Introductory remarks:
"Don't criticize matters such as choice of diet or observation of holy days in each other because each individual does these things to honor God and our actions will be judged by Christ in the end. If a person thinks eating a certain food is wrong, don't eat that in front of them because it will tempt them to do what they think is wrong. Building each other up is most important" (A Survey of Romans - by Brenda).
This chapter may be outlined as follows: Do not judge your brother vv. 1-12; do not make your brother stumble vv. 13-23.
Do Not Judge Your Brother
Verse 1, "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations."
LGT "But him being weak in the faith receive, not for judging's of thoughts."
But him that is weak in the faith: "Probably referring to a class of Jewish Christians with Essenic tendencies" (Vincent). "The Essenes were one of the three religious parties which divided Judaism at the time of Christ's coming, the Pharisees and Sadducees being the two others. They formed a separate community, having all things in common. They were celibate (abstained from marriage) and ascetic (practicing self-denial as a spiritual practice), living chiefly on vegetables, and supplying all their wants by their own labor (somewhat like the Amish in Philadelphia). They were the strictest Sabbatarians, even restraining the necessities of the body on the Sabbath-day. They had a tendency to sun-worship, and addressed prayers to the sun at daybreak. They denied the resurrection of the body, but believed in the immortality of the soul" (Bishop Lightfoot - Commentary on Colossians). Receive ye: they were to receive them into their fellowship. Not for judging's of thoughts: "Receive these weak brethren, but not for the purpose of passing judgment upon their scruples or conscience" (Vincent).
Verse 2, "For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs."
LGT "One has faith to eat all things, but another being weak eat herbs."
One has faith: some Christians today still believe that to eat meat is to eat that which is unclean; we may also suppose that some of the Essenes in Rome were converted, and held to their strict beliefs. To eat all things: Some of the early Christians were stronger in their faith and believed that God had created all things for their use; some of the early Jews would strictly conform to the dietary rules God had given the Israelites under the Law; some of these Judaizers brought their beliefs into the early Church, and took some time before they would be able to relax under grace. But another being weak eat herbs: some of these early Christians never did relax and grow in grace. Remember how Peter argued with the Lord about eating that which he believed to be unclean, and how the Lord told him not to call unclean what God called clean (Acts 9:9-16).
Verse 3, "Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God received him."
LGT "The one who eats, let him not set at naught him that eats not; and the one who eats not, let him not judge the one who eats: for God received him."
Paul is telling these early Christians that they all should let each other practice their beliefs with out judging each other, that is, if a man wants to eat vegetables and herbs, and he does not want to enjoy a good T-Bone steak, let him alone; and visa-versa, if the one who eats meat, let him not ridicule the vegetarian. The bottom line is that Paul is teaching them that it is not one groups business to straighten out another group; even today, we are not called by God to straighten people out; we are to present Bible doctrine, and then let the Word of God do the work of straightening people out. For God received him: membership into God's family is by faith alone in Christ alone (John 1:12), and that there is no spiritual blessing in dietary rules and regulations; we should not think we are pleasing God with such silly legal means, for what God has made common man should not call uncommon; but we should live and let live. Paul is not speaking of false doctrine here; he is simply making a point about not judging one another.
Verse 4, "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand."
LGT "You, who are you judging another man's servant? To his own master he stands or falls: and he shall be made to stand, for the Lord hath power to make him stand."
Paul is saying that when they judge one another they are judging God's family. The Lord is the one who has the power to straighten His children out when they need it; it is not the duty of the Christian to judge one another. I should make this point very clear; that we are not talking about false teaching; what Paul is presenting is these doubtful issues that have nothing whatsoever to do with God's grace. We have no right to straighten out God's children, for we are to build one another up in the family, that is, we are to edify not harp at one another.
Verse 5, "One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind."
LGT "For one judges a day above a day, but another judges every day [to be alike]: Let each man be fully assured in his own mind."
