Accepting Each Other
Romans 14

 

1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? 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 confess to God.’ ” 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. 14 As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15 If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 16 Do not allow what you consider good to 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 approved by men.

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 man 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 to fall.

22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.


Accepting each other

  • Accept those God accepts
  • Know when to fight (or not)
  • Don’t judge or destroy
  • Hold strong, personal beliefs
  • Honor conscience (yours & theirs)
  • Pursue main priorities
  • Focus on the Lord


Accept those God accepts

Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters… God has accepted him… We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak … Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. (14:1,3; 15:1,7)


Know when to fight

Heresy: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (Gal 1:9)

Wickedness: Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. (1 Cor 6:9)


Disputable matters

Weak faith feels wrong or uneasy about disputable matters.

  • Diet: What if meat isn’t kosher? What if meat or wine came from an idol temple?
  • Days: Should the Sabbath and Jewish festivals be observed?


Disputable matters

  • Work, shop, or dine on Sunday
  • Baptize babies or believers only
  • Elements for Lord’s Table
  • Worship music and liturgy
  • Alcohol, smoking, movies, music
  • Public, Christian, home school
  • Halloween; magical fantasy
  • Standards of modesty
  • Dating, courtship, romance
  • Contraception and family size
  • Politicians and their programs
  • Patriotism, military, pacifism


Ultra like-minded

Believe as I believe—no more, no less;
That I am right (and no one else) confess.
Feel as I feel, think only as I think;
Eat what I eat; drink only what I drink.
Look as I look, do always as I do;
And then—and only then!—
I’ll fellowship with you.


To do or not to do?

  • Immature participant: I do what I like, and nobody tells me what to do!
  • Immature non-participant: I won’t do it, and no real Christian would do it.
  • Mature participant: It’s fine for me to do this, but that does not make me superior.
  • Mature non-participant: I choose not to do this, but I won’t judge those who do it.


Don’t judge

Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters… Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand… (14:1,4)

You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat… So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. (14:10-13)


Don’t destroy.
Don’t shoot your fellow soldiers.
Don’t shoot the weak and wounded.

Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way… If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. (14:13-15)

Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. (14:20-21)


Strong personal beliefs
Hold firm convictions before God. Don’t flaunt or force them on others.

Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind… I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself… Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil… So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. (14:5, 14, 16, 22)


Honor conscience
Don’t violate (but educate) conscience

Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. (14:22-23)


Pursue main priorities

If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love… For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…  Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. (Romans 14:15-19).


Focus on the Lord

God has accepted him… the Lord is able to make him stand… Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living… we will all stand before God’s judgment seat… Do not… destroy your brother for whom Christ died… Do not destroy the work of God… Christ accepted you.


Accepting each other

  • Accept those God accepts
  • Know when to fight (or not)
  • Don’t judge or destroy
  • Hold strong, personal beliefs
  • Honor conscience (yours & theirs)
  • Pursue main priorities
  • Focus on the Lord


Last modified: Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 7:21 PM