Romans 14:1-4 NASB
Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Old Covenant vs. New Covenant
Under the Old Covenant Relationship
God had with his people, they had all kinds of laws they had to follow with
regard to what foods they could eat or not eat. And, they had all kinds of
ceremonial laws, too, which they had to follow, some of which were in relation
to their eating.
But, under the New Covenant,
via faith in Jesus Christ, those laws concerning food and ceremony were done
away with.
Nonetheless, God’s moral laws
were upheld under the New Covenant and were summarized into two laws: to love
God with all our hearts, soul and mind, and to love our neighbors as we love
ourselves (Matt. 22:36-40).
Yet, some Jews who became
Christians had a difficult time transitioning to the new freedoms which they
had in Christ, and they still felt compelled to follow some of those Old
Covenant restrictions with regard to their eating. So, they were regarded as
those who were “weak in faith,” not because of sin, but because their
consciences would not allow them the freedom to partake of food which they had
all their lives considered as unclean.
So, the whole object of this
teaching here was to instruct those, who had the freedom in Christ to eat what formerly
they could not eat, that they should not look down upon those who did not yet
exercise that freedom. And, those who still felt compelled to follow the old
dietary restrictions were not to look down upon those who now had that freedom
in Christ to eat what before they were forbidden to eat.
Application to Today
This teaching is in regard to
matters of opinion, of practice, but not of sin, other than with regard to the
sin of judging others in regard to disputable matters.
This is NOT saying that we
should not judge sin in one another. We should. If our brother or sister is
walking in sin, and is unrepentant, we who are spiritual should restore that
one, i.e. bring that person back to walking in truth and righteousness. And,
this will involve making a judgment concerning their sin, confronting that sin,
and leading them to turn from their sin and to turn their hearts back over to
the Lord to follow Him.
But, “sin” should be defined
by what God calls “sin” under the New Covenant, not under the Old Covenant.
And, sin should not be defined according to rules which are man-made, either,
i.e. such as human traditions which have been passed down from generation to
generation, some of which are, in fact, things carried over from the Old
Covenant and/or from Catholicism (prior to the reformation).
Thus, if we must make a
judgment (not to condemn) with regard to sin in someone’s life (to restore him
or her), then we must make certain that it is sin, as defined by God under the
New Covenant.
As well, we must not take
this passage, on the subject of judging one another on disputable matters, and
use it to avoid judging sin in one another, which is for the purpose to restore
one another back to pure fellowship with our Lord Jesus.
The whole object of this
lesson is that we should not be condemning and critical of one another with
regard to matters of opinion or practice which do not fall under the category
of sin, as defined by God under the New Covenant.
If our consciences dictate
that we should refrain from something which, in and of itself is not sinful,
then we should not stand in judgment over others who choose not to follow our
consciences, and they should not stand in judgment over us because of what our
consciences do not allow for.
Romans 14:5-9 NASB
One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or 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.
Old Covenant vs. New Covenant
Under the Old Covenant
Relationship God had with his people, he set aside one day a week which was a
day of rest for his people from their labor, and it was a day given over to God
to worship him. It was the 7th day, which is our Saturday, and it
was called “The Sabbath.”
There were all kinds of rules
the Jewish people had to follow with regard to the Sabbath, as well, which the
Jewish elders added to, evidently. For, Jesus took on the Pharisees often
because they often chided Jesus as one who was not following the Sabbath
restrictions, mainly because he healed people on the Sabbath. But, Jesus said
that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, and that he was
Lord of the Sabbath (Mk. 2:27-28).
But, the Pharisees were
acting hypocritically, for they had no problems circumcising on the Sabbath or
rescuing a sheep on the Sabbath, yet they were critical of Jesus because he
healed human beings on the Sabbath, and so they went after him vehemently to
try to trip him up.
