The Epistle to the Romans
Lesson 22
Special English Version

Guidelines for Christian Relationships

Reading Assignment: Romans 14

Introduction
The famous Magna Carta, called “the keystone of English liberty,” was a contract granted in 1215 by King John to the Barons of England. It established fair guidelines for conduct, rights, and judgment of the British Barons.

We could possibly call Romans 14, the Magna Carta of Christian Behavior. Nowhere in the Bible can you find a more complete list of the guidelines for our Christian lives. Here we see God’s righteousness connected to the Christian’s responsibility to a weaker brother. These guidelines show us the way we should act toward those who disagree with us in minor matters. This passage also shows our liberty, which we may exercise in the grace of God.

Importance of this Lesson

• The major importance of this lesson is that it is a rebuke to the narrow-mindedness, unbiblical separation of some Christian groups who actually separate from other Christian groups because of minor differences in doctrine.
• It is important that the Holy Spirit through Paul provided us with guidelines as to how we treat others. The Bible teaches us here how strong believers should treat those who are less enlightened. All around us are true believers whose lives are bound by tradition. They received inadequate instruction in the Word of God and for that reason they are “weak in the faith.”

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The Lesson

I. ROMANS 14:1-3 – INSTRUCTION REGARDING THOSE WHO ARE “WEAK IN THE FAITH”

1. Him that is weak in the faith receive ye…
   1. The weakness is not in faith, but in the faith. The faith refers to all of the Christian doctrines. In 2 Timothy 4:7, Paul said “I have kept the faith.” Jude 3 says we are to “earnestly contend for the faith.”
   2. In verse 1 Paul had in mind many who have received Christ and are saved, but for some reason did not grow in the Lord. They are not grounded in the WORD. Perhaps due to wrong or insufficient teaching. They are still bound by man made religious laws.
   3. …Receive ye… – This does not mean a mere handshake or the official reception of someone into the membership of a church. In such a case, a weaker brother could still be avoided, or separated. Receive here means to sincerely and wholeheartedly recognize such a brother as a truly born-again child of God and welcome him into one’s personal fellowship.
2. …but not to doubtful disputations
   1. In other words, accept him without passing judgment upon him.
   2. Don’t get involved in disputes over doubtful and minor matters. Arguments never lead a person to the deeper things of God.
3. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another who is weak, eateth herbs
   1. Jewish Christians had difficulty. Many things were unclean according to the Jewish laws. Jews would not eat these things. Read Acts 10:9-15 and note Peter’s refusal to eat “any thing that is common or unclean.” Christians, with different backgrounds, might well have similar problems.
   2. A Christian, instructed fully in the grace of God and grounded in the faith, may feel free to eat whatever is set before him. Read Mark 7:15 and Acts 10:15.
4. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
   1. This matter of judging one another is a two-way street. The strong believers may not condemn the weak believer and the weak believer may not judge on the strong. WHY?
   2. For God hath received him – If the weak and the strong will realize that God has received both of them, they should gladly receive each other. Amen!

II. ROMANS 14:4 – INSTRUCTION REGARDING ANOTHER MAN’S SERVANT

1. Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? The word servant here means household servant.
2. Who are you to come into a man’s home by invitation and condemn or criticize that man’s servant? That servant is not responsible to you but to his master only. He stands or falls by the will of his master and no one else.
3. It is the same way with the weaker brother. All believers, weak and strong, are the servants of God! God alone is able to make the weak brother strong.
4. There is a strong tendency on the part of some preachers and Christians who are strong in the faith to criticize other preachers and Christians, who have different opinions and beliefs. Just remember, …to his own master he standeth or falleth.”

