Welcome One Another

Two kinds of believers. The church in Rome had believers who disagreed about food and special days. Some of them, many of them Jewish believers like Paul, still kept the food rules and holy days of the Old Testament. Others did not. Some ate only vegetables (14:2). Receive him. “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things” (14:1). To receive means to welcome someone in as a friend. Doubtful things are questions God has left open. Weak in the faith. Here “weak” means not yet sure about these questions. It is not an insult. A weaker believer is still a brother or sister in Christ. What this is not about. Paul is talking about things the Bible leaves open, like what to eat. He is not talking about things God has plainly said are right or wrong. Lying, stealing and being cruel are never just a matter of opinion. Two warnings. “Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats” (14:3). Despise means to look down on. God has received him. The reason is simple: “for God has received him” (14:3). If God has welcomed someone, we must not push that person away. The Lord’s servant. “Who are you to judge another’s servant?” (14:4). Every believer serves the Lord, and “God is able to make him stand.” Safe and kind. Welcoming everyone never means doing something that feels wrong or unsafe. If someone asks you to do that, tell a parent or a trusted grown-up. What this means for you. When a friend’s family does things differently from yours on something the Bible leaves open, do not look down on them. Welcome them the way God welcomed you.

The setting. The believers in Rome were a mix of Jewish and Gentile Christians. Some, many of them Jewish believers, still kept the Old Testament food laws and holy days. Others felt free to eat anything. Paul, a Jew himself, writes to both as brothers. Proslambano (14:1). “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.” “Receive” is proslambano (say: pros-lahm-BAH-noh), to take someone to yourself, to welcome a person into your home and your circle. The same word comes back in 15:7. Not to disputes. The welcome is not an invitation to argue. Paul calls these “doubtful things,” questions of personal conviction where Scripture has not given a command. A clear boundary. Romans 14 is about matters the Bible leaves open. It is never about sin. What God has plainly called wrong is not one believer’s opinion against another’s. Weak and strong. “Weak in the faith” describes a believer whose conscience is not yet settled about freedom on these questions. It is not a label for a lesser Christian, and Paul loves both groups. Two temptations (14:3). “Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him.” The free believer is tempted to look down; the careful believer is tempted to condemn. God’s welcome answers both. Another’s servant (14:4). “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls.” Each believer answers to Christ, and “God is able to make him stand.” Application. Welcoming a believer who differs from you on open questions is not compromise; it is obedience. Welcome never means joining in anything wrong or unsafe. If anyone pushes you toward that, tell a parent or another trusted adult.

Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome. Some of them had grown up with God’s old food rules. Many of them were Jewish, like Paul. They still kept those rules. Others did not. Some ate only vegetables, and others ate any food. Paul calls the careful ones weak in faith. That means they were not yet sure about these questions. It does not mean they were bad or loved less. This is not about things God plainly calls right or wrong. Lying and stealing are always wrong. Paul said, “Do not refuse to accept” other believers. God has accepted them! Being kind to everyone does not mean doing what feels wrong. If something feels wrong, tell a parent or trusted grown-up.

Some Christians did not agree about food. Paul said to welcome each other anyway. God has accepted them both.

Special days. “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike” (14:5). Some believers kept Old Testament holy days. Others treated every day the same. Fully convinced. “Let each be fully convinced in his own mind” (14:5). On open questions, each believer should think it through and follow the Lord honestly. To the Lord. “He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord” (14:6). The one who eats gives God thanks, and so does the one who does not. We are the Lord’s. “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (14:8). Why He is Lord. “For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living” (14:9). Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again. That is why He has the right to be our Lord. Do not judge. “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother?” (14:10). Contempt means treating someone as worthless. The real Judge. “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (14:10). Paul quotes Isaiah: every knee will bow to God (14:11). Our own account. “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God” (14:12). What this means for you. Instead of watching what other believers do on open questions, make sure you are living to the Lord yourself.

Days (14:5). “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike.” The Sabbath and the feasts were given in the Old Testament; some believers still kept them, and others did not. Plerophoreo (14:5). “Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.” “Fully convinced” is plerophoreo (say: play-roh-for-EH-oh), to be filled up full, completely assured. On open questions, faith acts from settled conviction, not from pressure. The same aim (14:6). “He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord.” Both believers act “to the Lord,” and both give God thanks. Their practices differ; their Master is the same. No one lives to himself (14:7-8). “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.” Whether we live or die, “we are the Lord’s.” Belonging to Christ is the ground under every other question. The gospel underneath (14:9). “For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” His lordship was won at the cross and the empty tomb. Two questions (14:10). “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother?” The first question is for the careful believer; the second is for the free one. The judgment seat (14:10-11). “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” Paul quotes Isaiah’s words that every knee will bow to God. Only the Lord sits on that seat. Account (14:12). “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” Each one answers for himself, not for his brother. Application. Before you sort out other believers’ convictions, ask whether your own choices are made “to the Lord” and with thanks.