So, during Jesus’ earthly
ministry, he did not uphold all of the Jewish requirements of the Sabbath, but
he allowed for mercy to triumph. And, he taught what was really behind the
Sabbath, which is that we love God with all our hearts, minds and souls and that
we love our neighbors as ourselves.
And, then, as we move into
the teachings of the early church and those of the NT apostles, we see that the
strict adherence to following the Sabbath law was no longer in force, rather
what was being taught is that our Sabbath rest is our salvation (See: Heb.
4:1-13).
Our “Sabbath rest” has to do
with us trusting Jesus Christ with our lives and resting in him and ceasing
with human effort to try to attain God’s approval or to work our own will and
ways of the flesh. And, obedience to God’s moral laws are foundational to us
entering that rest (See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal.
6:7-8; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).
But, again, some Jews who had
become Christians struggled with that freedom to no longer worship God in the
same way as they had always done before, but to now worship him “in spirit and
in truth” (See: Jn. 4:24). They struggled to understand that our “Sabbath rest”
is now our salvation and that every day should be a day as unto the Lord, not
just one day a week.
So, the teaching here is that
those who still followed regarding the Sabbath day (which was a Saturday) as a
day above all other days were not to stand in judgment over those who now had
the freedom to regard every day alike. And, those who had the freedom to regard
every day the same were not to look down on those who still felt that they had
to regard the Sabbath day above all other days. For, if each were truly
worshiping the Lord in what they did, and not just one day a week, but every
day, they were doing so as to the Lord.
Application to Today
A lot of this speaks for
itself, but let me share here a few closing thoughts on this subject.
When we believe in Jesus
Christ, to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we enter His rest, his salvation,
and we now trust Jesus Christ with our lives rather than continue to live to
please our sinful flesh. Jesus becomes our Lord (owner-master) and we are his
servants (his followers).
We now are the temple of God,
for God lives within us in the person of the Holy Spirit. So, we no longer have
to go to a physical building called “church” in order to worship God or to
fellowship with the body of Christ. We can meet with other believers for
worship, praise, prayer and fellowship any day of the week and in any location.
God does not dwell in
buildings called “church,” and many of these are, in fact, man-made
institutions and corporations (businesses) under the federal government. Yet,
God does not approve of these because they have turned his house into a
marketplace, into businesses of men, and they have partnered with the ungodly
(the government and the world) in order to “win the world” to their businesses.
And, thus many have also diluted the gospel in order to appease the world.
So, if you are one who still
believes that you have to follow the Sabbath as a day of rest and of worship to
God, and that this day is to be regarded above all other days of the week more
highly, then you should not look down on those who have the freedom to regard
all days the same, as days unto the Lord. And those of us, who have the freedom
to meet with the body of Christ any day of the week at any location or time of
day, should not look down on you because you still believe you must honor the
Jewish Sabbath.
Nonetheless, if you are
teaching that God dwells in those buildings, and that those buildings are the “house
of God,” that is false. And, if you are teaching that your church’s “sanctuary”
is where we enter into God’s presence, that is also false. And, if you are
partnering with the world and the government in turning God’s house into a
marketplace, and if you are diluting the gospel in order to not offend the
people of the world, then that is wrong.
As well, if you are
gluttonous about your eating, that is sinful.
Bottom line is that we must
follow the teachings of the New Testament under the New Covenant, and we must
love God with all our heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbors as
ourselves, and not look down on one another with regard to what is not required
of us but is a matter of opinion.
My Jesus, I Love Thee
Hymn lyrics by William R. Featherstone, 1864
Music by Adoniram J. Gordon, 1876
My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art
mine;
For thee all the follies of sin I
resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art
thou;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
I love thee because thou hast first
loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary's
tree;
I love thee for wearing the thorns on
thy brow;
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
I’ll love Thee in life, I will love
Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest
me breath;
And say, when the death-dew lies cold
on my brow,
If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis
now.
*Copyright status is public domain
Wednesday, August 15, 2018 –
Thank You, Jesus!
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