Last time, we read from Romans 13, and we took the whole chapter and made three sermons into one. Today, we’re going to do the same thing with Romans 14. I’m not going to read the whole chapter as I did last time, but the second half of it, starting with verse 10.
Before we do, let me discuss what Paul talks about up until that point. It’s sort of confusing if you happen to be reading along in Chapter 13, flip the page, and all of a sudden, he talks about eating and drinking, and you have to scratch your head and wonder ‘What does that have to do with anything?’
Paul was talking about those who refused to eat meat for spiritual reasons. Most likely, they refused to eat meat because meat was sacrificed to a pagan god, and so some thought that eating this meat was partaking in this pagan ritual. Perhaps they refused the meat because it wasn’t kosher, though I doubt the Roman Christians he was speaking to in this letter thought that; but maybe the Jewish Christians did, and so they stuck to Jewish dietary regulations and traditions.
And Paul was saying that these issues are not issues where we should quarrel. This topic is not essential doctrine. This is about a person’s conscience and where they sense the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Putting that into perspective today, we could say it might have to do with vegetarianism or veganism. You’re not more or less of a Christian if you eat meat or if you don’t eat meat. It’s a subject of your own conscience. He also talks about one person considering one day more sacred than the next, and the modern equivalent of that would be Seventh Day Adventists, who believe that Saturday is the sabbath because it was traditionally observed during Biblical times. But it really doesn’t matter whether it’s Saturday or Sunday; it matters that you have a sabbath and that you keep it holy. Some people have sabbaths, even on Saturday, and they still don’t keep it holy. Holiness is the key, not the day.
And then we come to verse 10. Let’s take a look at that and what it says. I’m going to read through verse 23 in its entirety up front today:
Scripture: 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? 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 acknowledge God.’”
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
(We talked about that last week regarding governing authorities)
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good 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 receives human approval.
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 person 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 or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
Basically, what Paul is saying is that there are certain things by which we must not judge each other because some things are not a matter of a particular command, but a matter of personal conscience. And it’s okay if someone disagrees with you. But having said that, we need to be aware that certain things that we may be able to do in moderation, someone else can’t. We might think we’re setting a good example, but instead we’re tempting our brother or sister to cross the line and sin.
So whatever we do according to our conscience, we need to be conscious of others around us. We need to be aware that in our freedoms to do certain things under our own conscience, we certainly can’t judge another person who feels (or votes or eats or drinks or watches certain movies or listens to certain music), nor can we do certain things, at least in front of people, that might unintentionally lead someone to sin (like drink or watch certain movies or listen to certain music).
Going back to verses 10-12, we read:
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? 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 acknowledge God.’”
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
Remember what I said last week about governmental authorities? Paul was talking about obeying governmental authorities during the time of Nero. How could he possibly say something like that? Wouldn’t it make sense to be a little more like David? Like, “God, destroy these evildoers who persecute you and rescue your people.”
But he didn’t. Paul wasn’t excusing Nero’s cruelty, but he was telling the Christians how Christians ought to act in spite of where they are. The same goes for Christians who were slaves. He’s not excusing slavery; he’s telling Christians how God would want them to act in spite of their situation.
And in the end, we will stand before God. We Christians, Nero, slaves, slave masters, everyone will have to account for themselves and their own behavior. And Paul is telling us to live in such a way that we are ready for our examination from God. Remember, he concluded the last chapter by talking about Christ’s coming, which could be at any moment. So live in such a way that you’re ready.
But what about those in power? What about those slave masters? Well, they will have to answer to the same God as we do, when their appointed time comes—or came and went, in the past tense.
So here, he’s saying the same thing. It’s not a matter of what your brother believes when it comes to certain things that we sometimes quarrel about. We’ll all have to account for our own actions, not our brother’s actions.
But wait a minute, aren’t we supposed to be our brother’s keeper?
