Romans Chapter 14 Part Two

Romans 14:15-18

How should a Christian whose convictions allow him to eat everything respond to one with scruples against certain foods? In Christian love he ought to forgo his liberty in Christ to avoid being a spiritual hindrance to his spiritual brother. If he persists in exercising his liberty so that his brother is distressed (lypeitai, “grieved, hurt”), Paul concluded, then the Christian exercising his liberty is no longer acting (lit., “walking”) in love. Such persistence could cause the spiritual destruction of a brother for whom Christ died. I Corinthians 8:11-12 "And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?" "But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ." 

Paul tells just how important it is not to lead our weak brothers and sisters astray.

I Corinthians 8:13: "Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend."

This is some very good advice from Paul. We must not let our liberty in the Lord cause us to encourage someone else to go against their conscience.

Love will ensure that the strong Christian is sensitive and understanding of his brother’s weaknesses.

Destroy renders the word apollye, which often means eternal ruin. Here it may mean temporal ruin; a Christian forced to act contrary to his scruples, even though more strict than necessary, may find himself ruined by his wounded conscience (cf. 1Co_8:10-12). Persisting in one’s freedom could also result in his Christian liberty (what you consider good) being blasphemed (spoken of as evil, blasphēmeisthō). The stronger brother might destroy his testimony. The stronger brother says his liberty comes from God, but the weaker brother says it comes from Satan. True spirituality is not shown in the manifestation of liberty, but in the manifestation of the Spirit. True liberty may be shown by refraining from the exercise of one’s liberty. The stronger brother might disrupt the peace of the body, so he should fore go his liberty in the interest of peace in the assembly.

Such things should not happen. After all, food is not that important an issue (1Co_8:8); it is not the sum and substance of the kingdom of God. But… righteousness (upright living), peace (cf. Rom_12:16, Rom_12:18; Rom_14:19) and joy in (the sphere of) the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom_15:13) are essentials of Christian fellowship and harmony. I Corinthians 8:8 "But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse."

Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith," 

What all three of these Scriptures are saying is that the abundance of the things God has entrusted to us do not make us right with Him.  The blessings that really count are the gifts of the Spirit that He entrusts us with.

“Joy in the Holy Ghost”: Another part of the Spirit’s fruit, this describes an abiding attitude of praise and thanksgiving regardless of circumstances, which flows from one’s confidence in God’s sovereignty.

A concerned believer insists on right conduct, harmony, and joy rather than forcing his own lifestyle on others. As a result the Christian who serves (pres. participle, douleuōn, “who keeps on serving as a slave”) Christ in this way — in Christian love, pursuing righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit — is pleasing (cf. Rom_12:1; Rom_15:1; Heb_13:21) to God and approved by men (in contrast with being evil spoken of, Rom_14:16). James 2:18 "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works." James 2:19 "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." James 2:20 "But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?"

God expects us to use the gifts of the Spirit that He gives us. The power of the Holy Spirit is given for a reason. The reason is to make us more effective workers for God. It explains it perfectly in Acts 1:8

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."

“Approved of men”: Christians are under the microscope of a skeptical world that is assessing how they live with and treat each other.

Romans 14:19-21

Continuing his emphasis on not hindering another Christian’s spiritual life, Paul urged his readers, Let us therefore make every effort (lit., “Let us keep on pursuing”) to do what leads to peace (lit., “the things of peace”; cf. Rom_14:17) and to mutual edification (lit., “and the things of building up one another”; cf. Rom_15:2; 1Th_5:11). Edify means confirming or building. In other words, instead of tearing someone down, build them up.

To Paul food and one’s personal convictions about it were not so important as the spiritual health of a fellow Christian and the work of God. Therefore it is wrong to insist on one’s personal freedom in Christ concerning food (all food is clean; cf. Rom_14:14, “no food is unclean”) and drink if it causes someone else to stumble (proskommatos, “a stumbling block”; cf. Rom_14:13, Rom_14:21). We touched on this earlier, but will just say again, here, that if the man thinks it is sin to eat whatever this is, then it is sin for him. He would be sinning against his conscience.