III. ROMANS 14:5-6 – INSTRUCTION AS TO OBSERVANCE OF DAYS

1. One man esteemeth one day above another…
   1. The Jews celebrated a great many days – holy days, feast days and Sabbath days. Undoubtedly many saved Israelites still felt attached to these days and felt the need to honor and celebrate them.
   2. Saturday was the Jewish Sabbath day. Christians celebrated the resurrection and worshipped on the first day or Sunday (1 Corinthians 16:2; Acts 20:7). The controversy has never really ended but most Christians observe Sunday, the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10). To Christians, Sunday is a special day to honor, worship and serve Christ.
   3. However, we must admit that some Christians observed the Lord’s day of their own free will. There is no New Testament command that we must observe Sunday. There are no particular instructions as to how we must observe Sunday. Most of what we do is handed down to us through Christian practices, not commands.
   4. Colossians 2:16 clearly says, “Let no man therefore judge you in…respect of … the sabbath days.”
2. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind
   Here is one of the “keys” to honest Christian living. Each man must be fully persuaded in his mind that his decision is of the Lord. We must allow each person this freedom about observing days. We must not judge him.
3. In verse 6, we have the matter of what days a man respects and what food he eats.
   1. The key phrase and thought here is unto the Lord.
   2. A person’s decision about respecting certain days must be as unto the Lord. If a man eats certain foods and another rejects this food, he eats or does not eat as unto the Lord.
   3. What all this means is that our only concern about any decision is whether or not it pleases the Lord. Read Colossians 3:17,23.

IV. ROMANS 14:7-9 – REMEMBER, WE ARE NOT OUR OWN – Read all three verses.

1. The key phrase in this passage is the latter part of verse 8 – we are the Lord’s.
2. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says “…ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price…”
3. All Christians have one Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. We must not lord it over another believer in any circumstance, and no other believer may lord it over you. All believers will give an answer to Christ alone for their actions.
4. Since we belong to the Lord, we neither live nor die to ourselves but unto Him who bought us with His blood (Acts 20:28).
5. Christ “revived” and rose again. He is Lord of both the living and of those who have died.

V. ROMANS 14:10-12 – WE ARE ALL HEADED FOR JUDGMENT

• The important question here is: Why are you judging your Christian brother when the Lord will judge you some day? You will give an explanation for your own actions some day. You will not have to explain the behavior of someone else.

1. We must always remember God the Father gave all power to the Son to judge the saved and the unsaved (John 5:22,27).
2. Remember, Christ, our Lord, will use that power. This is clear from verse 10. Also, read and study 2 Corinthians 5:10; Acts 17:31; and Philippians 2:10,11.
3. Remember also that Paul was not writing of a judgment that condemns a person to hell.
   John 5:24 clearly states that believers “shall not come into condemnation (judgment).” Romans 8:1 states, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.… This is wonderful assurance!
4. The thought here, is on the word himself, not someone else (see also verse 12). I must not judge a Christian brother. I have to face the Lord myself and my Christian brother has to face the Lord by himself. Let the Lord judge both of us as He surely will.

VI. ROMANS 14:13-21 – FURTHER ADMONITIONS (for responsible, loving and correct feelings toward Christians who may differ with us in minor things)

