CCC Livestream - It's All About The Gospel - Romans 14:13-23
Live Worship Gathering: 1/11/2026
Preaching: Jason Purdy
What To Do With Disputable Matters Part 2
Jason Purdy
It’s All About The Gospel / Romans 14:13–23
I invite you to turn with me to Romans 14.
We will look at verses 13-23 today.
Romans 1-11 is all about what God has done in Christ to save us from sin and death because of His great love for us.
Then, in Romans 12 through the end of the book, we read about how we are to live in light of God’s saving grace toward us, particularly how we are to love one another and live with one another in God’s family - the church.
And last Sunday, as we walked through verses 1-12 of Romans 14, we were introduced to a category of person whom we had not yet heard about in the book of Romans, and that category of person is someone Paul calls one who is weak in faith.
And as we continue to study in chapter 15, we will see that Paul is contrasting the weak in faith with the strong in faith.
Romans 14:1 ESV
1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
Opinions can also be translated as disputable matters or nonessentials.
And we saw last week that the particular matter that Paul addresses here has a right and a wrong way of viewing it.
Yet, it was not sinful to see it from either viewpoint or to practice either viewpoint.
That is why I gave the conclusion that one who is weak in faith is a genuinely saved follower of Jesus who takes a wrong position on a disputable matter yet still glorifies God in how they live out their wrong position.
The issue at hand is shown in verse 2:
Romans 14:2 ESV
2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.
Now, the Roman church is made up of Jewish background believers and Gentile background believers.
The Jewish background believers had grown up all their lives in a religion and culture that believed in and practiced the ceremonial food laws of the Old Testament.
The Gentile background believers grew up under no such laws.
Yet, now Jesus had come and lived and died and risen again to establish the new covenant in the gospel, and one truth in the new covenant gospel is that the ceremonial laws were all a shadow that pointed to the substance, who is Christ, so those ceremonial aspects of the law are no longer binding to a believer because Jesus has fulfilled them in his coming.
It would have been easier in this case for the Gentile background believer to find themselves in the strong category, rightly believing that they are not under the ceremonial law, but in Christ, are free to eat all kinds of food because those laws were not a part of their background, tradition, and family heritage.
But, then you had some Jews, if not all, who found themselves in the weak category where though they trust in the gospel, in their conscience, they still feel it is most glorifying to God to stay away from eating the things they had always stayed away from.
This is what their fathers and grandfathers taught them and it was ingrained in their culture.
The strong were not sinfully wrong for eating.
The weak were not sinfully wrong for abstaining.
Verse 6 made clear that based on a heart of thankfulness and desiring the glory of God, the one who eats honors God, and the one who abstains honors God.
So, the great overarching command that begins and ends this section of Scripture on opinion and disputable nonessential matters such as this one is: welcome one another.
We see it start the section in 14:1 and we see it end the section in 15:7 that reads:
Romans 15:7 ESV
7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
The command to welcome one another implies that we accept one another as fully saved by God’s grace, full participants in God’s church, and fully able to share fellowship at God’s table, and conscious that we are both works in progress as we grow in Christ one step at a time although we differ in conscience and culture on some disputable matters.
I think the closest applications we can make to ourselves in our day would be things like how exactly we honor the Lord’s day and keep the Sabbath today, and how we consider the drinking of alcohol given the Scriptures warnings, but also the making and drinking of wine by Jesus and Paul telling Timothy to drink a little wine.
But, I also said last week, that the principles of this text apply to any and all matters of conscience in life where the Scripture does not particularly say “thou shalt, or thou shalt not.”
I mentioned a few things such as school choices, wearing a costume on Halloween, how to dress for Sunday service, whether or not to read Harry Potter, choices of music, how to apply the teachings of male headship in different circumstances, of course the list can go on and on.
And the main heart posture we were called to in last week’s passage as we welcome one another is not to judge the one who abstains, and not to despise the one who observes.
And we do this by remembering that we do not live and die to others, but we live and die to the Lord and He is our one ultimate judge to whom we will all give an account of our lives before.
