Romans 14 – The Righteousness of Conscience

Well, tonight we’re going to be doing kind of a Bible study type lesson, and so I hope you have your Bibles with you. We’re going to be looking at Romans 14 and thinking about that specific chapter of the Bible.

Romans chapter 14. So let’s open our Bibles up to that chapter and get ready to study together God’s Holy Word and what it says to us. Now, the book of Romans is about the righteousness of God as it is revealed through the gospel. Remember, the theme verse of Romans is Romans chapter 1 and verse 16 and verse 17, where the apostle Paul writes, For I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein the righteousness of God is revealed from faith unto faith, even as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.

So the righteousness of God is revealed within the Gospel. And the Gospel is all about the work of Jesus Christ. So the Apostle Paul goes through in the book of Romans and he tells us the need for the Gospel.

What the Gospel does to our lives to change us. How we are to order our lives in relationship to the Gospel. And chapter 14 is answering a question or concern about conscious. Conscious in relationship to the gospel. Conscience. Trying to say that the right way. Conscience in relationship to the gospel.

And the chapter, we can divide it into two sections, if you will. God’s righteousness extends to matters of conscience with two concerns. First of all, the concern of judging in the matter of conscience, and secondly, the concern of influence in the matter of conscience.

And so when we’re talking about matters of conscience, we’re not talking about matters of doctrine per se. We’re talking about each individual’s conviction regarding personal matters. That’s what we mean when we’re talking about matters of conscience. Well, God wants everyone to follow Christ, but different cultures have different customs, many of which customs are not inherently sinful.

Now, of course, there are customs that cultures have that are inherently sinful, such as the customs of idolatry in some particular countries. We’re not talking about customs that are inherently sinful. We’re talking about customs that are not inherently sinful.

And what one culture accepts, another culture finds distasteful. And that reminds me of what we did this afternoon. For those of you who were here, we had grasshoppers for lunch today. And I ate one, and it was quite the interesting experience. You know, after you got past the initial crunchiness, it wasn’t a problem.

So that was something that Sister Sylvia Williams brought for us to try out. And so it was different. But what one says is tasteful, another might say, that’s distasteful. You know, we don’t really eat grasshoppers here in the United States, but in some other countries, that is on the menu. And people love them. And they eat them constantly.

So, things like that. And that is, in part, what the chapter is discussing. Things related to eating meat, and things related to drinking beverages of certain types, and then things related to observing particular days and times of the year.

Easter, holidays, some people call them. A lot of these things are matters of conscience. So let’s think about that this evening as we look at Romans chapter 14. So how does, and here’s the question, how does the righteousness of God address matters of conscience? And that’s what Paul is seeking to answer here in this chapter.

Well, let’s read verses 1 through 13, first of all, as we think about the problem of judging based on conscience. 1 through 13. He says, It says, For God has received him. Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

One person esteems one day above another. Another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day observes it to the Lord, and he who does not observe the day to the Lord, he does not observe it.

He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. And he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.

Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end, Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

For it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God. So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore, let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

Well, let’s stop right there and talk about this for a minute. So, the first thing that Paul says here in verse 1 is, Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. And so, we have two kinds of people here.

One who is weak in the faith, and one who is not. What is the difference between the two? There is evidently a problem, and the problem is disputes over doubtful things. I have found that, and this is my own personal experience, but there are more fusses and fights regarding matters of conscience than there are regarding doctrinal matters.

And that’s not to say there are not any fusses over doctrinal matters, but oftentimes it’s the matters of conscience that people fight over more than anything else. And that’s the very thing that Paul is saying we should not do. That is, fight over matters of conscience, or fight over matters of personal opinion. That’s the last thing that we should be doing.

And so, he uses a couple of examples here. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak, and so he defines who he’s talking about here when he says, one who is weak in the faith, he who is weak eats only vegetables.

So you have two kinds of people. The ones who eat only vegetables here in this context, and the other believes He may eat all things. What are we discussing in this context about one who believes He may eat all things and one who believes He may eat only vegetables?

