The final section of Paul’s argument in Romans is found in 14:1-15:13. It deals with relationships within the community of faith. Or to put it another way, it talks about how Christians need to treat each other. By addressing this, Paul is getting to the heart of how he wants the Gentile-Christians and Jewish-Christians in Rome to relate to each other.
When I took a class on Romans at Regent College, my professor Gordon Fee said, “Whatever else Paul is, he’s not an American!” Paul doesn’t think along “individualistic” lines. For Paul, if you are a Christian, it’s not a “Just me and Jesus” type of thing. You need to realize that you are part of the body of Christ, and therefore you must live your life in relation to other deeply flawed Christians just like you. Let’s face it, that is a very hard thing to do. Some people tend to be jerks, or too whiny, or too over-bearing, or too this or too that. Dealing with other people can be a big pain sometimes. Nevertheless, living together as a community of faith is what Paul is going to stress.
In order to make sense of the passage, you have to know who is who. “The weak” is a reference to Jewish-Christians, and “the strong” is a reference to Gentile-Christians. What Paul’s argument boils down to is this: Gentile-Christians have to accept their weaker brothers, the Jewish-Christians, who get easily hung up on issues like clean/unclean food, and Jewish-Christians are not to pass judgment on Gentile-Christians for not adhering to Jewish practices. The passage, therefore, is laid out like this:
- 14:1-12: Paul sets forth the whole argument: Jews and Gentiles are not to relate to each other on the basis of Torah observance.
- 14:13-23: Paul addresses primarily Gentile Christians, and explains the practical working out of the Gospel for the Gentiles.
- 15:1-6: Paul makes his final appeal to the Gentiles
- 15:7-13: The conclusion to the whole argument
With that, let’s begin…
The Strong: Don’t Be Shmucks! (Romans 14:1)
Paul starts off with a straightforward appeal. He challenges the Gentile-Christians to “receive those who are weak in the faith.” And who are those who are “weak in the faith”? That’s right: Paul says it is Jewish-Christians who place too much importance on Torah observance. At the same time, though, Paul makes it clear that the reason why Gentile-Christians should do this is “…not for the purpose of arguing over disputed matters.” In other words, Paul is saying to the Gentile Christians, “You might be theologically right, but you shouldn’t always ‘try to win’ by argument” when it comes to Torah observance.
I find it ironic that Paul lines up his fellow Jews with being “weak in the faith.” On the outside, they probably seemed “more religious” precisely because they were so concerned with the Torah. Let’s face it, even today, it is the more outwardly religious people—the people who give you weird looks if you have a beer—who we simply assume are “more spiritual.” It’s true today as it was back then: the “church ladies” are assumed to be the ones with a “strong faith.” Not so, according to Paul! As far as he is concerned, it is those types of people who are the truly “weak ones” because they really thought that Torah observance gave them special status in God’s eyes, and thus they were having a hard time truly grasping what faith really was.
In addition, it needs to be emphasized that Paul is also telling the Gentile-Christians to not only accept those who are hung up on certain Torah regulations, but to also not argue over those trivial things. If a Jew has a problem with eating meat, or if a person in your church has a problem with rock music, alcohol, or whatever, Paul’s message is simple: accept that person, even with their hang-ups. And for goodness sake, don’t eat meat, listen to rock music, or have a beer in their presence! It’s not because they are “really spiritual” and you have to be ashamed, but rather because they are actually the ones who are hung up on irrelevant things, and therefore you need to do the loving thing and just not make a big deal about it. In time, hopefully, they will come around to a more mature understanding of those things. But you can’t force the issue. Let the Holy Spirit change their heart in due time.
The Weak: Don’t be Judgmental! (Romans 14:2-6)
This leads into 14:2-3: Paul says that not only must the Gentile not despise the Jew for not eating everything (i.e. don’t make fun of the guy!), but also, the Jew must not judge Gentiles for eating everything (i.e. don’t accuse the guy for being a sinner!). Why? Simple: “for God has received him.”
Now, you might be wondering what the big deal with meat is all about. We must remember that pagan priests were the “holy butchers” in the Roman world. Jews therefore thought that because a pagan priest had butchered the meat that was sold in the marketplace, that the meat was essentially contaminated with “idol cooties.” That is why most Jews in the Roman empire became vegetarians. Well, Gentiles thought the Jews were just flat-out weird! I mean really, what kind of weirdos circumcise their sons, obey crazy food laws, and worship only one god (and they don’t even have an idol of that god!). And so, basically, Paul is telling Gentiles, “Don’t call the Jews weirdos!” and he’s telling Jews, “Don’t condemn Gentile-Christians as sinners!”
This leads into what Paul says 14:5-6 about Sabbath observance and food laws. Basically, Paul is saying two things:
- “If Gentiles have to work on the Sabbath, then they have to work! It doesn’t really matter!”
- “You can eat everything and give thanks to God! You can abstain from certain food and give thanks to God!” Either way is fine with God.