For one judges a day above a day: the believing Jews were still observing festival days and the Sabbath as they did before when they were under the law. But another judges every day to be alike: After Messiah had come and finished His work on the cross, these days vanished, and the Gentile Christians who were not brought up under Judaism, didn't regard one day above another. This is the same as we do today. We should serve Christ the same on the weekdays as we do on Sunday. Remember, we are now under grace, and not the law. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind: let every man decide for himself after thoroughly studying Bible Doctrine; that is, every man should be assured in his own mind, and not because some other man made the decision for him. There are a lot of bully preachers out in so-called Christendom who think they know what's best for every man, and they lead the weak Christian astray, by their thinking they are pleasing God by keeping the Sabbath, or honoring the Lord's Day. Every day is special in the life of the grace believer. I should make one issue very clear on this subject: It makes no difference if a Christian wants to keep the Sabbath, or eat vegetables instead of meat, or any other restriction they desire to put themselves under, as long as they do not say that it has anything to do with their salvation or their fellowship with the Lord; as soon as they put these tight restrictions on their legalism, by saying a person can't be saved if they don't keep the Sabbath, they are teaching heresy. The Christian who is strong in the faith knows that they are at liberty to serve the Lord without these restrictions, and this liberty changes their obligations into a privilege; we have a wonderful privilege to serve the Lord, for we are not under any obligation whatsoever, for we are not under the Law but under grace.
Verse 6, "He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks."
LGT "The one who regards the day, to the Lord regards it: and the one who eats, to [the] Lord eats, for he gives thanks to God; and the one who eats not, to [the] Lord eats not, and gives thanks to God."
The Jewish Christians were still observing the Sabbath (Saturday), while the Gentile believers were observing the first day of the week (Sunday), in honor of the Lord's resurrection. What Paul is stressing here is the Christian liberty. Paul is not supporting Sabbath keeping or the Lord's Day keeping; he knows full well that in time every serious believer will grow in grace; but in the meantime, as long as they are including God in their actions, they are not sinning; as I said above, as long as they don't put nonsensical superstitious taboos on their beliefs, they are not sinning. I think it proper to remind you all; "We do not serve God to please Him, but we serve Him because He is already pleased with us." We should always keep in mind that "we are dead with Christ, we are risen with Christ, we have ascended with Christ, and we are seated at the right hand of the Father with Christ" at this very moment; therefore, we should want to serve Him; this positional truth should be the only motivation for service we have; let us right now praise God for placing us in this prestigious, wonderful position in Christ.
Verse 7, "For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself."
LGT "For no one of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself."
Life and death focus unto the Lord, for we are not our own, we are bought with the price of His Precious Blood, and we are to live to Him and Him alone. Every one of our decisions in life should be focused on this truth. We are to live in the will of the Lord, and the only way that is possible is by walking in the light of the fellowship of his Word. So often preachers teach that this verse is teaching that we should live for others and not ourselves, and this certainly is not the teaching of this passage. The central theme here is living unto the Lord.
Verse 8, "For whether we live, we live unto the Lord: and whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's."
LGT "For if both we should live, to the Lord we should live, and if we should die, to the Lord we die, the Lord's we are."
Paul repeats verse seven with the addition the Lord's we are: the Lord has purchased with His precious blood out of the slave market of sin, and has adopted us into the Family of God, so all our allegiance belongs to Him. All of our actions should be grounded in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and if this is not our divine motivation something is definitely wrong with our doctrine. While we live we are bound to serve Him, for we are His servants; and when we die, we will serve Him throughout all eternity; this verse proves we have a future existence with Him.
Verse 9, "For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living."
LGT "For, for this Christ died and lived again, that He might lord it over both [the] dead and living."
For, for this Christ died and lived again: Paul uses the resurrection of Christ as the grounds for Christ's Lordship. That He might lord it over: "The Greek word used here [for Lordship] implies the idea of His being proprietor or owner as well as ruler. It means that He might exercise entire dominion over all, as the sovereign Lawgiver and Lord" (Barnes). As true as this is, I don't believe it has a legal connotation at all; for Christ has made us all joint heirs with Himself, and He has positioned Himself as our wonderful Big Brother throughout all eternity. Both the living and the dead: Christ not only watches over us while we live, He has complete dominion over us even in death, Oh, death where is thy sting, Oh, grave where is thy victory.