So, now we pick it up in verse 13:
Romans 14:13–23 ESV
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 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. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
1. Resolve To Never Put A Stumbling Block In The Way Of A Fellow Believer
Verse 13: Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.
Paul has already identified himself as one of the strong in faith who understands Christian freedom and applies it to the fact that he can eat anything because Jesus declared all foods clean.
So, he tells the strong to not pass judgment on those who choose to abstain, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a fellow believer.
Is it a sin to not eat meat? Of course not.
Is it a sin to not drink alcohol? Of course not.
So, who am I to judge someone for abstaining from something?
What’s there to judge? There is no sin in it.
At the same time, there is no sin for those who eat meat in this case if they believe like Paul does in verse 14:
I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
Remember in verse 5, we are told to be fully convinced in our own mind?
That means God wants us to prayerfully consider and come to peace about what things glorify Him and what does not even in matters of opinion.
And Paul is at peace in his faith in Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself.
But, it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
How in the world can that be?
Here’s how: because relationship with God is all about having our dead sinful hearts come to life in order to desire to glorify God and love Him with all that we are and love others more than ourselves.
So, if we question in our heart if doing something would glorify God or not, we should not do it, because relationship with God is at its foundation inward faith that transforms the heart, not outward actions to earn God’s love or approval.
It is what the Scriptures call our conscience.
Under immense pressure as he stood against the established church of his day, Martin Luther spoke these words:
It is neither right nor safe to go against one’s conscience.
An old timey word for it is scruples.
It is the weakness, sensitivity, or doubt in the mind that doing something could bring glory to God.
So, what would it look like to place a stumbling block in the way of a fellow believer?
It would look like trying to pressure a person to do something their conscience is not comfortable with just because it is our Christian freedom to do it.
It would look like continuing to deliberately practice your Christian liberty in front of a fellow believer who you know struggles in that area.
It would look like insisting on your rights, instead of laying down your rights in the presence of the other.
Verse 15: 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.
I think there are two things about our culture that make verses like this one hard to understand.
First, it is tempting in our culture to believe that we can have a healthy walk with Jesus apart from a close and continuous relationship with God’s church.
Second, there are many different churches within driving distance of us that we can choose to attend.
So, when we read in verse 15 that practicing my Christian freedom in front of a weaker brother or sister grieves them and may even destroy them in some way,
It doesn’t really hit home because we naturally think, well, if they don’t like what I do, they don’t have to be around me, and they could go to another church.
But in the Roman church context, if a follower of Jesus is having his conscience grieved by fellow church members continuing to practice their freedom around him, and it is a hindrance to his walk with Jesus, his only option is to be separated from the church altogether,
The very family that he was saved into by faith.
There isn’t another church for him to go to down the street.
It would have been a huge detriment to the weaker person’s faith and life of following Jesus if the strong were not willing to abstain around those who were weak for the sake of never putting a stumbling block in the way of a fellow believer.
Verse 16: So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.
You, like Paul, believe it is good to eat all food and see it as clean, but if you refuse to give that up when you are in the presence of your fellow brothers and sisters in Jesus who feel a strong conviction against it, you lead them to say, I just can’t see how eating that meat could possibly be good.
Don’t let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil but instead, choose to abstain in their presence.
Lay down your Christian freedom and right for the sake of loving your brother.
Resolve to never put a stumbling block in the way of a fellow believer.
Can I also mention that this passage implies that members of the church know each other well enough to know who would be grieved by a certain thing or not?
I find conviction in this because our brand of southern culture can sometimes lead us to never go beyond the surface in relationships to the point where we know something like this about one another.
Part of why we practice covenant membership is because we could never obey passages like this one without being committed to actually knowing one another in relationship.
2. Pursue What Makes For Peace And The Spiritual Upbuilding Of All
Just because you have the gospel freedom to do something or pursue something, in the context of your faith family - the church, be willing to lay down your rights and only pursue what makes for peace and the mutual edification of all!
Verse 17: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
In other words, being saved by Christ through the gospel makes you a kingdom citizen, and kingdom citizens are not identified by all eating and drinking the exact same way.
