Bible Commentaries
Romans 14

Verses 1-4

Romans 14:1. Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.

Romans 14:2. One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.

Romans 14:3. Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him.

I am sorry to say there are certain groups who will not accept anyone into their fellow­ship unless he believes just a certain way.

Now I recognize the possibility of heresy and the need to guard believers against it. But if someone really stands for the person and work of Christ and loves the Saviour, there is no reason why we cannot have fellowship with him.

I know that sometimes it is hard for us not to judge, not to criticize, when we see things we be­lieve are dishonoring to the Lord, especially when the person we’re judging and criticizing doesn’t see why he should do this or shouldn’t do that.

We’re to walk in love the one toward the other, and it’s going to cost us something to do so. Now let’s be very realistic about this. It’s not an easy thing to stop doing something you like to do and you feel free to do. You stop it, not because it’s bad but because it’s a stumbling block or it hinders another Christian who believes he can’t do that sort of thing.

“Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.”

What in the world does Paul mean by that? Don’t dispute with your weaker brother over things that are only doubtful. How often we’ve heard, “If that fellow was a real Christian, he wouldn’t do that.”

Well, how do you know he is not a Christian? He may be thinking the same thing about you.

You see him not doing certain things, so you say, “Oh, he is a legalist. That fellow never was saved. He is just bound up in religion.”

And he looks at you and you have some freedom and he says, “I don’t believe that fellow is a Chris­tian. If he were a Christian, he wouldn’t do that sort of thing.”

So you see, we begin to judge each other in the light of our own knowledge, conscience and experience. The result is we don’t manifest pa­tience toward one another. We try to decide the other man’s doubts for him and so require him to walk in the light of our conscience.

And, my friend, he must not be forced to do so. Why don’t you let him grow normally by the Word of God? He has faith. I know he’s weak, but you should receive him into your fellowship. See, the trouble is that we cross our t’s and dot our i’s and we split hairs; and, if a person doesn’t believe ex­actly word for word what we believe, we won’t have fellowship with him. And this causes pride and di­vision among God’s people.

I remember one time when I had a men’s Bible class here in my city. We would have from 70 to 80 men week by week.

One day, a dear man and his wife and family came to our Sunday School for the first time and he came to the men’s class. During the course of the teaching hour, he asked some questions; and it was very obvious from the questions he asked one after the other that he disagreed with what had been said.

And, when I tried to lead the man along to see the truth as it is in Christ, I didn’t get a chance to do so. Two or three of the men in the class spoke out and jumped on this fellow like a ton of bricks. You know, he just shut up and he never came back. I don’t blame him. I just don’t blame him.

So I told those men the next Lord’s Day, “Why, listen, it has taken the Lord 10, 20 years to get you fellows where you are today. All you know now about the Saviour and about your position in Christ was not learned in 24 hours. Some of you folk, when you first came to our Sunday School, believed just like this fellow did. And just quietly the Word of God had its affect on your heart and your life, and you have grown in the grace and knowledge of God. And now you want this fellow to get there in 10 minutes? It doesn’t work out that way.”

With these weak believers, we either edify them and build them up in Christ or we judge them and destroy them in their fellowship with the Saviour. If you discourage them, if you send them out of your fellowship, where do they go? Some­times they don’t know where to go, so you drive them out to some other place where they shouldn’t go. Or maybe they get discouraged and go back into the world. We are to blame because we didn’t manifest that love, that understanding, that com­passion, that desire to build them up in the truth of God.

I know what you might say, “Why, Mr. Mitchell, we tried that but they were obstinate. They were stiff-necked. They were stubborn.”

Now, I know there are troublemakers. There is plenty of Scripture for that. If anyone comes along and makes division and troubles God’s people, have nothing to do with him. That’s what the Book says. But I’m not talking about those people.

I’m talking about a great many people who are just babes in Christ and have never been fed, have never been instructed. They may get into your hair, and they may say things and do things which you can’t stand. The danger is to criticize them and judge them and remove them out of your fellowship when the very thing they need is your fellowship. And, when you keep them in your fellowship, you have an opportunity to bring them into the unity of faith.

Remember in Ephesians 4:1-32, Paul did not say first of all “be diligent to preserve the unity of the faith.” He said, first of all, “be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit” because there is one Lord and one faith. Afterward, God gave to the Church apos­tles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. What for? For the perfecting of God’s people till we all come to the unity of the faith. There must be growth, there must be understanding, there must be patience; but there must be love the one for the other in the unity of the Spirit. I am so desirous that God’s people enjoy each other in Christ.

Let me give a personal testimony.