Calvin rightly observes:
"He now shows how rightly Christ claims this power over us, since He has obtained it by so great a price; for by undergoing death for our salvation, He has acquired authority over us which cannot be destroyed by death, and by rising again, He has received our whole life as His peculiar property. He has then by His death and resurrection deserved that we should, in death as well as in life, advance the glory of His name. The words arose and lived again mean, that by His resurrection He attained a new state of life; and that as the life which He now possesses is subject to no change, His dominion over us is to be eternal."
Verse 10, "But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ."
LGT "But thou, why do ye judge your brother? Or thou, why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the Bema Seat of the God."
But thou, why do ye judge your brother: Paul is referring to the conduct of the mature believers attitude toward the weaker brother. Judging your brother is inconsistent with the way we are to treat one another in the family, that is, as brothers. Since we are all one family, it is unreasonable that we judge one another. Or thou, why do you despise your brother: Paul is again addressing the stronger brother. The Gentile Christians despised the Jewish converts scrupulousness over keeping the Law; Paul is saying they should remember that they are now Christians, and that they need love not judgment to help them learn about liberty. For we shall all stand before the Bema Seat of God: "We must all be tried alike at the same tribunal; we must answer for our conduct, not to our fellow men, but to Christ; and it does not become us to sit in judgment on each other" (Barnes). So Paul uses his grace logic in giving them two great reasons for not judging one another; (1.) We are all brothers, not by natural generation, but by regeneration we are all adopted into the same eternal family, and (2.) We will all stand before God's tribunal to give an account of how we treated Christ; remember, how we treat one another is how we treat Christ Himself.
Verse 11, "For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."
LGT "For it has been written [and stands written], I live, says [the] Lord, that to Me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to God."
Paul is quoting Isaiah 45:23. Isaiah was predicting the coming Kingdom of Christ when all the nations will worship God. Here Paul is using the Scripture to teach the universal judgment seat of all believers to the point that we should not set ourselves up as the judge, but that judgment belongs to God. In the strict sense of this context Paul is not making reference to the final Great White Throne judgment seat where all mankind will bow down to God and confess to Him that Christ is God; but this admission is among the family of believers alone.
Verse 12, "So then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God."
LGT "So then each of us shall give an account concerning himself to God."
Paul is concluding his remarks presented in the section above. Every word is emphatic. This is speaking only to Christians, and we must understand that Paul is saying that at the Bema Seat of Christ we will give an account of our motives; remember, we will not give an account for our sins, for they have already been paid for by Christ; we will, however, give an account concerning our motives for our service to Christ, whether they are motivated for self or motivated because of His love for us.
Do Not Make Your Brother Stumble
Verse 13, "Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way."
LGT "We should therefore no longer judge one another: but this rather judge thee, not to put an occasion of stumbling or cause an offense to the brother."
We should therefore no longer judge one another: obviously, there must have been judging going on between the believing Jews and Gentiles. But this rather judge thee: if we are going to judge, let us judge the following. Not to put an occasion of stumbling or cause an offense to the brother: let us not cause the weaker brother to fall into sin by our liberty. "We should resolve to act so as not by any means to be the occasion of leading our brethren into sin, either by our example, or by a severe and harsh judgment, provoking them to anger, or exciting jealousies, and envying, and suspicions" (Barnes). I quote Barnes here because he puts it quite clearly that we should not put ourselves up as a judge. I was connected with a group of grace believers who were led by one Bible teacher, and they would not listen to any others, because they thought he was the greatest, and that no one else could know what he knew. This group would criticize any and everyone who did not subscribe to his teaching. Eventually, I got my belly full of their high-minded self-righteous attitude, I left the group, and it took some time before I could listen to his teaching again.
Verse 14, "I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean."
LGT "I know, and am persuaded in [the] Lord Jesus, that nothing [is] unclean of itself, except to the one who reckons anything to be unclean, to that one [it is] unclean."
