‘Life does get complicated! Well, at least everyone else’s life gets complicated! If only everyone were like me then we would all get along quite well, and the problems would be minimal!’
More realistically, the complications of life affect us, too. It is not that everyone else is always wrong or in a bad way, but I am so together; rather, each of us contributes to the multiplied issues in relationships. We are a combination of good teaching and bad teaching, right understanding and wrong understanding, healthy convictions and poor convictions, appropriate attitudes and inappropriate attitudes, righteousness practiced and unrighteousness practiced. The moment that we think we have it all together and in need of no correction or improvement or divine honing, that is the moment of greatest peril. Until we see Christ face to face, every aspect of our lives is being shaped to mirror Him.
Now, am I just seeking to put all of us in a bad frame of mind? Am I trying to get the whole lot of us depressed by the need of more sanctification? Not at all but rather, I hope to focus our attention on how the Lord continues to work in us—both “to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13). Part of that work—a major aspect of it, has to do with relationships or how to get along with one another in the body of Christ. He saves us in relationship to the body of Christ. We are not saved and then flung into a life of independence but we are saved and placed into a local congregation of fellow pilgrims who journey together through life until we stand before our King. Meanwhile, we learn to get along with those with whom we will spend eternity.
That’s why Paul spends so much time dealing with relationships in Romans. We tend to look at Romans as a meaty theological treatise. And it is. But it is theology in proper perspective—theology that has arms and feet, that goes into application in all the details of life. So what, if you can explain justification, propitiation, and election but you cannot get along with your brother or sister in Christ, or even more, your own family! In such case, you have limited your understanding of doctrine to a mere cerebral level instead of seeing how it must permeate your whole being. How can we who have been justified or declared righteous before God maintain grudges toward a brother? How can we who have been elected by the grace of God not accept with love and kindness our brothers and sisters?
In our last study, we considered two themes in this passage: (1) stop judging your brothers and sisters in Christ; (2) take action that you give no cause for your brother or sister to stumble.
Then we looked at two implications: (1) we must consider others in the body of Christ; (2) we must see the priority of the church in God’s economy and in our own lives.
Then we began to look at five problems: (1) the problem of strong, but unwarranted convictions; (2) the problem of running roughshod over a brother or sister while exercising Christian liberty. That’s where we left off. Now we return to look at three more problems, four commands, and seven principles. The whole purpose is found in this thread that runs through the text. We are to accept and love those Jesus Christ accepts. Let’s continue our study together and ask the Holy Spirit to apply the Word to our hearts.
“The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking” (17a). Anytime the Scripture tells what something is “not,” we must pay attention, because in all likelihood, it clarifies where we can easily get off track. We can have great ideas of what the kingdom of God is all about yet miss it by wrong perspective. One movement among believers in the Islamic world that I’ve been studying lately has this wrong perspective about the kingdom of God. They think that the Lord saves us, ushers us into His kingdom, and that’s it. We do not need the church or the larger Christian community to help us grow and mature in the faith. That is patently foreign to the Bible! Yet some are quite convinced they are right in their view but they are moving into dangerous territory because of a wrong perspective.
The same was happening in Rome. Some were so carried away about their liberty to eat and drink things that they had previously thought forbidden, that they misused their liberty. They were liberated from fear of eating something that might be ceremonially unclean or drinking something that had been offered as a libation to the gods. So now that it was permissible to eat meat and drink wine, they indulged in their liberty! But here was the problem: the brother or sister (whether weak or strong) asserted their desire and their liberty above the kingdom. They slipped into the trap of thinking that the kingdom was about their personal happiness and satisfaction. But is that the meaning of the kingdom?
