WORD From The Woods
Romans 14
“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. 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. 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. 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. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. 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. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 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. 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.”
This is a pretty long passage for a devotional, but I really think we need to take all of Chapter 14 together in order to really understand what’s being communicated. There isn’t a lot I can add to it, it’s pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll share a few thoughts. We usually only hear one side of this passage, the part about causing a brother to stumble.
(There’s a sermon by R.C. Sproul called “The tyranny of the weaker brother,” that’s well worth listening to on this subject. Here’s a link to it. https://youtu.be/_hX-ifma5-k)
Paul begins this passage by talking about casting judgment on another Christian for exercising his freedom in Christ in what he eats or drinks. We don’t usually talk about eating too much. Americans could honestly use some harsh judgment on their eating habits. We have become a nation of lazy gluttons. Some fasting and prayer would do us all some good, both spiritually and physically! In the culture we live in, especially as loggers, we do deal with the issue of drinking alcohol a lot. I think the reason Paul, begins with a warning against casting judgment on eating and drinking is that judgment is a big spiritual problem for many Christians, especially for those that God had delivered from drunkenness and gluttony. When someone has had a problem with alcohol or any other sin, it’s easy to judge another who can exercise freedom in a particular area without falling into sin with it. Drinking is probably the most common example of this. While it is wrong to get drunk, and drunkenness leads to all sorts of other sins, it’s just as wrong and sinful to stand in judgment of another Christian who can enjoy a couple cold beers without being a drunk. But, the second part of this passage addresses the reality that we need to be careful with the freedom we have. Just because we can have a few beers, doesn’t mean we should throw it in the face of another believer that might have a big problem with drunkenness. Just like anything in the Christian life, we have to be good stewards of the freedoms we have and be wise about how and if we exercise them. Remember, the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. So, the question we need to ask is, “can we glorify God in what we eat and drink?” I really enjoy craft beer, and collect whiskey from all around the world. I don’t do it to get drunk, I enjoy the art, the process, and the stories behind the different kinds of beer and whiskey. These are good things to enjoy responsibly and can add joy to life and be shared with others. Our enjoyment of this life and fellowship with others can and does glorify God because He made the world and everything in it! But, it comes with a big responsibility to represent Christ well. The last verse brings up an important point as well, if you have a doubt about whether or not doing a certain thing would be a sin and you do it anyway, it was a sin because you did it in doubt and not by faith. We are called as Christians, to do everything to the glory of Christ. In the grace of Christ, there is great liberty, but also great responsibility as stewards of that liberty! We have the word of God and the Holy Spirit living within, so we have all that we need to discern these things!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
Romans 14
“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. 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. 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. 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. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. 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. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 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. 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.”
This is a pretty long passage for a devotional, but I really think we need to take all of Chapter 14 together in order to really understand what’s being communicated. There isn’t a lot I can add to it, it’s pretty self-explanatory, but I’ll share a few thoughts. We usually only hear one side of this passage, the part about causing a brother to stumble.
(There’s a sermon by R.C. Sproul called “The tyranny of the weaker brother,” that’s well worth listening to on this subject. Here’s a link to it. https://youtu.be/_hX-ifma5-k)
Paul begins this passage by talking about casting judgment on another Christian for exercising his freedom in Christ in what he eats or drinks. We don’t usually talk about eating too much. Americans could honestly use some harsh judgment on their eating habits. We have become a nation of lazy gluttons. Some fasting and prayer would do us all some good, both spiritually and physically! In the culture we live in, especially as loggers, we do deal with the issue of drinking alcohol a lot. I think the reason Paul, begins with a warning against casting judgment on eating and drinking is that judgment is a big spiritual problem for many Christians, especially for those that God had delivered from drunkenness and gluttony. When someone has had a problem with alcohol or any other sin, it’s easy to judge another who can exercise freedom in a particular area without falling into sin with it. Drinking is probably the most common example of this. While it is wrong to get drunk, and drunkenness leads to all sorts of other sins, it’s just as wrong and sinful to stand in judgment of another Christian who can enjoy a couple cold beers without being a drunk. But, the second part of this passage addresses the reality that we need to be careful with the freedom we have. Just because we can have a few beers, doesn’t mean we should throw it in the face of another believer that might have a big problem with drunkenness. Just like anything in the Christian life, we have to be good stewards of the freedoms we have and be wise about how and if we exercise them. Remember, the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. So, the question we need to ask is, “can we glorify God in what we eat and drink?” I really enjoy craft beer, and collect whiskey from all around the world. I don’t do it to get drunk, I enjoy the art, the process, and the stories behind the different kinds of beer and whiskey. These are good things to enjoy responsibly and can add joy to life and be shared with others. Our enjoyment of this life and fellowship with others can and does glorify God because He made the world and everything in it! But, it comes with a big responsibility to represent Christ well. The last verse brings up an important point as well, if you have a doubt about whether or not doing a certain thing would be a sin and you do it anyway, it was a sin because you did it in doubt and not by faith. We are called as Christians, to do everything to the glory of Christ. In the grace of Christ, there is great liberty, but also great responsibility as stewards of that liberty! We have the word of God and the Holy Spirit living within, so we have all that we need to discern these things!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-