It seems to me that in this context, Romans 14, I could be wrong about this, but this is talking about Jewish restrictions on diet versus Gentile restrictions on diet. Now, in the book of 1 Corinthians, I believe it is, there is a discussion about meats offered to idols and the question of whether or not to eat those.

I don’t believe that this discussion here is talking about that. I think these are two separate issues. Romans 14 is not talking about meats offered to idols. It’s talking about Jewish Christians who have been taught through the gospel that all meats are clean, but because they have not eaten certain meats, they cannot eat those meats for matters of conscience.

And what would some of those meats be? Pork, bacon. The Romans were very famous for eating pork. That was one of their staples. They loved it. But you know, Jews didn’t eat pork. And so if all you had before you was pork to eat, because you lived in the city of Rome, to whom this epistle was written, then as a Jew, you might want to just eat pork.

Just eat vegetables, and that’s it. Now, could the Jewish Christian eat some other kind of meat other than pork? Yes. Could they even eat pork if they wanted to? And the answer to that question is yes, as a Jewish Christian, as a Christian.

In fact, Paul tells Timothy, you remember in 1 Timothy chapter 4, I believe it is, that all meats are sanctified if they’re received with thanksgiving. That there’s nothing off limits to the Christian as far as meat is concerned. Those restrictions on diet under the old law were nailed to the cross along with all of the old law.

And so all meats are clean now in Christianity. But if I’m a Christian Jew and I’ve been restricting myself not to eat pork all of my life, I may have a conscience problem with that. I may say, yes, I understand perfectly well that all meats are available. But each time I eat, I stumble. I don’t believe I can eat those. That’s a problem of conscience.

It’s not a problem of doctrine, but a problem of conscience. And so, he who is weak eats only vegetables, but the other one believes he may eat all things. These may have been Jews who had been taught that all meats were open to them now and went ahead and started eating them.

Or they may have been Gentile Christians who had no restrictions on their diet in times past. So two kinds of people. And there were two kinds of attitudes that Paul is discussing. The one who eats should not despise the one who does eat.

That is, look down on them, or consider them somehow less worthy. They should not despise them. And the one who eats should not judge the one who does eat. So two attitudes. For those who eat, the temptation is to despise those who don’t.

For those who don’t eat, the temptation is to judge those who do. And that’s the way it works in matters of conscience. If my conscience restricts me from doing something, then it’s very easy for me to say to somebody else, I don’t do that, but you do, and then judge them based upon what they do.

And then for those who do something that they don’t seem to have a restriction of conscience on the matter, it’s very easy for them to look at the one who does and think, well, you’re just not as good as I am because you have this restriction on your conscience.

And what the scriptures are teaching is, we should not have either one of those attitudes in any shape or form. We shouldn’t despise and we shouldn’t judge in matters of conscience. So despise means to set at naught, to mock, to hold in contempt, or consider less than.

To judge means to condemn, call in question, or discriminate. So what should be said about judging someone based on one’s conscience? Let’s look at that, because that’s the discussion that we have next here. First of all, one is not to do it. Look at what he says, So we’re not to judge. And the reasoning for that is this. We are all in the same position of being a servant, whether you eat or whether you don’t. In matters of conscience, We’re still all servants of God. And one servant is not in a position to judge another servant. And if that’s what’s happening, then it needs to cease.

Because only the Master, in this context, God, may judge the servant. Only the Master may judge the servant. And if there is condemnation, it will cause one to fall. To his own master, he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand. So by judging, I am suggesting, or I am saying, you have fallen. But that’s not the case in matters of conscience. We haven’t fallen. Because in matters of conscience, God is able to make us to stand.

And then the question becomes this, are we going to oppose God? Because by judging another and suggesting that they have fallen, when God is able to make them to stand, we put ourselves in the position of opposing God. And we do not want to do that.

There were two attitudes toward holidays that we noticed here in verses 5 and following. One person regards a day above another. He celebrates holidays. Another regards all the days equally. That is, he does not celebrate holidays. This also is a matter of personal conscience. That is to say, it is not inherently sinful to celebrate holidays. Now, what holidays were under consideration here? Again, this goes back to the Jewish law.