1. Verse 13 – Stop judging your brother. You are not responsible for his falling. You cannot cause a Christian brother to lose his salvation by your narrow-mindedness, or your proud critical feelings. Your criticism may discourage him and cause him to stop serving Christ.
2. Verse 14 – Paul remembered what the Lord said to Peter in Acts 10:15. What God calls clean we must not call unclean. However, some Christian were not taught well concerning the grace of God. They are following their traditions. If he considers something as unclean, to him it is unclean. To him it is considered as a sin.
3. Verse 15 – If you consider a brother as weak in the faith and you insult him on purpose, you are not acting in love toward him. Note 1 John 3:14; 4:7,8. Don’t destroy someone for whom Christ died. Again, If you do this, you destroy your brother’s enthusiasm, steadfastness and joy.
4. Verse 16 – People hate many of the fundamental Christians because of their narrow-minded feelings to other Christians. The people are like the Pharisees. Their good (their faith in and love for Christ and His Word, etc.) are evil spoken of because their strong beliefs carried them to extremes.
5. Verse 17 – The kingdom of God is not about the things a person eats or drinks. It is a wonderful kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy which the Holy Spirit brings into our hearts.
   Read Romans 8:4 and Galatians 5:21.
6. Verse 18 –Both God and man accept and approve the person who serves Christ in righteousness, peace and joy. It is difficult to find fault in a man whose life continually reflects the goodness, peace, and joy of the Lord.
7. Verse 19 – The phrase follow after is a strong phrase. It means to chase constantly as a hunter chases his prey. Read and note 1 Thessalonians 5:15; Hebrews 12:14; Psalm 34:14. A Christian must live in such a way that he promotes peace in the family of God. He must build other believers up in the faith. He should do this especially for weaker Christians. At the same time he must not give up his own biblical beliefs. Note Romans 15:2; 1 Corinthians 8:1.
8. Verse 20 – In 1 Timothy 4:1-4, Paul says, those teachers who forbid people to eat some meats or some kind of foods are really false teachers. who give heed to seducing spirits. In verse 4, the apostle writes “For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving.” Nevertheless, it is wrong when someone uses his liberty in the grace of God and “eats with offense.” Such a person insults another believer on purpose. He does not understand his Christian liberty and destroys the work of God. Many churches have been destroyed by such show of a lack of love and understanding.
9. Verse 21 – In this verse Paul warns strong Christians about using their Christian liberty carelessly in the presence of weaker Christians.
   1. Notice Paul said, “It is good” not to do this or that. It is not a command. It is simply a statement of what is good conduct of strong Christians in the presence of those who are “weak in the faith.”
   2. Paul had already written that believers must not be stumbling blocks, verse 13. He must not insult a weaker believer, verse 20. Here Paul adds the phrase “or is made weak.” In the presence of weak Christians, those who are strong should be willing to use self-control. The strong Christian must give up his liberty in the grace of God because he may lead a weak brother to do something against his conscience and make him weaker.
10. Verses 22-23 – If a matter is not completely right, it is completely wrong.
    A man asked his wife, “My dear, is this shirt dirty?” She asked, “Does it look dirty?” He said, “Yes.” She answered, “If it is doubtful, it is dirty.” That’s the law of the Christian life Paul was dealing with in these two verses. If a matter is not completely right for you, it is completely wrong.
    1. Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God – The faith here is not “the faith” as in verse 1. This faith is personal assurance or belief. In other words, there are many unimportant things about which you have complete faith that they are perfectly all right for you to do, because of the liberty you feel in the grace of God. However, there may be many fine Christians who do not believe in the same way you do. It is best not to boast or preach your personal beliefs about unimportant matters. Have such faith …to thyself before God.
    2. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth – Here is one of the “keys” to Christian happiness. Don’t ever allow yourself to do something against your conscience or beliefs. If you do you will have a feeling of guilt.
    3. …for whatsoever is not of faith is sin (Read 1 Corinthians 10:24-33.) Again, for a Christian, if a thing is not completely right, it is completely wrong. Never do anything that is doubtful in your own mind as to its rightness. If you can’t do it with full assurance of faith, don’t do it.

VII. THE PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN BEHAVIOR (Know these principles and references for your exam.)

1. Am I doing this in the name of the Lord as unto the Lord (Romans 14:6-8)? Note also Colossians 3:17,23 and 1 Corinthians 10:31.
2. Will I cause anyone to stumble through doing this? Will I insult anyone? Will I make anyone weak? (Romans 14:13, 16, 20, 21; 1 Corinthians 8:11-13)
3. Can I do this thing with perfect faith or is it doubtful? Does this action make me feel guilty (Romans 14:22,23)?
4. Does this action build other believers up in the faith or does it destroy their faith (Romans 14:19; 15:2)?
5. Am I doing this to please myself or to please the Lord and others (Romans 15:2,3)?
6. Am I obeying the world when I take this action (Romans 12:2)?
7. Do I believe that this thing is God’s will for my life (Romans 12:2)?

Examination

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