Romans 14:14-23 - Faith, Righteousness, Peace, and Joy

Paul had just admonished his readers not to be stumbling blocks to others. He continued.

Romans 14:14-23 (KJV)
¹⁴ I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
¹⁵ But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
¹⁶ Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
¹⁸ For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
¹⁹ Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
²⁰ For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
²¹ It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
²² Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
²³ And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

In verse 14, Paul said that he was persuaded by Yeshua, that nothing was unclean of itself. Traditional Christianity has used this verse as a proof text that the food laws of the Torah are no longer applicable. But the context of the text, just like in verses 1-4, is not about the believer's ability to eat contrary to Torah, but about eating meat or vegetables. Therefore, Paul's argument is that meat that may have been offered to idols, in and of itself, was not unclean. What made it unclean was whether or not a believer thought that it was unclean. So, if a believer, thinking the meat was acceptable, served it to another believer who thought the meat was unclean, would cause his brother to sin (to be destroyed in the KJV) if he ate the meat (verse 15). The first believer would not have behaved in a charitable way to his brother.

Paul again stated that the use of liberty, which is a good thing, should not be used in the wrong way (verse 16). For, the kingdom of God is not about liberty in meat or drink, but about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (verse 17). Believers are to think first of others and by doing so, serve Messiah, and are acceptable to God and approved by men (verse 18).

In verse 19 Paul concluded that believers are to follow after the things that make for peace and edification between each other, instead of destroying the work of God over meat. Although, the meat may be perfectly clean, it is sin for the one who believes otherwise (verse 20). It isn't good to eat meat, drink wine, or anything else that will cause a brother to stumble, or to be offended, or to be made weak (verse 21).

If the believer has the faith and understanding that the meat is acceptable, he is to keep that between himself and God (verse 22). Blessed is the believer that doesn't condemn himself over his liberty.

And the one who doubts the acceptability of the meat is condemned if he eats it, because he didn't eat it in faith (verse 23). Anything that is done contrary to one's faith is sin.

This is such a serious matter! The Jewish believers of Paul's day had come from strict adherence to all kinds of man made laws and the Gentile believers had come from all kinds of paganism, both of which were difficult to leave behind. Behaviors had to be weighed against their new faith and what they knew of God's Law. New freedoms were pridefully displayed, often at the expense of fellow believers. Today's Christians still struggle with the tension between liberty, things from one's past, and God's Law. Liberty often trumps the true righteousness of behavior that results in peace, joy, and edification of fellow believers. This should not be! Let's think first of others!

(Here is an example. There are differing opinions on the drinking of alcoholic beverages in the body of Messiah. Although, it may not be sinful, since there is no command against drinking except for drunkenness, others may be impacted negatively by the observance of drinking by a fellow believer. If a believer's actions caused another to drink something that was considered sinful, he or she has acted uncharitably towards a brother and has caused him to sin. This is a case where liberty was used inappropriately. It would have been better to have kept liberty to oneself and refrained from drinking.)