The Jews had certain days that they celebrated every year. The Feast of Passover, the Feast of the Tents, there was the time of, at the beginning of the year, they call it Rosh Hashanah today, and it’s slipping my mind, the biblical term for it, the Day of Atonement.

There were other holidays. The new moon was observed. The Sabbath day was observed. So one regards holidays. He celebrates these days. Probably a Jewish person. Does he have to do that under Christ? No. Another regards all the days equally. Maybe a Jewish Christian who has come to understand that he doesn’t have to do that anymore. Maybe a Gentile Christian who never did it. It is a matter of personal conscience.

It is a matter of being fully convinced in one’s own mind. Now Paul introduces another principle here, and that is the principle of doing things to the Lord. As servants, we are to do all things to the glory of God, 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 31. And that includes matters of personal One may either participate or abstain in observing days or eating certain foods, but both, that is, both participating and abstinence, may be done to God’s glory, that is, in service to Him.

The principle of ultimate ownership means that everything we do is to the Lord. And the Lord owns everything, including us. We do not live to ourselves, that is, in a self-centered way, apart from God, as if we are our own masters.

We do not die to ourselves, that is, in a way that excludes us from God’s judgment. We both live and die to the Lord because we belong to the Lord. To prove this, Paul points out the obvious. That is, that Christ died, was buried, and rose again, that He might be Lord of both the living and the dead. And because He is the Lord of both the living and the dead, that means we come under His jurisdiction as servants. And as servants, we are not to be judging one another in matters of conscience.

Well, where does this leave our attitudes toward these things? Well, we must not judge or hold our brother in contempt, either one, because we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. I’m not going to, and I hope you don’t mind if I use this as an illustration, but Jim, I’m not going to stand before the judgment seat of Jim.

I’m not going to stand before the judgment seat of John David. I’m not going to stand before the judgment seat of Jody. And you’re not going to stand before the judgment seat of Kevin. We’re all going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And what does that mean then? Where does that leave our attitudes?

It means that I need to let each Christian give an account of himself before God through his own conscience or through her own conscience. And if I don’t want to be judged by God, then I’m not going to judge. And if I do not want to be held in contempt by God, then I’m not going to hold anyone in contempt. Because it’s God, you see, before whom we stand or fall. And so we should not judge one another on such matters, neither should we put a stumbling block of conscience before another brother.

Now in verses 14 through 23, we see the problem of influence based on conscience. So if one is free then to follow his conscience, whether to eat or not to eat, then one might think, well, I can just do this as much as I want, as freely as I want, whenever I want, however I want. And the answer to that is no, you may not.

Because that’s a matter of influence. And that’s what Paul is getting into when he says at the end of verse 13 not to put a stumbling block or to cause to fall in our brother’s way. So let’s read verses 14 and following. He says, I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself, but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. “‘Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace, and the things by which one may edify another. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense. It is good neither to eat meat, nor drink wine, nor do anything by which your brother stumbles, or is offended, or is made weak.

Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself and what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith. For whatever is not from faith is sin.

Well, let’s talk about this section now. So a Jewish Christian might ask, what about the issue of cleanliness of foods? And Paul says right here in this context, there is nothing unclean of itself. So that’s the Christian teaching about meat. Nothing is unclean of itself. If one considers it unclean, however, because of his own personal conscience, it is unclean for him or for her.

To the Gentile Christian who does not believe in unclean foods, he would say this, If you grieve your Jewish brother by eating something in front of him, you are not loving him. So, if we had a Jewish brother in our congregation, and we had a big old piece of bacon that we were frying up, But, and that was going to offend his conscience, that is, in a way that he would stumble and fall by violating his own conscience, then we need to get that bacon out of here and not eat it.

Because to eat it in front of him like that is not to love him properly. Grieve here means to cause consternation or sadness or offense over a matter of conscience, to create internal conflict within someone’s thoughts. One could destroy faith in Christ in this way, by eating food around someone and tempting him to do likewise when he believes that it is wrong for him to do so.

