“Where Romans Lands” Summer Intensive with N.T. Wright was organized by Admirato.org.
The Romans were more than likely pleased that Claudius had expelled the Judeans because they did not worship the gods and had a lazy day once a week and did odd things to their little boys.
The Gentile Christians welcoming back Judean Christians will be inviting back into their community people who were disliked perhaps making it harder for them by associating with them.
10 You, then: why do you condemn your fellow Christian? Or you: why do you despise a fellow Christian? We must all appear before the judgment seat of God, 11 as the Bible says:
As I live, says the Lord, to me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall give praise to God.
12 So then, we must each give an account of ourselves to God.
The way of love and peace
13 Do not, then, pass judgment on one another any longer. If you want to exercise your judgment, do so on this question: how to avoid placing obstacles or stumbling blocks in front of a fellow family member.
14 I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself, except that some things do become unclean for the person who regards them as such. 15 For if your brother or sister is being harmed by what you eat, you are no longer behaving in accordance with love. Don’t let your food destroy someone for whom the Messiah died!
16 So don’t let something that is good for you make other people blaspheme. 17 God’s kingdom, you see, isn’t about food and drink, but about justice, peace, and joy in the holy spirit. 18 Anyone who serves the Messiah like this pleases God and deserves respect from other people. 19 So, then, let’s find and follow the way of peace, and discover how to build each other up. 20 Don’t pull down God’s work on account of food. Everything is pure, but it becomes evil for anyone who causes offense when they eat. 21 It is good not to eat meat, or drink wine, or anything else which makes your fellow Christian stumble.
22 Hold firmly to the faith which you have as a matter between yourself and God. When you’ve thought something through, and can go ahead without passing judgment on yourself, God’s blessing on you! 23 But anyone who doubts is condemned even in the act of eating, because it doesn’t spring from faith. Whatever is not of faith is sin.
“you then, why do condemn and despise?” – Paul takes a harsher tone of rebuke.
Paul wants to establish a hierarchy of truths with some things as essential and some things as important and some things as not important.
Paul quotes Isaiah 45:23 in Romans 14:11 and reiterates the meaning in Romans 14:12. Future judgement is part of Paul’s message in his letters to the churches.
Love is willing to give up its rights for the other.
Paul is saying: “Don’t forget that bringing non-kosher foods to the church family dinners could really hurt the devout Judean Christians.”
Paul doesn’t want them to give up on their faith in Jesus over something like this.
Paul never backs off from his own convictions that all food is now clean, but he does not want the “strong” to force their beliefs on the “weak.”
What matters is justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. That is the way to please God.
Paul does not use the phrase “God’s Kingdom” much but when he does it appears to be his shorthand for all of the work of Jesus and the movement of His Church.
In Ephesians 2-3, God’s overall purpose was to create a single new humanity as opposed to a split version.
This is incredibly important because the principalities of darkness seek to divide us all.
The Church says to the dark forces that Jesus is the True God!
If the “strong” fail to accommodate the “weak” they could harm them. It is better to sacrifice to keep others from stumbling.
“The faith” refers to the commitment to the risen Jesus. Eventually that faith will come to understand that Gentiles and Judeans are all welcome in Christ even with their cultural differences.
“Eating while doubting” should be avoided.
“Whatever is not of faith is sin.” – Paul is not wanting the strong to force the weak to do anything against their conscience.
In other words, “Don’t insist on things which will undermine the faith of other believers as their faith may be at this moment.”
It is far easier to have a rule book!
But there are many areas where we need to grow up and make decisions using wisdom.
We need to grow to think through and pray through decisions of the heart.
Justification by Faith – Romans 1-11
Fellowship by Faith – Romans 12-16
It’s not quite accurate to say the first part of Romans is about doctrine and the second part about ethics. Paul would not have seen it quite like that. Justification by faith gets us to fellowship by faith! They cannot be separated!
God putting the world right at last = justice.
Call to true worship – Romans 12:1-2
Call to true justice – Romans 12:3-Romans 15:13
Applications from Romans 14:
- “We, the “strong” ones, should bear with the frailty of the “weak,” and not please ourselves.” – Romans 15:1
- This is not a renunciation of the law. Consider this section not as ethics but as addressing key cultural issues that mark one group from another.
- This is not about tolerance about different theological views on sexuality. Sexual ethics are about the goodness of creation and the launching of new creation. Sexual ethics are not cultural issues.
- Human community is always precarious. Shared worship is part of the solution! We can show the world a new way to live!
We live in a time where people have been deeply polarized with tyranny and anarchy as the extremes of both sides. The Church needs to demonstrate beautiful unity and the new way of being human. - We are peacemakers and reconcilers! We should not condemn and despise along cultural differences.
There are important discussions that are important to have to come together.
