Calvary Road Baptist Church

“REBUKING THE STRONG AND THE WEAK”

Romans 14.3-4 

Sometime before the Apostle Paul wrote his letter to the Romans he was made aware of a conflict that was developing in the Churches in that city. The situation was similar to a difficulty he had successfully dealt with in Corinth, but much less severe a problem than had been seen in the Churches in Galatia and Colossae. It seems that there were two groups in the Roman Churches; the majority, who believed that their liberty in Christ extended to complete freedom from dietary restrictions, and the minority, who believed that Christians should, for reasons not even hinted at by Paul, avoid meat of any kind.

At first glance and without a great deal of reflection, one might think that such a passage as we are now examining has little application to 21st-century living. But such a conclusion would be premature and quite erroneous. Though most believers do not often come across genuinely born-again Christians who dispute about such things as whether or not meat can or cannot be eaten, the subtle conflict between brothers who are strong in the faith and brothers who are weak in the faith continues.

Let me suggest how disagreements between brothers strong in the faith and brothers weak in the faith might take shape in 2019. Perhaps not many in Southern California, but in other parts of the country, there are Christians who believe that no Christian should, at any time, or for any reason, listen to any music for pleasure except Christian music. I submit to you that this is a strong in the faith versus weak in the faith issue.

Some Christians, and I would argue that they are weak in the faith, consider it to be wrong to read for pleasure anything that is not specifically Christian written material. Still others would argue that modest attire on a woman is not pleasing to God unless and until it is modest attire that is in the form of a skirt or a dress. Pants, they say, are never appropriate for a woman to wear.

Some of you have been around long enough to remember when it was considered by most Christians to be sinful to eat in any restaurant that served alcoholic beverages or to purchase food from any store that sold beer or wine. I declare to you that this, too, was a strong in the faith versus weak in the faith issue.

Here’s another one for you. Working on Sunday. Some Christians are of the opinion that it is evil, wicked, mean, and nasty to work on Sunday. If that is true, is it not strange that nowhere in the New Testament are slaves who are Christians given advice on how to refuse to do any work for their masters on Sunday?

I don’t think it is sinful to work on Sunday. But I do think it is sinful to work during Church. And I will quit any job, since I am not a slave and I do not have to continue working a job, which requires that I miss Sunday services more frequently than once in a blue moon. My service to Christ is more important than my job. I can get another job since I am not lazy, indolent or useless.

So, we see that this tension that exists between Christians strong in the faith and Christians weak in the faith has not gone away. And it will never go away. It will only appear with different faces on it, all the while being the same problem underneath.

The brother who is strong in the faith, who Paul identifies with by the way in Romans 15.1, is the Christian who has more fully seen and accepted the implications of having real liberty in Christ than has the Christian who is weak in the faith. The one weak in the faith, though genuinely saved in this context, still finds limitations on his liberty, such as rules and regulations designed to indicate his level of spirituality, both comforting and pleasant. By the way, let it be noted that nowhere do we see Paul indicating that either the strong or the weak are carnal. What we do find is that both the strong and the weak in the faith are susceptible to particular sins of the heart toward the other.

There are two groups of people here today. Some of you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. But others of you here today, regardless of your public profession, are dead in trespasses and sins and need to have your sins washed clean in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Take note of this, however, if you are a believer in Jesus Christ. Among you there exist distinct subgroups. You are either strong in the faith, or you are weak in the faith, and the sin that you are susceptible to, whichever you happen to be, will be dealt with over the next few minutes. So, very close attention is urged.

It will be safe for us to assume that if you are inattentive or disruptive, it is because this message has no application to your life at all, suggesting that you are lost and need to be saved. Our text is Romans 14.3-4. I invite you to stand when you find that passage, for the reading of God’s Word: 

3  Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

4  Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. 

Two considerations from our text: 

First, WE ARE GIVEN THE REBUKES OF THE STRONG AND THE WEAK  

“Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him which eateth.” 