We don’t want to destroy faith in Christ over matters of conscience. And so Paul says this, Don’t let your good, that is of eating without a troublesome conscience, be spoken of for evil by doing something around someone who has a problem of conscience with it.

The good that we would do would be changed to evil, because we would be destroying their faith in Christ. That’s what he’s talking about here. And so he says, that’s not what the kingdom of God is about. The kingdom of God is not defined by what we eat or drink as a matter of personal conscience.

My personal conscience is not the standard for what’s right and wrong. What is the standard for right and wrong? Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. That’s the standard of right and wrong. And so one who serves Christ, being defined by Christ, in the Holy Spirit of Christ, is acceptable to God and approved by men.

But that’s letting Christ define us, not our own personal conscience. Well, what is the end goal of righteousness of God in Christ? It is the pursuit of peace. It is the pursuit of edification in Christ. The righteousness of God in Christ does not destroy the work of God for the sake of conscience. And so the issue at hand should be handled appropriately. All things are indeed pure to eat and drink regardless of their Their state of cleanliness, that’s the issue here in this section, their cleanliness, which is a specific Jewish concern.

One who eats against his own conscience creates a crisis of conscience, and therefore it is sinful for him to do that. One who does it in a way that causes his brother to stumble is also sinning. When He creates that crisis of conscience in another person’s mind. And so if we have faith in a matter of conscience, that is, our conscience doesn’t condemn us to do something that is a matter of conscience, we should do it to ourselves.

That is, in your own homes, by yourself, when you’re alone. Don’t do it around other people who may have a problem of conscience with it. And if your conscience does not condemn you, then you’re blessed. But if you have doubts and your conscience does condemn you, then don’t eat, don’t drink, whatever it is. Don’t do it. Why?

Because if your conscience condemns you, you sin. And this means that we can commit a sin simply from the matter of violating our own conscience, not necessarily because it is something that is objectively, that is outside of ourselves, a sin.

And so we are to respect our consciences and not cause them to grieve. Whatever is not from faith is sin. Now, the word faith here isn’t talking about the faith, that is, the gospel or the New Testament or the body of doctrine that is associated with Christianity.

It’s not talking about the faith, and it’s not talking even about the faith that comes by hearing the Word of God. That is, my faith in the Word of God. It’s talking about faith in my own conscience. Whatsoever is not of faith. That is, if I can’t believe it to be right, then I am not supposed to do it until I have been convinced otherwise and no longer have a crisis of conscience. And what does that mean?

It means that if there’s a problem over a matter of conscience, and it’s something that stands in our way of progress in our relationship with each other, then we’ve got to sit down and talk about it, you know. But as long as I have that conscientious objection, it is sinful for me to do it.

So, two different areas of thought here in Romans 14 regarding matters of personal conscience. One, we must not judge our brother or despise our brother. And second, we must not allow our influence, if we are of the mindset of our conscience not bothering us regarding something, we must not allow that influence to create a stumbling block for the brother who does.

Well, that’s how the righteousness of God relates to personal conscience. And that’s something that we need to be concerned about as Christians. Why is that? Because of what Paul said here earlier. We don’t want to create doubt in Christ. We don’t want someone to lose their faith in Christ.

Christ has done a tremendous amount of work in sacrificing Himself on the cross so that sins could be forgiven, and to erase that work in the life of someone because of a matter of conscience would be a tremendous error.

Perhaps this evening you need to let the work of Christ be effective in your life. You can begin that by hearing His Word and believing it, repenting of sin, confessing Him as Lord, and being baptized for the forgiveness of sins.

Those are not matters of conscience. They’re matters of doctrine. We must do those things in order to become children of God. If you would like to do those things this evening, we’ll be happy to help you. Or maybe you need prayers over some matter of personal concern that you have, and you would like to make that request at this time. If you would like to do so, we invite you to come. While together we stand, and while we sing this song of encouragement.

End of transcript. Thank you for reading along!