In both cases, Paul emphasizes that the important thing is giving thanks to God!” Simply put, it is wrong to put undue emphasis on issues that are not important. Neither side should force the other side to change their ways on issues that simply are irrelevant. Anyone who does that is putting irrelevant issues ahead of Christ and the Gospel.
Don’t Judge Me! (Romans 14:7-10)
With that, Paul then “theologizes” in Romans 14:7-10 what he’s been saying in Romans 14:1-6. He says, that since “we are all the Lord’s,” you (yes, you!) are not to judge anyone in regards to irrelevant and disputed matters. Why? Because in the end, “all will stand before the judgment seat of God” (v. 10). Now, we need to clarify something here: Paul is not issuing a warning or threat here. He’s not saying, “You’d better watch what you do, because you’re going to get judged by God for it!” Quite the opposite. He’s actually saying that God is the one who has the right to judge a person, not us. It’s actually assurance: since you’re going to give account to God, I cannot judge you.
The Kingdom of God Isn’t About Beer! (Romans 14:13-18)
Paul then appeals to both the Jewish and Gentile Christians in 14:13-23. He first appeals to them to stop “judging” one another over irrelevant issues. Then he plays upon the idea of “judging” by saying, “Let’s ‘judge’ not to set up a ‘stumbling block’ or ‘scandal’ before each other” (v. 13). Paul then appeals in 14:14 to what Jesus himself said in Mark 7: all foods are clean! (This is also emphasized in Acts 10, with Peter’s vision of the sheet out of Heaven). Nevertheless, though, (and now Paul specifically addresses Gentiles), if you eat supposedly “unclean food” in front of your Jewish brother, then, even though the food is clean in God’s eyes, you’re not walking in love (v. 15)—and that is the really important issue!
Therefore, Paul says, “Don’t let your ‘good’ be blasphemed, for the Kingdom of God ISN’T ABOUT FOOD and DRINK but it is about righteousness, peace, and Joy in the Holy Spirit” (v. 16-17). Paul’s point should be simple: don’t let an irrelevant things like a steak (or wine, or rock music, or whatever) give the Gospel of Christ a bad name. Don’t let it be used as something to turn people away from the saving grace found in Christ. In fact, 14:16-17 is the point of Paul’s entire argument: Paul is telling the Gentiles not to scandalize or deliberately offend their Jewish brothers and sisters by forcing issues of “liberation of food and drink,” because the Kingdom of God isn’t about of that stuff.
Well, If We Don’t Judge One Another, What’s a Christian To Do? (Romans 14:19-23)
With that, Paul turns in 14:19-23 to what Christians should pursue: things that bring peace with each other within the community, and things that build one another up. Therefore, don’t tear down the work of God for the sake of food (v. 20)! Paul then caps it off with a harsh challenge to both Jews and Gentiles: food is evil if you eat it in such a way that causes a stumbling block (v. 21) . BUT…food is good if you don’t do it in order to purposely make someone trouble. It’s just that simple.
Let’s Reflect Before We Go On
Before we wrap things up with Romans 15-16, let’s reflect on what Paul has said here in Romans 14. Back then the early Church was wrestling with various social issues that swirled about the whole question on how Jewish believers and Gentile believers were to relate to each other. It was an inevitable clash of cultures within the Church, precisely because in Christ all nations and peoples were to be united together in love.
Ah, but that’s so hard! The Jews really viewed not keeping Jewish purity laws as sin; the Gentiles really thought Jews who didn’t eat meat or didn’t work on the Sabbath were just nutty. And here is Paul, trying to get both groups to be one in Christ, and saying Torah observance really wasn’t important, and eating meat that had passed through pagan temples wasn’t sinful.
What we see here in Romans is the attempts of the early Church to work through the Gospel within their real-life cultural contexts. And like I said, that is hard. Think of social issues we wrestle with today. When I was a kid it was rock music, alcohol, dancing, and smoking. Today there are other issues, and often they have become strictly aligned with a particular political party platform. Living out and applying the Gospel to the ever-changing culture will always be a challenge. That is why we need to realize the heart of what Paul is saying here in Romans 14: the important thing is to try to relate to each other in love and to build each other up.
When you find yourself in a debate with another Christian over any particular controversial social issue, “winning the argument” might not exactly be what is loving or good. Even if you really are right on the issue, tearing the other person down might not be the best way to go about things. I have no “cure all” or easy answer to any of this. All I can say is this: keep in mind what Paul is saying. If you know of a fellow Christian who really has a problem with something you have no problem with, be gentle with that person. And if you are a Christian who has a big problem with what another believer is doing, ask yourself, “Is this issue a primary or secondary issue to the faith?” If it is secondary, don’t pass judgment. Sure, discuss the issue, share your thoughts, learn from one another.
But don’t pass judgment on secondary, irrelevant issues. And don’t belittle someone who is struggling with an issue. That’s something we can all remember to practice.
