Chapter # 14 Paragraph # 1 Study # 1
January 31, 2021
Humble, Texas
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Thesis: Embracing a policy of harmonious inclusion requires one to be judicious about being judicious.
Introduction: As we begin our studies of
Romans 14, we are immediately confronted with a knotty problem: when does one "accept" a person as a fellow believer with a heart for God, and when does a person "reject" a person who claims to be a fellow believer with a heart for God?
- I. The Problem.
- A. "The Faith" is a "whole" which contains a great number of "pieces".
- B. Most people "in The Faith" are significantly unaware of a great number of the great number.
- C. And the primary, controlling issue is supposed to be "Love", which is, itself, a concept with a great number of details.
- D. Consequently, the possibility of schismatic fragmentation is very great.
- E. So, the question of "what to do" is inevitable when immaturity clashes with details.
- II. The Details.
- A. The "mature" are commanded to "receive those who are weak in The Faith".
- 1. The implication: the "mature" are "discerning" and might wish to exclude those who are not (Revelation 2:2 compared with their "problem" -- 2:4 --) because of the problems they might bring up.
- 2. This command is not about "tolerating" (the verb is an intensified form of the verb used in John 1:12 and implies a "receiving" that is not grudging, but enthusiastic).
- a. This is the root of Paul's insistence that the "mature" not harbor contempt for those who understand and believe less than do they (verse three).
- b. In this matter, the "mature" may not be as "mature" as they think they are.
- 3. Those who are to be "received" are going to be problematic.
- a. Those "weak in The Faith" are intuitively aware that they are "weak" and may very well wish to not appear to be so.
- 1) One of the ways people hide their weaknesses is to produce an appearance of greater loyalty than is real: Peter's boasting (his denials on the night Jesus was betrayed); people refusing to eat "all things" as a mark of great, "loving self-denial for Jesus' sake".
- 2) Then, there is the further development of insisting everyone should be like them.
- b. The "mature" are not supposed to try to prevent "problems", but to deal with them as they come up.
- 4. This "reception" is not to insist upon "trying to correct the motives of others".
- a. The root of "weakness in The Faith" is three-fold: ignorance, arrogance, and the possibility of flawed reasoning.
- b. The "mature" are not supposed to put their willingness to embrace "the weak" on the basis of "the weak abandoning their convictions".
- B. The "mature" are not supposed to "receive the weak in The Faith" when the "weakness" involves sinful choices.
- 1. Exclusion of "believers" who sin and refuse to be corrected is a potent weapon of righteousness for the saints (Matthew 18; 1 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; and even Romans 16:17).
- 2. Paul's examples of "weakness" involve non-essential, amoral issues, not essential, moral issues.
- a. There is nothing inherently "good" or "evil" about what a person eats or refrains from eating.
- b. This is not equal to things that are inherently "good" or "evil" (as actions, though even good actions can be corrupted by bad motives).
- c. However, because The Law had dietary restraints, and insisted upon observance of "holy days", it was difficult for people of Jewish background to separate those issues out of the category of "moral" issues.
