One person judges one day above another, another judges every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards the day, regards it for the Lord, and he who eats, eats for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who does not eat, for the Lord he does not eat and gives thanks to God. 7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you view your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, to Me every knee shall bow,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”
12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather judge this—not to put a stumbling block or offense before a brother. 14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is defiled in itself; but to him who considers anything to be defiled, to him it is defiled. 15 For if because of food your brother is grieved, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be slandered; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who in this way serves Christ is pleasing to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. 20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. 21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. 22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Blessed is he who does not judge himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin. Romans 14: 5-23 LSB
Romans 14: 5-12
V. 5 One person judges one day above another - Thanks to the religious leaders a lot of Jews had a terrible understanding of the Sabbath. It was part of Israel's laws under a Theocracy, which they no longer had, but they got so far away from it's intent by adding things. The Pharisees never saw a ceremonial law or even moral law that they didn't feel they could add to or make a work around for. It was mostly for show though, making everything about them and losing the intent and purpose of the law. It was never wrong to do good on the Sabbath, that didn't go against it's Holy convocation or rest, but the Pharisees tried to condemn Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, and they even had rules about how far they could walk. When it said not to do work, it was telling you not to be involved in commerce, and to prepare for Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath) on Friday, so that you could dedicate the day to the Lord. You also couldn't have your servant or an unbeliever work on that day, not even a foreigner, and this allowed everyone a rest. This allowed the believer time to learn, to teach family about our relationship to God. Well, just look at what the Scriptures say.
…2And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on that day He rested from all His work. 3Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished. Genesis 2: 2-3
…8Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates.… 11For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.… Exodus 20: 8-11
…27Then Jesus declared, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28Therefore, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Mark 2: 27-28
John MacArthur - Though it was no longer required by God, the weak Jewish believer felt compelled to observe the Sabbath and other special days associated with Judaism (cf. Gal. 4:9, 10+; see notes on Col. 2:16, 17+). On the other hand, the weak Gentile wanted to separate himself from the special days of festivities associated with his former paganism because of its immorality and idolatry. - J Mac Study Bible
Read this example of a "weaker" brother who regarded one day above another (and it helps one understand that a "weaker" brother is not necessarily one who is not spiritually mature): In 1924 Eric Liddell, the "Flying Scotsman" was the fastest man in world in 100 meters. For months Eric Liddell trained with the purpose of winning the 100-meter race at the 1924 Olympics in Paris & indeed most sportswriters predicted he would win. Then Eric learned the qualifying heats were scheduled for Sunday. This posed a problem: Eric believed that he could not honor God by running on the Lord's Day. He simply said "I'm not running on a Sunday" & even said "no" to Prince of Wales, all because he regarded "one day above another". Eric didn’t make a big deal about it and shout his convictions from the rooftop so people would see how pious he was. Nevertheless his fans were stunned by his refusal. Some who had praised him now called him a fool. But Eric stood firm in his convictions and did not go against his conscience (Ro 14:6 "he who observes the day, observes it for the Lord" & Ro 14:23 "he who doubts is condemned if he (runs on Sunday), because his (running) is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin") . Many thought it was completely in character for Eric & a lot of the athletes were quietly impressed by it. They felt that here was a man who was prepared to stand for what he thought was right, without interfering with anyone else, and without being dogmatic. That's the power of integrity. His masseur gave him the following verse just prior to his world record race. (1Sa 2:30+ "those who honor Me I will honor")
As God's providence would have it a runner dropped out of the 400-meter race, scheduled on a weekday. Eric offered to fill the slot, even though this was four times as long as the race for which he had trained. When the 400 meters had concluded, not only did Eric win running away, but he did so in record time! What Eric did was was "acceptable to God and approved by men" (Ro 14:18). And God did honor him. And men did approve of him. However Instead of basking in the glory & potential fortune that might have been his as an Olympic gold medalist, he chose to finish his education at the U. of Edinburgh. Upon graduation he left Scotland for the missionary fields of China. As he left the train station in Edinburgh, all the faculty, students & town sang "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name"
In China he was captured by the Japanese during WWII and imprisoned with 1800 others in an area no bigger than 100 x 200 yards. In this difficult environment this man of integrity, proved to be a daily source of a righteous life lived out, bringing peace and joy, preaching, singing and ministering to his fellow prisoners, many of whom were also missionaries. He died there in 1945, shortly after his 43rd birthday, and just prior to the liberation. Although most of his fellow prisoners did not know it, Eric had been suffering headaches from what proved to be a brain tumor that caused his death. And yet despite his personal torment, this godly saint persevered to the end, proving to be a source of comfort, continuing to manifest his radiant smile literally up to the very day before he died. His biographer, Sally Magnusson, freely admitted the source of his spirituality: "He seemed to get his strength and self-discipline and his air of quiet serenity from his early-morning sessions of prayer, meditation, and Bible study… somewhere in this daily discipline of faith lay the secret of the man, perhaps the secret of how he ran." (BORROW The Flying Scotsman by Sally Magnusson)
Eric Liddell presented a compelling model for how we should live, calling himself and others to an honest life and to self-sacrifice:
"Let us put ourselves before ourselves and look at ourselves. The bravest moment of a person's life is the moment when he looks at himself objectively without wincing, without complaining, [However] self-examination that does not result in action is dangerous. What am I going to do about what I see? The action called for is surrender -- of ourselves to God." - Precept Austin
Vs. 5b-9 Whether we live or die we are the Lords - It's not about you, your autonomy, your specialness. You couldn't save yourself, and so you have nothing to bring to God but your sin, your need. He doesn't need you, and so to give Him your life, to live for Him is actually an honor and a grace you didn't to deserve to know. At the same time it is the very least we should do, for life belongs to the Giver of life, so we are only recognizing the reality that my life is His. That is the prayer that I started praying on the back stair case at my work several years ago. I had gone through one of the worst times in my life, at home, professionally, and physically. I was on the back stairs because I didn't want anybody to see me, to find me. I was afraid of being seen as weak, and really I was just very angry too about not being in control, that stuff was happening that I couldn't solve for myself. It was with a lot of tears and difficulty I finally managed to say, "It's your right Lord, let my honor be that Christ is glorified." I realized He had purchased me on the cross so it wasn't really my life.