I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus: the result of Paul being persuaded was not through his own reasoning, but the result of his fellowship in the Lord Jesus Christ. That nothing is unclean of itself: Paul says that Christ has set him free, and that he has complete freedom to eat all meats. Except to the one who reckons anything to be unclean: these are the weaker brothers, the legalists, that feel they please God by their clean living, that is, according to the Levitical code. To that one it is unclean: they believe in their hearts that certain meats are unclean, so to them it is unclean; and it will continue to be unclean until they grow in grace and the knowledge of truth.
Verse 15, "But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died."
LGT "For if on account of meat thy brother is grieved, you are no longer walking around in love: destroy him not with your meat, for whom Christ died."
For if on account of meat: the meat the believer is at liberty to eat, for all things are common. Thy brother is grieved: the weaker, legalistic believing brother. Don't knowingly flaunt your liberty of eating foods in spite of the weaker brother's scruples. Even though you may eat, if the weaker brother is offended, because he thinks you are sinning, stop. You are no longer walking in love: to deliberately offend is not the Christian way; consider the weaker ones first. Destroy him not with your meat: The mature believer is not to show contempt by flaunting his liberty at the expense of the weaker brother' conscience. The only way the weaker brother is to learn about Christian liberty is through the study of the Word of God. The meaning of the word destroy can only mean to cause the weaker brother to follow your lead against his conscience, and therefore affect his fellowship with the Lord. It is not possible to be in fellowship and have a guilty conscience at the same time. For whom Christ died: even though the weaker brother is immature, and has not learned Christian liberty, he is your brother, and Christ loves him as much as He loves you.
Verse 16, "Let not your good be evil spoken of."
LGT "Therefore, let not your good be evil spoken of."
Don't allow your liberty to be the cause of the weaker brother's looking down on you and speaking evil of you. Let the law of love reign supreme; don't allow the weaker Christian to lose fellowship because of your liberty, in other words, don't be callous to the weaker brother's legalism. As I said before, as long as the weaker brother's legalism hasn't reached the place where they say you can't be saved unless you follow their rules, it is a middle matter that only Bible Doctrine can correct, and no amount of spiritual bullying on your part will change them.
Verse 17, "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."
LGT "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking; but righteousness and peace, and joy in [the] Holy Spirit."
For the kingdom of God: this is not the same as the kingdom of heaven that will eventually be set up with Christ ruling for a thousand years, as taught in the Gospel of Matthew and other Scripture. This is the spiritual realm of our fellowship, for when we worship God, we worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. We have no Spiritual life outside of the Word of God. Is not eating and drinking: our physical good eating and drinking has nothing to do with our spiritual fellowship, unless we over indulge, and then it becomes obvious that we hinder our fellowship because we have put our desires first. But righteousness: practical doing the right thing before the Father, and then before our brothers. And peace: not peace with God, but mutual peace among our brothers and sisters, which comes through mutual respect for one another; that is, treating one another as joint heirs with Jesus Christ. And joy in the Holy Spirit: living in unbroken fellowship with the Father; our fellowship with our family in Christ begins with our fellowship with the Father. Our joy can only be filled full as we study the Word and fellowship with the triune God, and this will result in our respecting one another as adopted family members.
Verse 18, "For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men."
LGT "For in this he serves the Christ well pleasing to God, and approved by men."
In fellowship with the Father, the Holy Spirit, our unseen Guest, is able to use us to the honor and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will also impress the world, even if they hate us, they can't help but respect us. The world loves to lie and cheat, but they hate liars and cheaters.
Verse 19, "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another."
LGT "So then we should pursue the things of peace, and the things for building up one another."
So then we should pursue the things of peace: instead of flaunting their liberty by eating and drinking causing the weaker brother to stumble, they should seek to keep peace in the family. And the things for building up one another: this is the defining purpose of all our Christian fellowship. If our aim is not to help one another grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, our motives are all wrong, and we will suffer loss at the Bema Seat of Christ.
Verse 20, "For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence."