When I became a Christian, I had no doctrine to undo. The Lord just saved me and dropped me right into the grace of God—into the wonderful po­sition that I have in Christ as given to us in the Book of Romans. In fact, somebody asked me one time if that was the only Book I had in my Bible because I reveled so much in the marvelous truth of it. But I had nothing to undo. I had no doctrines to get rid of.

But there are other people who have been raised from the time they were children in certain doctrines. And, my friend, you can’t expect them to get rid of that in 10 minutes.

So, if you meet a man who loves the Saviour, who claims to believe in the Lord and he is weak in the faith or he doesn’t agree with you (and that’s to be expected), then what shall you do? Bring him into your fellowship to encourage and edify and build him up.

Romans 14:4. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

I am appealing to you Christians who have been taught all your life.

I am appealing to you preachers and Sunday School teachers to manifest grace, tenderness and compassion for God’s people. Remember that a great many of them have never been instructed in the precious Word of God. They have longed and longed for scriptural food from the Word of God. They have gone from church to church and ha­ven’t gotten it.

Friend, if you are in a church where they preach the Word of God, you thank the Lord for it; but do not sit in judgment upon those who have never had the opportunity.

You see, I’m pleading here for young believers and weak believers, possibly for fallen believers. What they need is not a club. What they need is some encouragement in the Lord, some edification.

What they need is someone who can pray with them and weep with them, if necessary.

Verses 1-23

Romans 15:1-7

Verses 5-12

Romans 14:5. One man regards one day above another, another re­gards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.

Romans 14:6. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

The first ground for receiving the weaker brethren is that we have the same Lord, the same standing. We are going to glory together. We’ll spend eternity together. This puts our receiv­ing others on the unchanging absolute of our rela­tionship to the Saviour. Apart from the Word, we have no grounds really for judging other Chris­tians. Why? Because it says here that one man re­gards the day as unto the Lord. Another man doesn’t. Here is one man who eats certain things and gives thanks. The other one doesn’t.

Now, remember, we are speaking of practice—of eating and observing days and external things like that. We are not speaking of false doctrine. We do need to guard our assembly from those who would bring in false doctrine.

Romans 14:7. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;

Romans 14:8. 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.

Romans 14:9. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

There is no other law to be considered. Jesus Christ is the Lord for all believers, whether strong or weak, whether mature or babes.

You know, when we begin to judge another Christian, it’s not as a rule an act of love as much as an act of pride. Is that not true? And, espe­cially, if we know quite a bit of truth, the danger is to criticize and to judge the weaker brethren or those who don’t agree with us.

But Paul here says in Romans 14:5, “Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.” Why? Because we walk before God and in the Word of God as we see it, and others walk in the Word of God as they see it. We all want to please God, and we want to live for the Lord even though our practice may be different from that of others. Right down in our very heart, we all have the same yearning. There is no room for judgment because we have the same Lord and we each can’t live unto ourself.

And then the second ground of receiving the weaker brother is because the Lord is the Judge. He is not only the Lord over all believers, but He is the Judge of all believers. And, remember, He is going to judge righteously.

Romans 14:10. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.

Romans 14:11. For it is written, “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.”

Romans 14:12. So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God.

In the final analysis, friend, we have to stand be­fore God. And it might be well for me, right here, to say one or two things about Christ’s being the Judge. You see, our sins as Christians have already been judged at the cross. We are being judged today on the character of our daily walk, and the result is chastisement or blessing. When we have been received up into Glory, we are going to be judged with respect to rewards at the Judg­ment Seat of Christ.

The unsaved are going to be judged at the Great White Throne judgment. These are the unsaved that you have in Revelation 20:1-15. Fallen angels and the nations will face judgment at the coming of the Saviour to reign on the earth. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is a guarantee of salvation to everyone who will put his trust in Him. Yet the resurrection of Christ from the dead is a guarantee of judgment to everyone who rejects Him. “Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men,” Paul urges in 2 Co­rinthians 5:11.

He discusses rewards in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. The wood, hay and stubble shall be burned up, and the believer shall suffer loss; yet “he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.” The things we think are so wonderful may be nothing but wood, hay and stubble.

Do you minister, do you work, do you sacrifice because of your love for the Saviour, your love for God’s people? Or do you do it for a reputation or to keep a reputation or to earn the money? May the Lord deliver us from that.

What stands the test of the fire—the gold, the silver, the precious stones—brings glory to God.

Now it may be you are having some trouble with another Christian. Examine your own heart in the light of God’s Word. If your heart is clear before God and the other man accuses you of certain things, don’t retaliate. You and I can well afford to wait until the Judgment Seat of Christ. He will be the Judge, and He will judge righteously.