What is the kingdom? It is the rule or reign of Christ in our lives by the Holy Spirit. It is not a physical realm or merely an amorphous spiritual realm, per se, but the active reign and work of the Spirit in our lives. So, when we become more consumed with our personal freedoms than we are about the kingdom of God, then we skew our perspective of what the kingdom of God is all about. We’re sinning against our fellow kingdom citizens. God’s kingdom is much more than our personal pleasures and enjoyments. It is about us living humbly, faithfully, obediently, and joyously under the rule of our King. Life in the kingdom is about serving the King, not serving our desires.
“But they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense” (20b). When our perspective on the kingdom is wrong, then it is easy to misuse our liberties as Christians. Even though there is nothing wrong with the food or drink that the brother partakes of, because he does it in such a public way that it affects the weaker brother, then his eating and drinking is evil. It is the attitude of the heart that is the evil rather than the eating and drinking.
Keep the context in mind. Some had lived under the fear of the wrath of God due to eating ‘unclean food.’ But Christ declared all foods clean. They were no more under the ceremonial law nor were they bound by the superstition and fear that meat offered to idols would have ill effects upon them. Once a brother or sister found this kind of liberation, they were ready to eat meat! However, not all had come to this understanding. Some, in their struggle of faith, did not feel this liberty. So they were offended whenever they saw a fellow believer eating what they feared was unclean.
This takes us right back to the first implication from the text: I must consider others in the body of Christ. If my actions, even when not inherently wrong, cause my brother to stumble, then I must reel in my liberty. So, if I have liberty to drink alcoholic beverages in moderation but it causes offense to my brother, then I must restrain myself. If I have liberty to see certain movies but it causes my brother to stumble, then I must exercise restraint.
“But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith” (23a). Paul does not have doubting in general in mind but doubting in reference to personal convictions. This likely refocuses on the weaker brother (who was primarily addressed in 14:1-9), who because of the influence of others, partakes of something that he had before refused to partake of due to conscience. In other words, the brothers who had come to liberty in eating meat, likely stayed on the weaker brother until he indulged. You can almost see them sitting at the table, with one saying, ‘Come on! You know that the Lord declared all foods clean! Eat up! Enjoy!’ Hesitantly, the weaker brother eats the meat, listening all the while to the others cheering him on. But he is not convinced in his mind that it is right for him to eat. He still has nagging doubts about the propriety of what he is doing. Because he doubts while eating, he stands condemned. He finds himself in bondage over eating, drinking, or observing a particular day.
Here’s an important consideration. Everything we do should have a sense of conviction about it. In other words, we don’t just go with the flow or follow the crowd, but we do what we do because we are convinced this is the path that is pleasing to God. Even in Christian circles, we are not to just follow the crowd but rather, we are to weigh everything in light of God’s revealed will in Scripture and the reality of living under the rule of Jesus Christ as King. Everything we do is in dependence upon the Lord, with a focus 0n finding our satisfaction in Him and not in the thing itself.
“Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died” (15b). ‘Destroy’ is a strong word, implying that a brother is brought down. There are two major interpretations: (1) This professing brother is so affected that he no longer perseveres in the faith, thus proving to be reprobate. The same word is often used for eternal destruction, so this could be that the action of the stronger brother removes the means that the professing brother has for helping him to persevere. (2) This weaker brother has been “hurt” or grieved or brought into sorrow due to seeing the stronger brother eat what he thought was forbidden (v. 15a). So Paul amplifies on the effect of this hurt by using the strong term, “destroy,” or ruin. The motivation for not destroying him is because he is one for whom Christ died. This suggests the language of Romans 8:31-39 for the believer’s security, which seems to favor the second interpretation.
Here is the practical point of the command. When you make decisions on relationships or actions or activities, consider two things: (1) will this be a help or hindrance to my brothers and sisters in Christ? (2) Can I do this in light of the cross of Christ? In other words, do I think I just cannot give up my liberty (or what I perceive as ‘my right’) because it might offend or hurt another brother, while Jesus Christ gave up His life for that brother? When He gave so much can I be unwilling to give up something so small as my food or drink or pleasure? Let the cross weigh on your relationship choices.