In Genesis, after Cain killed Abel, God asked Cain where Abel was. And Cain said, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Take note of what Cain said and how he had the audacity to say it directly to God. Am I my brother’s keeper? What does it mean to be a keeper? To be our brother’s keeper means we’re to be our brother’s zookeeper. Notice how sarcastic and disrespectful Cain was to God.
God got upset at Cain, not because he wasn’t his brother’s zookeeper, but because he was so audacious before God. And because God wanted Cain to be humble, fearful, and sorrowful before God. But he wasn’t.
It’s up to us to be humble and sorrowful before God. Not for us to look at someone else and be disgusted because they’re not. That means–when you think about it–we’re the ones who are not humble and sorrowful before God.
At the beginning of June, preparing myself for Pride Month, I posted on social media, “We need a humble ourselves before God Month.”
I also watched a YouTube video earlier that same day regarding what makes a narcissist and how we can handle a narcissist. Remember, I’ve given a sermon on toxic people before, and we all need to know how to deal with them.
But one of the common traits of narcissists is that they try to build themselves up by knocking others down. Let’s keep our eyes on Jesus and not others unless it is to build them up in the faith. Because if we judge, we’re knocking that person down and not accomplishing anything for them, ourselves, or anyone else. God is not going to use the proud; he’s going to use the humble.
Peter said: All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
And James said something very similar: 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
11Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
Going back to Romans, verses 13-14 say:
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.
Then, if we skip down to 17 and 18, we read:
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 receives human approval.
I mentioned eating food that was sacrificed to idols a few minutes ago as an example of Paul’s day. He goes into this further in 1 Corinthians 8.
He began by saying that some who are new in the faith, and may have come out of a pagan religion, might still think that a food sacrificed to an idol is a real sacrifice to a real god, because they may not yet understand that there is only one God.
It’s an issue of knowledge and understanding.
So if a Christian, in Paul’s day, ate food sacrificed to an idol, they saw it as just eating food. They knew there was no real idol, or no real pagan god, so they thought, “Well, might as well eat the food if it’s there.”
But if a new Christian who still believes that the idol is a real god, might think that they can also worship a pagan god if they see a Christian eating the food sacrificed to that idol. It’s a misunderstanding that could lead to sin, and not just sin, but a sinful lifestyle.
We see Biblical misunderstandings leading to sinful lifestyles today.
So here’s what Paul has to say about that in 1 Corinthians 8:
9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.
I mentioned the issue of vegetarianism as a modern example. Here’s another one. The first thing that came to my mind, and maybe yours too, is the issue of alcohol. It’s a pretty common question. “Jesus drank, so why can’t we?”
And this is the go-to passage to answer that question. If Jesus drank, then it’s not a sin to drink alcohol, but we can see in other passages that it is a sin to be drunk. Drinking and being drunk are two different things.
But in drinking, we have to not only be careful that we don’t sin by becoming drunk; we also have to be careful that we’re not tempting someone else to become drunk either, or giving them the wrong idea that it’s okay for Christians to get a bit inebriated, because in this day and age, it’s hard to distinguish the difference between drinking and getting drunk. At least it was for me until I was an adult.
Like I said earlier, we might be fully capable of drinking in moderation, having a sip of wine at a wedding, or whatever it might be. But if we invite a friend over and have a beer, that friend, who is a new Christian, might fall right back into the same old habits they used to. And it’s on us. That’s why you don’t drink in front of a recovering alcoholic. That’s why you don’t take a former alcoholic to a bar and expect them not to be tempted. They’ll be tempted.
Watkins Glen is a town where no matter where you go, you see someone you know–at the grocery store, at the gas station, at the restaurant–I’ve seen some of you at Walmart and Tops after church. What would some of you think if you saw me buying a six-pack at the grocery store? I think some of you would be really disappointed. I don’t want to ruin my reputation with you. I don’t want to disappoint any of you.
Another reason why I don’t drink is because I was raised in a family that didn’t drink. My father didn’t drink because he was raised in a family that did drink. I’ve seen a few drunk people in my life. And I really don’t want to act that way. That’s the second reason.