Some believers kept special days from God’s old law. Others thought every day was the same. Paul said each one should be sure in his own mind. Both did it to honor the Lord. We do not live only for ourselves. Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Jesus died on the cross and rose to life again. He did this to be Lord of everyone. So why judge a brother or sister in Christ? One day we will all stand before God. Each of us will answer to God for ourselves. God is the Judge, and we are not.

Some people kept a special day for God. Others thought every day was the same. We all belong to the Lord.

No stumbling block. “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way” (14:13). A stumbling block is something a person trips over. Nothing unclean. Paul says, “there is nothing unclean of itself” (14:14). Food itself does not make anyone wrong with God. But a believer who thinks a food is wrong should not eat it. Walking in love. “Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love” (14:15). For whom Christ died. “Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died” (14:15). Jesus died on the cross for that brother or sister. That makes them precious. The kingdom. “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (14:17). Righteousness is being right with God and living His way. Pursue peace. “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another” (14:19). To edify means to build someone up. Love gives way. Paul says it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes a brother stumble (14:21). Faith and a clear heart. Paul ends, “for whatever is not from faith is sin” (14:23). If you are not sure something is right, do not do it. What this means for you. Before you use a freedom, ask how it will affect a friend’s faith.

Change the question (14:13). “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.” Paul turns from judging others to guarding them. Clean of itself (14:14). “I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself.” Yet “to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.” Acting against conscience harms the one who does it. Love as the limit (14:15). “Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.” A brother’s worth is measured at the cross. The kingdom (14:17). “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” God’s reign shows itself in right living before Him, peace among His people and the joy the Spirit gives. Approved (14:18). The one who serves Christ this way “is acceptable to God and approved by men.” Build up (14:19-20). “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” To edify is to build up, like a house. A meal is not worth tearing down “the work of God.” Love gives way (14:21). It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything by which a brother stumbles. Love will gladly limit its own freedom. Faith (14:22-23). “Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.” Paul closes, “whatever is not from faith is sin”: going against a doubting conscience is wrong. Application. Freedom in Christ is real, but it is never a license to wound someone Christ died for.

Paul said, “So we should stop judging each other.” Do not make another believer fall into sin. Paul knew that no food is wrong to eat. But some believers thought some foods were wrong. So do not hurt someone’s faith over food. That is not the way of love. Jesus died for that person too! God’s kingdom is not about eating and drinking. God’s kingdom means living right with God. It also means peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. So let us work for peace and help each other grow. Sometimes love means giving up something you are free to have.

Love cares about how others feel. God’s kingdom is about peace and joy. Let us help each other grow.

The strong help. “We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (15:1). Scruples are worries of a tender conscience. Being strong in faith is a reason to help, not to show off. Please your neighbor. “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good” (15:2). It is doing what truly helps them grow. Jesus did not please Himself. “For even Christ did not please Himself” (15:3). Paul quotes Psalm 69: the insults aimed at God fell on Jesus. Many Christians see Psalm 69 as a picture of Jesus’ sufferings. Written for us. Paul says the Scriptures were “written for our learning,” so that we “might have hope” (15:4). One voice. Paul prays that believers will “with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:6). Receive one another. “Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God” (15:7). How Christ received us. He welcomed us while we were still sinners. He died on the cross for our sins and rose again, and everyone who trusts Him is welcomed into God’s family. What this means for you. Look for the new kid, the friend from a different church, or the family that does things differently. Welcome them the way Jesus welcomed you.

Bastazo (15:1). “We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” “Bear” is bastazo (say: bah-STAD-zoh), to pick up and carry a load. The strong do not merely put up with weaker believers; they help carry them. Pleasing rightly (15:2). “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good.” This is not people-pleasing; the goal is the neighbor’s good and growth. The pattern (15:3). “For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.’” Paul quotes Psalm 69:9. Many Christians see Psalm 69 as a picture of the Messiah’s sufferings, and the New Testament quotes it about Jesus more than once. Scripture and hope (15:4). The Old Testament was “written for our learning,” giving patience, comfort and hope. One mouth (15:5-6). Paul prays to “the God of patience and comfort” that He would make them “like-minded toward one another,” so that “with one mind and one mouth” they would glorify God. Unity is for worship. The summary (15:7). “Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.” Proslambano returns: the welcome of 14:1 is now grounded in Christ’s welcome. Just as. Christ received us when we had nothing to offer and much to forgive. He died for our sins and rose again; through faith we are welcomed. That sets the measure for how we receive others. Application. Your welcome of others shows what Christ’s welcome is like. Make room at your lunch table and in your church for believers who differ from you on open questions.

Paul said strong believers should help weaker ones. We should not just please ourselves. We should help our neighbors grow stronger in faith. Jesus did not live to please Himself. He went to the cross for us. Paul quoted a psalm: “When people insult you, it hurts me.” Many Christians see that psalm as a picture of Jesus. Paul prayed the believers would agree with each other. Paul said, “Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other.” Jesus welcomed us when we were still sinners. So we can welcome a new kid or a different friend. That brings glory to God!

Jesus welcomed us, so we welcome others. Being kind never means doing what feels wrong. If something feels wrong, tell a grown-up you trust.