“that man who eateth with offence”, is speaking of the man who eats and gives offense. He is the one who uses his god given liberties carelessly and selfishly, offending his weaker brother.

Meat or drink or anything else should be put aside if it causes a brother to fall (proskoptei, “stumble”; cf. proskomma, in Rom_14:13, Rom_14:20). At times one’s Christian liberty must be relinquished for the sake of others. We see here, again, that whatever it takes to set a good example before our weaker brothers and sisters in Christ is what we should do. If they think it is sin to eat something, then in their presence we should not eat it either; just because they would feel we were sinning and if they end up eating, we are causing them to sin.

As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Everything is permissible — but not everything is constructive” (1Co_10:23). And “be careful… that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak” (1Co_8:9).

Romans 14:22-23

Concerning personal convictions in areas where different views exist, Paul concluded, So whatever you believe about these things (lit., “The faith that you have,” or “Do you have faith?”) keep between yourself and God. A Christian must not insist on influencing a believer with tighter scruples to change his ways. Paul urges the strong believer to understand his liberty, enjoy it, and keep it between God and himself. The strong believer maintains a healthy conscience because he does not give a weak believer a cause to stumble.

It should be something “in his own mind” (Rom_14:5), for he lives “to the Lord” (Rom_14:8). Paul considered a Christian like himself who had a clear conscience on such matters blessed (lit., “happy”). On the other hand, a Christian who has doubts is condemned (perf. pass. verb, “stands condemned”) if he eats. If a Christian eats food or does anything when he has doubts in his own mind as to whether it is right or wrong before God (one who is “weak” in faith, Rom_14:1-2), his action does not spring from (ek, “out of”) his faith or trust in God and is therefore wrong. As Paul generalized, Everything that does not come from (ek, “out of”) faith is sin. This has to do with more than just food. Everything we do must be done through faith.

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Abraham's faith was counted unto him as righteousness. This is true for us, as well.

Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

The strongest Christian can bring harm to himself in the area of Christian liberty by denouncing or belittling the freedom God has given him, or by carelessly flaunting his liberty without regard for how that might affect others.

When the weak brother violates his conscience, he sins as “whatsoever is not of faith”, meaning the thoughts and actions that his conscience condemns. (which may be perfectly acceptable by God in others)

The principle is, “When in doubt, don’t.” The “strong” Christian (Rom_15:1) is wrong if he causes a weak brother to sin (by doing something while doubting, Rom_14:20), and a weak brother (Rom_14:1-2) who goes against what he doubts also sins (Rom_14:23).

2 Corinthians Chapter One Part Two

2 Corinthians 1:17

But Paul changed his mind about this itinerary (cf. 2Co_2:1), and his opponents said his vacillating was a sign of a fundamental unreliability, affecting not only where he went but what he said. Paul fervently denied this. He did not make plans in a worldly (i.e., self-serving; cf. “worldly” in 2Co_1:12) manner altering them for reasons of self-interest. Nor did he talk out of both sides of his mouth to further his own ends. He would explain the reason for his change in plans (1:23-2:2), but for the moment he was more concerned with the accusation that his message was equivocal or unreliable. It seems that, in the flesh, Paul had wanted to come to Corinth, but Paul had not followed the wishes of the flesh. He had been led by the Holy Spirit to go to other places. Paul was not his own man. He went where God sent him. When the Lord sent Paul somewhere, Paul just said, Yea Lord.
The Greek words that introduce this question call for an indignant, negative answer. Paul declared that he was in no way operating as a vacillating, fickle, unstable person who could not be trusted.
There is no nay when speaking to the Lord. We just say nay to the flesh. Some of the people in Corinth highly criticized Paul for not coming by to see them and answer personally some of their complaints.
He affirmed that his “yes” and “no” words to them really meant what they said.

