Romans 14:10-12 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” 12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
Paul returns to the problem of believers judging one another’s actions that are morally neutral, such as observing certain holidays or abstaining from certain types of food. He returns to this specific topic after giving the theological reasons why believers should not do this. The basic theological reason is that we have died to the old way of selfishness and have risen to a new life of love. Our old ways have died with Christ on the cross. Judging a brother or sister or looking down in contempt upon him or her shows that we have not been entirely sanctified and are letting the flesh and the old person still reign in our lives. We are like the Jews of ch. 2 who have spiritual pride and have not humbled themselves before God. Pride is a sneaky sin that enters our lives sometimes without us paying attention because we take our eyes off of Jesus as our Lord. The quotation of Isaiah 45:23 in v. 11 shows that the real issue is one of sovereignty and control. Who will be Lord of our life? If we have the right fear of God, then God will be master and the supreme authority. Fear and respect of God comes from the acknowledgement that we must give an account for our actions and attitudes.
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