Paul urges the Roman Christians to strive for “conspicuous unity” patterned on the Trinity by growing in love and spiritual maturity around truths revealed in scripture.
These are only preliminary, unedited outlines and may differ from Andy’s final message.
Romans 14:1-12 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another person, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not condemn the one who does, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? 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 confess to God.'” 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Christ’s prayer for unity:
John 17:22-23 [I pray] that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me
Key issues in the chapter:
§ Gospel unity among different believers… UNITY
§ Gospel freedom from legalism & judgmentalism… MATURITY
§ Gospel purity from sin… PURITY
I. Main Questions:
1. What is the main idea of this section of Romans?
2. Why must we differentiate between essential matters and non-essential?
3. What kinds of “disputable matters” face churches in our time?
4. Why is it so wrong to judge our brothers and sisters on disputable matters?
5. How is the acceptance Paul urges here different from the “tolerance” of our age?
6. A motto from the Reformation: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” How does this chapter support that motto? One pastor had that motto painted over on the church vans saying, “There are no ‘non-essentials!’” How does that pastor’s attitude point to the possibility of problems in his church down the road?
II. Verse by Verse Questions:
1. What does the verb “accept” (or “welcome”) mean in verse 1? (1)
2. Who does Paul want us to accept or welcome? What does it mean that this brother’s faith is “weak”? How does he display this weakness in this passage? (1-2)
3. What is a “disputable matter?” What kinds of such disputable matters does Paul list here?
4. What does the existence of such “disputable matters” show about the Christian faith? (1)
5. What does Paul forbid us to do in verse 1? What does it mean to pass judgment? Why is it so common for us to do? Why is it so damaging to the Body of Christ? (1)
6. What does passing judgment on disputable matters show about the person who does it? (1)
7. Why is it a display of stronger faith to be able to eat anything? (2)
8. What opposite tendencies does Paul forbid in verse 3? What command does Paul give to the stronger brother who eats? What command to the weaker brother who refuses to eat? (3)
9. Why does it matter in the church if one person “looks down on” another, or if another person “condemns” someone else? What effect do these things have on the Body? (3)
10. What does it mean when Paul says “for God has accepted him”? (3)
11. What attitude does Paul display in verse 4 toward someone who is judgmental? Why do you think he uses such strong language? (4)
12. Why do you think Paul is so emphatic that the Lord is able to make all His servants stand? What attitude is he challenging in those who judge or look down on their brothers? (4)
13. What issue does he address in verse 5? Do you think verse 5 is relevant to the question about Sabbath observance? Or is he merely addressing the many feast days of the Jewish calendar? What command does Paul give concerning this? Why does he command that each person be “fully convinced in his own mind”? How does this relate to verse 23? (5, 23)
14. What motives does Paul trace out for various convictions on “disputable matters”? How is it vital that such convictions be God-centered, not man-centered? How is legalism sometimes man-centered? How can a non-legalist be just as earthly-minded as the legalist? (6)
15. Why is thankfulness to the Lord such a vital theme here? Compare with 1 Timothy 4:3-4: [False teachers]…. order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, (6)
16. What does Paul mean when he says, “None of us lives to himself alone…”? What does it mean to “live to yourself”? How is such a self-focus damaging? (7-8)
17. What does it mean to “live to the Lord”? What does it mean to “die to the Lord”? (8)
18. Paul seems to be appealing to the Lordship of Christ, and His rights in having died and being resurrected for the church. How does his argument work in the matter of judgmentalism in the church? (9-10)
19. How does the fact that we will all stand before the judgment seat of God help address “disputable matters”? (10-11)
20. How does Paul use the quote from Isaiah 45:23 here in Romans 14? How does he use it in Philippians 2? (11)
21. How should the doctrine of judgment day shape our daily lives as Christians? What does it mean to “give an account” of ourselves to God? How does this relate to 2 Corinthians 5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (11-12)
22. How does the concept of future accountability to God shape Paul’s daily life according to Acts 24:15-16: … there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. (11-12)
III. Summary:
In disputable matters, Paul strives for unity, maturity, and purity in the Body of Christ.
