In 14:1–15:13, Paul rebukes the Roman Christians for standing in judgment over one another. They have divided into two “camps” over certain issues. Those whom Paul labels “weak in faith” (cf. 14:1) hold that believers should not eat meat (14:2), that they should regard certain days as more “holy” than others (cf. 14:5), and, perhaps, that they should not drink wine (cf. 14:21). The “strong” (cf. 15:1), by contrast, feel free to eat meat, to drink wine, and to treat every day alike. Paul comes down on the side of the strong (14:14, 20; 15:1), but his main concern is the disunity that these issues are creating within the Christian community. He wants both weak and strong to respect the views of the others and to cease the mutual recriminations that are tearing apart the community.
Accept him whose faith is weak (14:1). At both the beginning and end of chapter 14 (see 14:22–23), Paul characterizes the “weak” with respect to their “faith.” Paul’s use of the word throughout Romans requires that it refers to that “trust in Christ” that is fundamental to the gospel. Yet, as 14:2 makes clear, this faith is being looked at here from a specific angle: what one thinks one’s faith in Christ allows one to do. The person “weak in faith,” therefore, is not necessarily one who is immature in his or her faith. It is, rather, a person who has not yet come to the conviction—because of the “pull” of a life spent in Judaism—that the Christian faith allows him or her to eat meat, drink wine, and ignore Jewish holy days.
One man considers one day more sacred than another (14:5). As we argued above, the “sacred” days are probably Jewish holy days, which the weak insisted carried over into the Christian era. Just what these holy days may have included is not clear. Jews, of course, celebrated annually several great festivals inaugurated in both the Old Testament (e.g., the Day of Atonement, Passover) and in the intertestamental period (e.g., Purim, Hanukkah). Many Jews observed regular days of fasting; the Pharisees fasted twice a week. And, of course, the weekly Sabbath was central to Jewish life.
That the Sabbath was one of the days in dispute is probable from two circumstances. (1) Sabbath observance became a key identification marker for Jews in Paul’s day and was therefore likely a point of contention between Jewish and Gentile Christians. (2) Colossians 2:16, where Paul deals with a somewhat similar issue, specifically mentions the Sabbath as one of the holy days at issue.
He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God (14:6). This is the earliest mention in Christian literature of the practice of giving thanks at mealtime.152 It is, of course, a continuation of the Jewish practice.153 The “Lord” in this verse may be God the Father. But the fact that the “Lord” in Romans 14:9 is Christ suggests that Paul is thinking of Christ as the Lord throughout these verses.
Christ died and returned to life (14:9). Paul cites bedrock Christian tradition: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.”154 Only here, however, do we have in this tradition the language of “come to life” rather than “raised.” Paul tailors the wording to suit his context, in which he will note that Christ is the Lord of both “the dead and the living.”
We will all stand before God’s judgment seat (14:10). Paul is the only New Testament author to put a theological twist on the well-known bēma, the scene of secular judgment.155 In 2 Corinthians 5:10, he refers to the “judgment seat of Christ,” but the variant in divine name should not suggest that he thinks of a different setting, or time, of judgment.
“As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “every knee shall bow before me; every tongue will confess to God” (14:11). The bulk of this quotation is from Isaiah 45:23, a text apropos to the issue Paul is discussing here, since the verse is surrounded with claims of the Lord’s unique sovereignty: “I am God, and there is no other” (45:22); “In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength” (45:24). The opening words of the quotation, “As surely as I live,” do not come from Isaiah 45. This phrase, however, does occur twenty-two times in the Old Testament, including Isaiah 49:18, which may be Paul’s specific reference. Why does he add these words? Perhaps to suggest that the “Lord” of the quotation from Isaiah 45:23 is none other than the Lord Christ, who died and was raised.
Most of 14:13–23 is directed to the “strong,” as Paul is urging them not to insist on the exercise of their own rights at the expense of the spiritual health of the “weak.”
Let us stop passing judgment on one another (14:13). Paul may be alluding to Jesus’ teaching: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” (Matt. 7:1). Absolute prohibitions of judging are rare in Judaism, and Paul consistently alludes to Jesus’ teaching in this part of Romans.
Stumbling block (14:13). The Greek word proskomma refers to any obstacle that might cause a person to trip or stumble. It is therefore a perfect metaphor for a practice or word that might cause a believer to “stumble” in his or her walk with the Lord. This is its significance throughout the New Testament.156
Obstacle (14:13). The Greek word here is skandalon, which originally denoted a “trap.” But the word also became a metaphor for the idea of “occasion of misfortune” or “cause of ruin.” All fourteen New Testament occurrences of this word have this significance. Leviticus 19:14 (“Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD”) may have been the seminal text for this metaphorical significance in the Scripture.
No food is unclean in itself (14:14). “Unclean” translates koinos, which means “common”; it is the word used to describe the Greek of the New Testament period: koinē, or “common” (i.e., widespread) Greek. The Jews began to use this word to denote food that was “common,” that is, secular and therefore to be avoided by the zealous Jew.157
Approved by men (14:18). “Approved” (dokimos) can also be translated here “esteemed.” The word normally denotes the quality of having been approved through a test.158 But there is some evidence that the word could also mean “esteemed” or “respected.”159
All food is clean (14:20). The Old Testament uses the word “clean” to denote food that was uncontaminated and therefore acceptable for Jews to eat (see, e.g., Gen. 7:2–3, 8; 8:20).160
Or drink wine (14:21). Since Paul introduces the drinking of wine as an example of his own behavior, it is not clear whether it was one of the points dividing the weak and the strong. We do know that many Jews abstained from wine in pagan contexts out of fear that it had been involved in ritual libations to the gods.