Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you (Matthew 7.1-2). Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? … “Purge the evil person from among you.”… Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! (1 Cor 5.12b, 13b; 6.2-3)
There are major points of doctrine that cannot be compromised without doing a grave injustice to the truth of salvation by grace alone. The theology upon which the church is built is unquestionably important. Tradition or the practice of worship, on the other hand, can vary widely and ought not to be a point of bickering within the body of Christ. Sadly, Christians are often guilty of confusing what is non-negotiable with things that, while stemming from biblical convictions, do not violate the essential doctrines of grace. Indeed, sometimes practices in worship are merely a matter of taste or tradition. A critical spirit in the church is not a small matter. Paul strongly warns the Romans, Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God (14.20). The unity of the body of Christ in the Holy Spirit ought to be a testimony to non-Christians. When the body of Christ divides itself over nonessential matters it does a disservice to the saving work of Christ. Not every point of practice in Christian living is spelled out in Scripture. There is room in Scripture for Christians to disagree regarding some practices. The Westminster Confession of Faith under the heading of “Holy Scripture” (section six) makes this clear: “The whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for His own glory, man’s salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit or traditions of men. Nevertheless, we acknowledge the inward illumination of the Spirit of God to be necessary for the saving understanding of such things as are revealed in the Word: and that there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.”
THE PROBLEM (14.1-4)
Paul contrasts the Roman believers as strong or weak in their faith. Clearly he believes that one’s liberty in Christ permits him to eat meat and that the more conservative view of the vegetarians fails to appreciate the full import of the new covenant paradigm. Nevertheless, all believers are united to Christ by faith. Though Paul might wish that the weaker brothers might enjoy the freedom they have in Christ, he is more concerned that the body of Christ not be fragmented over non-essential doctrines. There are three points of dispute alluded to in this passage: the eating of meat (14.2), the observance of days (14.5), and the drinking of wine (14.21). Apparently, the majority of the believers in Rome had no qualms about eating all kinds of meat, whether kosher or not. The weaker brothers (possibly Christians with a Jewish heritage) felt constrained by Mosaic dietary laws. Paul counsels the “strong,” that is, those who eat meat, ought to accept the weak, that is, those who are vegetarians. And for their part, the “weak” ought not to pass judgment on the brothers who eat meat. In short, there is no place for criticizing one another on these matters.
Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? Paul’s question is an emphatic indictment against both groups. Both groups are believers saved by grace. Both are sustained in their faith by the sovereign work of their Master. The servant is accountable to the Master not to the other servants. If they are compelled by conscience and the “good and necessary consequence” of Scripture (at least as they understand it), then constraining them to act contrary to their beliefs would be a disservice to the persevering work of God’s grace.
Paul commands both parties to act according to their principle. Because he is truly free, he resists compromise and procures freedom for everyone. His effort focuses upon the unity of the community which remains in effect when the strong do not despise the weak and when the weak do not judge the strong. For whatever reason those who abstained renounced meat, the conduct of both parties was prescribed by their faith, and this provided both with the tendency to make their rule normative for all. … Paul posits only one statement against scorning those who abstain; such is dealt with quickly because it clearly contradicts Christian behavior. On the one hand, love does not permit the strong to disdain the weak. On the other hand, the prohibition against judging has to be substantiated because the weak combats in the name of God what he regards to be sin. But he is in conflict with God with his judgment, for the one who is free acts according to his faith and God accepted the believer. … The one who judges another presumes on what is not his right, for it is not his prerogative to decide, as if he were his master, about the one who is free. … Faith bears in mind that the Lord is able to keep the one who believes him from sin and from falling. (Adolf Schlatter, Romans: The Righteousness of God, pp. 253-54)
THE DISTINCTION OF DAYS (14.5-9)
During the first century there was a transition taking place in the church from one tradition to another. Paul’s coterie acknowledged that all days belonged to the Lord and the observance of the Sabbath day over the Lord’s Day (i.e., the first day of the week—Sunday) as a day set apart for worship was not yet universally accepted, though it is clear that the church was already disposed to worship on the Lord’s day as a commemoration of the atonement. What is important is that there is a day set apart to the Lord for worship and for rest. The Old Testament informs us of the reasons so much stress was put on a Sabbath observance. The first and most obvious is the cessation from work. God finished the work of creation in six days and He rested on the seventh. Second, the Sabbath is linked to remembrance and commemoration (Exodus 20.8). Not only were the Israelites to remember God’s handiwork in creation, but they were to commemorate their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Third, the Sabbath is a day for the believer to rest from the routine of work; it is a time for holy reflections (Genesis 2.3; Deuteronomy 5.12; Leviticus 23.3). It was an extension of the covenant sign that the Israelites were God’s chosen people (Exodus 31.15-16; cp. Ezekiel 20.12). Fourth, the Sabbath command is embedded in the Law of God; the keeping of the Sabbath is an imperative. Fifth, the Sabbath is associated with worship (Numbers 28.9-10; Isaiah 66.22-23). Sixth, the rest that is symbolized in the Sabbath is ultimately found in God alone (Psalm 62.1, 5; Joshua 13.33). Finally, the New Testament points to Christ as the Sabbath-rest for believers: There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience (Hebrews 4.9-11).