“Therefore, do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil” (16). The “you” referred to could be the weak or strong brother, though more likely, the inference is the strong brother. The idea is that he has no scruples against eating particular food that the other considers forbidden or even drinking wine that the other considered forbidden. For him it is a “good thing,” that is, permissible. There is nothing morally or legally wrong with what he is doing. But if he partakes, knowing that in doing so he will bring offense to another brother, then he has allowed something good to be “spoken of as evil.” So the command calls for personal restraint. If he is going to partake of what the weaker brother considers forbidden, he must not do so publicly in a way that would cause offense. He might be able to participate privately in this liberty but never in a public way that would cause his practice of the Christian life to be thought evil. “For not one lives for himself. . . if we live, we live for the Lord” (vv. 7-8).
“So then, we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another” (19). Have you noticed how the implications concerning our actions, and the church continue to pop up? Paul includes himself, which indicates that he considered all things clean, in agreement with those strong in faith. Yet, instead of using one’s liberty for personal enjoyment, Paul calls for us to go after the things that “make for peace and the building up of one another”—so give attention to unity and harmony in relationships in the body, and give attention to helping others grow and mature in the faith.
This is quite novel in our day! What do most people pursue, including many in the church? Not what will help to build up the body of Christ or continue peace in relationships but rather, what makes me happy. We have this misguided idea in our day that the great goal of life is to be happy—that God created you and now virtually serves you, to make sure that you are happy. Yet that kind philosophy of life carries no truth with Scripture. Paul uses a strong word, “pursue,” to zealously go after something as though a dog on the hunt. He makes it generic, too, just in case we would try to confine our zeal to only matters of eating and drinking. “Pursue the things,” all the things, “which make for peace and the building up of one another.” “One another” is NT language for the church. So let me ask you, What are you doing to contribute to the peace and building up of the church? If we are doing this we will likely have little time to do the things that tear down or destroy our brothers. This also implies that we have to use our minds, think about what kinds of things we are to personally do toward the peace and growth of the body.
“Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food” (20). Here he broadens the focus. While verse 15 refers to the individual, this verse broadens to the church at large—“the work of God.” The reason is that the individual is connected to the church; they cannot be separated. If one is brought down by our carelessness, it affects the larger work of God through the local church. This speaks volumes about the organic relationship of the body of Christ, especially as it is fleshed out in Ephesians 2:11ff., 1 Cor 12, 1 Pet 2.
Do you make family or work or even social decision with an eye toward its impact on the church? That’s what Paul is referring to. Though we may not fully fathom the reality of it, the believer is united to other brothers and sisters in an organic relationship. We’re connected to each other. What one does affects the others. So take that seriously when you go about the decisions of life.
How do we put all of this together concerning the way we live in relationship to each other in the body of Christ? Paul offers seven principles that will help to direct our thinking and actions. I will try to state the principles and offer brief comment on each.
“I am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself” (14). This is not a new teaching but simply restates the teaching of Jesus Christ in Mark 7:14-23, with Mark’s comment, “Thus He declared all foods clean.” It’s also the lesson that Peter learned before going to the Gentiles in Acts 10: “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy” (10:15). “God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean” (10:28).
What are we to make of this? The ceremonial dietary laws were passé with the declaration of Jesus Christ. They had fulfilled their purpose to restrain and discipline the people of Israel. Now they had no more purpose in God’s economy. Thus, to continue to avoid pork or shellfish or split-hoof non-cud chewing animals over ceremonial reasons is unnecessary. The greater concern that Paul had was that these brothers thought that by continuing with the restrictions on meat they would find more favor with the Lord. It’s the same principle of thinking that through particular convictions we are in better favor with the Lord. My brethren, it is Christ that commends us to God, not our do’s and don’ts!
