Romans 14 Commentary
Romans 14 Commentary
v.2 “The weak eat only vegetables, probably so that they avoid the risk of eating unclean foods (cf. Dan 1:8, 10, 12, 16).” [1]
v.3 “The strong are liable to ridicule and mock the weak with their delicate conscience. Conversely, the weak are prone to pass judgment on those who feel the liberty to eat anything. The weak must not stand in judgment, for God has accepted the strong believer.”
vv.10-12 “The strong should not despise the weak, and the weak should not judge the strong, for everyone will stand before God, who will judge all on the last day. The future day of judgment is prophesied in Isa 45:23. Every person will give an account of his life to God at the judgment. Though justification is by faith alone, what Christians do will affect God’s evaluation of their service to him and the rewards they will receive (cf. 1 Cor 3:10–17; 2 Cor 5:10).” [2]
v.14 “At the Jerusalem council (Acts 15), the Jewish church in Jerusalem asked the Gentile church in Antioch not to eat meat that had been sacrificed to idols. Paul was at the Jerusalem council, and he accepted this request not because he felt that eating such meat was wrong in itself, but because this practice would deeply offend many Jewish believers. Paul did not think the issue was worth dividing the church over; his desire was to promote unity.”
vv.20-21 “Sin is not just a private matter. Everything we do affects others, and we have to think of them constantly. God created us to be interdependent, not independent. We who are strong in our faith must, without pride or condescension, treat others with love, patience and self-restraint.” [3]
“In conclusion, we need to say again: The need to limit the expression of our liberty out of love for God and fellow believers is the key principle in this chapter. Our culture insists on rights, and it is easy for Christians to bring that attitude into the church. But the spiritual health of the body is far more important than our rights. The freedom God has purchased for us through his Son is a precious gift, but it is a freedom to live as God wants, not as we want. Luther put it well in his famous comment on Christian liberty: ‘A Christian man is a most free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian man is a most dutiful servant of all, subject to all.’” [4]
[1] English Standard Version Study Bible, study notes (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008) 2180.
[2] English Standard Version Study Bible, study notes (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008) 2181.
[3] Life Application Study Bible, study notes (co-published by Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan; Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1991) 2054.
[4] Douglas J. Moo, Romans, Life Application Bible Commentary CD (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 2000).