The Weak and the Strong
1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The 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. 4Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 11It is written:
" 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord,
'every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will confess to God.' "[1] 12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. 14As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food[2] is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 16Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. 17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
19Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
22So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
This chapter continues Paul’s theme of loving one another. We could continue on through the first half of chapter
15 as well, because Paul’s point all the way is to accept each other as we have been accepted by God. Since God
accepts us to sanctify us, we should build each other up. Notice several points in these verses:-
V1-4a, 10-13 – Do not pass judgment on disputable matters. All are accountable to God. Do not cause your brother
to stumble. Paul says to “accept him whose faith is weak.” Who is that? Remember that God gives us different
measures of grace and different measures of faith and different gifts. And He does so for His sovereign purpose
to build the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ. The person with weak faith is not described as a Christian
living in sin; rather he is someone who is making efforts to glorify God in and by his behavior. This is not a
bad thing! But at the same time, the weak-in-faith brother has not grown to understand Christian liberty and is
perhaps not as well grounded in the teaching of Scripture and in the practice of the Christian life. Perhaps he
is a new believer, a baby Christian, someone who has never read the Bible or is bogged down with a particular
Old Testament ceremonial law, someone who is caught up in some form of legalism without realizing it. Paul is
gentle here, using the word “weak” as encouragement. It’s not bad to be weak for a time, but none of us want
to remain weak. 1 Corinthians 3:1-3; Hebrews 5:12-13 And the reason Paul calls them “weak” is that they think
abstaining from meat perceived as unclean is more glorifying to God than eating. They don’t realize that
whatever we do, whether eating and drinking or abstaining from meat and wine, we glorify God. This chapter
ties in well with 1 Corinthians 8. Read them together, and these 2 passages will interpret each other. Let
Scripture interpret Scripture. Paul tells us that the weaker brothers lack knowledge of the freedom they have
in Christ and of the fact that all things are meant to glorify God. It takes time for our knowledge to be made
complete (Romans 15:14; Isaiah 11:9; Ephesians 4:13).
Paul has some words for these less-mature Christians and the way they relate to more-mature Christians, but his
primary concern is how the stronger Christians relate to the weaker Christians. Why should we whose faith is not
weak (described as “strong” in Romans 15:1) accept the one weak in faith? Because “God has accepted him” (v3b).
Notice the parallel in Romans 15:7.
Our motive should also be right in accepting the one whose faith is weak. In other words, don’t bring a young
Christian into your group of mature Christians solely for the purpose of boasting in your freedom, denouncing
his lifestyle by displaying your “free” actions which seem sinful to him. Sure, encourage him to grow and
learn in understanding of doctrine and lifestyle application, but don’t bring him down by including him just
to prove that everything he is doing is inconsistent with true freedom in Christ.
What are the “disputable matters” that Paul mentions? What are non-disputable matters? What if two parties don’t
agree on what matters are disputable? How to handle these situations is among the most challenging issues of our
day. And it’s encouraging to see that Paul had the same concerns. Differences of opinion about moral and ethical
and religious matters are often of great significance to the individuals who hold those opinions. How do you deal
with that with in the local body? Paul is addressing that here. And let’s acknowledge that these differences are
not in regards to justification by faith or anything to do with the Gospel. These are lifestyle differences more
so than doctrinal differences or morality issues. Doctrinal differences and morality issues require a more
hard-nosed stance, but these particular lifestyle differences, as disputable matters, require mutual forbearance.
The more mature Christian should be patient with the less mature Christian, thereby allowing room for growth. And
notice that God holds those Christians to whom He grants a greater measure of faith to higher standards than
those to whom He grants a lesser measure of faith. The more you know, the more accountable you are to God. And
the more you have received, the more you should patiently nurture and encourage your weaker brothers.
The weak-in-faith brother in this passage struggles with clean and unclean foods. Paul acknowledges here, in
agreement with Jesus and Peter, that all foods are clean if eaten in thanksgiving. Some of the Jews in Paul’s
audience were having a tough time letting go of their Jewish ceremonial law heritage; they certainly didn’t want
to be eating meat that had been sacrificed to pagan idols. The Gentiles in Paul’s audience were not struggling
with those issues at all. The same may be true for us. Consider Seventh-Day Adventists. Whether they are cultic
is another concern, but allow them to be our brothers for this example. They eat only kosher foods and celebrate
the Sabbath as Saturday – and they’re pretty legalistic about it; so we shouldn’t invite them “to jog over to our
house for the pig roast on Saturday.” We shouldn’t call them foolish vegetarians; we shouldn’t say to them, “Don’t
you know that all foods are clean in Christ!?” That would be “looking down” on them. In fellowshipping with weaker
faith brothers, we must avoid doing things or saying things that might make them stumble. And notice that their
“stumbling” would be to judge us in our “Sabbath”-desecrating pork-fest, which of course, they need to strive to
avoid.
