Romans 14 is a complicated chapter that deals with disputed matters, or what some might term “grey areas.” Paul talks about things like eating meat or not, whether to drink alcohol or not, and whether one day of worship is more sacred than another. These are things that Christians have been debating for centuries and we often find comfort in this chapter. Some find comfort in the freedom that Paul tends to give the individual believer, and others find comfort in the emphasis on sacrificing your own freedom for the greater good, to keep your brother or sister from stumbling.
He talks about the importance of not judging one another, but this judgment is in the context of these disputed matters. We are free… in fact encouraged… in Scripture to judge and hold one another accountable on things that are CLEAR in Scripture. 1 Corinthians 5 makes that plain. But with these disputed matters and things that are subject to various appropriate interpretations, we don’t judge each other; instead we judge ourselves. At the end of the chapter he makes it clear that whatever is not done in faith is sin, and we are accountable to God for following our conscience. We will all stand before God and we will all give an account of ourselves to Him.
Paul insists that the worst thing we can do is to cause someone else to violate their own conscience because they share a different opinion than us. In fact Paul says, “Whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God.” 14:22. Causing someone to stumble… tempting them or convincing them to violate their own conscience… that is not brotherly love. Why? Well first because they will answer for it; even if you were the stumbling block. But, second because we are all slaves to God and not each other. I am the servant of all, but I am the slave of one; my Master Jesus. 14:4 says, “Who are you to judge another’s household slave? Before his own Lord he stands or falls.” It is not my job to split hairs over disputed matters and to try and win people to my position. It is my job to build up and encourage my brother and sister to be true to their master, because in the end they answer to Him and not to me. Always needing to be “right” is not the most loving attitude we can adopt.