LGT "Not for the sake of meat destroy the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but [it is] evil to the man through stumbling eats."
Not for the sake of meat destroy the work of God: referring back to verse 9 where Paul says that Christ also died for the weaker brother, and this is the work of God. This weaker brother needs edifying, and the only way this can be done is through genuine love and concern for his welfare. All things indeed are pure: the fact that the Christian is at liberty to eat or drink what the weaker brother considers as sin does not in every case decide the problem; because to disregard the weaker brothers problem may cause him to follow in your footsteps, and that would lead to his sinning, because he regards this action as sin, and by doing so, he would have caused his conscience to be seared. But it is evil to the man through stumbling eats: this entire warning is to the stronger brother; he should be aware that his eating or drinking without concern for the weaker one may cause the weaker one to grieve, and possibly follow his actions; however, in any case, the weaker one may also turn away from you and that would thwart any chance you would have in helping him grow in grace and the knowledge of truth.
Verse 21, "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak."
LGT "[It is] right not to eat flesh, not drink wine, nor in what thy brother stumbles."
It is right not to eat flesh, nor drink wine: even though you have the liberty to eat and drink, Paul teaches us that we also have the liberty not to, especially if it cause the weaker brother to take offence. Nor in what thy brother stumbles: here Paul includes in eating and drinking, other actions that are questionable; that is, things the Scriptures are not clear about. When we were young, we were brought up under the taboo system. The taboo system is: (1.) thou shalt not smoke (2.) thou shalt not dance (3.) thou shalt not play cards (or gamble) (4.) thou shalt not drink, and (5.) thou shalt not go to movies. These taboos were the guidelines for every Christian, and if he or she were faithful in abstaining from these things, they were regarded as good little Christians; but if they did these things; they were in danger of falling from grace, or maybe even, loosing their salvation. There are still groups who hold to these taboos; but the organized church has grown up now; now they have a new set of values that I hardly recognize any more; the church is so liberal it seems as though everyone is going to heaven, all they have to do is read "The Purpose Driven Life." I have strayed from our context, let us get back to the teaching here. (The last phrase "Or is offended, or made weak" is not in the original)
Verse 22, "Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth."
LGT "The faith which thou hast have thou to thyself before God. Blessed [is] the one who judges himself in what he approves."
The faith which thou hast have thou to thyself before God: "The verse is still addressed to the strong. The faith he has is the enlightened faith which enables him to see that all things are clean; such faith does not lose its value though it is not flaunted in reckless action" (TEGT). Blessed is the one who judges himself in what he approves: the man is happy who eats and drinks what he knows is not sinful, but he judges himself that he does not do it in the presence of those who believe it to be sinful. This man will not knowingly attempt to rub a weaker brothers nose in his legalism, but will try in every way to help the weaker one to learn Bible Doctrine, and not just to prove that he is right and the weaker brother wrong; in other words, he refuses to be a spiritual bully.
Verse 23, "And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin."
LGT "But the one who doubts, if he eats, has been condemned, because [it is] not of faith: and everything which is not of faith, is sin."
This last verse sums up all we need to know about whether we are sinning or not. I have been asked over and over again whether I believe a certain action is a sin or not; and over and over again I have quoted the last phrase of this verse: and every thing, which is not of faith, is sin. Along with this phrase, I have quoted Paul's statement, whatever you do in word or deed; do all to the glory of the Lord. Everything we do we should do with a clear conscience before the Lord; if we are not sure, we should not do it. I was asked recently how I could tell if I were glorifying the Lord or not; my answer was, "If I am not glorifying myself, than I could be fairly sure I was glorifying the Lord." Of course these actions are regarding our service to the Lord, and our service to one another as brothers and sisters in the Lord. And we must keep in mind that these verses are only applied to believers, for what a person does before salvation is not at issue here; Christ has paid for their sins; therefore, the issue is not being forgiven for sin, but accepting Christ as Savior, that is, accepting the One who has already paid for their sins. We should never try and get an unbeliever to ask God to forgive their sins, but simply tell them they must have faith alone in Christ alone; this is the issue with them.
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