Have you ever met someone who is spiritually prideful? They feel that they are better than others, because of the religious rules and regulations they follow. Or perhaps they feel better than others because they don’t feel they have to follow those rules. We can often find one, or both of these types in any congregation, each one judging the other. This was a problem in the early church as well, and something that the Apostle Paul needed to address. As we look into our Scripture passage from the Book of Romans, let’s also look into our hearts and see if we might also have a little of this attitude in ourselves.
Paul’s life ministry was to bring the Gospel to the lost and establish churches wherever he journeyed. Another part of his ministry was to follow up with these new believers, helping to keep them spiritually on track. One issue that Paul sought to address in our passage today was the disputes that were arising between strong Christians, those who believed that the Lord had freed them from the need to follow all sorts of regulations about what they ate or what days they worshipped on, and weaker believers who felt they still needed to follow the dictates of diet and days of worship. Each group felt that they were right, and looked down on the other, feeling that they were less spiritual.
On the one hand there were some who carefully followed a kosher diet, being careful not to eat anything that wasn’t allowed in the Old Testament Law, some even going so far as to follow a vegetarian diet, eliminating all meat (vs. 2). The other group, remembering the words of Jesus, felt that there were no restrictions on diet anymore (Mark 7:14-19). The one group was very particular about days of worship, worshipping only on the Jewish Sabbath, and the other not holding to that restriction, and worshipping on Sundays. These divisions between believers had become strong, and Paul rightly felt that this was not good and needed to be addressed and ended.
God wants us to live by faith. Our personal convictions should be based on our ongoing personal relationship with the Lord, and not be bound and entrapped by legalism (vs. 5). However, we are to show love to the weaker brother, not condemnation and a spiritually superior attitude. The church should be known for how we love each other, not how we judge each other. The strong believer eats whatever he pleases, and thanks the Lord. The weak believer eats a restricted or kosher diet, and thanks the Lord. In either case, the believer thanks the Lord, so the motive is the same (vs. 6). We should accept our spiritually weaker brothers, helping them to grow as believers, and not putting them down, as long as they are not violating any belief or practice specifically commanded or prohibited in Scripture. We honor God when we help our brothers and sisters in Christ to grow in their faith.
Everything we do should be to please the Lord. Our daily actions should reflect well on the Lord. Every moment of every day we belong to Him. Paul considered it impossible to compartmentalize Jesus’ Lordship. He knew his life belonged wholly to Jesus (vs. 7-8). He is Lord of all, including us. He should be Lord of our choices, our priorities, activities, attitudes, and our words. He is not to be just a part of our life. Jesus demands full surrender. If we are truly His, then Jesus is our life.
Paul concludes our passage with a reminder that each one of us will give an account of himself to God, and the Lord will judge the decisions we make, including those concerning issues of conscience (vs. 10). We aren’t called to be the judge. That is the Lord Jesus’ position. Every person will one day stand before God in judgment. The Judgment Seat of Christ is for believers, and is not punitive (II Corinthians 5:10). It is for the sake of rewards, and every believer will be there. We will answer to Him about how we have lived, and be given rewards as to our service for Jesus (I Corinthians 3:10-15). Some will be awarded more, some less. The Great White Throne Judgment is for the unsaved (Revelation 20:11-15). Our greatest desire should be to please Him.
In closing, we need to remember that it is not for us to judge our fellow believers, not to hold superior attitudes over them for any issues of conscience. Instead we need to uphold them in love and instruction in God’s Word. Also, knowing that we will one day be standing before the Lord, we should be living our lives in service to Him.
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