In Romans 14, Paul talks to Christians about judging one another. Specifically, there are people who will follow different customs and practices than we will. We are to get our direction from the Bible as to what doctrine we follow. But there are some things which the Holy Spirit will lead us to know what is right and what is not right. These are things which the Bible may be silent about, and we must rely upon the Holy Spirit to guide us in.
In Paul’s day, non-Christians offered meat to false idols. There was a debate among Christians whether or not it was alright to eat this sacrificed meat. The Bible doesn’t explicitly say that the meat was spiritually tainted or not. Some Christians took this meat and gave thanks to God for it. Other Christians, who Paul refers to as “weak” thought it was sinful to eat of this sacrificed meat.
The point Paul makes is that we are to receive one another, and have fellowship with each other even though we may carry out traditions which conflict with each other. Keep in mind that Paul isn’t talking about Biblical doctrine here. Our doctrine is laid out in God’s Word. Paul is talking about customs and practices when the Bible may be silent about.
In fact, we do not have the authority to judge one another concerning these things. Christians are all servants of God. One servant does not have the authority or position to judge another servant. The final judge will be the Lord.
Romans 14:4 “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant?…”
We should receive those who follow Biblical doctrine, and not judge over the manner in which God’s Will is carried out. It is easy for the devil to cause a rift within a church over the smallest of things. Not often is a church divided over Biblical doctrine; it is over small things and the day-to-day operation of the church. When these things happen, we need to keep in mind that we as Christians are all part of one tree, one Christian family, all acting in unison to serve the Lord.
To learn more about Romans 14, follow this link.