Ironically, the third reason why I don’t drink is that if I got into the habit of drinking moderately, I think I might not be able to keep it that way. Ironically. But with alcoholism in the family, I have a deep suspicion that it could become a real habit. I can’t explain it, maybe it’s the Holy Spirit, but it’s just a genuine gut feeling that I have.
And I’ve always had a fear of alcohol and what it might do to me, so maybe it has been God protecting me all along.
Let’s take a look at the end of this chapter, starting with verse 19:
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 person 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 or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
So Paul goes back to the idea of love. Earlier in Romans, he talked about love in action and love being the fulfillment of the law. Here, Paul concludes his statement by saying, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” This being essentially loving one another, just put in a different phrase. In fact, the word edification is a big, long churchy word that means to instruct morals.
So, how are we to fulfill the law when it comes to helping others fulfill the law? Again, we can’t help anyone if we’re being a judgmental Pharisee, and we can’t help anyone if we’re causing them to stumble. So what do we do? Just as love fulfills the law, we help others by making every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutually instruct (not arguing or commanding, but instructing in love) a moral, Godly lifestyle. Some synonyms for edification are: guidance, coaching, bettering, uplifting, and elevation.
Notice the words, guidance and coaching. Sometimes, coaches aren’t nice. Even the nice ones have to take you aside sometimes and tell you to straighten up a bit. I remember when I was working at the newspaper and my editor was a retired Marine major. And one of the things that he got sort of upset about in today’s culture was seeing the state of kids and how they grow into adults. And he hit it on the head. The main reason why kids are the way they are—and those kids now being adults being the way they are—boils down to one word: guidance.
Look around, and there aren’t any kids here anymore. We’re getting rid of our kids’ Sunday School curriculum. I was talking with someone not too long ago about their kids’ youth group, and when I was a teenager, youth groups tried to guide youth into living a deep and meaningful Christian life. Nowadays, a lot of youth groups aren’t much more than babysitting youth with snacks and games, and only a modicum of Christian teaching.
But like coaches, in setting a little fire under someone, we are to mutually elevate each other. Coaches also encourage. We are to mutually coach and guide each other to be more Christlike. Sometimes we have to light a fire under someone’s seat, and other times, we have to cheer each other on.
I’d like to quickly look at how Paul concludes this chapter. He says, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” In other words, he’s wrapping up this whole idea of these non-commandments, like eating meat and not eating meat; or in our case today, maybe drinking alcohol or maybe not even drinking alcohol, but eating at a restaurant with a bar in it, or whatever it may be.
I’m sure some of you may remember the days when it was a sin to go to a movie or do anything fun. Why? Because the denomination said so, that’s why. Or, the pastor—who’s making up rules of his own—said so. I remember a time when I went to a church for a brief period, and the pastor said something about not wearing sunglasses because people need to see God in your eyes. After that sermon, there was a church picnic, where I wore sunglasses.
“Didn’t you just hear the pastor’s sermon? You can’t wear sunglasses.” And we wonder why people don’t want to go to church anymore.
Paul is saying, what we do goes beyond do’s and don’ts. It’s a matter of listening to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit may contradict what your pastor says. Hopefully not your pastor. But you get the idea. The Holy Spirit never contradicts himself—that is, the Bible. But he may just contradict what other pastors and churches might preach. Check and know your Bible for yourself, and the Holy Spirit will reveal to you the scriptures and what they mean and what you should do. If Christ is in you, he is your conscience. As Jiminy Cricket would say, “Let your conscience be your guide.”
To quote Gotquestions.org, it says:
When a matter comes up that is not specifically addressed in Scripture, we must consider scriptural principles to help us determine if it will please God. We must ask ourselves, are we seeking to please ourselves or God? Is the activity addictive? Will my Christian witness be upheld? Will doing this build me and others up to godliness?
Our convictions must be molded to obey Christ, and then we must not go against them. “Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves” (Romans 14:22)
Featured Image by Eliott Reyna on Unsplash
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