The Law of Love

Paul is teaching the Romans Christians how they are to get along when they disagree about “doubtful things” (Rom. 14:1), the many behaviors and activities about which the Word of God gives no clear instruction. Such activities prove troublesome because Christians exist along a continuum of faith, the “strong” being those who have gained a good understanding of their liberty in Christ and the “weak” being those who are more tentative in their actions, often giving heed to man-made rules out of fear of displeasing God. In the first part of chapter 14, Paul exhorted the strong Romans to bear with and not scorn the weak, and he encouraged the weak among his readers to refrain from judging the strong. But in verse 13, he turned his focus more upon the strong, instructing them “not to put a stumbling block or cause to fall in our brother’s way.” In the latter half of this chapter, he continues to teach the strong how to relate to the weak.

The apostle first affirms that the strong have it right—“there is nothing unclean of itself.” However, this is not a license to do anything the Bible does not address; the context indicates that Paul has returned to his example of food (Rom. 14:2). He testifies that he is “fully convinced in his own mind” (Rom. 14:5) about this because of Jesus. He may be referring to Jesus’ teaching during His ministry (Mark 7:15, 18–19) or, more likely, to Jesus’ revelation to him as an apostle. But he is quick to add that if a weak believer regards a certain food as unclean, to him it essentially is unclean, for eating it would trouble his conscience. The usual reaction of the strong is to tell the weak to get over such hang-ups. But Paul puts the responsibility for maintaining unity on the strong, telling them that their liberty ends when it begins to harm others. To eat something a brother regards as improper in his presence is to act in an unloving way. The strong should refrain from exercising their liberty when doing so might cause another to stumble.

The possible repercussions are severe: The strong could “destroy” the weak. Paul is not saying the strong can cause others to lose their salvation. But he is driving home the point that the strong, by their example, have the power to induce weaker believers to engage in activities they themselves regard as wrong. The end result may be guilt-ridden consciences that rob these weaker believers of joy.