesus also. So, Paul confronts believers who condemned fellow Christians over food, drink, and the observance of special days. Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome carried different convictions shaped by their backgrounds, yet God had received both groups in Christ. Matters not defined as sin or required for salvation were not to become grounds for condemning another servant of God.
A good rule of conduct is found in verses 14 through 16 and can also be found in Jesus’ words in John 21:22 when “Jesus said to him (Peter), “If it is my will that he (John) remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” Jesus was responding to Peter’s question about the future of the disciple (John) whom Jesus loved. Peter had just received a solemn revelation about his own death and needed to return his attention to the Lord’s personal call. Jesus was speaking hypothetically, not predicting that John would live until the Second Coming. (John 21:23). The Lord alone, governs. (End Commentary Break).

Verse 17, for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Verse 18. For the one who serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and approved by other people. Verse 19. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Verse 20. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the person who eats and causes offense. Verse 21. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother or sister stumbles; Verse 22. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is the one who does not condemn himself in what he approves. Verse 23. But the one who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

(Commentary Break): This may still be controversial even though the Apostle Paul warns against judging others in regards to these matters. Nonetheless, I say that: God’s kingdom is His sovereign rule is revealed in the saving reign of Christ and destined for full public manifestation when Christ returns. Jesus proclaimed that the kingdom had drawn near in His ministry, calling sinners to repentance and faith. Believers already belong to this kingdom, though they await its final glory.
Therefore, God grants righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ – not through dietary practices, religious days, ceremonial observances, doctrinal disagreements or personal effort. The Kingdom produces righteous conduct as believers increasingly live under God’s holy rule and seek the good of others. (End Commentary Break).

This chapter is the practical payoff of Paul’s letter to the church in Rome. After tracing theological (chapters. 1–11) and moral (parts of chapters. 12–13) grounds for unity between Jewish and non-Jewish believers, Paul comes to some practical issues that are apparently causing division between Roman Christians. This is still a relevant and vital teaching for the church today.
If we are serving God in the manner and way Jesus served, we will find that we have no time left over for meaningless disputes or wrangling over our preferences. Serving God as a disciple of Jesus is a full time effort and will take all of our attention, focus and diligent efforts.

Your Brother and Friend,

Mike Young

Next: (Coming Soon). The Book of Romans, Chapter 15, Self-denial on behalf of others.

(Previous): The Book of Romans, Chapter 13, Be Subject to Government.

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