Romans 14:15

But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. BUT IF THY BROTHER BE GRIEVED (HAS HIS WEAK CONSCIENCE HURT) WITH [THY] MEAT, [ dia (G1223) brooma (G1033)] - rather, 'because of meat.' The word "meat" is purposely selected as something contemptible, in contrast with the tremendous risk run for its sake. Accordingly, in the next clause, that idea is brought out with great strength. DESTROY NOT HIM WITH ('BY') THY MEAT FOR WHOM CHRIST DIED. The worth (as Olshausen says) of even the poorest and weakest brother cannot be more emphatically expressed than by the words, "for whom Christ died." The same sentiment is expressed with equal sharpness in...

15._But if through meat thy brother is grieved, etc. _He now explains how the offending of our brethren may vitiate the use of good things. And the first thing is, — that love is violated, when our brother is made to grieve by what is so trifling; for it is contrary to love to occasion grief to any one. The next thing is, — that when the weak conscience is wounded, the price of Christ’s blood is wasted; for the most abject brother has been redeemed by the blood of Christ: it is then a heinous crime to destroy him by gratifying the stomach; and we must be basely given up to our own lusts, if we prefer meat, a worthless thing, to Christ. (428) The third reason is, — that since the liberty attained for us by Christ is a blessing, we ought to take care, lest it should be evil spoken of by men and justly blamed, which is the case, when we unseasonably use God’s gifts. These reasons then ought...

14-18 Christ deals gently with those who have true grace, though they are weak in it. Consider the design of Christ's death: also that drawing a soul to sin, threatens the destruction of that soul. Did Christ deny himself for our brethren, so as to die for them, and shall not we deny ourselves for them, so as to keep from any indulgence? We cannot hinder ungoverned tongues from speaking evil; but we must not give them any occasion. We must deny ourselves in many cases what we may lawfully do, when our doing it may hurt our good name. Our good often comes to be evil spoken of, because we use lawful things in an uncharitable and selfish manner. As we value the reputation of the good we profess and practise, let us seek that it may not be evil-spoken of. Righteousness, peace, and joy, are words that mean a great deal. As to God, our great concern is to appear before him justified by Christ...

Verse Romans 14:15. _IF THY BROTHER BE GRIEVED_] If he think that thou doest wrong, and he is in consequence stumbled at thy conduct. _NOW WALKEST THOU NOT CHARITABLY._] κατα αγαπην, _According to_ _love; for love worketh no ill to its neighbour_; but by thy eating some particular kind of meat, on which neither thy _life_ nor _well-being_ depends, thou _workest ill_ to him by _grieving_ and distressing his mind; and therefore thou breakest the _law of God_ in reference to him, while pretending that _thy Christian liberty_ raises thee above his _scruples_. _DESTROY NOT HIM WITH THY MEAT, FOR WHOM CHRIST DIED._] This puts the uncharitable conduct of the person in question in the strongest light, because it supposes that the weak brother may be so _stumbled_ as to _fall_ and

BUT IF THY BROTHER ... - This address is to the “Gentile” convert. In the previous verse, Paul admitted. that the prejudice of the Jew was not well-founded. But admitting that still the question was, “how” he should be treated while he had that prejudice. The apostle here shows the Gentile that “he” ought not so to act as unnecessarily to wound his feelings, or to grieve him. BE GRIEVED - Be pained; as a conscientious man always is, when he sees another, and especially a Christian brother, do anything which “he” esteems to be wrong. The “pain” would be real, though the “opinion” from which it arose might not be well founded. WITH THY MEAT - Greek, On account of meat, or food; that is, because “you” eat what he regards as unclean. NOW WALKEST - To “walk,” in the Sacred Scriptures, often denotes to act, or to do a thin

EXPOSITION ROMANS 14:1 F. _The duty of enlightened Christians towards weak brethren. _From moral duties in general of Christians towards each other and towards all the apostle now passes to such as they owe peculiarly to each other as members of a religious community, united by a common faith. He has already (Romans 12:16) admonished his readers to be "of the same mind one toward another;" but, as was remarked under that verse, this did not imply agreement of view on all subjects, such as is impossible where there are many minds. In this chapter he recognizes the impossibility, having immediately before him what was then patent, the inability of some, through prejudice or slowness of conception, to enter into views of the meaning of the gospel which to himself a

BUT IF THY BROTHER BE GRIEVED WITH THY MEAT,.... The apostle proceeds to give reasons why, though he was so fully persuaded that nothing was unclean of itself, and so he, and any other of the same persuasion, might lawfully eat anything; yet they should forbear, and not make use of this liberty; because if a brother should be grieved by it, that is, either should be concerned and troubled at it inwardly, both because the person that eats is thought by him to have transgressed a command of God, and because he himself is not only despised as a weak brother, but as if he was a "judaizing" Christian, and walked not uprightly, according to the truth of the Gospel; or else should be emboldened thereby to eat, and so wound and defile his weak conscience; or be so galled and offended at it, as to stumble and fall off from his profession of Christianity, and withdraw his communion, as judging the...

CHAPTER 14 _ 1. Strong and Weak Brethren are the Lord's Servants. (Romans 14:1 .)_ 2. The True Way of Love. (Romans 14:13 .) Romans 14:1 The question concerning brethren who were weak in faith, how they are to be treated by those who are strong is now taken up. Those weak in the faith had not the complete knowledge of their position in Christ, though they knew Christ and loved Him. They did not realize that certain observances of days, or abstinences from meats and drinks, could not affect their salvation in any way. There were scruples and conscientious difficulties, as there are still among God's people. One believeth he may eat all things, he knew his full Christian freedom--another who i

CONSIDERATENESS INSTEAD OF CENSORIOUSNESS. Romans 14:13. Let us stop judging one another (_cf._ Matthew 7:1); but come rather to this judgment, not to lay a stumbling-block in a brother's way, etc. Romans 14:14. For himself, Paul stands firmly on the side of liberty: I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus as one obedient to Christ's authority and convinced by His teaching (see Mark 7:14; _cf._ Acts 10:9)that religious distinctions in food have no intrinsic ground....

RESPECT FOR SCRUPLES (Romans 14:1) _ 14:1 Welcome the man who is weak in the faith, but not with a view to passing judgment on his scruples._ In this chapter Paul is dealing with what may have been a temporary and local problem in the Roman Church, but is also one continually confronting the Church and always demanding solution. In the Church at Rome there were apparently two lines of thought. There were some who believed that in Christian liberty the old tabus were gone; they believed that the old food laws were now irrelevant; they believed that Christianity did not consist in the special observance of any one day or days. Paul makes it clear that this in fact is the standpoint of real Christian faith. On the other hand, there were those who were full of scruples; they believed that it was wrong to eat meat; they believed in the rigid observance of the Sabbath tyranny.