[𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘖𝘋 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘡𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴”, 𝘣𝘺 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘥. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘗𝘢𝘶𝘭’𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘦. … 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦: “𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴: 𝘈 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢” 𝘣𝘺 𝘛𝘰𝘮 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘓𝘰𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘹 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘐𝘯𝘤, 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝟷𝟿𝟺𝟿.]

Sadly, differences divide us.  And the fledgling church in Rome was no stranger to this reality.  

“The church at Rome was composed of a polygot company of peoples, because in those days Rome was really the center of the earth.  It was a cosmopolitan city into which filtered men of all races, and Jews and Gentiles intermingled freely.  Jewish believers had come from a religious institution that dated back to Abraham and which was in itself wholesome and good.  Now it had been eclipsed by the greater light of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who had died and risen.  Their ritualism had been supplanted by the liberty of Christianity.” (Westwood, p 285).

From the very beginning of his letter, Paul urged believers in Rome to prioritize unity, emphasizing their common ground as sinners saved by grace who were forging new paths of devotion to CHRIST.

The problem was that those (equally sincere) believers differed in their convictions about what “devotion to CHRIST” should look like on a day-to-day basis.  In Romans 14, Paul addressed a spirit of criticism that had arisen from seemingly irresolvable impasses regarding which foods were acceptable and unacceptable to eat and which calendar dates should be observed in specific ways.  

Disagreements were so sharp that they threatened to fracture the local body of believers, detract from the joy of their salvation, stunt their spiritual growth, and derail their commitment to the spread of the good news of the gospel.

Paul realigned their thinking with a few poignant questions and challenges:

• Why do you look down on another believer? (14:11)
• Each of us will give a personal account to GOD.  So, let’s stop condemning each other. (14:12)
• Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. (14:13)
• Let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up. (14:19)

The Gospel Coalition captured the heart of this chapter so beautifully:

“In Romans 14, Paul continues instructions on interpersonal relationships.  The church living in loving unity is a witness to the unbelieving world, and Jews and Greeks reconciled in the gospel is a powerful testimony to the uniting power of grace.

The new covenant has dawned.  GOD’s people are no longer instructed to eat only certain foods and to observe in a ceremonial way certain days.  For this reason, Paul says “everything is … clean” (14:20).  Yet the same grace that has washed over the world in JESUS and cleansed all of life for believers is the grace that impels believers to act in love for one another.  …  

The gospel frees us.  And the gospel binds us.  As Martin Luther wrote concerning Christian liberty, “The Christian is the most free lord of all, subject to none; and the Christian is the most dutiful servant of all, subject to everyone.”

Because Christians are set free from the law of ordinances (Eph 2:15) and are under grace (Rom 6:14), we are free to follow our Spirit-informed consciences in matters on which the Bible is silent. … Paul commends the Christian to his conscience on these matters, but transcending even that freedom, he wants CHRIST to be honored and our neighbors to be loved.  

So, while we are free to do that which is not sin, we are not free to exercise liberty in a way that does not edify or serve our brothers and sisters.”  

These are tricky situations to navigate.  How do we remain true and honest to our own convictions while respecting someone else’s position, especially when it differs so dramatically from our own?   How does our love for the LORD translate to genuine love for one another?

I found Tom Westwood’s perspective very helpful (pp 279-288), pointing our thoughts toward the only One worthy of our highest priority, the One to whom we are fully accountable – our LORD and Savior! 

“GOD is the Judge to whom we who are sinners have been reconciled through the work of the LORD JESUS on Calvary.  In this part of the Epistle, Paul is setting forth the conduct that befits forgiven sinners.

The criterion in your life and mine, if we are Christians, is that we belong to the LORD … Christian fellowship does not subsist in intelligence, it subsists in love.  “By this shall all men know that you are My disciples, if you have love one to another” (John 13:15).

I wonder in what direction we have gone since we were spiritually resurrected, saved by GOD’s grace.  Many Christians seem to think they have been saved in order to do as they please.  The fact is we have been liberated in order to do as the LORD pleases.  You and I as Christians were dead spiritually.  By the operative power of GOD we have been quickened and now we are set free, and we must acknowledge that we owe everything to the LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Since all believers have literally been resurrected from spiritual death there should be a mutual sympathy with one another, and a great sense of forbearance.  We must ever remember that we are going to give an account to the LORD for the way in which we treat each other.  You and I have our own individual path to tread before GOD.  You cannot travel on my faith, nor can I travel on yours.”