2 Corinthians 1:18-20

The source of stability for Paul in his ministry was God Himself, who is faithful, and the message Paul preached was no less certain than God. Since Paul did not vacillate in his message (Yes and No, 2Co_1:18), he did not vacillate in his plans either (Yes, yes and No, no, 2Co_1:17). Paul is saying, that he preached the same thing to them all the time. He was not preaching to itching ears, but to the best of his ability bringing them the true message of God. Paul was not wishy washy with his message. He gave the same message every time to them.
Paul said what he meant and did what he said, unless there was a compelling reason to change his plans.
The only time he appeared to be giving another message, was because he was trying to get them to listen to the gospel message. He did honor their customs as much as he could to get himself in to preach to them.
At the heart of that message was the person of Jesus Christ who completely affirms all God’s promises to people. The only proper response to God’s message is Amen (lit., “let it be so”). It was this response of obedience to God that brought Paul and Silas and Timothy to Corinth in the first place and caused them to exalt Christ among the Corinthians in the synagogue (Act_18:5). The message of salvation is the same every time. It does not matter if Paul brings it, or Silvanus, or Timothy. The only thing that varies at all is the observance of their customs.
The firmness of Paul’s statement and his use of Jesus’ full title, indicates that the person and work of Christ were under attack from the false teachers at Corinth. The proof of his truthfulness with them was the truthful gospel which he faithfully preached.
In Christ the promises to Abraham and David are fulfilled (Rom_1:3; Rom_11:5; Gal_3:16) and the Law was brought to an end (Rom_10:4), a truth apparently contested by Paul’s opponents (cf. 2Co_3:1-18). God is unchangeable. Whatever God has promised in His Word will definitely be.
All God’s Old Testament and New Testament promises of peace, joy, love, goodness, forgiveness, salvation, sanctification, fellowship, hope, glorification and heaven are made possible and fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
“Amen" means so be it. There are no promises of God that will be changed. Paul reminded them that they had said a collective “yes” to the truth of his preaching and teaching.
Nevertheless this message proclaimed by Paul and his associates resulted in the Corinthians’ salvation and in turn brought glory to God.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

Those who speak the “Amen” in response to the gospel message experience firmness and security in Christ. At the moment of belief God anoints each believer with the Holy Spirit so that like Christ (Christos means “the Anointed One”), he may glorify God by his life (cf. Mat_5:16). Paul is reminding them, again, that it was God who called him. It was God who anointed Paul to preach. Notice that they, like Paul, had been established in the Lord Jesus. Christians are in Christ, and He in us.
Romans 3:24 "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:"
Jesus is our Redemption. He is our life. Christ’s saving work of grace stabilizes believers and places them on a firm foundation in Him.
Romans 8:2 "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Paul says that his ministry is not in his own power, but in the anointing of God.

John wrote that believers receive this anointing from God (1Jn_2:20, 1Jn_2:27). It is a pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the believer, reminiscent of the anointing of priests with oil.

A further consequence of the Spirit’s presence is the seal of ownership (cf. Eph_1:13-14) which also is accomplished at the moment of faith. A seal on a document in New Testament times identified it and indicated its owner, who would “protect” it. So too, in salvation, the Holy Spirit, like a seal, confirms that Christians are identified with Christ and are God’s property, protected by Him (cf. 1Co_6:19-20). It was probably this thought that caused Paul to describe himself as a slave of Christ (Rom_1:1; Php_1:1).

A third work of the Spirit at salvation is His confirmation that what God has begun He will complete. Present redemption is only a foretaste of what eternity holds (cf. Rom_8:23), and the presence of His Spirit in our hearts (cf. Rom_5:5; 2Co_5:5) is like a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Romans 8:23 "And not only [they], but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, [to wit], the redemption of our body."
11 Corinthians 5:5: "Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing [is] God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit."
We Christians are actually citizens of heaven. We are waiting for that day, when we will go there to live. In the meantime, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit of God as an earnest on that promise to us. The Holy Spirit of God is the seal of promise to the believer in Christ. It just assures us of our adoption into the family of God.
1 John 4:13: "Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit."
1 John 2:27: But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.
For Paul’s critics to attack his authenticity was equal to tearing down God’s work as well as the church’s unity.