So, the eaters, the strong, are not to despise the non-eaters, the weak. The meat eaters are not to despise the vegetarians. But neither are the vegetarians, who are weak in the faith, to judge the meat eaters.

Notice the rebuke of the strong in the faith: 

“Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not.” 

This word “despise” is worth taking note of. Ἐxouqeneá½·tw refers to evaluating something or someone and coming to the conclusion that he or it is worthless.[1] It’s really what is at the root of treating some person as if they are not worthy of your time or consideration. The Lord Jesus Christ warned us not to “despise” little children, didn’t He, since of such is the kingdom of heaven? And in First Thessalonians 5.20, we are told to “Despise not prophesying.” That is, you’d better not count as worthless Bible preaching. But of particular importance to the so-called strong in the faith Christian is the fact that when Herod’s men are mentioned in Luke 23.11 Luke indicates that they “set at nought” the Lord Jesus Christ, which led to mocking Him and arraying Him in a gorgeous robe before returning Him to Pilate. That phrase “set at nought” is our same Greek word here translated “despise.” Preliminary to committing sin against someone is coming to the conclusion that they are despicable, that they are to be despised. The soldiers had this attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ. The Nazis had this attitude toward the Jewish people and the eastern Europeans they considered to be beneath them. And Christians who are strong in the faith must guard against developing this attitude toward those they consider inferior Christians, who are constrained by conscience in certain matters of practice and behavior. Do you have a tendency to look down on other Christians? Do you think yourself somewhat superior? You’d better be really careful, my friend. Just because another believer’s understanding of certain Christian liberties isn’t as illuminated by the Holy Spirit as is yours doesn’t always mean he is less spiritual than you, or that you are superior in any way to him.

Now notice the rebuke of the weak in the faith: 

“And let not him which eateth not judge him which eateth.” 

When rebuking the weak in the faith Paul’s accusation is entirely different than the strong in the faith. Whereas those strong in the faith looked down their noses at that small minority of vegetarians and considered them to be of no account, the weak in the faith are accused of judging the strong in the faith who ate meat. So, whereas the majority considered the minority to be of little or no importance, the minority group, not able to convince themselves that the meat-eaters are insignificant since there were so many of them, judged them to be guilty of committing some sin. And the sin they thought the meat-eaters guilty of may not necessarily have been eating meat. Let me give you a parallel. Think about the way people react to someone being investigated of wrongdoing by law enforcement authorities or by congress. Does not the Constitution protect against self-incrimination? Sure it does. But what is the general public’s reaction whenever someone exercises his constitutional right to refuse to answer a question for fear that it may incriminate him?

We all think to ourselves, “Aha! He’s guilty of something.” That’s similar to the vegetarian’s attitude toward the meat-eaters. It’s judgmentalism. And what does the Bible say about judgmentalism? The most universally misapplied verse in the Bible happens, in this case, to apply. When the Lord Jesus said, “Judge not lest ye be judged” He was speaking of judging, not the judging of obviously sinful behavior that is commanded of Christians in Scripture, but the judging of that which we cannot see with our eyes and compare against Scripture ... another’s thoughts, their motives. While it is not at all wrong to judge fornication or drunkenness or illicit drug use, since that is observable behavior which has already been pronounced sinful by God and which can be seen, you and I cannot see the thoughts and intents and motives of others, no matter how discerning we think we are. It is that kind of judgment, judging another’s heart, which the Lord Jesus forbids, in part because in so judging you usurp the Lord Jesus Christ’s role as every Christian’s judge. Paul refers to that very thing in verse 10, which I will deal with in a future message. To recap then, the strong tend to sin by considering the weak to be of no account whatsoever. The weak tend to sin by thinking that sinful thoughts and motives are what causes others to do things they consider wrong, but which are not forbidden by Scripture. Christian? Each of us tends to one of these attitudes concerning those different than us, either despising or judging another. 

Next, WE ARE GIVEN THE RATIONALE FOR REBUKING THE ATTITUDE OF THE WEAK  

Let’s read the last phrase of verse 3, together with verse 4: 

3  ... for God hath received him.