Kingdom citizens are identified by the presence of righteousness, peace, and joy that is all present in them because the Holy Spirit of God lives within them.
What did Jesus say in John 13?
By this everyone will know you are my disciples, when they see you eat and drink the exact same way. No.
By this everyone will know you are my disciples, when they see you all school your children in the exact same way. No.
How about when they see you all engage in the political process the exact same way? No.
By this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another.
The presence of righteousness, peace, and joy in the midst of a congregation comes when a church majors on the gospel of God’s grace, the glory of God’s name, the righteousness of God’s clear commands, the peace God has given us with himself and one another, and the joy that comes by being in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 18: Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.
So, every person who is saved by the grace of God is filled with the Spirit of God, and the salvation of a person does not evidence itself on what side of an disputable issue someone comes down on, the salvation of a person evidences itself in the presence of righteousness, peace, and joy in Christ and a genuine desire to serve him.
So, whoever serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.
They are acceptable to God because God has saved them by His grace through their faith in the Lord Jesus.
And all who are saved are now Christ’s servant and desire to serve Christ with their life.
And they are also approved by men, you see, while God alone saves us, it is his church, those who confess Jesus as Savior and Lord, who affirm the faith of other confessors of Jesus.
That’s why we practice church membership.
Church membership is saying that as a confessor of Jesus as Savior and Lord, we accept and receive that you share that same confession of Jesus as Savior and Lord, so you are approved as a member of the church.
By no way do any of us produce faith in one another, but we do see faith in one another and affirm that it is there.
And may we never welcome or reject someone based on their stance on a matter of eating or drinking or any other matter of opinion, but instead, may we only welcome or reject someone’s entrance into the family of God based on the presence of their faith in the gospel of the Lord Jesus leading to the Spirit of God giving them righteousness, peace, and joy.
Verse 19: So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
While it is faith in the gospel that has led us to having peace with God, it is imperative that we now do all that we can to live at peace with one another.
So, don’t focus on the things that would tempt you to judge or despise one another.
Instead, pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
Mutual edification.
The goal of our assembly with one another should be one of proclaiming the gospel of peace, guarding the truth which brings peace, and pursuing peace in relationship by focusing on the things that build one another up in their faith.
Verse 20: Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.
The most important thing happening in your life and my life is that God is working to grow us in faith and make us more like himself.
Do not destroy or hinder that work in yourself or others by insisting on your own way in matters of conscience.
There is a parallel passage in 1 Corinthians that helps us understand that Paul is saying here.
1 Corinthians 8:9–12 ESV
9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
Now, the situation in Corinth was similar but not exactly the same.
The issue of eating certain foods in Corinth was not as much about what kind of food to eat and not eat, but whether it was permissible to eat food that had been offered to idols.
Idol worshippers in Corinth would offer food to their idols and then sell it in the market.
The strong in faith understood that idols are fake and have no power, so they had not pangs of conscience in buying and eating the food that was offered to idols.
The weak in faith felt in their conscience that this was wrong to do.
Paul says here, just like in Romans, to make sure that this Christian freedom that you have does not become a stumbling block to others.
It is much more loving and God honoring to abstain from these things around others for the sake of your brother or sister’s conscience.
Don’t try to push someone into doing something they don’t feel comfortable before God doing just because you feel comfortable doing it.
It’s interesting, if you think about it, Paul is warning those who embrace the freedom they have in Christ to not be like the Pharisees.
You see, the Pharisees heart would say, “If you pick up something on the Sabbath, or take a sip of alcohol, or wear jeans to church, you must not really know God.”
But someone who totally embraces their freedom in Christ needs to make sure they don’t do the exact same thing by saying, “If you wear a suit and tie to church, and refuse to drink with us, and won’t watch sports on Sunday, you must not really know God, because God says we are free to do all those things.”
Do not judge a person’s relationship with God by whether they do or don’t do on matters of opinion.
The most important point is not, “Am I allowed to eat this or do this or go there?”
