Romans 14:1-3 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.
All believers need to grow in their faith, but some seem to struggle more with this than others. There are many factors involved with this: upbringing, the hard trials of life, choices that have kept people from God, sin and disobedience, and laziness are a few. Paul urges the Romans to be develop positive relationships and patience with people with weak faith. The key idea to define in these verses is what it means to be “weak in faith.” As the following verses indicate, weak faith here is similar to 1 Corinthians 8. Weak faith is when a person develops scruples about certain behaviors that under closer scrutiny, are not consistent with the freedom and new understanding that the gospel brings. Believers are free from the regulations of the law that are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. That includes things like food and certain behaviors that are based more on ceremonial purity that is fulfilled in Jesus. Certain behaviors are obviously wrong because they are timeless truths for all situations. Other behaviors and actions are not so clear because they are time bound truth for ancient Israel or fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Paul focuses in here on food. Some people argue that one must eat kosher food, what fits certain interpretations of the Old Testament (or even NT). They have convictions about this but do not realize or do not accept that God created all things, and all things are acceptable to eat as long as they are healthy and eaten with thanksgiving (1 Timothy 4:3-5). Those who say that we can eat anything should not look down upon those who prefer certain kinds of foods, such as vegetables. God accepts both people. The guiding principle within the church should be love. There are several key principles in these verses: Opinions are not worth fighting over. Some actions are morally neutral, like what we choose to eat. Those who do not hold a certain conviction ought to accept those who do have the conviction. The tendency is for those who do not have a certain conviction to look down upon those who do have such a conviction, and thus pass judgment on them. This is not showing love.
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