Weak Brothers XXVIII

"14 I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 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. 16 Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense." (Rom. 14: 14-20 nkjv)

One of the errors of the religiously weak and sickly is that they believe that observing religious diets and holy days are essentials for finding favor with God. Paul says this to them: "But food does not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse." (I Cor. 8: 8 nkjv) Jesus also said: "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” (Matt. 15: 11 nkjv) In the above text in Romans Paul says "for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men." So, the issues separating the weak from the strong are doctrinal and have to do with what God requires for salvation, for being "acceptable to God." We have already shown how the things that Paul discusses relative to the religiously sick ones has to do with salvation. Recall that he said "through your knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died" (I Cor. 8: 11) and in the above text he speaks of "destroying the work of God for the sake of food." So, those commentators who say that the "disputable" things of Romans chapter fourteen are mere opinions dealing with minor, tertiary, unimportant matters are wrong. If that were so, then why would salvation be at stake?

Paul's Message to the Weak

 

1. Religious diets and observing holy days avail nothing.

2. Nothing is unclean in itself, all food being pure in themselves.

3. Do not judge and condemn the Christian for not observing diets and holy days.

4. Who are you to judge another Lord's servants? Only his Lord may judge him.

5. The idols are not real, there being but one God

6. There is but one Lord and he is Jesus Christ

7. Be fully persuaded of your beliefs

Paul's Message to the Strong

1. Receive kindly the religiously weak

2. Do not offend the weak ones

3. Do not put stumbling blocks in the way of the weak coming to true faith

4. Seek the good and salvation of the weak above all things

5. Be sensitive to the infirmities of the weak and lead them gently to truth

6. Do not wound the religious conscience of the weak

7. Show the love of Christ toward the weak

8. Do some religious things in private and not in the presence of the weak

9. Do not provoke the weak to sin but provoke to love and good works

10. Be fully persuaded of your beliefs

The Solution

The solution is simple. The weak are not to utterly judge the religiously strong for eating all meats and for not observing holy days, allowing the Lord of the strong (Jesus) to judge his own servants. The strong are not to show contempt for the weak but should be concerned with them being saved from destruction. If the weak are offended by seeing the strong eat meat he thinks is forbidden, then the strong should not eat meat in their presence. Paul makes these summary statements:

"Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble." (I Cor. 8: 13 nkjv)

"It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak." (Rom. 14: 21 nkjv)

"Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God." (vs. 22)

"Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil."

The apostle Paul wrote:

"Abstain from all appearance of evil." (I Thess. 5: 22 kjv) I think this is the basic message to the strong ones (saved people) in their behavior towards the religiously sick, to those in false belief. Some might think this is hypocrisy, to eat pork for instance in private but not in public. Some also might think it is a case of living in fear of the weak. But, that is not the apostle Paul's perspective. He thinks that it shows love towards the spiritually sick to not do anything to hinder a sinner's coming to Christ and embracing the Christian faith. A companion text of Paul for the above text would be these words:

"So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh." (Col. 2: 16-23 nkjv)

This text should be studied in conjunction with the following text, one which we have already cited more than once.

"But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain." (Gal. 4: 8-11 nkjv)

Both of these texts are addressed to Gentile Christians who had once been polytheists and worshiped other idols and gods. Though they may have some application to Christian Jews, they are not the chief subject. Paul says to the Galatian believers "you served those which by nature are not gods." They also refer to false religion, i.e. "self-imposed religion." They also mention the keeping of various religious rules and regulations, such as keeping religious diets and observing religious holy days and feasts, or a religious calendar, all which are summed up in the words "do not touch, do not taste, do not handle." These represent man made religious rules in three categories. Some things are forbidden to touch, such as the Jews had about touching the bodies of the dead and becoming unclean. (Numb. 19: 13) Further, once a Jew touched a dead body, either human or animal, everything he touches likewise becomes unclean. (Hag. 2: 13; Lev. 11: 24-38; Isa. 52: 11) Some things are not to be tasted or eaten. Finally, some things are not to be handled. False religion, and even the religion of God for the Jews under the old covenant, has numerous regulations about such things. 

The above texts which describe false religion are applicable to those called "weak brothers." When Paul says "let no man judge you in food or drink or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths" we see this clearly. In Romans chapter fourteen it is the weak and sickly brothers who are judging the strong brothers for not observing such rules and "regulations" which are "according to the commandments and doctrines of men" and part of their "self-imposed religion" intended to "neglect of the body" and defeat the "indulgence of the flesh." However, keeping those various regulations are "of no value" in combating the flesh. It is the weak brothers who "turn again to the weak and beggarly elements" and involve themselves in "observing days and months and seasons and years." These are descriptions not of saved people, but of lost religious people. It will also include professing Christians who enter the church without having been born again or truly saved.

Yes, Christians do have things that they are not to touch, taste, or handle. For instance, the scriptures mention "touching" a woman in sexual intercourse (I Cor. 7: 1) and they forbid touching any woman in this sense outside of marriage. Christians are also not to touch the evil world, morally and spiritually. That is the way for them to "keep unspotted from the world." (James 1: 27) So Paul cites the Oracle of God, saying: "Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” (II Cor. 6: 17 nkjv)

Wrote Gill in his commentary:

"and touch not the unclean thing. The allusion is to several laws under the former dispensation, which forbid touching many things which were accounted unclean, whereby pollution was contracted, and the persons were obliged to a ceremonial cleansing; see Leviticus 5:2 Numbers 19:11. It has no regard to touching, tasting, and eating any sort of food, which was forbid as unclean by the ceremonial law; for the difference between meats clean and unclean was now removed; but if anything is particularly designed by the unclean thing, it seems to be idolatry, and to be a prohibition of joining with worshippers of idols in their idolatrous practices, whereby a moral pollution is contracted; since in the beginning of the former verse it is said, "what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" though it is rather intended in general, to forbid all communion and fellowship with unclean persons and things, not to touch them, to come nigh them, or have anything to do with them."

The saints at Colossae were being told that it was wrong to eat certain foods, etc. They were told that keeping these man-made rules was the key to spirituality. The practices Paul is alluding to appear to be forms of asceticism and legalism. Spirituality is not the result of keeping a multitude of man-made religious rules and regulations. Many religions, and some Christian cults, are full of such man-made ordinances. 

The things which the Christian is not to involve himself in are mentioned by the apostle Peter when he writes:

"For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles--when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries." (I Peter 4: 3 nkjv)

These are unclean things which the Christian is not to "touch, taste, or handle" in coming out from among false religionists and coming to the Lord. Involvement in such things is to walk no more according to the principles of the world, or of "self-imposed religion." Some things have the appearance of being spiritual, religious, or holy, but in reality are but facades. Paul mentions that some of the religious rules to which Christians are no longer subject dealt with abstinence of various kinds, and of ways to "neglect the body." 

The weak and sickly brothers are they who are still bound to these man-made religious rules and traditions. They think that holiness and nearness to God is measured by how many such rules a man keeps.