In the second section of Romans 14 we see Paul continuing his reasoning for the Roman Christians to have grace for one another and not pass judgment on this matter. When it comes to these disputable matters he has already said that they should not pass judgment on one another or despise one another. They are free to take either position and should continue to participate in community together with one another. In 13-23 he adds another consideration into the equation.
Romans 14:13-23
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
Paul here transitions to primarily speaking to the strong. Essentially he calls them to personally restrict their freedom for the betterment of the weak. They are to be aware of how their actions may be affecting other believers. They are to never put a stumbling block in the way of another or destroy the one for whom Christ died—that is not do anything that may cause them to fall away from saving faith in Jesus. He calls them back to love as the basis of their Christian ethic. They may be right in their theology, but if they are not acting in love, they are wrong. They are to pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbuilding.
In the midst of this discussion Paul makes it abundantly clear what the truth of the matter is. The truth is that they are free from the dietary laws and the sabbath laws in Christ (v. 14, 20). He confirms to the strong that they are indeed correct. He even tells them not to let what they regard as good to be spoken of as evil (v. 16). This is likely a reference to the freedom that they have in the gospel since verse 17 speaks of the kingdom of God. In verse 22 Paul declares a blessing on those who are free to eat whatever they want without feeling guilty about it.
Yet, it is more complicated than that. For those whose conscience convicts them about eating meat that may have been sacrificed to an idol or prepared in a non-kosher manner, it is sin for them. "Whoever doubts is condemned if he eats"—that is if someone is convicted about eating the meat but eats it anyways for them it is sin.
He concludes then with a broader blanket statement, "For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." This is a big statement that we should all pause when we read it. What does he mean here? This statement particularly harkens back to his theology articulated throughout the book. First, he says in Romans 1:16-17
Romans 1:16–17 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Humanity in its lost state has lost faith and trust in God (Rom. 1:18-25). The righteousness of the believer is through faith in Jesus. When the believer believes in Jesus his righteousness is imputed to her. If that is the case then any righteous actions must come through faith. To make this point later in the book he shares the story of Abraham and how he was justified by faith, not by his works (Rom. 4). Therefore, all of our actions that we take, especially, in the context of these disputable matters, must proceed from our trust in the freedom that Christ has won for us. On this matter R.C. Sproul writes: "We should strive to get our consciences in line with the Word of God and continually seek to refine our own moral codes to bring them into conformity to the mind of Christ, so that we don't have this problem of not knowing what God approves and what God forbids."
This position reflects the fluid nature of this conversation in the early church. At the council in Jerusalem in Acts 15 the apostles debate the issue and conclude, "...it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us..." (Acts 15:28). There were many different opinions expressed at the council and they concluded that since it is not a matter of salvation each individual Christian has the freedom to decide how they will act with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and his conviction.
Tomorrow we will look at some examples that will hopefully clarify this teaching for us.
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Reflection
For reflection time today, think of some ways that you have limited for freedom for another. To be a good friend you must limit your freedom to always do whatever you want and sometimes do what they would like to do. To be a good spouse you must limit your freedom to flirt with anyone you want.To be a good parent of small children you pretty much never get to do what you want. To be a good employee you can't just browse the internet all day because you want to or else you'll probably get fired.
The same goes for the church just because you can do something, and you may even be right about it, that doesn't mean you should do something. Remember even if you are right in your theology, if you are not acting in love, you are wrong! Perhaps out of love for your neighbor at church you should limit what you say. Perhaps you should consider how your actions are enabling someone to sin. We must be aware of these things and do our best to act in love towards one another and that usually means disadvantaging ourselves.