The most important point is, “Is what I am doing bringing glory to God and is it building up the faith of others that I am with?”
Consider 1 Corinthians 10:23-33
1 Corinthians 10:23–33 ESV
23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.
All things are lawful.
Nothing is unclean in itself.
Now, man can choose to sin with almost anything.
Watching TV is a sin if you are addicted to it and you prioritize it over God and others, but TV is not unlawful within itself.
Getting drunk with too much wine is a sin, but the wine is not unclean in itself.
Too many times we have been so focused on what is allowed and what is restricted that we forget the main question is “Am I bringing glory to God and edification to others in the way that I am living?”
One of the big implications of a passage like this one is that we are all always influencing the other people in our lives.
No relationship is neutral.
You are either drawing people closer to God, to righteousness, to peace, and to joy,
Or you are pushing people away from those things.
Lay down your rights. Don’t do anything that would push someone away from Jesus for sake of your rights.
Verse 22: The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God.
This is a good example of one reason why you can never take one verse out of its context.
I heard a person say one time that Christians are not supposed to share their faith with others, but they should keep it private.
When they were questioned, they said, “Yeah, Romans 14 verse 22: the faith you have, keep between yourself and God.”
But, we who are studying this verse in context know that it not what Paul is talking about at all.
He is saying your faith that leads you to feel free and God glorifying to eat meat, or drink in moderation, or whatever it is, don’t tell everybody about that and argue with people about it and try to convince everybody to see it your way.
Just simply keep your opinions on those things between you and God.
Do it quietly in your own home.
Blessed is the one who had no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.
What does that mean?
It means if I keep these matters of conscience between me and God, and I don’t argue with others about them, and I don’t practice them in front of others, I never have to wonder if I possibly put a stumbling block in someone else’s way.
I never have to judge if I sinned by flaunting my Christian freedom or not.
Verse 23 not only ends the chapter.
Verse 23 gives the reason for why this whole matter of not causing a brother or sister to stumble is so important.
But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith.
It’s like Martin Luther said, “It is neither right nor safe to let down one’s conscience.”
God looks on the heart, and the most important question in any situation is, “Are you responding to this situation based on the glory of God?”
So, if you have doubts that you can do a certain thing and bring glory to God in you, do not do it, because for you it is sin.
For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
The believer in Jesus lives by faith, not by sight.
My grandmother used to tell us grandkids this story about the one time she was tempted to go to the movie theater.
She wanted to see a certain “picture show,” that’s what she called it.
She wanted to see it so badly, she even made it to the parking lot of the theater, but she couldn’t let herself go inside.
Now, it wasn’t a movie with bad stuff in it at all. No doubt, there are some movies that I believe would be a sin to watch.
But, it’s easy for me to listen to her story and think, “What a legalistic background! How could someone think that way?”
But, according to the passage, although I completely believe she had the Christian freedom to go to that movie, for her, it would have been a sin to go, because she was not fully convinced in her own mind that it could bring glory to God.
So, I am called as a brother in Christ to honor her conscience and her decision, and not put her in places that would cause her to go against her conscience.
All of life is based on faith in the Lord Jesus.
While we were sinners and at odds with God in every matter,
Jesus Christ laid down all of his rights and freedoms to come to earth as a baby.
And Jesus lived a perfect life apart from sin,
But when the time came, Jesus not only stumbled but fell full force into the punishment for all your sins and all my sins.
Because we had fallen infinitely short of God’s glory,
Jesus took the fall of our sin on himself, laying down all rights and privileges even to the point of death on a cross in order to pursue your peace with God and my peace with God.
And if you would confess that you are a sinner and confess that Jesus died and rose again to be your Savior,
He will fill you with His Spirit of righteousness, peace, and joy.
And God will regard you as completely acceptable and loving in his sight not because of what you eat or don’t eat, not because of how you dress or what music you listen to, but because his love for you is perfect and his sacrifice for you was sufficient to forgive you of all your sin and to adopt you into His kingdom family - the church.
Do you need to meet Jesus this morning?
Let’s pray.