These last seven words are a translation of one Greek word arrabōna, a down payment which obligates the payer to make further payments. The same Greek word is used again in 2Co_5:5 and Eph_1:14 (cf. “the firstfruits of the Spirit,” Rom_8:23).

2 Corinthians 1:23-24

Paul had earlier begun to explain his change of plans (2Co_1:15). There he had mentioned his “message” (2Co_1:18) in connection with his own integrity, which led to his digression in 2Co_1:19-22. He now returned to explain his altered plans.

He understood that his changed plans had caused a problem in Corinth. This is evident from the strength of his declaration, I call God as my witness (cf. Rom_1:9; Php_1:8; 1Th_2:5, 1Th_2:10). With a solemn oath (with God as the Judge) Paul staked his life on the truthfulness of his explanation which followed. It was out of consideration for the Corinthians, a desire to avoid disciplinary action (to spare you) that Paul had deferred his visit. Paul did not want to come to Corinth while they were doing so many things in the church that was displeasing to God. Paul, perhaps, would have reprimanded them so harshly, had he been there in person, that it might have made it difficult for him to minister there and have the best results.

Paul did not come earlier because he wanted them to have time to repent of and correct their sinful behavior. He waited instead for a report from Titus before taking further action, hoping he would not have to come again, as he had earlier, to face their rebellion.
Paul, in this entire letter, is trying to clear his own name of false accusations placed against him. Had Paul come and been terribly upset by what he saw, he might have caused some to leave the church. He did not want that to happen.

Even though he had great authority as an apostle (2Co_10:2-8; cf. 1Co_5:4-5; 1Ti_1:20) Paul was reluctant to wield it. He did not lord it over their faith, that is, domineeringly take advantage of the fact that they came to faith in Christ through him. Dictatorial means can produce compliance but not the obedience that comes from faith which he sought. 

Authoritarian domination is often the manner of false apostles and the kingdom they serve (cf. 2Co_11:13-15), but it was not the way of Christ (Luk_22:25-27) nor of those who stand in His stead (1Pe_5:3). Paul assured the Corinthians, We work with you (lit., “we are fellow workers”; cf. 1Co_3:9); he did not work against them or over them. Paul is explaining, in this, that it is not like it was in the Jewish temple where the high priest had so much power. Christianity is an individual thing. When a person receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior, it is very personal. The relationship is between the Lord and that person.

It is not for Paul, or any other minister, to decide whether you are in good standing with God, or not. That is between you and God. He can, however, instruct you on good sound principles of Christianity. You are saved, or lost, by the amount of faith you, as an individual, have. Paul will rejoice with you at your salvation, but it is your salvation and no one else's. There is only one Judge as to whether we are saved or not.

Romans Chapter 14 Part One

Romans 14:1-4

In dealing with other Christians

Paul had discussed various aspects of a Christian’s responsibilities in interpersonal relationships (Rom_12:9-21; Rom_13:8-10), but relationships with other believers loom large and involve special problems that require discussion. Harmonious relationships within the family of God are important.

Without Judging

Christians are at different levels of spiritual maturity. They also have diverse backgrounds that color their attitudes and practices. The first lesson to learn in living harmoniously with other Christians, therefore, is to stop judging others.

The focus in these verses is on him whose faith is weak (lit., “the one being weak in faith”), which appears in the emphatic first position in the sentence. Paul commanded believers to accept (pres. middle imper., “keep on taking to yourselves”; cf. Rom_15:7) such a person, without passing judgment on disputable matters (lit., “but not unto quarrels about opinions”). We can easily see from this, that just because someone is not a trained Bible scholar is no reason not to fellowship with them. We are warned not to get into arguments with them that might lead to their not believing. The new convert to Christianity should be fed milk and honey for a while, until they are able to understand the deeper things in the Word. I Corinthians 3:1 "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ."

I Corinthians 3:2 "I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able."

