“ _Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, yet not to enter into discussions of opinions. One hath faith to eat all things; but another, who is weak, eateth herbs._ ” The participle ἀσθενῶν, _being weak_, is not altogether synonymous with the adjective ἀσθενής, _weak;_ it denotes one whose faith... [ Continue Reading ]
The first three verses are a sort of heading, in which the apostle expounds the ground of difference, and gives the solution of it provisionally.... [ Continue Reading ]
The meaning of πιστεύειν, _to believe_, is determined by its opposition to ἀσθενῶν, _being weak:_ “who _has a faith_ firm enough to be able to eat anything without scruple.” _ Eateth herbs_, that is to say, nothing else.... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _Let not him that eateth, despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not, judge him that eateth; for God hath received him._ ” This verse contains the theme which is about to be developed down to Romans 14:12. The two propositions are connected in the T. R. by _and_, and in the Ale... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall stand; for God is powerful to hold him up._ ” The idea is: It is to the advantage or disadvantage of his master, not of his fellow-servants, that a servant fulfils or neglects his task. The te... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _One man distinguisheth one day from another, the other esteemeth every day alike: let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he does not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For, whether we live, we live unto the Lord; whether we die_, _we die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die_, _we are the Lord's._ ” In everything that concerns the active use of life (such as the enjoyment of a kind of fo... [ Continue Reading ]
The proof of Romans 14:7 is given in Romans 14:8 (_for_). Our life and death being through the fact of faith at the Lord's service, the contrast between living and dying is thus completely dependent on the higher direction impressed on our being. Comp. 2 Corinthians 5:15 and Romans 12:1. For the bel... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _For to this end Christ died and revived;that He might be Lord both of the dead and living._ ” With the view of securing the possession of His own, whether as living or dead, Jesus began by resolving in His own person the contrast between life and death. He did so by dying and reviving. For what... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _But thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or thou also, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand at the judgment-seat of Christ._ ” The δέ, _but_, contrasts the incompetent judgment of a _brother_, with the judgment of this one _Lord._ The first question is addressed to... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then_, _every one of us shall give account of himself to God._ ” In Romans 14:11, Paul quotes Isaiah 45:23, where the universal homage is described, which all creatures will render... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _Let us not, therefore, judge one another any more, but judge this rather: that no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way._ ” The first proposition sums up the whole of the first part of the chapter; for it is still addressed to both parties; it forms at the same ti... [ Continue Reading ]
After having addressed the strong and the weak simultaneously, the apostle further addresses a warning to the former, to induce them not to use their liberty except in conformity with the law of love. As is observed by Hofmann, he had nothing similar to recommend to the weak; for he who is inwardly... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself:except that to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, it is unclean. Now if thy brother be grieved because of food, thou walkest no more charitably. Destroy not by thy food, him for whom Christ died._ ” Paul does no... [ Continue Reading ]
If this verse be connected with the preceding by _for_, with the majority of the Mjj., it is very difficult to understand their logical relation. Meyer paraprhases thus: “It is not without reason that I remind you of that (the preceding restriction); _for_ love is bound to take account of such a scr... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _Let not, then, the good you enjoy be evil spoken of._ ” The expression _your good_ has been applied to the kingdom of God (Meyer), or to faith (De Wette), or to the gospel (Philip.), or to the superiority of the Christian to the non-Christian (Hofmann). But all these meanings want appropriatenes... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _For the kingdom of God is not food or drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit._ ” Nothing could be simpler than the connection of this verse with the preceding. The force from above, which is the essence of the kingdom of God, does not consist in being able to eat or drink m... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _For he that in these things serveth Christ, is acceptable to God and approved of men._ ” So true is it that it is in these dispositions the kingdom of God consists, that the goodwill of God and men rests only on him who cultivates them. If we read ἐν τούτῳ, we may refer the pronoun (_him_ or _tha... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things which pertain to mutual edification.For food destroy not the work of God; all things indeed are pure, but a thing becomes evil for that man who eateth in a state of scandal._ ” VER. 19 forms the transition from the first to... [ Continue Reading ]
The _asyndeton_ between Romans 14:19-20 proves how acutely the apostle is alive to the responsibility of the strong: destroy the work of God! In Romans 14:14, where it was personal pain, wounding, which was referred to, the apostle spoke of making _the brother_ himself perish. Here, where the occasi... [ Continue Reading ]
VV. 21 is the summing up of the whole warning addressed to the strong from Romans 14:13. “ _IT IS GOOD NOT TO EAT FLESH AND NOT TO DRINK WINE, AND [TO DO NOTHING] WHEREBY THY BROTHER STUMBLETH, OR IS OFFENDED, OR EVEN IS MADE WEAK._ ” The word καλόν, _it is good, honorable_, is tacitly opposed to... [ Continue Reading ]
“ _As to thee, thou hast faith;have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that judgeth not himself in that thing which he approveth! But he that doubteth is condemned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith. Whatsoever is not done by faith is sin._ ” The proposition: _thou hast faith_, might be ta... [ Continue Reading ]