As weak-in-faith Christians, we might criticize or condemn the behavior of seemingly stronger Christians, not
understanding how “everything is permissible.” For example, a weak Christian might condemn a strong Christian
for having a glass of wine with dinner. Paul says not to do that, because Scripture nowhere condemns having a
drink. At the same time, strong Christians might look down on the weak Christians, treating them as if they are
missing out on the pleasures of Christian freedom. For example, a strong Christian might invite the weak Christian
to have a glass of wine with supper, fully knowing that the weak Christian doesn’t drink and doesn’t believe that
it’s right for any Christian to drink. And Paul says not to do that to the weaker brother. Mutual respect is the
principle, and it’s based on God’s acceptance of us.
Notice v4 combined with v10-13: “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or
falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.... You, then, why do you judge your brother?
Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: ‘As
surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.’
[Isaiah 45:23] So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing
judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s
way.”
Paul’s illustration is that of a household slave or servant, a menial worker. And the one judging this slave or
servant or menial worker needs to realize that he is not the head of household. We are not the master of our
fellow man. Only God is the master, and so all men are first and foremost accountable to Him. In fact, Paul
makes it clear that God’s judgment of us should play a major factor in our lifestyle choices. We should think
and behave in light of the fact that we will stand before God and give an account of our whole lives. That ought
to scare us into humble, loving obedience!
Does this mean that we don’t judge one another? Of course not! The principle is this: Don’t judge or despise
your fellow believers by treating them as unbelievers or by being critical of them without brotherly affection.
We should not be too quick to take upon ourselves the role of judge and master. We should give as much room as
we possibly can to the consciences of our brothers in Christ. As we’ll see in a minute, the conscience of an
individual plays an important role in this as well. And lastly here, notice Paul’s transition from attitudes
toward one another to actions or behaviors toward one another. Recall Jesus’ admonition (Matthew 18:1-6; Luke
17:1-5) not to make a little one stumble. He was speaking to the disciples, so that warning may very well be
for the mature-in-faith dealing with the weak-in-faith.
Matthew 7:1-5; Luke 6:37-42 As these passages suggest, we are to judge ourselves first. How does this truth fit
with the pattern of men’s accountability groups? We need help judging ourselves! And we’ll never finish that
task, because we’re not yet glorified. Every time we think about judging or looking down on or condemning our
Christian brother, we should stop to examine ourselves. We’ll find faults, and thus, we shouldn’t even think
about condemning or judging or looking down on one another. John 8:7 And others likewise should be looking at
themselves in the same light. Accountability groups should be for the purpose of aiding self-examination. If
someone in your group doesn’t want to examine themselves in light of the Word of God, then perhaps they ought
not to be a member of the group. We need to avoid being stumbling blocks to our Christian brethren. We should
seek not to tear others down, but to build others up and to be built up. It’s okay to place a stepping stone
on their path, but not a stumbling block.
And then notice that the weak believer, and the strong one too for that matter, is not only accountable before
God, but will certainly stand before God. Why? The Lord is able to make him stand. We’ll all give an account
before the judgment seat of God, before the throne of Christ. And believers will be found standing after that.
I think it’s critical to recall that God grants faith in different measures. We may not understand why, but we
trust God’s reasoning. Since he’s the One granting the faith, it only makes sense that He would be able to keep
a person in the faith which He has granted to them. Philippians 1:6 Perhaps He’ll increase it; perhaps He’ll
increase their faith by your influence on them. 1 Timothy 4:1-8 Regardless, since God will make the weaker brother
stand, we ought to do the same. Why should we tear him down if God will make him stand?
To summarize, Paul brings up the little things, the disputable matters, and tells us to be loving and supportive
to one another; then he exhorts us to keep in mind the bigger picture – we will all face judgment and God will
make us stand. He’ll now do a similar thing in the next portion of this chapter:
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V5-9 – Illustrations of the principle that Christ is master of all and Lord over the living and the dead. Paul
has shown us that believers have different levels of faith in the example of food. Now he turns to the Sabbath
to continue the illustration. It’s the same idea: Don’t look down on one another or condemn one another. Regarding
the Sabbath, Paul is not denying the importance of the Lord’s Day. He’s saying to the Jewish Christians who still
observe the feast days and the Jewish Sabbath that the Gentile Christians don’t have to do that. Everyone stills
observes the Lord’s Day. So perhaps it’s more like our being legalistic about attending the Wednesday night
service or something. Galatians 4:10-11; Colossians 2:16-17 You mustn’t observe the Lord’s Day so that I will
see you observing the Lord’s Day. Observe the Lord’s Day for the Lord! If you don’t see me observing the Lord’s
Day, don’t think critically of me. I am accountable to God for my Lord’s Day observance. You don’t know my
motives, but Jesus does, and He’ll reveal that on Judgment Day. We are to live for each other, to build each
other up, not to tear each other down, so encourage me to attend and participate in community worship, but
don’t condemn me if I’m not there. And I’ll not invite you to skip church to play golf if I know that you’d
be offended by that.
“Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” This is important statement “A” in Paul’s explanation of
these principles. Several weeks ago, Albert Mohler wrote on and discussed Christians and birth control. This
topic is of special interest to me; and his conclusion was that of Paul’s. If you’re a believer, be fully
convinced in your own mind on these “minor” issues. If I’m fully convinced that birth control is okay, then
it is. If I’m fully convinced that birth control is not okay, then it is not. Is that correct thinking? Perhaps
it is, but Scripture doesn’t discuss condoms or the pill; and that’s why it fits here. But what about issues on
which Scripture is clear? What should we watch out for with this type of thinking?
A good principle here is that the more mature brother must protect the conscience of the weaker brother; and the
weaker brother must seek to have his conscience in Christ and informed by Scripture. In other words, we should
all seek to have our consciences on every matter confirmed by Scripture, and we should all prayerfully seek the
advice of those we deem stronger in faith. And thus, we should make decisions on “disputable matters” as
follows: Be (1) fully convinced that what you are committed to is (2) not sinful, as validated by the Word
of God, (3) honoring to Christ (glorifying to God), and (4) the best way you can think for yourself to act
in the given situation. Regardless on our differing decisions, Paul wants us to be aware that the weak are
not self-exalting in their abstinence or dissention, and the strong are not self-indulgent in their liberty
or affirmation. Both are doing what their consciences have allowed, even commanded. Both are glorifying God.
Yet, it’s very difficult to see how this is truly possible. How can eating and not-eating (abstaining or
fasting) in the same circumstance both glorify God equally? Paul explains that in light of living and
not-living (dying) as both glorifying to God.
“If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord.” This is important statement “B” in
Paul’s explanation of these principles. It is not enough to be fully convinced in one’s own mind about
certain behaviors. We must also commit to doing everything “for the Lord” or “to the Lord.” 1 Corinthians
10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” Those two important
statements summarize our behavior in Christ. After all, we were bought with an expensive price; we belong
to the Lord! Are we worshipping and serving and resting on the Lord’s Day to the glory of Lord? Are we playing
golf on the Lord’s Day to the glory of the Lord? If there is no explicit violation of being Christ-like, then
we ought not condemn or look down at anyone.
This is our Christian liberty: we are free to serve Christ. Paul refuses to set up a specific rule to solve the
issue at hand. He appeals to this general principle. He longs for the Christian to be captive to God’s Word and
to God’s will, and he presses home this great principle of God’s ownership of us. No believer “lives or dies to
himself alone” (v7). Our living is through Him, with Him, in Him, to Him, and for Him. And better still, our
dying is the same. To die is gain, and, as Paul says, “For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life
so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.” Christ died and rose to life so He could be LORD
OF ALL! No one else has conquered the grave. No one else deserves to be Lord. Christ alone is worthy.
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V14-15, 20-23 – Everything is clean, but only when accepted in faith. Do not cause your brother to stumble. God
says that the food is not unclean and Paul agrees: “nothing is unclean in itself.” What makes something unclean?
Motive and conscience, not the food itself. When a person considers something to be unclean, then to him it is
unclean! If in my heart and conscience I consider something to be wrong, then I must not do it. In time I may
need to rethink and relearn some things in light of God’s Word and I will discover that what I thought was wrong
was not wrong at all! Is Paul saying that the conscience determines what is clean and unclean? No. He’s saying
that our freedom is to be used lovingly for the good of our brethren. Some Christians believe that it is wrong
for them to eat certain things and others believe it is right for them to eat those things. And Paul is addressing
how we love each other in that situation. Let’s make sure we understand that truth is not becoming subjective
here!
“If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating
destroy your brother for whom Christ died.” There’s nothing I can add to what Paul says here. He has just told
us repeatedly from chapter 12 on to act in love, and here he says that if a fellow Christian is distressed
because of your food choices (or your actions), then you are acting in an unloving way. Then he uses the word,
“destroy,” and it’s strong. It’s a command not to cause your brother to sin by doing something you perceive as
permissible and he perceives as sinful in his presence. God in Christ loved this brother so much that He made
the greatest sacrifice to save him from eternal destruction. In light of Calvary’s cross, should we not make a
small sacrifice (giving up some pork chops) for our brother’s temporal welfare? Christ sacrificed everything so
that this brother would not be destroyed eternally. Can I not sacrifice a glass of wine so that my brother will
not be ruined in his earthly Christian walk? Do you see how important the edification of believers is to God?
