Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Romans 14:13 - 14:18
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Of the abuse of Christian liberty:
v. 13. Let us not, therefore, judge one another anymore; but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
v. 14. I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him that esteems anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
v. 15. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died.
v. 16. Let not, then, your good be evil spoken of;
v. 17. for the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
v. 18. For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God and approved of men.
His entire admonition up to this point the apostle now condenses in the one short expression No more, now, let us judge one another. Not only the condemnation of the strong by the weaker is here referred to, but also the contempt which the strong are apt to feel for the weak. ALL such manifestations are decidedly out of place among Christians. Christian liberty, as directed by true love, is rather exercised in this way, that we make this our rule or maxim in our dealings with the brethren, not to put a stumbling-block for our brother or an offense. We should neither put something in the weaker brother's way over which he will fall, nor should we place an offense before him which would incite him to sin. In what way this may be done the next sentence explains: I know and have the full conviction in the Lord Jesus that nothing is common in itself, but only to him that thinks something is common, to him it is common. Paul has the divine assurance based upon his intimate union with Christ, whose servant he is, that nothing in itself, no food, not even the meat of animals bought in the meat-stalls, in itself is of a nature to render a person unclean. No matter what food it is that the Christian might choose for himself, the eating of it will not in itself stain his conscience or be a sin. Only one limitation is made, namely, that resulting from the state of mind of him that eats: except as the opinion of the eater takes it to be profane and harmful. If a person thinks that some food will make him unclean, he sins in partaking of this food. It is not that the food has the inherent power to work uncleanness, but that the person believing that there is a distinction between clean and unclean foods commits a sin in offering violence to his conscience. And this sin is occasioned by the brother who abandons all consideration and tact, and deliberately, in the presence of the weaker brother, partakes of the food in question, and thus by his example entices the other to follow him. The weaker brother in that case has not yet reached a state of knowledge according to which his erring conscience has been corrected, and the result is a sin. And thus the reaction strikes also the stronger brother: For if through thy food thy brother is grieved, thou walkest no more according to love. The indulgence in itself may be harmless and innocent enough, but if in this way it becomes injurious to the Christian brethren, then the indulgence becomes a violation of the law of love, an uncharitable act, a sin. By eating of the food in question in the presence of the weaker brother, and thus challenging him to partake of the same food, the stronger Christian, upon whom the obligation of love rests, becomes guilty of uncharitable behavior. The admonition, therefore, is very emphatic: Do not destroy through thy food him for whom Christ died. It cost Christ His very life to save your brother from everlasting damnation, and it is a terrible thing to endanger the salvation of any person by an uncharitable harping upon Christian liberty. Surely it is not asking too much to renounce the eating of a certain food for the sake of a brother, to avoid giving him any offense, if Christ gave His life as a ransom to keep him from eternal perdition! "If Christ so loved him as to die for him, how base it would be in us not to submit to a little self-denial for his welfare!"
At the same time, the Christians should lead such a life and at all times, in all circumstances, comport themselves so that they do not give offense to those that are without: Let, then, your good thing not be blasphemed. This is addressed to all Christians and should be kept in mind by them always. The great possession of the Christians, the highest and most glorious good, is salvation in Christ, through which redemption has been transmitted to them. The believers should never give the unbelievers occasion to speak abusively of, to blaspheme this wonderful gift, as they would if they haggle about foods. Such behavior on the part of the members of the Church naturally causes the unbelievers to assume that mere external matters are the essence of Christianity, that salvation depends upon the fact of a person's using or abstaining from certain foods. This the apostle substantiates: For not is the kingdom of God eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost; for he that serves Christ herein is well-pleasing to God and acceptable to men. The matters about which the Christians should be concerned are those which pertain to the kingdom of God, to that great invisible Kingdom established by Christ, the communion of saints. The act of eating and drinking does not influence a person's standing either way in this Kingdom. The matters that do count very emphatically are justification, the certainty that we possess the righteousness of God by faith, peace with God through the merits of Jesus Christ, and the joy of faith which is characteristic of all true Christians, which is wrought in their hearts by the Holy Ghost. These are the essential blessings of the kingdom of God, upon which everything depends. If any person, in the certainty of the possession of these gifts and blessings, lives in accordance with this realization, then God takes pleasure in him, and he will be acceptable to men. Every one that has been justified before God through Christ, that has peace with God through Christ, that truly rejoices in the redemption given by faith in Christ, will make it the object of his life to serve the Lord Jesus with all the powers of body and mind. Thus the remembrance of the relation in which a person stands to God, together with the Christian conduct which results there from and its effect upon the unbelievers, will cause all Christians to heed the admonition of the apostle not to let their good be evil spoken of.