Do you know of anybody else who can judge righteously? No. He is the only One. We do not know all the circumstances. We do not know all that is involved in the other person’s life. So let’s be very slow to judge, to criticize, to damn another Christian. “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God” (Romans 14:10). Then everything will be out in the open—not only our works and our actions, but our very attitudes.

So wouldn’t it be a good thing for you and me just to walk with God and let Him judge the brother instead of you and me?

Let’s not judge other Christians. Let’s encourage them, edify them and build them up in the Lord Jesus.

Verses 13-23

The Apostle now begins to talk about the fact that we are to seek the edification of all Christians, and here he takes up the use of liberty. He takes up our walk before God and our love for each other.

In Romans 14:13-16, we are to avoid being stum­bling blocks to other Christians.

Romans 14:13. Therefore let us not judge one another any more, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.

Romans 14:14. I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that noth­ing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

Romans 14:15. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.

Romans 14:16. Therefore, do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil.

Now notice, we either nurture young Chris­tians in their growth or we judge them and cause them to stumble. You can do something and say, “I’m free to do it. I’m not bound. I can do it. I have a free conscience in it.” Yes, but your brother may have a conscience in that matter, too.

There are certain things that I gave up after I be­came a Christian. I gave some of these habits up, not because I felt they were wrong nor because someone told me they were wrong. I gave them up because I found they were hindering young Chris­tians from going on with the Lord. And they were hindering sinners from coming to the Saviour.

We must each ask ourselves, “Am I willing to give up things for the glory of Christ and for the edification of His people?” The Lord Jesus loved these weak Christians, these failing brothers, these legalistic friends if you want to call them that. The Lord loved them enough to die for them. Can’t you and I give up some things that we like to do that are a stumbling block to our brothers? Can’t we love them enough to give that up for their sake? Again I say, friend, you can have love for God; but I can’t see that except as it is displayed in your love for your brother.

Now notice this, if the Lord has received the brother and if He is able to make him to stand, what are you going to do? To his own master he stands or falls. How would you like to have some­one judge a servant of yours? You wouldn’t like it. God never put you on the jury. He never made you a judge. Don’t forget Romans 14:1, “Accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.”

Receive him as a member of the body of Christ. Please don’t judge anyone in the light of your con­science. The more light you have, the greater is your responsibility before God. And the greater is your responsibility before believers, weak believ­ers.

And shall I say, when one has a critical, censori­ous spirit, it certainly does not attract the unsaved to Christ. There is a tragedy just right here. Often­times, Christians will run down another Christian in the presence of unbelievers, failing to realize that, by so doing, they are putting a stumbling block, a barrier, between the unbelievers and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Please, please do not criticize another Christian, whatever he has done, in the presence of the unsaved. This is a family matter. Don’t give him ammunition to reject the Lord Jesus Christ because you told him about the failures and weak­nesses and frailties of other Christians. I’m dealing with a very, very serious thing here.

It also breaks my heart to see the coldness and the critical attitude of some Christians toward some of God’s servants. Now it may be that we do not agree with these men in their ministry of the Word of God, but they love the Saviour and are seeking to win men to Christ. We should still love them, not condemn them. And, if we believe they are not going according to the Word of God, then we should get on our knees and pray for them.

If you claim to be strong in the faith, then, my friend, be charitable, compassionate, tender, and understanding toward weak believers. And en­courage them to get into the Word of God.

When people come to argue with me about Mr. So-and-so and Mrs. So-and-so, I say, “Well, par­don me, but I am not talking about them. I am talking about the Saviour. Do you find any flaw in the Saviour? Do you have any fault to find with Christ?”

If there is no Christian walking in an orderly manner or if there are hypocrites in the church, that doesn’t excuse any unsaved person from ac­cepting the Saviour. It is with Christ that we have to do. But we must manifest love one toward the other, especially to weak believers. And there are a great many weak believers.

Paul has been talking about our reaction one to the other. Now he goes on to make known the fact that the kingdom of God is not made up of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:17. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:18. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

Romans 14:19. then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.

The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Notice where it is. It’s in the Holy Spirit. Hence, it is dealing with our walk. When a person enjoys peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, there comes that holy joy.

That’s why I love to see new-born Christians in their fervency of love for the Saviour. They are full of joy. It just runs out all over them. And, even though they may say things that you don’t agree with, you can’t get away from their exuberance of joy. The Lord has brought them peace. They are enjoying forgiveness, deliverance, life in Christ— and they are reveling in it. They know nothing about doctrine. They don’t even know how to walk. But, brother, they’ve got life in Christ.

For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking. It is not these things materialistic. But it is righteousness and peace and joy. Where? In the Holy Spirit.

You know? This is wonderful when you think of it!

