Romans 14:1
Τὸν δὲ ἀσθενοῦντα τῇ πίστει, προσλαμβάνεσθε, μὴ εἰς διακρίσεις διαλογισμῶν.
Take to yourself the one being weak in the faith but not for judgment of reasonings.
Paraphrase: Brothers and sisters, I want to say something about the different kinds of people in your assembly. Be sure to welcome into your churches those that are not as mature in their walk with God as you might expect. Be kind and patient with them. (Jude 22) They don’t have a full understanding of all the truths of our religion, but that is no reason to immediately start challenging their opinions or their way of thinking on certain issues. This just leads to quarrels, fights, and usually a good deal of pride and thinking of ourselves as superior.
Comments:
The weak here are likely Jewish-Christians who struggle with what to let go and what to keep from their Jewish past.
Romans 14:2
ὃς μὲν πιστεύει φαγεῖν πάντα· ὁ δὲ ἀσθενῶν, λάχανα ἐσθίει.
One person believes to eat all things; but another being weak, eats vegetables.
Paraphrase: Take the matter of what kind of foods we are allowed to eat. Some people in your assembly have no qualms about eating whatever is in front of them; others, with the same faith in Christ but not having a full understanding of the liberty of the gospel, eat only vegetables.
Comments:
For ὃς μὲν …ὁ δὲ, see here.
The religion of Judaism did not forbid the eating of meat. Perhaps the Jewish believers here were afraid the meat had not been properly prepared (Leviticus 17:10–14) or that the blessing of some false deity had been invoked over this meat? (Daniel 1:8–16) For some reason, they thought it safer to limit themselves to just vegetables.
Romans 14:3
ὁ ἐσθίων, τὸν μὴ ἐσθίοντα μὴ ἐξουθενείτω· ὁ δὲ μὴ ἐσθίων, τὸν ἐσθίοντα μὴ κρινέτω, ὁ Θεὸς γὰρ αὐτὸν προσελάβετο.
The one eating should not despise the one not eating, and the one not eating should not condemn the one eating, for God takes him to Himself.
Paraphrase: Both of these need to be careful. The strong will be tempted to look with contempt and haughty pride on the one who has not yet grasped the full significance of the liberating power of the gospel. The weak will be tempted to condemn those whom he regards as being too free and hasty in breaking with time-honored traditions. Remember, God has welcomed to Himself both the weak and the strong. Do you want to look with contempt on someone whom God has embraced in His love and mercy? or would you condemn someone whom God has justified?
Comments:
John Murray points out the two sides here which become sinful. The first is “the smile of disdainful contempt” coming from the Gentile Christians, who were strong and prided themselves on their greater liberty. The second is “the frown of condemnatory judgment” coming from the Jewish Christian, who were weak and who condemned the strong for taking so many liberties with things that were once sinful and brought a person into uncleanness. See his commentary on Romans 14:1-3
προσλαμβάνω is in v1 where Paul exhorts the Christians to embrace the weak and also here where God embraces them.
Romans 14:4
σὺ τίς εἶ, ὁ κρίνων ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην; τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ στήκει ἢ πίπτει. σταθήσεται δέ· δυνατεῖ γὰρ ὁ Κύριος στῆσαι αὐτόν.
Who are you the one judging another’s house servant? to his own master he stands or falls, but he will stand for the Lord is able to cause him to stand.
Paraphrase: Do you think you are such an important person (Romans 12:3) that you are qualified to pass judgment on someone else’s employee? Are you really so puffed up with pride? On the contrary, even in society at large, each employee is judged by his own boss; he decides whether his employees are doing well or poorly. You can’t pass judgement on someone else’s employee. In the same way, don’t condemn others for doing things which you regard as wrong. God is their judge; He is the One to pass judgment on all His people. He is able to take even the most debauched person and to give him grace and holiness so that on the last day, he will stand justified before the court of God.