The mature believer should not sit in judgment on the sincere but underdeveloped thoughts that govern the weak believer’s conduct.

The weaker brother may feel he must abstain from certain practices that are in fact not sinful in themselves.

A believer with certain scruples is not to be welcomed into the fellowship with the intent of changing his views or opinions by quarreling with him about them.

One area of differing scruples pertains to food, in particular the eating of meat. One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables (lit., “but the one being weak eats vegetables”). The strong believer whose mature faith allows him to exercise his freedom in Christ by eating the inexpensive meat sold at the pagan meat markets. It was inexpensive because a worshiper had first offered it as a sacrifice to a pagan deity.

We know that anything we pray over is clean and may be eaten without fear of condemnation from God. The secret is the prayer, the prayer made it clean for us.

I Timothy 4:4-5 "For every creature of God [is] good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:" "For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer." 

The person who is eating herbs is doing it from lack of knowledge. We, who know that it is alright to eat meat, should not make fun of a fellow Christian if he feels it is wrong.

I Timothy 4:1-3 "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;" "Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; " "Forbidding to marry, [and commanding] to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth."

The reason some Christians then were vegetarians is not stated. Since the issue is related to their Christian faith, it could be to insure against eating meat offered to idols (cf. 1Co_8:1-13; 1Co_10:23-30). The reason for a believer’s scruple is not the point, however; its existence alongside a differing opinion was Paul’s concern.

In such a situation neither believer should judge the other. Look down on (exoutheneitō; also used in Rom_14:10) should be translated “despise” or “reject with contempt” (cf. “treat… with contempt,” Gal_4:14; 1Th_5:20). The reason a “strong” Christian (cf. Rom_15:1) should not despise a “weak” one, and the reason that a weak Christian should not condemn (krinetō) the strong one is that God has accepted (same verb as in Rom_14:1) both of them. This tells me that to the fullness of the knowledge that we possess at the time, we should do our best to be pleasing to God.

I Corinthians 10:29 "Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another [man's] conscience?" Here, we see the answer to it all. Whatever we do, we must do it with a clear conscience.  Again I say, God will not hold you responsible for the things you do not know, if you have made an effort to do what you believe to be pleasing to Him. Why don't we just let God handle His business? We are not anyone's judge, God is. What God does with someone else is not our business.

The strong hold the weak in contempt as legalistic and self- righteous; the weak judge the strong to be irresponsible at best and perhaps depraved.

(Another reason for not downgrading others is given later in Rom_14:10.) As a believer, he is a servant of God and he is accountable to God, his Judge. Any Christian tempted to judge another believer must face Paul’s question, Who are you to judge (lit., “the one judging”) someone else’s servant? (Oiketēn, “domestic servant,” is not the usual word doulos, “slave.”) The present participle, “the one judging,” suggests that Paul sensed some judging of others was occurring among the Christians at Rome. But such criticizing is wrong because a domestic servant should be evaluated by his… master, not by fellow believers. Therefore, Paul concluded, And he will stand (lit., “he shall be made to stand”), for the Lord is able to make him stand. It is how Christ evaluates each believer is what matters, and His judgment does not take into account religious tradition or personal preference.

Even if a believer despises the scruples of another Christian, God can defend the second person.

Romans 14:5-8

A second area of differing opinions was the significance of special days. One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike (cf. Col_2:16). Which position a person held meant nothing to the apostle. His concern was that each one should be fully convinced in his own mind (cf. Rom_14:14, Rom_14:22), examining his heart to be sure he is doing what he feels the Lord would have him do. Colossians 2:16 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]:"

These are both interesting Scriptures, in face of the fact that, the Jews celebrate Saturday as their Sabbath, and the Christians celebrate Sunday as the Lord's Day or first fruits. We are told to be fully persuaded that what we are doing is pleasing to God. We are to celebrate with a clear conscience. Whatever day you esteem, do it as unto the Lord.

The weak Gentile wanted to separate himself from the special days of festivities associated with his former paganism because of its immorality and idolatry.