Then he goes on to say in Romans 14:18, “For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God, and approved by men.” When we are living in the Spirit of God so that righteousness and peace and joy are evident, this life is pleasing to God and free from the judgment of men.

Does your walk, does my walk please God? Does the way we live really please God?

It’s not a ques­tion of what men think or what men do. Do MY ac­tions, do MY words, do MY attitudes, do MY mo­tives glorify God?

Paul said, “I am very ambitious of one thing.” What is that?

“To be pleasing to Him.”

When your life pleases God, then you also have the approval of men. Even the world respects the reality of life in Christians. People may not agree with your doctrine. They may not agree with your being in Christ. They may be indifferent in their relationship to the Saviour. But when they see the reality of life in a believer, my friend, they cannot deny it.

You know, this is an amazing thing. You can talk to people about the Saviour. You can talk doc­trine to them. You can even give them the gospel. And they may rise up in opposition or they may be coldly indifferent to it. But the moment they see something of reality of life in Christ, they take no­tice of it.

How often people say to me, “My people were not Christians. I wish I had what Christians have. In all of the problems of life through which they go, their sorrows, their afflictions, their disappoint­ments, they have a spirit. They have a peace. We don’t understand it. I wish we had it.”

Well, there is only one place to find it and that’s in Christ. So that when you and I walk in fellow­ship with God to please Him, then our life is ac­ceptable to God and we are approved of men.

Now I am very well aware of the fact that there will be division among God’s people when it comes to the question of the Person and Work of Christ. I’ll go with you on that. I’m a stickler for doctrine. But at the same time I must demonstrate my love for Christ and my appreciation and my at­titudes and understanding and compassion for God’s people even though they may not agree with me.

I get letters every once in a while from people who don’t agree with what I’ve been saying on the radio. Well, I can understand that. No man knows all the truth. We have all the truth in the Word of God. And, after studying it for 65 years, I have barely scratched the surface of what’s in the Holy Book.

You don’t know all the truth either, my friend. So, this being the case, would it not be well for us to see each other in Christ and, because of our love for the Saviour, to not destroy the work of God? Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace and things whereby we may edify and build one another up.

Romans 14:20.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.

Romans 14:21. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.

Romans 14:22. The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.

Romans 14:23. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

We have in this grand passage the walk of faith. Liberty misused is a sin against Christ. Christ must be the center of your walk.

“All things indeed are clean.” Now I’m not going to take up such questions as “Is it good to eat meat?” or “Is it good to drink wine?” Paul is still dealing with the issue he mentioned at the begin­ning of the chapter—don’t let eating and drinking cause your brother to stumble.

Paul said in Corinthians, “If I eat meat, and by eating meat I offend my weaker brother, I shall not eat meat while the world stands.” In other words, let us not do anything that will cause our brother to stumble. So live, so act, so move that your life will be for the glory of God and for the blessing and edification and building up of your brother in Christ, especially these who are weak brothers.

Now he goes on to the end of the chapter and says, “The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God.” What does he mean by this?

Don’t air your freedom before others. Don’t go ahead and say, “Well, I’m free. I can eat. I can drink. I have perfect liberty to do that. And if the other fellow is afraid to do it, then he is a legalist. He’s got no sense. He’s a babe.”

That’s not the attitude of one who loves the Sav­iour. I’m not going to eat or drink anything that will cause my brother to stumble. That’s what Paul says. And if you’ve got faith to eat or to drink, keep it to yourself.

If you’ve got faith to do certain things, don’t make a show of your faith. Don’t glory in front of weaker Christians about what you can do or what you can’t do. You are sinning against Christ when you do it, brother.

“Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.”

But on the other hand, if a fellow believes that to do certain things is sin, to him it is sin. That’s what he is saying in Romans 14:23: “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith.” So you have one who can eat and drink in faith, and it’s not sin. The other man eats and drinks in doubt, and then he sins. Whatever is not of faith is sin.

May I close this passage, chapter 14, with this statement? The one thing that God delights in is faith. He just loves to have men and women trust Him, not only for their eternal salvation, but trust Him every day, every 24 hours.

It’s an amazing thing about us Christians. We trust God with our eternal souls and rejoice in a salvation that is eternal and perfect and complete.

But for the next 24 hours, we become full of doubts and worry. We can’t trust God for the next 24 hours. But each hour is to be received with thanksgiving. “And whatever is not from faith is sin.”

Christian friend, do not use your liberty to cause a brother to stumble. In so doing, you sin against Christ. And if you have faith to do certain things, have it to yourself. Don’t make a show of your faith—what you can do and what you can’t do— before others. On the other hand, brother, sister, remember that that which is of faith pleases God.