Table of contents for Christian Liberty

1. Christian Liberty
2. The Two Brothers
3. The Stumbling Block
4. A Brother Caught in Sin

There are two brothers mentioned in Romans 14—and they are referred to with terms of strength.  One is called the stronger brother, and the other the weaker.

The Stronger Brother

The Stronger Brother takes on two different types of individuals.

The first individual is the one that stands firm on his understanding of the Bible and feels free to partake in those things that were previously forbidden—and does so to the glory of God.  This is the man (or woman) that could eat the meat offered to idols, because there were no such things as idols and the meat was 50% the price he could get at the local WalMart.  His conscience did not bother him about it, and he had a right relationship to the Lord.

The second individual is one that believed that he could eat the meat offered to idols, but he used to go to that temple before he came to Christ, and if he went to the marketplace he might be tempted to return to that lifestyle.  This person chooses not to do something he knows he lawfully can do, but does so because it’s best for his walk—and in that also gives God the glory.

The Stronger Brother has to make sure that his liberty does not pose an opportunity to stumble for the weaker brother.  He also has to be careful not to let his “good be evil spoken of”—meaning that his liberty should not cause problems for other believers.

We’ll cover the whole concept of being a stumbling block in the next post, but the second admonition is something I’ve seen happening on the Internet a lot.  There are many people that have left one church or another for different reasons, and have started labeling the church they left as wrong—for many different reasons.

If it’s not a doctrinal issue, then those that consider themselves strong should not be disparaging those that are weaker.  As long as believers are trying to give God thanks through their actions, we should refrain from judgment.

The Weaker Brother

The Weaker Brother is pretty straightforward.  For him, he understands the Bible to be dogmatic on things of questionable nature.  He believes that he should still respect the holy days, and he won’t go anywhere near the temple.

The Weaker Brother needs to be careful not to judge the Stronger Brother.  It’s tempting for both to want to apply what they believe to someone else, and when that person does not measure up, to use that person or that person’s beliefs as a rallying point for “the one true religion.”

The fact is, Paul is stating that the only things that are definitely agreed upon in the Christian life are the doctrine taught directly and the Bible, and that we will have differences in what we believe.  Some will believe that they should not have Christian Contemporary Music in their services, and others will believe that they can.  Instead of judging each other, we should seek out those services where we can give God thanks.

Table of contents for Christian Liberty

1. Christian Liberty
2. The Two Brothers
3. The Stumbling Block
4. A Brother Caught in Sin

In the book of Romans, Paul discusses at length many different doctrines, but one that he spends a great deal of time is that of sin, grace and liberty.

It is in this book that we find that the law was made so that we would know sin.  It is also in this book that we find that we’re all sinners in need of a Savior.

However, one of the themes that also repeats itself is “What now?”

What now?

What I mean by this question is “what do we do with this knowledge?”  Before, the law was in effect, and in order to have a right relationship with God there were things to do and to follow.  There were ceremonies and sacrifices—and the religious leaders of the day had added things on top of it.

So, the new believers wondered “What do we continue to do?”  In Acts, the council of Apostles only laid a couple of restrictions on the new converts—to abstain from meat offered to idols and fornication.  But that really didn’t really square well, and how do you handle when one group of believers thinks that one thing is sin and another believes it to be something acceptable?

It is in this vacuum that Paul wades in with a new standard—the standard of the point of the exercise:

He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. – Romans 14:6

That standard being, where the Word of God is silent, there is liberty as long as what is done is done to the glory of God.

So I Have Liberty?

Yes, Paul is saying in Romans 14 that many of the things that were forbidden in the past—like meat offered to idols or holding days sacred—had their mission but no longer are binding.  We are all related to God directly, rather than corporately.

But there are conditions that apply for each person.  We’ll cover those starting tomorrow…