What of the “wine” mentioned in verse 21 as well as alluded to in v. 17? Jewish teaching did not forbid drinking wine but it did give clear instructions about the dangers of overindulgence in wine, and certainly about drunkenness The stronger brothers had no scruples against drinking wine, though, they certainly would have considered overindulgence or drunkenness or lack of self-control with wine to be sinful.. In all likelihood, the scruple that the weaker brother had in mind was due to the prevalence in Roman society of offering libations of wine to particular gods. They feared that drinking wine would be some kind of tribute to another god, so they refused to partake, thinking that it would bring them disfavor with the Lord. But wine or no wine cannot commend you to God—that is Christ alone who can do so.
“The kingdom of God is . . . righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” God’s kingdom rule in our lives is not about focusing on eating and drinking—what we can and cannot eat or drink. Rather, it’s about the righteousness imputed to us and now imparted in practical ways through the Holy Spirit; the peace of God that is ours through justification and the peace with God by the work of the Spirit (Rom 4:7-8; 5:1); and the joy that is ours through the hope of the glory of God implanted in us by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:2).
All of us know of churches that have split over the most trivial things. Usually, it’s not over a careful examination of doctrine but who gets put on a committee or which side of the auditorium the piano is placed. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains that the Romans “had become petty, and they were giving the impression that the kingdom of God was something small,” so focusing on what you could or could not eat or drink. He adds, “And the most terrible thing that you and I can ever do is to give the impression that Christianity and the church are small and narrow” [Romans: Chapter 14:1-17, Liberty and Conscience, 237]. We’re about bigger things! Things that will follow us into eternity: righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit!
“All things indeed are clean” (20a). Paul reiterates that we are no longer under the restrictions of the law regarding diet. So Paul was free to enjoy a barbeque pork shoulder! But he was not at liberty to do so if it hurt his brothers in Christ. The church and kingdom are more important than appetite!
“It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles” (21). The last clause helps us to see that Paul has more in mind than eating or drinking. As believers and fellow members in Christ’s church, we are to make sure that we so guard our outward behavior that we do nothing that would cause another person to stumble. This means that the body of Christ is much more important to us than our personal pleasures or indulgences, even when there is nothing inherently wrong in those things. Care for the body of Christ supercedes our personal liberty.
“The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God” (22a). The expression, “before God,” implies before His face. “Faith” is synonymous with conviction, not a subjective trust in the Lord. So what he refers to is the faith or conviction about what to eat or not eat, what to drink or not drink, etc. This applies to both weak and strong brethren. It is the same principle that Paul has already stated in 14:5-6. Do not hold your convictions in order to impress others or to gain attention. Hold them only if you are convinced they please the Lord.
“Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves” (22b). Here is a test over what is permissible for the believer to partake of and enjoy: (1) There is no express forbiddance in Scripture; (2) the believer can partake of it and feel no remorse, condemnation, regret, or shame. Keep the first matter first, though, because this does not mean that we can violate a command of God because we ‘feel’ okay about it. So there are things that are not expressly forbidden that we cannot do without some sense of condemnation or shame; so don’t do those things. They may not be wrong for someone else but they are wrong for you because your conscience has not given you clearance. As Calvin put it, “They boast falsely of liberty who know not how to make the right use of it” [Calvin’s Commentaries, 19, p. 510].
“Whatever is not from faith is sin” (v. 23b). Here is the guiding principle: if we cannot do something from a standpoint of being convinced that it is pleasing to God, then it is sin. So, to use the example from several weeks ago, I cannot cut my yard on Sundays “from faith”—I am not convinced that it is pleasing to the Lord for me to do it—so for me it is sin. But that may not be the case for someone else who has no scruples at all about it. The pleasure of God, not my preference or bias or personal prerogatives, must direct the details of life.
I want to encourage you to re-read and study this passage. Meditate on it as a means to seeing how you are to relate to others in the church. Weigh your liberties, decisions, and actions in light of the cross of Christ and the kingdom of God.
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