Romans Chapter 14
Helping a Weaker Brother
A. Don’t judge each other in doubtful things.
Romans 14:1–2
“Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.”
Paul begins this section with a command to receive those who are weak in the faith. To “receive” means to welcome and embrace in fellowship, not simply to tolerate. Importantly, this reception is not to be done in order to argue or dispute over “doubtful things,” meaning matters of personal conscience where Scripture does not give a direct command. This teaching strikes at the very core of Christian unity, for the church is to be a body marked by love, not a debating society for non-essential issues.
The weaker brother here is not defined by a lack of saving faith, but by immaturity or limitation in understanding the liberty that is ours in Christ. Spiritual weakness may arise for various reasons. A new believer may still be learning the truths of Scripture and therefore is like a babe in Christ, as Paul describes in First Corinthians 3:1–2: “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able.” Others may be spiritually weakened by the disease of legalism, a system that elevates man-made rules above grace. Still others may be malnourished, having lacked sound biblical teaching, or may lack spiritual exercise, needing exhortation and encouragement to grow strong in the Lord.
Paul gives a specific example that was very relevant in his day: some believers refrained from eating meat, choosing instead to eat only vegetables. This was not a matter of health preference, but of conscience. Some Jewish believers still clung to the dietary restrictions of the Law of Moses, believing certain foods to be unclean. Others feared that meat sold in the marketplace might have been sacrificed to idols, echoing the concern Paul addressed in First Corinthians 8:4–7: “Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live. However, there is not in everyone that knowledge; for some, with consciousness of the idol, until now eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.”
While many Christians in Paul’s day rightly understood that Christ had declared all foods clean, as seen in Mark 7:18–19 where Jesus said, “Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?”, others remained bound by conscience and tradition. Paul calls those who refused meat the “weak,” not because their convictions made them morally inferior, but because their faith had not yet matured to grasp their liberty in Christ.
It is striking that Paul describes the stricter believer as the weaker brother. This turns human reasoning on its head, for legalism often convinces people that they are the strong ones because they adhere to more rules. Yet Paul insists that true strength is found in liberty governed by love, not in bondage to regulations. Legalism has a way of creating pride, causing those who impose rules upon themselves to look down on those who do not. They may believe they are the spiritually strong ones, but Paul exposes such thinking as weakness of faith.
In practical application, while the issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols is no longer a major controversy in the modern church, the principle remains critical. Christians today still disagree on matters of conscience that are not directly commanded or forbidden in Scripture—such as whether to consume alcohol in moderation, how to observe the Sabbath, or what forms of entertainment are acceptable. In these areas, Paul’s command is timeless: receive the weaker brother, do not despise him, and do not turn secondary issues into tests of fellowship.
Romans 14:3–4 — Judging our brother is inappropriate because we are not their masters.
“Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.”
Paul here addresses the two sides of the conflict. The one who freely eats meat must not look down on the abstainer as backward, ignorant, or hopelessly bound by legalism. On the other hand, the one who abstains must not judge the eater as worldly, carnal, or unspiritual. The ultimate reason for restraint is that “God has received him.” When God Himself has welcomed a believer into fellowship through Christ, who are we to exclude or condemn them?
Paul illustrates his point with the analogy of servanthood. “Who are you to judge another’s servant?” The believer belongs to Christ, not to other Christians. Just as a servant answers to his own master and not to outsiders, so each Christian stands or falls before God alone. This removes the false assumption that our brothers and sisters are accountable to us. It is God who sustains His people, and Paul adds this note of assurance: “Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.” In other words, God is both the Judge and the Keeper of His children. Their spiritual standing is secured not by our scrutiny but by God’s sustaining grace.
This principle strikes against the divisions that so easily arise in churches over secondary matters. Christians have often allowed disputes about diet, dress, music, holidays, or other non-essential issues to create walls of separation. Paul is not calling for a superficial erasure of differences; rather, he commands believers to rise above those differences, refusing to let them fracture Christian fellowship. Division over non-essentials reveals immaturity, while true strength is demonstrated by love, patience, and deference to one another for the sake of unity in Christ.