The mature believers were unaffected by those concerns. Each Christian must follow the dictates of his own conscience in matters not specifically commanded or prohibited in Scripture. Since conscience is a God given mechanism to warn, and responds to the highest standard of moral law in the mind, it is not sensible to train yourself to ignore it. Rather, respond to its compunctions and as you mature, by learning more, your mind will not alert it to those things which are not essential.

And he should hold his opinion to the Lord. This is true for any issue where an honest difference of opinion among Christians exists, whether in keeping or not keeping special days or eating or abstaining from meat, or in other matters not prohibited by Scripture. God is not so interested in the technicality of what day we celebrate as He is in the fact that we have chosen an individual day and set it aside to worship in. God wants our heart to be in worshipping Him. We know that Jesus said, that the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath. 

Mark 2:27 "And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:"

You see from this it is not the day that is important, but the fact that we choose to worship God one day a week.

This verse tells us that the strong believer eats whatever he pleases and thanks the Lord. The weak brother eats according to his ceremonial diet and thanks the Lord that he made a sacrifice on His behalf. In either case, the believer thanks the Lord, so the motive is the same. Whether weak or strong, the motive behind a believer’s decisions about issues of conscience must be to please the Lord.

All belongs to the Lord and is sanctioned by Him (1Co_10:25-27; 1Ti_4:3-5). A believer’s individual accountability to the Lord in every area and experience of life is paramount. The focus of Christian living is never oneself. Everything we do should be to please our sovereign Lord.

I Corinthians 6:19-20 "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

Each Christian in both life and death is seen by the Lord, and is accountable to Him, not to other Christians. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Jesus bought us on the cross with His own precious blood. We are not our own, we belong to Jesus. 

Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

You see, if I am a Christian, then Christ lives through me and in me.

Romans 14:9-12

In these verses Paul stated the theological basis for his exhortation for Christians to desist from and to resist judging one another. One of the reasons for the Lord Jesus’ redemptive death and resurrection is to be the Lord of both the dead and the living. Christ died not only to free us from sin, but to enslave us to Himself; to establish Himself as Sovereign over the saints in His presence and those still on earth.

John 11:25 "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:"

We see from this Scripture that, Jesus not only rose from the dead, but because He rose, we have the promise that we will rise also if we believe in Him. Jesus is actually Lord over everything.

Philippians 2:10 "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth;" You see, there is no limit to His power and rule.

Since Jesus is the Lord, Christians should not judge (krineis) or… look down on (exoutheneis, “despise” or “reject with contempt”; cf. Rom_14:3) one another, their brothers, in such matters. One Christian is not above another as his judge; all are equally under Christ, the Judge.

As Lord, Jesus will one day review and evaluate the ministry of His servants at His judgment seat (bēma; see comments on 2Co_5:10). Ecclesiastes 12:14 "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil."

Jesus is the Judge of all the earth.  We will stand or fall by whether we are accepted by Him as His sheep, or whether we are among the goats. Jesus sends the sheep to eternal life in heaven with Him. He sends the goats to eternal damnation.

Matthew 25:32-34 "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats:" “And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left." "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:"

Matthew 25:41 "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"

According to this verse, every believer will give an account of himself, and the Lord will judge the decisions he made, including those concerning issues of conscience. That verdict is the only on that matters. 

Paul affirmed the certainty of this event by quoting Isa_49:18 and Isa_45:23, pertaining to everyone standing before Christ and confessing Him as Lord (cf. Php_2:10-11). At that event each believer will give an account (lit., “a word”) of himself to God. Philippians 2:10 "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth;"

Isaiah 45:23 "I have sworn by myself, the word is one out of my mouth [in] righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." 

We can see, again, in these three Scriptures above that, God never changes. He is the same in Isaiah that He is in Romans.

We read in Revelation 1:7 "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they [also] which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.  Even so, Amen." 

We must not wait to declare Him our Savior, until we can see Him with our physical eyes. We must accept Him by faith, not fact, to be saved.