Comments:
Romans 14:5
Ὃς μὲν γὰρ κρίνει ἡμέραν παρ’ ἡμέραν· ὃς δὲ κρίνει πᾶσαν ἡμέραν. ἕκαστος ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ νοῒ, πληροφορείσθω.
For, on the one hand, one person judges days beyond days; another judges all days. Let each in his own mind be persuaded.
Paraphrase: Then there is the whole matter of special seasons and holy days. Again this is an area where differences of opinion are allowed to exist in the Christian church. One person regards certain days as holier than others; and thus lives and worships differently on these days. Other Christians regard all days as equally holy; and when these days roll around, they carry on as normal. Just like the issue of eating, this is an issue upon which Christians are to learn to live with each other and to show love and respect to those who think differently on these subjects. Let each believer make their own decision using their own mind and let the rest of us respect that decision and treat each other as members of one family.
Comments:
Winer notes (p503) the following about the preposition παρα:
Further παρά indicates that something has not hit the mark, but has fallen beside the mark; and hence, according to the nature of the words with which it is connected, it sometimes signifies “beyond”…
These holy days and seasons were in the spring and fall of the Jewish calendar.
Romans 14:6
ὁ φρονῶν τὴν ἡμέραν, Κυρίῳ φρονεῖ· ὁ ἐσθίων, Κυρίῳ ἐσθίει, εὐχαριστεῖ γὰρ τῷ Θεῷ· καὶ ὁ μὴ ἐσθίων, Κυρίῳ οὐκ ἐσθίει, καὶ εὐχαριστεῖ τῷ Θεῷ.
For the one judging the day, judges to the Lord. The one eating, eats to the Lord, for he blesses God and the one not eating, does not eat to the Lord, and he blesses God.
Paraphrase: Those who set aside certain days and season do this as a sincere act of worship to the Lord. The same is true for those who abstain from certain foods. So here is the case; those who eat all kinds of food do it for the glory of God. Those who abstain from certain kinds of foods also do it for the glory of God. Both have the same motive, and their different acts of worship are a sweet smelling fragrance to God. So what room is there here for any feeling of superiority or condemnation towards our fellow brothers and sisters?
Comments:
Romans 14:7
Οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἡμῶν ἑαυτῷ ζῇ, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἑαυτῷ ἀποθνῄσκει.
For not one of us lives for himself and not one dies for himself.
Paraphrase: Think about this, brothers and sisters. All of us are making a sincere effort to live our life, from beginning to end, for God’s glory. Those who eat; those who abstain; those who observe holy days; those who don’t; all are alike in this.
Comments:
Romans 14:8
ἐάν τε γὰρ ζῶμεν, τῷ Κυρίῳ ζῶμεν· ἐάν τε ἀποθνήσκωμεν, τῷ Κυρίῳ ἀποθνήσκομεν. ἐάν τε οὖν ζῶμεν, ἐάν τε ἀποθνήσκωμεν, τοῦ Κυρίου ἐσμέν.
For if we might live for the Lord, we shall live. If we might die for the Lord, then we die. Therefore, if we might live or if we might die, we are the Lord’s.
Paraphrase: Yes, from the day we’re born to the day we die, all of us act with a sincere desire to exult the Name of Christ. Some do it differently than others, but all are still aiming at the same thing, the greater glory of God. Both are accepted by God, and both should be accepted by us.
Comments:
Third class condition. Notice there is nothing in the morphology of ζῶμεν to distinguish the one as subjunctive and the other as indicative. We expect the verb in the protasis to be subjunctive, however. ἀποθνήσκωμεν is easily distinguished from ἀποθνήσκομεν because of the connecting vowel.
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (p33).
Romans 14:9
εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ, Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν καὶ ἔζησεν, ἵνα καὶ νεκρῶν καὶ ζώντων κυριεύσῃ.
For unto this, Christ died and lived in order that even dying and living, He might reign.
Paraphrase: Now this was the purpose of Christ’s coming to earth, submitting Himself to the death of the cross and then rising from the grave in victory. All this, He did to redeem His people from slavery and to purchase them at the cost of His own life. Now, he owns them and rules over all of them to their flourishing and to His glory. He and He alone has the right to pass judgment on their practice.