Romans 14:5–6 — Judging our brother is inappropriate because these are matters of conscience.
“One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.”
Paul expands the discussion beyond food to the observance of special days. Some believers, particularly Jewish Christians, still esteemed the Sabbath or certain feast days as spiritually significant, while others, particularly Gentile believers, regarded every day alike. By including this example, Paul makes it clear that the principle applies broadly: it is not confined to dietary debates, but encompasses all areas of Christian liberty where conscience plays a role.
The governing principle is expressed in the phrase, “Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.” Paul is not advocating relativism or suggesting that truth is subjective. Rather, he insists that in matters where Scripture does not explicitly command or forbid, each believer must act with a clear conscience before God. What matters is not external conformity but whether one’s actions flow from faith and devotion to the Lord.
The key test is this: can what I do be done “to the Lord”? Paul repeats this three times to drive the point home. The one who observes the day does so to honor the Lord. The one who does not observe the day also does so with the Lord in mind. The one who eats gives thanks to God, and the one who abstains gives thanks to God as well. Both parties, though differing in practice, are united in motive if their aim is to glorify the Lord.
This principle is crucial because it elevates the discussion from human opinion to divine accountability. A believer must not use conscience as a cloak for sin, since no act of rebellion or immorality can ever be truly “unto the Lord.” But in legitimate matters of liberty, the guiding question is whether one’s heart is directed in gratitude and obedience toward God. As Colossians 3:17 reminds us: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Thus, Paul calls the church to reject both the arrogance of despising and the severity of judging, urging instead a higher perspective: that in all things we live and act under the Lordship of Christ, with thanksgiving.
Romans 14:7–9 — We live and die to the Lord
“For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.”
Paul elevates the discussion from food and holy days to the ultimate truth of Christian existence: life and death belong to Christ. No Christian is an isolated individual living for his own agenda. “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.” This statement rejects the notion of independence from God or His people. As believers, our lives are interwoven with Christ and His body, the church.
Paul continues, “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord.” Life and death are not ours to command but belong entirely to God. This is consistent with First Corinthians 6:19–20: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” The Christian has been purchased with the blood of Christ and thus must live every moment under His Lordship. Even in death, the believer does not perish to himself but enters into the eternal presence of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:8).
Paul summarizes: “Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” The believer’s entire existence is wrapped up in the Lordship of Jesus. This is both comforting and convicting. Comforting, because our life and death are secure in Christ; convicting, because every choice we make must be accountable to Him.
The foundation for this truth is given in verse 9: “For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” The death, resurrection, and ongoing life of Christ establish His absolute sovereignty over His people in every state of existence. He is Lord of the living who walk by faith, and He is Lord of the dead who rest in Him until the resurrection. As Philippians 2:10–11 declares, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Romans 14:10–12 — Judging our brother is inappropriate because we will all face judgment before Jesus
“But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: ‘As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”
Paul now directly confronts both sides of the dispute. “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother?” The strict believer, who refrains from eating, is tempted to judge the freer brother as lax or worldly. The freer believer, who enjoys liberty, is tempted to look down with contempt on the stricter one as overly rigid or legalistic. Paul exposes both attitudes as sinful. Neither judgment nor disdain is acceptable within the household of faith.
The reason is solemn: “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” Paul invokes the imagery of the bema seat, a raised platform where judges in the Greco-Roman world awarded crowns to victorious athletes. This is not the Great White Throne judgment of Revelation 20, which is for the lost, but the judgment seat for believers where works are evaluated and rewards given. First Corinthians 3:13–14 explains, “Each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.” Salvation is not in question, for that was secured at the cross; what is in question is faithfulness in service.
To reinforce this truth, Paul quotes from Isaiah 45:23: “As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.” This passage speaks of the universal acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty. Ultimately, every human being will confess God’s Lordship, whether willingly in salvation or unwillingly in judgment.