In our Emmaus Study, William MacDonald echoed many of these thoughts, but with some additionally interesting insights (pp 136-137):

“There must be mutual forbearance (14:3).  The Christian who exercises his liberty must not put down his brother who has a tender conscience about a particular issue.

The lordship of CHRIST enters into every aspect of the live of a believer (14:7).  The principle is that we don’t live to ourselves but to the LORD.  Everything we do in life is subject to CHRIST’s scrutiny and approval (14:8-9).  We test things by how they appear in His presence.  Every believer is going to stand before the judgment seat of CHRIST.  His evaluation of our lives and service is the only one that really counts (14:10).”

So, if we don’t want to get bogged down in disagreements about personal convictions, if we want to shift our focus toward CHRIST and His evaluation of our days, what did Paul suggest instead?

The Kingdom of GOD is not a matter of what we eat or drink but of living a life of goodness [righteousness] and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  If you serve CHRIST with this attitude, you will please GOD…” (Romans 14:17-18).

Tom Westwood suggested that Paul was pointing believers away from rituals they once held to a new reality, reflecting the character of CHRIST (p 286):

“If you and I have been brought into the kingdom of GOD by the new birth through the work of the LORD JESUS CHRIST on Calvary, it is not to the end that GOD might make good ritualists out of us, but that He might make Christians.  

Righteousness is the primary basis of our conduct; we must be honest, straightforward, unpretentious, sincere, and candid.  

Peace is the second, and peace established upon righteousness is sure to stand.  In Christianity, we have reached a point where people who have absolutely diverse backgrounds and inclinations are renewed in the spirit of their mind and brought into a unity of purpose and action; thus peace subsists.  

But it is not a mechanized organization that clanks along regulated by certain principles.  The third item is joy in the Holy Spirit.  Our church life should be a joyous life and not merely one of rectitude.”

Mr. MacDonald added these final thoughts (p 139):

“Love foregoes its legitimate rights in order to promote the welfare of a brother.  A dish of food isn’t as important as the spiritual well-being of a person for whom CHRIST died.  Instead of stumbling others by insisting on our rights, we should strive to build up others in their most holy faith.

GOD is doing a work in the life of each one of His children (14:20).  It is frightening to think of hindering that work in the life of a [fellow believer] over secondary matters.”

Reading Mr. MacDonald’s closing comments, my mind drifted to a tandem study about surrender.  As we dig deep into the Biblical truths of wholehearted devotion to GOD, it is abundantly clear that as followers of CHRIST, we gave up any “personal rights” a long time ago!  

If GOD’s heart, mind, and purposes are the only concerns that matter, then my personal preferences aren’t even in the equation.  He calls me to set my desires aside for the good of a fellow believer, yes.  But at the core of it all, I am called to keep my eyes on JESUS and follow where He leads.  He will never steer me in a direction that will place His best path for someone else in jeopardy.

“What is [their path] to you?  You follow Me.” (John 21:22)

CHRIST’s work of redemption reconciles us to the Father and to each other.  His Spirit transforms our hearts to reflect His own, positioning His church to display the beauty of unity and harmony made possible by His redeeming grace.  We are a diverse group of would-be-ugly humans who have been set free to love one another the way JESUS loves us!

JESUS looked up to heaven and said, “ … I pray for all who will believe in Me … that they will be one, just as You and I are one – as You are in Me, Father, and I am in You.  And may they be in us so that the world will believe You sent Me.”  (John 17:20-21)

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.  (Ephesians 4:3)

RESOURCES:

“The Letter to the ROMANS,” by William MacDonald, Emmaus Worldwide, 2020, Revised 2023.

“Romans: A Courtroom Drama,” by Tom Westwood, Loizeaux Brothers, Inc, New York, 1949.

The Bible Project, video summary of the book of Romans, Parts 1 & 2.

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/romans-1-4/

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/romans-5-16/

“Knowing the Bible: Romans”, by Jared C. Wilson, The Gospel Coalition,  thegospelcoalition.org .