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STRONG OR WEAK
Romans 14:1-9
1] Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
[2] For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
[3] 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.
[4] Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
[5] One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
[6] He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
[7] For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
[8] For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
[9] For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
“Who gave you or me the right to judge another believer regarding matters on which the Bible doesn’t speak?” This important question is the subject of today’s text. We must never lose sight of the truth that the Gospel is a law of liberty that sets us free from many things, from guilt of our sins and from worry about our bodies. It sets us free to serve our Lord with a cheerful heart and to serve our neighbor with loving words and deeds. However, it does not set us free to try to control the lives of those about us in areas in which God has not spoken. We know the things that are always wrong, and Scripture is clear about this. It is always wrong to steal, to lie, or to gossip. Drunkenness is always wrong, as is envy or slander. False doctrine is always wrong. Some things, however, are not always wrong, doubtful things about which the Scriptures say nothing. To judge in these areas can easily be an abuse of our freedom in Christ.
St. Paul faced this particular problem in his congregation at Rome. St. Paul was a missionary and this little mission consisted of many converts, among whom were heathen Romans. Through His preaching, they had come to love the Lord Jesus, and to cherish the wonderful liberty that the Gospel gave them. They had been set free from their sins and at the same time from the drunkenness, adultery, and idolatry that were rampant in this wicked city. They had acquired new freedoms they had never known before, not only freedom from sin, but also freedom to live to the glory of God in everything they did. Every day of the week was an opportunity to learn more of their Savior, and they ate and drank freely of God’s good gifts.
However, this congregation did not consist only of Roman converts, but also of Jewish people who had also come to know and love Jesus as the promised Messiah. They had learned that the rules and regulations of the Old Testament that pointed to His coming were wiped out when He came. No more days to keep, no more regulations about what they could or could not eat. The precious Gospel freed them from all that, and gave them inner peace and joy through the blood of Christ.
Just because of their Jewish background, however, they had trouble exercising their new freedom. For example, they knew they could eat any kind of meat. Yet many may easily have found eating pork distasteful, something which previously had been contrary to their religion. They didn’t impose their feelings on anyone; they didn’t make it a law; it is just that they couldn’t help feeling that it was not quite right.
The same thing was true about days. A Jewish convert who had been brought up to observe strict laws of the Sabbath, could easily feel that there was something special about one day over another. In no way did they want to impose a Jewish Sabbath on the Roman congregation; they just they had trouble freeing themselves from making one day of worship more important. If these Jewish converts had insisted that it was a sin to eat pork or a sin not to observe the Sabbath, they would have been totally wrong. However, here that wasn’t the case at all.
Problems didn’t begin until the Roman members, excited over their new freedom, began to judge the behavior of the Jewish converts. The result was “doubtful disputations.” Senseless and harmful arguments began to arise about what is right. St. Paul summarizes the situation this way: “One believes that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eats only vegetables”. And again, “One man esteems one day above another: another esteems every day alike”. Who was right? In a sense, they both were. What a mistake, however, for those who understood the full freedom of a New Testament Christian to judge fellow members of their congregation who, like themselves, loved the Lord Jesus as their Savior and who placed their full trust in His hands. What a mistake to judge them because they had not grown in faith to the point that they could make full use of their freedom. St. Paul reminds these Romans that arguing about it wouldn’t help, this only leads to doubtful disputation. The answer is love, a sincere concern for each other’s souls, as St. Peter writes, “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins” 1 Peter 4:8. To be judgmental in areas where God has not spoken can easily be a sin against love.
Moreover, says the apostle, God will hold these weak Christians accountable, not you Romans. He asks them, “who are you to judge by your foolish ideas?” Listen to his words: “Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.” Remember, He tells them, that a weak believer is God’s servant, just as you are. A weak believer is as fully persuaded in his own heart that his life is pleasing to the Lord as you are. He worships God as you do. He gives thanks to God for his food and drink as you do. God makes him stand, not you Christ is mighty and powerful to keep all His servants true and faithful during our time of service, all the way to the day of judgment. Christ does not need the assistance of proud people in doing that Only the word of God can do that. As a weak Christian grows in his knowledge of the word, so he also will grow in the use of his Christian freedom.
When we think of ourselves, how easy it is to give way to our sinful pride and be judgmental in matters when Scripture has not spoken. How easy it is to look askance at someone for the clothes they wear. How easy to judge another believer over his or her hairstyle or jewelry. Just one example. A Christian who was brought up in a home where Sunday was a special day of worship on which one should not work, may grant that all days are the same in the sight of God, and still feel it is not quite right to work on Sunday. To be judgmental in an area like this, where God has not spoken, can be a sin against love. Love is the fulfilling of the law, but who is up to that? We need to pray, as did the Psalmist, “Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression”. Psalm 19:13. As wrong as it is to claim the right to command or forbid things that God has not commanded or forbidden, it is just as wrong to use our God-given freedom as a springboard for loose living. Think of those, for example, who misuse their freedom to drink as the freedom to get drunk, or their freedom to hear God’s Word as the freedom to despise it.
Finally, it makes no difference whether we are weak or strong, the over-riding truth is this; that the life and death of all of us is centered in our Savior. The world about us would have us believe just the opposite. The world offers its own freedom, freedom from the will of God. Natural man wants to believe that he is in charge, both of his life and his death, that he can give in to sinful lusts and pleasures in this life, and that he can determine for himself when and how he is going to die. A sad commentary is the mounting suicide rate.
How wonderful, in contrast, is the true freedom of the Gospel. By His death and resurrection, our Savior has won the right to be our Lord in life and in death “For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.” The lordship of our Savior begins the moment we come to faith and even death cannot end it. Through His holy word, our dear Savior is with us in everything we do in this life, but we won’t really know what that lordship is like until we go on to spend eternity with Him in heaven.
3. Whether to live or die, I know not which is best;
To live in Thee is bliss to me, To die is endless rest.
4. Living or dying, Lord, I ask but to be Thine:
My life in Thee, Thy life in me, Make heaven forever Mine.
--------------- TLH 591, stanzas 3 and 4
This sermon was preached by Pastor Robert Dommer on October 21, 2007 |