Comments:
Romans 14:10
Σὺ δὲ, τί κρίνεις τὸν ἀδελφόν σου, ἢ καὶ σὺ τί ἐξουθενεῖς τὸν ἀδελφόν σου; πάντες γὰρ παραστησόμεθα τῷ βήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ.
Now you, why are you judging your brother or also why are you despising your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
Paraphrase: So then, why are you Jewish Christians condemning your brother who eats all foods and does not observe all your feast days? And you Gentile Christians, why are you looking down with contempt on your Jewish brothers and sisters as though you are superior? This behavior is unacceptable; all of us will one day stand before the judgment seat of Christ where we can be sure we will receive perfect justice. Until then, lay aside your judgments and your censures and leave that to the great Judge of heaven and earth. He knows the heart of each of his people most perfectly. Let us, then, go on together, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder and do the work which God has called us to do without quarreling and pride.
Comments:
Romans 14:11
γέγραπται γάρ· Ζῶ ἐγώ, λέγει Κύριος, ὅτι ἐμοὶ κάμψει πᾶν γόνυ, καὶ πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσεται τῷ Θεῷ.
Romans 14:12
Ἄρα οὖν, ἕκαστος ἡμῶν περὶ ἑαυτοῦ, λόγον δώσει τῷ Θεῷ.
Romans 14:13
Μηκέτι οὖν ἀλλήλους κρίνωμεν· ἀλλὰ τοῦτο κρίνατε μᾶλλον, τὸ μὴ τιθέναι πρόσκομμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ, ἢ σκάνδαλον.
Romans 14:14
Οἶδα καὶ πέπεισμαι ἐν Κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ ὅτι οὐδὲν κοινὸν δι’ ἑαυτοῦ· εἰ μὴ τῷ λογιζομένῳ τι κοινὸν εἶναι, ἐκείνῳ κοινόν.
Romans 14:15
εἰ γὰρ διὰ βρῶμα, ὁ ἀδελφός σου λυπεῖται, οὐκέτι κατὰ ἀγάπην περιπατεῖς. μὴ τῷ βρώματί σου ἐκεῖνον ἀπόλλυε, ὑπὲρ οὗ Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν.
Romans 14:16
Μὴ βλασφημείσθω, οὖν, ὑμῶν τὸ ἀγαθόν.
Romans 14:17
οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ βρῶσις καὶ πόσις, ἀλλὰ δικαιοσύνη καὶ εἰρήνη καὶ χαρὰ ἐν Πνεύματι Ἁγίῳ.
Romans 14:18
ὁ γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ δουλεύων τῷ Χριστῷ εὐάρεστος τῷ Θεῷ καὶ δόκιμος τοῖς ἀνθρώποις.
Romans 14:19
Ἄρα οὖν, τὰ τῆς εἰρήνης διώκωμεν*, καὶ τὰ τῆς οἰκοδομῆς τῆς εἰς ἀλλήλους.
Romans 14:20
μὴ ἕνεκεν βρώματος, κατάλυε τὸ ἔργον τοῦ Θεοῦ. πάντα μὲν καθαρά, ἀλλὰ κακὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ διὰ προσκόμματος ἐσθίοντι.
Romans 14:21
καλὸν τὸ μὴ φαγεῖν κρέα, μηδὲ πιεῖν οἶνον, μηδὲ ἐν ᾧ ὁ ἀδελφός σου προσκόπτει.
Romans 14:22
Σὺ πίστιν ἣν ἔχεις, κατὰ σεαυτὸν ἔχε ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ. μακάριος ὁ μὴ κρίνων ἑαυτὸν ἐν ᾧ δοκιμάζει.
Romans 14:23
ὁ δὲ διακρινόμενος, ἐὰν φάγῃ, κατακέκριται, ὅτι οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως· πᾶν δὲ ὃ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως, ἁμαρτία ἐστίν.