Chapter # 14 Paragraph # 2 Study # 2
April 18, 2021
Humble, Texas
(116)
1769 KJV Translation:
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.
1901 ASV Translation:
14 I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself: save that to him who accounteth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
15 For if because of meat thy brother is grieved, thou walkest no longer in love. Destroy not with thy meat him for whom Christ died.
16 Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
18 For he that herein serveth Christ is well-pleasing to God, and approved of men.
19 So then let us follow after things which make for peace, and things whereby we may edify one another.
20 Overthrow not for meat's sake the work of God. All things indeed are clean; howbeit it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
21 It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor [to do anything] whereby thy brother stumbleth.
22 The faith which thou hast, have thou to thyself before God. Happy is he that judgeth not himself in that which he approveth.
23 But he that doubteth is condemned if he eat, because [he eateth] not of faith; and whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
- I. Paul's Declaration.
- A. I have known and have been persuaded...
- 1. The "I know" is a rather typical use of this Perfect Tense, Indicative Mood, Active Voice verb.
- a. According to the Logos Library System, this verb means "to have seen or perceived, hence to know".
- b. The A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature says this verb is "really the perf [tense] of the stem eido..., but used as a pres [tense]..." and means "to know...[or] know about...".
- b. Paul uses this verb in 16 texts of Romans alone (it is used in 297 texts of the New Testament as a whole). In this usage, the "knowing" can be from multiple sources, but it is set forth as an established "knowing"; i.e., it is more objective than subjective. It seems to carry the idea that the "knowing" is rooted in a sure confidence of the truthfulness of the source. Thus, it implies that the "knowledge" is rather comprehensive so that "doubt" is reduced by many "proofs".
- 2. The "I have been persuaded"...
- a. This verb is the root of "belief"; "having been persuaded" means having been brought to an active use of the knowledge with confidence.
- b. As a passive voice verb, the focus is upon Paul as an agent acted upon. The "Actor" is the "Lord Jesus" and the "in" is actually instrumental: "by" [The Authorized Version being more accurate than the ASV].
- c. This is a very critical issue regarding how "faith" is created in a man's heart/mind awareness.
- 1) At the critical junctures, "persuasion" is "passive" in the sense that the one who is "persuaded" got there by the actions of another.
- 2) At the roots, then, of "faith" (the outcome of "persuasion") stands "One Who takes action to persuade: Jesus, the "Author" and "Finisher" of "The Faith" (Hebrews 12:2).
- d. Paul's use of this verb in Romans.
- 1) In 2:8 he puts the issue(s) of "persuasion" at a very fundamental level of impact: those who have no persuasion of The Truth are, therefore, subject to the persuasion of The Unrighteousness and this condition results in "wrath and anger...tribulation and distress" because they are active agents of The Evil.
- 2) In 2:19 he describes the issue of "persuasion" in terms of its outcome: personal, and significantly strong "confidence" so that one's self-identity is pretty much settled in a way that directs their values, choices, attitudes, and actions. This truth is given in a context of serious misunderstanding so that what is "known" and "believed" is not true at all -- but the "persuasion yet retains its impact upon the person.
- 3) In 8:38 his claim is that he "has been persuaded" of an extremely important reality: that it is impossible for a believer to be "separated" from The Love of The God which is in Christ Jesus Who is Lord over "us" (who are believers).
- 4) In 14:14 he elevates the issue of this text/context into the "rarified atmosphere of those issues of greatly significant import". He claims that what is "at stake" in this context is the actual "destruction" of a "fellow believer" called "that one for whom Christ died".
- a) The "destruction" is "qualified": he has already declared that The Householder not only "can" but "will" make each servant of the House "stand" in the Day of the Judgment Seat of The God.
- b) But, calling what happens a "destruction" is no small matter: great are the consequences of embraced "Love" and "Faith" by every man. The embrace is of massive impact upon life/Life and the outcomes reverberate throughout eternity with their impacts.
- 5) And, finally, in 15:14 he elevates his opinion of the Roman Church into this "rarified air": he "has been persuaded" that the group, as a whole, is spiritually healthy.
- B. The content of the "persuasion".
- 1. "Nothing is 'common' through itself".
- a. This "nothing" has specific boundaries in the text/context: it applies only to the matter of "things eaten".
- b. The adjective, "common", is rooted in the concept of "the natural state of a thing" (such as dirty hands because they have not been washed after having been used in tasks that made them dirty: Mark 7:2).
- 1) It is further used by Luke in Acts 2:44 and 4:32 to describe how the members of the Church in Jerusalem pooled their resources in a way that made everyone "an owner" and no one in particular "the owner".
- 2) Luke goes another step forward with his meaning in Acts 10:14, 10:28 and 11:8 by tying this adjective to another one which means "unclean". This linkage makes "common" a description of something not acceptable to God, nor "effective" with God unto "good".
- 3) Then Luke, recording Peter's words, makes it clear that it is God Who "cleanses" what was, at a prior time, "unclean" so that it is no longer "common" in Acts 10:15, 28 and 11:9. This reinforces Paul's "limitations" in our current text/context in Romans 14. because not even "God" can make something "clean" that has been "common" that is essentially so (a "love-less lie" cannot be made a "loving truth" even by God). It is only in His dealings with men that He can set up a "standard" that afterwards may be dismantled because it is not intrinsic ("through itself") but is, rather, a basis for testing the willingness of men to limit themselves because God has required it of them even if they cannot see "a good reason" for it. It was the Creator, Jesus, Who Himself made "all meats clean" (Mark 7:19) after centuries of having imposed a dictate that some meats were unclean upon The Nation. And it was the Lord, Jesus, Who Himself determined what was "acceptable" labor on the Sabbath, and not "men" (Mark 2:28).
- 2. "Except for the one considering for himself something common to be, for that one [it is] common."
- a. At this point, Paul extends the issue of "considering something common" to men.
- 1) They do not actually determine a thing to be "common"; for that is something only God can actually do.
- 2) But they actually do "reckon" that God has made a thing "common" so that they must accept His action as governing them.
- b. For such a person, the "thing" is "common".
- 1) The "belief" that God has made a thing "common" is at the root of the man's thinking.
- 2) And, since God deals with men according to their "T"heology, whether correct or incorrect, it is critical for the man to adhere to his own "considerations".