Romans 14

Passage: Romans 14:13–23

While talking with Ms. Eloi last week, we mentioned that we know some people who claimed to be Christians yet their actions tell otherwise. I am pretty sure that all of us know at least one or two. Then we look at their lifestyle and think to ourselves, “Nah, this person is worse than those who do not profess to be Christians.” Or maybe we do not word it that way, but in our heads, we already judged them.

The first part of Romans chapter 14 talks about not passing judgment on one another. Unfortunately, this is a hard thing to do. That is why we need God’s grace and mercy to do what He commands us to do — to not be quick to judge because He alone can judge us. However, as a true follower of Christ, one must still get disappointed at the hypocrisy of a person’s profession of faith and not living it. As Christians, we desire for others to be saved and experience Christ. It is unfortunate that a lot people, instead of looking at Christ alone, look at others to see for themselves whether or not they will believe in Christ or God. If they see goodness in others, then they will see that being a Christian might not be a bad idea after all. Then they see how some “Christians” act and talk, and they don’t want to be associated with any kind religiosity.

The matter gets worse when someone who’s young in the Lord see a fellow believer who is acting in an un-Christian manner. Romans 14 warns us of not becoming a stumbling block to our brothers (fellow Christians). It is already a bad testimony for those who do not know the Lord yet, and it is worse when somebody turns away from faith because of our hypocrisy.

“For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.” Romans 14 mentions the word “eat” many times, so I believe that it talks about “eating” literally. Back in those times, they were so concerned about the uncleanness of what they eat, whether they were animals or defiled food. Even after Christ came and gave the people a good teaching on what really defiles people and makes them unclean, there were still those who observed traditions even after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. They were young in their faith, so it probably was not easy to let go of their traditions all at once. There might still be food that they considered unclean, so when they saw other Christians eating those food, they found it rather offensive.

If we read the entire chapter, we will see the context of the verse quoted above. The passage was very relevant then, and it is still relevant now. It might not be “eating” literally, but the fact that we do things our fellow believers see that make them just shake their heads. When they look at us and watch us, expecting us to do things a follower of Christ should do, they might be offended. Worse, they might turn away from their faith. And if we do that, we are no longer walking in love. Why? Because we caused our brothers to stumble.

One would think that Marty Sampson, a songwriter, singer for Hillsong and others, is a person who has strong faith in the Lord. He’s been writing worship songs and singing them for years, so it seemed like he had it all figured out and nothing that comes in the way would shake that faith. That was not the case, though. He “lost his faith and rejected his Christian beliefs,” and at least two of the reasons he mentioned were the preachers that fell and judgmental Christians. And that doesn’t end Marty Sampson, of course. After he posted that on social media, how many people do you think were affected by his rejection of faith? How many followers with unstable Christian beliefs do you think were influenced by his post? I bet you there’s a lot. Though he was entitled to his freedom of speech, I think he could have been wiser. Social media was not the right place for it, and that probably caused some of his followers to agree with his rejection of faith.

Lord, may You give us strength and courage to keep walking in faith. Help us to live a life pleasing to You, so that when people look at us, they may see Christ Jesus. Lord, we acknowledge that we are not perfect and that we still sin. So please give us the grace to become more and more like Jesus each day. Help others to look at you instead of looking at us so that their eyes are focused on You, that they won’t be disappointed when our flesh gets in the way. Have mercy, Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

-Odette M. Green