Epistle to the Romans
Chapter 14 – Christian Love
Up to this point, we have talked about love in rather general terms. Now we are going to discuss actual situations that arise among Christians. Paul is using the example of fasting and abstinence to show conflicts of conscience among Christians. This chapter is about how to reconcile these problems.
Romans 14:1-5 Fasting
Some people are led by conscience to avoid certain foods as an expression of their faith. Others take the stance that all food is from God and good for man as long as it is eaten thankfully. Paul’s sentiments lie on the side of those who believe that all food is good if it is taken thankfully. For this reason, he describes those who feel the need for certain abstinence as being weak in the faith. His purpose is not to force everyone to be strong in the faith. His purpose is to show how to handle these and similar conflicts with Christian love.
Much of the meat offered for sale in the poorer parts of a large city had been sacrificed to an idol. Much conflict existed over whether such meat was clean and acceptable or unclean and contaminated by evil association. The issue at hand is larger than determining what meat is acceptable. The unity within any parish exists in spite of a diversity of views. Diversity is one of the marks of the church and it is also a test of its charity.
Some practice their faith with a scrupulous approach to everything. Such attention to a regulated practice is sometimes considered a necessary part of the Christian life. When that happens, the practice of others is considered inferior. Others are indifferent to what the first group considers critical. This will destroy a Christian community unless charity overrules practice. Those who are indifferent must be forbearing in their attitude toward the others. Those who are scrupulous must not try to bind the others by their own dogmatisms.
The council of Jerusalem in Acts 15:29 suggested that Christians without a Jewish background should observe Jewish customs regarding the slaughtering of meat. Otherwise the Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians could never share a meal. We must remember that Paul is using eating as an illustration. His point is that the strong Christian sees what is important, morally and spiritually. He is inclined to ignore the things that do not really matter. If someone’s conscience drives them to practice things that are not important to others, we must exercise Christian tolerance. That is not the same as ignoring them altogether. If something is being pursued as a requirement when it is of secondary importance, education is appropriate. But it must be applied very patiently.
The real problem in such controversies is the tendency to judge. God has welcomed both the rigorist and the libertarian into the church. Neither can eject the other nor impose his standards upon him. Paul also uses esteemed days as an illustration. Some will esteem some days as more important than others. Paul’s approach is to esteem each day as a gift from God and give it every reverence possible.
Romans 14:6-15 Judging
The conscious effort to promote God’s honor is more important than the forms by which we try to do so. Some will use one method, while others use another. Either way, it is the God-ward intention that matters. We do not all confess our faith in the same terms, or worship according to the same rites, or govern ourselves with the same discipline. Our hymnbooks are probably the greatest manuals of Christian unity. We cannot respect a religion that ignores the needs of real people and becomes the hobby of those whose minds are always in church. Every sacramental act uses ordinary things to declare extraordinary truths. And, we should give thanks for the ordinary things and recognize that everything we have is a gift of God.
Paul points to two problems, the observance of special days and abstention from certain foods. Both can be addressed by a single principle. “None of us lives to himself.” For good or ill, we and our fellow worshippers are bound together. We are each related to God and that creates a mutual dependence on each other. As hard as some people have tried, none of us can rule our own lives according to the dictates of our own interests. Total independence requires complete reliance on our human ingenuity. This is a form of secularism and it exists in utter disregard of God.
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ provide the grounds for claiming that nothing lies outside the scope of Christ’s authority. Christ is the Lord of both the living and the dead. As Christ has final authority, we are forbidden to sit in judgment on others. Christ will sit in judgment on us and the others. If we are under judgment, we cannot be judging others.
Paul talked of mutual tolerance that does not judge. The strong should not despise the weak and the weak must not censure the strong. This is the beginning of a satisfactory solution to the problem of different practices. More important than mutual tolerance is the true charity which is eager to help. It is the duty of each to avoid occasions of offense. When Paul talks of stumbling-blocks and hindrances, he is referring to different kinds of obstacles we put in the way of others. The stumbling-block is something carelessly left in the path. The hindrance is a snare or trap which is deliberately laid to entangle the feet of others.
Paul was a Pharisee and familiar with the tradition of regulating our religious life in terms of outward forms and observances. Now he is teaching that nothing is by its nature unclean or taboo. Inanimate things are morally neutral. If accepted in the right spirit and used according to a Christian purpose, they can serve the high ends of God’s kingdom. The only exclusion to this are acts which have an ethical significance. Moral distinctions are real and important. Still he teaches that a man with a scrupulous conscience must obey it. As long as there are different degrees of religious insight and different standards of enlightenment, there is a subjective element in our moral judgments. We are encouraged to respect a man’s conscience even if it leads him to unnecessary limitations. In the interests of charity, we should waive our unquestioned rights and not insist on our privileges. Our liberties should not be used if it harms a brother.
Romans 14:16-23 Abstinence
The liberty we claim is a good thing because Christ has won it for us. But if we insist on it as our right, we can bring it to discredit. If we exercise it in a hard and inconsiderate way, our conduct will give our freedom a bad name. We must remember what the Kingdom of God is and what it isn’t. The Kingdom of God is not meat and drink. The Kingdom of God is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. We may be at liberty to eat or drink whatever we wish, but if we endanger the righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, we are showing no charity.
Paul has contrasted the preoccupation with ceremonial regulation with the awareness of spiritual realities, which is the gift of true faith. The inwardness of true discipleship stands in opposition to any formal pattern of behavior. The spiritual quality of a life is determined largely by its motives. Happiness is not found by pursuing it; it is one of the by-products of an unselfish life. The Christian does not seek the applause of his fellow men. Nonetheless, a certain kind of life will eventually commend itself to those of open mind. Adherence to principle, regard for what is right, consideration for others, and an unruffled serenity will finally win the respect of others.
The proper objective is whatever promotes the peace of the fellowship and results in building up the community. Our history is full of examples of people who were intensely earnest about nonessentials, and felt at liberty to shatter the unity of the church for the sake of their particular fetish. Our freedom degenerates into selfish pride if we prefer it to the spiritual welfare of our brother. We pursue our best theories but they must always be interpreted by love. All matters of regulation must be subjected to the demands of love.
The sovereign law of Christian conduct is always to subordinate our own privilege to our brother’s need. It is not spiritual liberty so to walk that others stumble in consequence. The man of enlightened conscience can eat or forbear as charity dictates; but the man of many scruples cannot claim the same alternative. This illustrates the vulnerability that requires the tolerance of love.