4  Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. 

Notice how forcefully Paul deals with the Christian who has a condemning attitude toward a brother for doing something he cannot in good conscience do himself, but for which there is no Scriptural prohibition. However, before we look at this portion of the text, let me make an observation related to grammar that will support what I just said. When nouns and pronouns are used, the nouns and pronouns that refer to the same thing must have what is called agreement. Look at the last phrase of verse 3, 

“For God hath received him.” 

To whom does this “him” refer, the “him” that is the strong in the faith brother or the “him” that is the weak in the faith brother? In both case and number this pronoun agrees with the “him” of the preceding phrase that corresponds to the strong in the faith believer. What this suggests is this: Who Paul is writing about in the last phrase of Romans 14.3, and all of verse 4, is the brother strong in the faith. Thus, who he is referring to in the last phrase of Romans 14.3 and verse 4 is the weaker brother.

Later on Paul will deal forthrightly with his rationale for rebuking the ones strong in the faith, but at this point in his letter he takes on the weaker brethren who have judged the heart motives of those who did what they could not do, who ate what they could not eat, even though Scripture does not prohibit those actions by the others. And in these five phrases we can surmise why Christians judge other Christians who don’t have the same hang-ups they have, as well as what’s wrong with such judgments:

First, as to communion: 

“For God hath received him.” 

Do you observe another Christian doing something that you could never bring yourself to do? Is it something for which you can find no reasonable Scriptural prohibition? And do you find yourself criticizing that Christian in your mind for doing that which you cannot prove is wrong, but feel in your heart must be wrong? Remember, Simon Peter once had some extremely powerful feelings about other believers in Christ that he just knew were well-founded beliefs. He just couldn’t show in the Bible that what he believed about them was well-founded. But when the Spirit of God told him, “What God has cleansed call not thou common,” he began to understand.[2] By the time he arrived at the house of Cornelius, Peter was able to say, “Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.”[3] God receives into His fellowship anyone who comes by way of the cross through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The fact that a person who is doing something we feel in our bones is wrong, but which we cannot say from Scripture is unprofitable, ought to be tempered by the fact that the individual gives clear testimony and evidence of having been made acceptable in the beloved. That God has received him must count for something. Those who thus sinfully judge others will be judged by God themselves.

Next, as to confrontation: 

“Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant?” 

Buttinski is not the last name of a Polish person. Buttinski is a slang description of someone who puts his nose into affairs, which are not directly any of his business. Proverbs speaks at length of the folly of involving one’s self in the affairs of others. And so it is here. Here is a Christian preparing his favorite chili recipe in the privacy of his kitchen, and you walk in just as he adds a can of beer to the mix before cooking it. And as you observe him, while you do not publicly condemn him, you do judge him in your heart, finding him guilty of violating some nebulous and ill-defined principle found in some book that purports to interpret the Bible. All the time knowing full well that the cooking process will evaporate every ounce of alcohol in that chili long before it’s eaten by anyone. Guess what? While you minded your own business you were doing okay. But as soon as you began to evaluate his behavior and attribute his not wrong but unpleasant to you behavior to some shortcoming of the heart, you have violated a Scriptural principle. You are intruding into something that is none of your business. That issue is between that servant and his master. This is what Paul is confronting the weaker brother about. Minding his own spiritual business, because the stronger brother does in no way fit the Biblical description of a brother overtaken in a fault. So, by whose authority do you judge that brother?

Third, as to convention: 

“To his own master he standeth or falleth” 

By convention, I mean, “What is the rule of the day? What is understood? What is the universal custom?” And in this phrase we are given a powerful clue to Paul’s meaning by taking note of the particular Greek word translated “servant.” There are five or six different Greek words that are translated into our English word “servant.” The word Paul uses here refers to a household slave, a manservant or a maidservant, one who is the personal attendant of the master, pronounced oá¼°ká½³thn. Paul’s whole point here is to ask the judgmental Christian who he thinks he is to evaluate the performance of a slave whose service needs please only the master he personally and intimately serves. What you think of my service to Christ or what I think of your service to Christ is, within the context of this discussion, completely irrelevant.