Compare 1 Corinthians 8.
1 Corinthians 8:1 “Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up,
but love builds up.” In other words, knowledge says, “I know that I am free to eat this meat because God has said
so in 1 Timothy 4:3-6,” and love says, “I will lay aside my right to eat this meat for the sake of my weaker
brother. I don’t want my actions to be a problem for him.” That’s what Christian freedom is for – to build up
the Body of Christ, and not to break it down or destroy it.
V20-23: “Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to
eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything
else that will cause your brother to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and
God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned
if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” God is
in the process of justifying the wicked and sanctifying the justified. Even though all things are permissible,
we would be sinning if we did something or ate something that causes our brother to stumble. For the weaker
brother, and actually for all believers, we must be convinced that what we are doing is right. Whatever is done
without conviction that it is right is sinful. Here is the summary: The voice of conscience must not be ignored.
As we grow in the knowledge of the Word of God, our conscience may need to be corrected. Recall – “Be
transformed by the renewing of your mind.” If we are involved in the decision-making process, and we’re
sure what to do, and it’s grounded in the Word of God, then we ought to do it. If we’re not sure that it’s
okay, we mustn’t do it.
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V16 – Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. Paul commands us never to lose sight of what
s essential and really important. And there are two ways to view the massage of this verse. First, if a believer
does not eat a pork chop, out of love for a fellow believer, he has not lost or sacrificed anything essential;
if a believer loses or sacrifices righteousness, then this is a serious problem. Fruits of the Spirit must be
allowed to be displayed. If a brother is offended by your gentleness or patience, then by all means continue
being gentle and patient, even at the expense of your Christian brother’s walk. He simply should not be offended
by the fruits of the Spirit is he is a true believer. Do you ever get sick of seeing people displaying the fruits
of the Spirit in genuine love and joy? I’m sad to say that I do. How can that be? Who will save me? Thanks be to
God!
Second, if you use what you consider to be good in the wrong way and it ends up bringing your weaker brother down,
then it will be spoken of as evil. So don’t use that which you consider good to bring someone down – even
unintentionally. Think before you act. Ask yourself: Will this help the unity of the community? If you’re
not certain that it will, don’t do it. I can’t make a decision that doesn’t have an impact on you. You’re
my brother, and what I do, even in a closet, impacts you. The apostle Paul wants us to always be thinking
about one another because we love one another as members of the same Body.
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V17-19 – The Kingdom of God is a matter of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Do what leads to
mutual edification. Paul keeps on this theme, but he shows how the message is broader than merely what we eat
or how we observe the Sabbath. The question is: How are we free to serve Christ in all aspects of our lives?
How are we free to let the reign of God be manifest even now before the glorification? Not merely by eating
all kinds of foods or no longer having to observe all the important feast days, but by living unto
righteousness (1 Peter 2:24), by sharing God’s peace (John 14:27) and by experiencing the fullness of God’s joy
(John 15:11). Righteousness, peace, and joy once again drive us back to Romans 5:1-11. Having been declared
righteous (justified), we are now free to live to righteousness, share God’s peace, and experience His joy
in its fullness. And these things are of far greater importance than eating pork and drinking wine. Paul is
telling us not to get so excited about the lesser freedoms that we ignore the greater freedoms or that we
cease to care about our brothers themselves enjoying the greater freedoms. God is delighted and well-pleased
when believers are filled with the Spirit, manifesting the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
But there is a way to serve God in such a way as to dishonor Him. If we serve thinking He needs us, then that
is dishonoring. We must live righteously, not because He needs us, but because we are being changed and conformed
to the image of Christ, not because we are striving for our own glory, but because we genuinely and passionately
want to look like Christ. God is pleased by such conduct and even men approve such conduct. What else can they
do but approve of such conduct? How can they disapprove of a righteous life? How can they speak against one who
is at peace in the midst of trials? How can they object to the fact that a person is joyous with a joy that does
not depend upon circumstances?
As I mentioned earlier, God is concerned with the edification, or the sanctification, or the strengthening of
individuals within the church and of the church as a whole. Paul stresses that here, as believers have a
responsibility to edify one another. “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to
mutual edification” (v19). And so, as part of our routine thinking on ethical decisions, we should ask,
“Will this bring harmony, and will it mutually edify?”
Footnotes
- 14:11 Isaiah 45:23
- 14:14 Or that nothing
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