DEALING WITH THE WEAK
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Thirty-Six)
Recommended reading - Romans 14:1-23.
Jesus, when He was crucified, abolished all enmity,
partition walls, and distinctions between a Holy God and sinful man. When
there are distinctions between Christians, that leads to a failure in the
ability to reveal to the world the power of Christ. The gospel of Christ
abolishes all distinctions. The problem with relationships between
believers has always been a major problem in the history of the Church.
There were divisions at the Church in Rome that caused several problems.
The problem revolved around the fact that many of the believers insisted
on pushing their own ideas onto other believers. The Bible is explicit in
many areas as to what is right and what is wrong. The absolute clear
issues in the Bible are to be agreed upon by all believers. Paul is
discussing in Romans 14:1, the issues that are about doubtful
things. He is referring to the Gray areas. The fundamental issues must be
agreed upon by Christian believers; in the doubtful areas the believer
must have charity and forbear one another in love. It is impossible for
sinful human beings to see eye to eye on everything. Paul is not trying to
prove or establish doctrine in Romans 14; he is establishing how to
have proper Christian relationships.
Romans 14, can be divided into 2 sections. In the
first twelve verses Paul is counseling members at Rome to properly receive
one another. In the balance of the chapter, Paul counsels believers to
edify one another.
I. Two camps within the Church.
· Paul is
dividing the Church members into two camps, those who are weak in faith
and those who are strong in faith.
· Paul addresses
the weak in faith and the strong in faith in a different manner than we
would.
· Paul addresses
the weak in faith as those who are very scrupulous about the details of
Christian living. The strong in faith are those who are not always on a
guilt trip and are continually condemning themselves and others.
· Paul is not
addressing clean and unclean meat as a doctrine in Romans 14:2-3.
God is very clear concerning the subject of clean and unclean meat. The
issue in the Roman Church was food raised from the ground and food that
had to be killed.
· There were two
groups of Christians in the Roman Church, those converted from Judaism,
and those who were Gentiles. The issue here was that we should not sit
around judging each other in every area.
· God has
received both individuals, the weak and the strong, so should we as a
Christian. We are the servants of Jesus Christ, as Verse 4
states. Who are we to judge another man's servant?
· In Verses
5-6, the issue the Roman brethren were debating was which days they
should fast. The issue being discussed was not issues of the Sabbath and
Holy Days. If that was the issue, the Jewish converts would have made a
very clear dispute concerning the days.
· We must
remember that Paul is addressing relationships not doctrine; it is
inappropriate to draw doctrinal references from these scriptures.
II. Our judgment does not matter.
· The head of the
Church is Jesus Christ and every Christian must live according to the
way Jesus Christ our Lord is directing us to live.
· In Verses
4-9 we read that Jesus Christ is the only Lord in the Church and is
over all believers. We are to live under His guidance and His direction
because, Christ is the Lord over all who accept Him.
· Paul clearly
explains in Verse 10, that our judgment does not amount to
anything. Christ is the ultimate and the fair judge of all.
· The Christians
in the Church of God need this admonition as much now as any time in the
history of the Church. Every person will stand before God and answer to
Him in the judgment, as we see written in Verses 10-13.
· We do not need
to judge each other, because God will do that. What we need to concern
ourselves with is our own account because, we will give that account
someday before God.
· We must go
before God with a loving and open heart willing to have Him guide our
path.
III. We must edify one another.
· Paul begins to
discuss how true Christians are to edify one another.
· In Romans
14:14, we must keep in mind the context of this scripture. There
were many Christians debating whether or not food offered to idols was
clean or unclean. The issue here is not clean and unclean meat, it dealt
with food offered to idols.
· In Verse 15,
we read that our actions affect our fellow believers. Paul advises us
that, we should do nothing that causes our brother to stumble or to be
grieved.
IV. Christians should have priorities.
· In Verses
16-18, we are instructed that Christians must have priorities.
Christians have spent to much time majoring in the minors.
· We need to stop
debating and arguing over issues that are insignificant, when we should
be lifting up Jesus Christ.
· We should
pursue peace and edify one another. We should not destroy the work of
God over insignificant issues, as we are instructed in Verses 19-23.
Paul is stating that we are our brother's keeper; we
live for and with each other. Whatever we do, we must do because of a
faith relationship with God. If we practice any issue in regard to the way
of God, it has to be based on a faith relationship with God. We should not
do anything that would cause a fellow believer to stumble or to take the
wrong direction. Paul clarified and unified this message, when he wrote to
the Corinthians in I Corinthians 10:31-33 and 11:1. Whatever we do
should be done to the glory of God. We must treat everyone with whom we
come into contact, with love. We should not do anything to hinder the
growth of a fellow believer. We should all imitate Christ. The Church of
God, those lead by His very Spirit, should be united in love because we
all belong to Christ. |
Dealing With the Weak 