Paul concludes with the unavoidable reality: “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” This destroys any excuse to judge another believer. We will not stand before God to give account for our brother’s choices but for our own. This reality should sober us, reminding us that we have enough to answer for before Christ without presuming to be the judge of our fellow Christians.
Romans 14:13 — Summary: Don’t make it an issue of judging, but don’t use your liberty to stumble another brother
“Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.”
Paul now summarizes the principle he has been developing: believers must cease the practice of judging one another in doubtful matters and instead make a conscious resolution not to harm the spiritual walk of their brothers and sisters. The call to “not judge one another anymore” echoes the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew 7:1–2 Jesus declared, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” This does not forbid all forms of discernment but warns against hypocritical and self-righteous judgment, applying to others a standard we would not want applied to ourselves.
It is important to note that this does not remove the responsibility of the church to admonish or rebuke when clear Scriptural principles are at stake. Paul himself instructs in Romans 15:14, “Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” Likewise, in 2 Timothy 4:2 he exhorts Timothy, “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” The distinction is clear: Christians are not to judge one another in doubtful things where Scripture gives liberty, but they must still admonish, teach, and correct where God’s Word speaks plainly. Advice may be offered on issues of conscience, but judgment and condemnation are forbidden.
Paul also turns to the positive responsibility of the stronger believer: “not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.” A stumbling block is anything that hinders another Christian’s walk with the Lord, either by discouraging them through unnecessary legalism or by enticing them to sin through careless use of liberty. The weaker believer can be harmed in two ways: he may be crushed under the weight of judgmental attitudes that demand conformity to human standards, or he may be emboldened to go against his conscience by imitating the liberty of another, only to fall into sin because his faith was not ready to support such freedom.
This principle reflects the heart of Christian love. In First Corinthians 8:9 Paul issues a parallel warning: “But beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.” True Christian maturity does not flaunt liberty but willingly restricts it when necessary out of love for the weaker brother. Liberty must always be governed by love, for the goal of Christian freedom is not self-indulgence but the building up of the body of Christ.
B. Don’t stumble each other over doubtful things
Romans 14:14–15 — Destroying a brother makes a privilege wrong
“I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.”
Paul makes a strong and confident assertion: “I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself.” Through the teaching of Jesus and the revelation of the gospel, Paul understood that no food is inherently unclean. This echoes the words of the Lord in Mark 7:18–19: “So He said to them, ‘Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?’” Christ declared that food itself does not defile; sin originates in the heart, not in the stomach.
Yet Paul also recognizes the subjective element of conscience: “But to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.” The believer whose conscience is troubled by eating certain foods should not be forced or enticed to partake, for to go against conscience is to sin (Romans 14:23). The liberty of the stronger believer must be balanced with sensitivity toward the weaker.
Paul drives the point deeper with a sobering warning: “Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.” Liberty is not the supreme virtue of the Christian life—love is. To grieve or wound the conscience of a weaker brother by flaunting liberty is to abandon the law of love. The word destroy does not mean the loss of salvation, but the serious spiritual damage that can be done to another’s walk with Christ. If Christ loved that brother so deeply that He gave His life for him, surely we can forgo a temporary pleasure, even something as ordinary as a meal, for the sake of his soul.
The Puritan commentator John Trapp insightfully noted, “Many, on the contrary, are persuaded before they know; and such will not be persuaded to know.” In other words, true conviction must be grounded in the knowledge of Christ’s teaching, not in personal preference or stubbornness. Mature faith balances liberty with responsibility, never using freedom in Christ as a weapon against another’s conscience.
Romans 14:16–18 — Pursuing the higher call of the Kingdom of God
“Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.”
Paul continues by urging believers to guard the testimony of their liberty: “Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil.” Christian freedom is indeed good, for it flows from the grace of God and the believer’s release from the bondage of the law. Yet liberty misused can become a stumbling block and thus bring reproach upon the name of Christ. What God intended as a blessing may be twisted into something that damages both the weaker brother and the witness of the church.