John Stott comments - Life and death seem to be taken as constituting together the sum total of our human being. While we continue to live on earth and when through death we begin the life of heaven, everything we have and are belongs to the Lord Jesus and must therefore be lived to his honor and glory. (Romans- God's Good News for the World -Bible Speaks Today)
Warren Wiersbe - Paul emphasized the believer’s union with Christ: “Whether we live, therefore, or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Ro 14:8). Our first responsibility is to the Lord. If Christians would go to the Lord in prayer instead of going to their brother with criticism, there would be stronger fellowship in our churches. (Bible Exposition Commentary) - PA
…19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20
…14For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died. 15And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again. 16So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.… 2 Corinthians 5: 14-16
1Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them— bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed.… 2 Peter 2: 1-2
Vs. 10-12 But why do you judge your brother, or again, why do you view your brother with contempt - We are supposed to confront sin in a loving manner, but those who are not willing to pause and pray for you first are usually just enjoying a sense of superiority. It looks like he is going back to the two groups in question again, to the weaker, why do you judge the mature? Why do you assume he is sinning when it's a non essential? Have you tried asking him questions about it first? Have you prayed before you do this, or are you building another soap box? To the "more mature", why do you view your brother with contempt? Do you look down on him because he is weak, because he doesn't yet have this understanding? Did you call yourself out of darkness into light; did you write the Book? Sin has already been condemned, and we should expect non believers to sin, and this here is talking about believers. It is not talking about that which is clear and has been judged. Our brothers and sisters should confront us for stealing, for cheating on a spouse, for being a drunk etc., but where things are less clear we shouldn't assume people's intent. Sometimes people are guilty of doing things they don't know to be wrong yet.
Judge (2919) (krino) primarily signifies to distinguish, separate or discriminate and then, to distinguish between good and evil, right and wrong, without necessarily passing an adverse sentence, though this is usually involved. Krino means to sift out and analyze evidence. Krino is present tense indicating that they were continually passing judgment. Passing judgment, by implication also usually conveys the idea of condemning.
We have no right to judge and condemn one another because the Judge is the Lord. Each believer will have enough to do in keeping his own account right without interfering with others’ accounts!
Referring to the conduct of the "weak" brother in Ro 14:3. Believers are not judges of other believers, whether weaker or stronger because we will all be judged by God (1Co 3:10-15; 2Co 5:10-note). However balance this truth with the fact that the church needs to keep its own fellowship pure while at the same time refraining from assuming God's role as Judge (1Cor 5:9-13). Thus the command not to judge one another does not mean we are to condone immorality and wickedness, etc, within the church. We must beware of falling into this trap for if known sin is allowed to persist, it will not lie dormant but will propagate, even as leaven spreads throughout the loaf (1Co 5:7) and ultimately will even corrupt good morals (1Cor 15:33).
One of the most sinister aspects of judging a brother or sister is judging their motives. When we do so we are saying in essence that we are omniscient and capable of reading their minds and discerning what has transpired in their life that might be impacting their words and deeds. This type of judgment is a slippery slope (cp Dt 32:35 "in due time their foot will slip") and is to be avoided at all costs. Seeking to please Christ and keeping a "Bema Seat Mentality" will help us avoid "motive" judgments. It also helps to remember that even our motives for doing "motive checks" on others will be accurately assessed (1Co 4:5, cp 1Th 2:4-note) - Precept Austin
9I wrote you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people. 10I was not including the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a verbal abuser, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.…
…12What business of mine is it to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” 1 Corinthians 5: 9-13
Polycarp (about AD 70-156), a pupil of John the apostle, wrote in The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians, "We must all appear at the judgment-seat of Christ, and every one must give an account of himself. Let us then serve Him in fear, and with all reverence, even as He Himself has commanded us, and as the apostles who preached the gospel unto us, and the prophets who proclaimed beforehand the coming of the Lord [have alike taught us]" (Chapter VI – The Duties of Presbyters and Others).
Robert Moffat - "We shall have all eternity in which to celebrate our victories, but we have only one swift hour before the sunset in which to win them."
C. S. Lewis - "If you read history you will find out that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next." - PA