There is clearly a shift of emphasis in the New Testament regarding the keeping of the Sabbath. Paul observed the Sabbath as an opportunity to preach in the synagogues (e.g., Acts 13.14, 42, 44; 17.2; 18.4). Outside of the gospels the only other explicit reference to the Sabbath is Colossians 2.16 where Paul says: Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day (cp. Romans 14.5; Galatians 4.10). That the early Christians favored the first day of the week for worship is suggested in Acts 20.7, On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people … (cp. 1 Corinthians 16.2; Revelation 1.10). “Even the combined testimony of these texts, however, does not demonstrate conclusively that Sabbath observance had been widely replaced by observance of the Lord’s Day by the end of the 1st century. What the texts do demonstrate is that a prescribed observance of the Sabbath was no longer required for righteousness in God’s eyes. They also suggest the probability that Sunday observance has it roots in the New Testament, although conclusive evidence for widespread Sunday observance is not found until the 2nd century” (ISBE, Vol. 4, p. 251). However, there are good reasons that the majority of Christians observe the first day of the week for worship and not the last.
1. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath: I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. … For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12.1; Mark 2.28). His priesthood supersedes the entire Mosaic system for putting away sin (cp. Hebrews 7-10) (J. I. Packer, “Worship,” in Concise Theology, p. 101).
2. It was the practice of the apostles (Acts 20.7; 1 Corinthians 16.2).
3. It has been the practice of the church for nearly two millennia.
4. It shifts the focus from creation (Genesis 2.2-3) to redemption (Hebrews 4.1-11). It recognizes Jesus as Lord of the Sabbath (also creation and salvation) and emphasizes the doing of good rather than the doing of nothing (e.g., Luke 13.10-16; 14.1-6).
5. It is an acknowledgement that our salvation is in Christ who completed the work of our redemption on the first day of the week. God created the world with a word, but He paid our redemption with the blood of His Son. All four of Jesus’ post-resurrection meetings with his disciples took place on the first day of the week (Matt. 28:9; Luke 24:34, 18-33; John 20:19-23).
6. It looks forward to eschatological fulfillment of the kingdom of God. The seven days of creation shift from six-plus-one to one-plus-six (Packer, p. 101).
All Christians belong to Jesus; no one is a law unto himself. It goes against the Spirit’s inward compelling to live a self-centered life. Delighting in the glory of God is the most joyous experience a Christian can have. The one who lives with that in mind will not seek to advance his own cause. He is happily indentured to God and it is his pleasure to serve him. So then, whether he lives or dies, he is the Lord’s: For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8.38-39). “Everything is done for the Lord, for no one lives for himself. Ordering one’s life does not lie within one’s power. Those who still obey their own will would not be believers, nor members of the community. We live ‘to the Lord’ because his judgment determines the course of life and because fulfilling his will is the purpose and goal of our life” (Schlatter, p. 255).
ESCHATOLOGICAL JUDGMENT (14.10-12)
If Christ is Lord of the living and the dead and he is the Master who keeps and sustains all who belong to him, then how can anyone pass judgment on a brother over incidental matters of practice? Again Paul is quite emphatic: Why do you pass judgment on your brother? No one has the right to cast doubt on the status of a fellow believer’s salvation. Ultimately, everyone will stand before the judgment seat of God and it will be revealed to him what was of faith and what was not. The gravity of this is reinforced by Paul’s reference to the prophet Isaiah: “As I live says the Lord [Isaiah 49.18], every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God” (Isaiah 45.23). If this is the case, then believers ought not to judge one another on lesser matters.