Fourth, as to conviction: 

“Yea, he shall be held up.” 

The servant rises or falls, depending on the evaluation of the master he serves, not your evaluation or mine. Is this not true? And is there any doubt whatsoever in Paul’s mind that the strong brother will stand? No. Paul tells us that “he shall be held up.” There are no ifs, ands or buts here with Paul. What he gives us here is certainty. This is conviction. This strong in the faith type of Christian is going to be found acceptable to his master. And how can we be sure of this? Because he is accepted in the beloved. It’s Jesus Christ Who satisfies this man’s master. Amen?

Finally, what is the basis for the conviction? The control: 

“For God is able to make him stand” 

Weaker brother, who thinks that guy who listens to music that isn’t distinctly Christian music is heading for a fall. Not ungodly rock and roll, mind you. But fiddle and banjo music. Or classical music. You know classical music. That’s music written by someone who can write music and played by someone who can read music. He will finally and ultimately stand because God is able to make him stand. And weaker brother, who thinks that woman who wears modest and feminine attire other than a floor-length dress with sleeves to the wrist and a collar to the neck, is heading for trouble. Or who thinks that some lipstick is wrong. She will finally and ultimately stand, not according to whether she does or does not adhere to your standard of right and wrong, but because God is able to make her stand. 

From this passage, we have gotten a message, a moral, and some meat to chew on (pardon the pun) that confirms doctrines powerfully taught elsewhere in Scripture. The message? Christians tend to commit sin against each other. We already know this, don’t we?

Do you find it as ironic as I do that some are hypersensitive about the conduct of a Church member, being very quick to take offense while passing over without a second thought the outrageous conduct of a family member or good friend?

But back to the issue at hand. The particular sins dealt with here by Paul are sins of the heart committed toward others we have received into our fellowship. Sadly, Church members sin against each other. If they are conscience-stricken about things we do, but what is done violates no clear Scriptural principle or prohibition, then they are weaker in the faith than we are, and our tendency will be to despise them, to write them off as no account, insignificant, unimportant, unworthy. Of course, this is very wrong.

If that other person feels the liberty to do things we do not feel the liberty to do, assuming it violates no prohibition of Scripture or legitimately established principle, then they are stronger in the faith than are we, and our tendency will be to judge their motives. Both sins of the heart are rebuked by Paul.

Concentrating on the weak in the faith Christian, Paul gives a sound rationale for his rebuke. But, hear me now, most Christians who are weak in the faith refuse to consider themselves weak in the faith and do not heed Paul’s warning and ignore his rationale. Be mindful that that other Christian belongs to God. Judge his wrong behavior when you see it, but don’t judge his heart, for if you judge his heart you will answer to God for it.

Here is the meat for us to chew on for a while, Christian. How could Paul be so confident that the strong brother would stand since even Christians strong in the faith commit sins? Paul’s confidence was based upon the fact that a believer in Jesus Christ is eternally secure in his salvation. He cannot fall to lose his salvation. That’s a truth that many who claim to know Christ do not accept.

I close with these two challenges. If you are a Christian guilty of the sin of despising a weaker brother or judging a stronger brother, you need to repent of your sin. I suggest that you do so now.

But if you are here and you do not know Jesus Christ, your sins have not been washed clean in the blood of Jesus Christ; I invite you to trust Christ now. Walk out of here confident that your sins are forgiven, and your heavenly home awaits you.

__________

[1] Bauer, Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2000), page 352.

[2] Acts 10.15

[3] Acts 10.34

 

Question? Comment?

Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Fill out the form below to send him an email. Thank you.

 

 

Copyright © 1999 - 2024. Calvary Road Baptist Church. All rights reserved.
Terms and Conditions | Administration