Romans 14 is about attitudes towards other believers. The basic premise is that each believer belongs to God, and God receives him without looking down on him or condemning him—therefore, we should receive him in the same way.
“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him” (Romans 14:1-3).
This means that there is something more important than being right. In verse 5 Paul says, “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (Romans 14:5).
God allows us to think differently, but He does not allow us to break fellowship because of it. Even if the positions we hold are right, we can be in sin because of how we hold them.
Please read the rest of Romans 14. The first half of the chapter tells us not to dispute with those we disagree with. We are not to try to convince them that they are wrong and we are right. The second half of the chapter tells us that we are not to participate in anything that will cause a fellow believer to stumble. Notice that the “kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (v. 17). God is more interested in the quality of our walk with Him than in the physical things we participate in.
*Excerpted from Being Christian. To purchase, visit ccmbooks.org/bookstore.
This post coordinates with today’s reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us. We would love to have you reading with us.