Paul then places liberty into its proper perspective: “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The kingdom of God does not consist in dietary regulations or external rituals. Its essence is inward transformation and spiritual fruit. Galatians 5:22–23 echoes this truth: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” If food and drink dominate our concerns while righteousness, peace, and joy are neglected, we have misplaced our priorities and misunderstood the heart of the kingdom.
Paul concludes: “For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.” Service to Christ is demonstrated not by what we eat or abstain from but by pursuing righteousness (right standing and right living before God), peace (living in harmony with others), and joy (a Spirit-filled delight in God). Such service is pleasing to God, who looks upon the heart, and even gains the respect of others, who can recognize the authenticity of a life governed by the Spirit.
This perspective reshapes the believer’s focus. Instead of fighting over doubtful matters, Christians should devote themselves to the higher calling of kingdom living. Liberty is not an end in itself but a tool to glorify God and edify others. The believer who rightly orders his priorities demonstrates maturity, shows love to his brethren, and upholds the testimony of Christ before the watching world.
Romans 14:19–21 — Use your liberty to build each other up, not to tear each other down
“Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.”
Paul gives the positive alternative to judging and stumbling: “Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” The word pursue conveys intentional effort, much like an athlete striving toward a goal. Peace and edification are not accidents; they are the fruit of deliberate action. Ephesians 4:3 exhorts believers to be “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The church must be known not for quarrels over secondary matters but for its pursuit of peace and the building up of one another in faith.
Paul warns, “Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.” This is a sharp reminder that when liberty is exercised without love, it can undo what God is doing in the life of a weaker believer. To destroy the work of God over food or drink is to elevate preference over eternal souls. While food and drink are temporary, the building up of a brother or sister in Christ has eternal value.
Paul concedes the theological reality: “All things indeed are pure.” As Jesus declared, nothing external entering a man can defile him, but sin flows from within the heart (Mark 7:18–23). Yet Paul balances this truth by insisting: “But it is evil for the man who eats with offense.” Even if the food itself is pure, to eat in a way that violates conscience, or in a way that emboldens another to violate theirs, makes it evil in practice. Liberty without regard for others becomes selfishness, and selfishness is sin.
Paul continues: “It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.” The principle extends beyond food to any matter of conscience. Love calls us to willingly restrict our liberty when it poses a risk to another believer’s spiritual growth. This does not mean that Paul endorses catering to the demands of legalists who seek to impose man-made rules on others. In Galatians 2:3–5 Paul refused to yield when false teachers insisted Titus be circumcised, because their motive was legalistic control, not genuine concern. The difference lies in the heart—Paul urges consideration for the stumbling of sincere believers, not compliance with the manipulations of legalism.
Romans 14:22–23 — The concluding principle of faith
“Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.”
Paul now concludes this section with a principle that governs all doubtful things: “Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God.” If a believer has strong faith and enjoys liberty in Christ, he should exercise that faith with a clear conscience before God. Yet he must not parade his liberty in front of others who may stumble. Liberty is exercised properly when it is rooted in a private confidence before God, not flaunted at the expense of another’s conscience.
Paul adds, “Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.” This happiness, or blessedness, belongs to the believer whose conscience is clear before God. He enjoys the freedom of partaking without guilt or self-condemnation. Yet Paul implies that not every Christian experiences this happiness, for some insist on holding on to things God has asked them to surrender. James 4:17 provides a sobering parallel: “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” A believer may condemn himself not because the thing itself is inherently sinful, but because God has convicted him to lay it aside and he refuses to obey.
Paul then warns: “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith.” If a believer is not fully persuaded in conscience but partakes anyway, he sins—not because of the food itself, but because he acted without faith. To violate conscience is to act against God’s authority in one’s own life, and that is sin.
Finally, Paul concludes with a universal principle: “For whatever is not from faith is sin.” This is one of the most sweeping statements in the New Testament. It applies not only to food and drink but to every aspect of life. Any action that does not proceed from a heart of faith—confidence in God, trust in His Word, and submission to His Lordship—is sin. This principle serves as a spiritual compass for the Christian in all gray areas: if it cannot be done in faith, it must not be done at all.