Since Paul was writing to the Christians in Rome (Rom_1:7) and included himself with them in the first personal plural pronoun and verb (“we will all stand,” Rom_14:10), “God’s judgment seat” is only for believers in the Lord. What is here called God’s judgment seat is the judgment seat of Christ in 2Co_5:10. Jesus will judge us one at a time. Whether your mother or dad was saved will not matter. You will stand or fall by the decision you made about what you would do about Jesus.

II Timothy 4:1 "I charge [thee] therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;"

All believers in Christ will stand before His Throne in heaven.

Revelation 7:9 "After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;"

These in white robes are the Christians who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb.

Because God judges through His Son (Joh_5:22, Joh_5:27), this judgment seat can be said to belong to both the Father and the Son. The issue of the believer’s eternal destiny will not be at stake; that was settled by his faith in Christ (cf. Rom_8:1). Each believer’s life of service will be under review in which some loss will be experienced (cf. 1Co_3:12-15), but he will be rewarded for what endures (cf. 1Co_4:4-5). This judgment of believers climactically demonstrates God’s lordship.

Romans 14:13-14

Without Hindering

Paul’s warning against judging relates to Christians’ attitudes and actions toward the convictions of other believers (Rom_14:1-12). The other side of the coin is evaluating the impact of one’s own convictions and actions on other Christians. In this section Paul warned against causing other Christians to stumble (hindering their spiritual growth) by asserting that one is free to live in accord with convictions not shared by other believers.

Paul’s opening sentence is both the final charge on the previous subject and the introduction to the new one: Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on (krinōmen, “condemning”) one another (pres. tense subjunctive, “no longer let us keep on judging or condemning one another”). Instead a Christian should judge himself and his actions so that he does not place a stumbling block (proskomma, lit., “something a person trips over”; cf. 1Co_8:9 and comments on Rom_14:20-21) or obstacle (skandalon, lit., “trap, snare,” and hence “anything that leads another to sin”; cf. Rom_16:17) in his brother’s way (lit., “to the brother”). It does no good at all for us to try to judge another, because we are not the Judge, Jesus is. We are told to judge not, lest ye be judged and, also, with whatever judgment we judge another we will be judged. We find a very good Scripture covering this in James 4:11

"Speak not evil one of another, brethren.  He that speaketh evil of [his] brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge."

The Greek word translated “judge” is here translated “determine”. In verses 3, 10 and 13a the meaning is negative: to condemn. In 13b, the meaning is positive: to determine or make a careful decision.

The point of Paul’s play on words is that instead of passing judgment on their brothers, they should use their best judgment to help fellow believers. Anything a believer does, even though Scripture may permit it, that causes another to fall into sin by his going against his conscience, puts a stumbling block in his brother’s way.

Returning to the subject of food (Rom_14:2-3, Rom_14:6), Paul expressed his own conviction (cf. Rom_14:5) as a Christian that no food (lit., “nothing”) is unclean (koinon, “common”) in itself (cf. Act_10:15; Rom_14:20; 1Co_8:8). The problem, however, is that not all Christians — especially some from a Jewish heritage — shared Paul’s conviction. Therefore Paul properly concluded, But if anyone regards (lit., “but to the one reckoning”) something as unclean (“common”), then for him it is unclean (cf. Tit_1:15). We see here another illustration of the sin taking place in the heart and conscience. If we believe something to be sin and go ahead and do it anyway, then regardless of what it is, it is sin to us.

Titus 1:15 "Unto the pure all things [are] pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving [is] nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled."

Again, this is a very good example that the sin takes place when we do something feeling in our heart that it is displeasing to God. God judges the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God [is] quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."

“Unclean”: The Greek word originally meant “common” but came to mean “impure” or “evil”. If a believer is convinced a certain behavior is sin, even if his assessment is wrong, he should never do it. If he does, he will violate his conscience, experience guilt and perhaps be driven back into deeper legalism instead of moving toward freedom.

But if someone persisted in holding that conviction, he could bring harm to others.