Romans 14 - Concerning Christian Liberty

 

In our last study, we talked about how human government is a divinely appointed institution. They are there to be public servants for the good of society, and to execute justice for wrong-doing. For this reason, we are to submit to the authorities to avoid their wrath and to have a clean conscience before God. In this chapter Paul is going to discuss Christian liberty, and how we should conduct ourselves with such liberties.

He begins by saying they should receive those who are weak in the faith. In other words, they should not refuse to fellowship with others who are not on the same level of maturity as they are. We can have constructive conversations with people, but we should not argue with them on nonessentials. On the essentials of the faith, however, we should be in agreement. These are those doctrines that make Christianity true Christianity, and they are clearly taught in the Scriptures. The nonessentials are those things for which we can disagree, either because they do not make a difference in our right standing with the Lord, or the Scriptures are somewhat ambiguous. We may have strong opinions on these matters, but should be willing to yield for the sake of others when necessary. As it has been said, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity.” My goal in this study is to present a biblical case why we are free in certain matters, but may not want to exercise those freedoms for the sake of others.

Some believe they can eat all things, and others who are weak eat only vegetables. As we can see, those weak in the faith are those who place extra rules on themselves and on others that God has not prescribed. This may be because they sincerely believe God wants them to adhere to these set of rules, or because they have a propensity to certain sins and these extra rules help keep them away from those sins. In context, these were people (primarily Gentiles) who did not want to eat meat, possibly because they used to eat meat sacrificed to idols, and they felt they would be sinning or tempted to sin by eating meat.

So, what does the Bible say about eating meat? For starters, let’s go back to Genesis 9 where it states, “So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” (Gen 9:1-4) Before the fall when sin and death entered into the world, God’s intent was for our food source to be from plants (Genesis 1:29-30). However, after the flood, God ordained all living things for food. He only told them they were not to eat the blood. Again, this was pre-law, so this is God’s permission granted (or even possibly his recommendation) to mankind.

In our day and age, we don’t typically have the problem of people sacrificing meat to idols, but we do have lots of individuals who do not like to eat meat for health reasons. There is nothing sinful about not eating meat for health reasons, but my concern is this actually has been influenced by something more sinister. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.” (1 Tim 4:1-5) In modern application, this would probably represent those who are involved in the New Age or occult who have made the environment their god, and, therefore, among other things, preach we should not eat meat. As we can see, God intended every living thing to be food for us if we desire to eat it, because it is made clean by the word of God and prayer. Therefore, we can eat it and be thankful for it. However, if a believer chooses not to eat meat for health reasons, we should not pass judgment on them, nor they on us, for God has received both. We are not to pass judgment on a fellow-servant of God, because it is not our place. We will each stand before God and answer for ourselves.

Next, Paul will address the observing of religious days. Another common disagreement within the Church is which days we should observe, and which ones we should not. Probably the most common of these would be the Sabbath day, followed by various Jewish feasts found in the Old Testament. If we are observing these things out of some legal requirement to be obedient to the Lord, then we would be debtors to keep the whole law (Galatians 5:3). However, if we merely observe them because we see value in them or just enjoy doing so, there is no issue. Either way though, this is not a barrier for fellowship. Some like to esteem one day above another, and others consider every day as holy to the Lord. Paul says to let each be fully persuaded in his own mind, because whether we observe or do not observe a day, it is unto the Lord. This is the same for meats. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” (Col 2:16-17)

We do not live or die to ourselves, but in both instances, we do it unto the Lord, for we belong to Him. It is for this reason that Christ died and rose again, that He would be Lord of both the dead and the living. Why do we then judge or have contempt for each other? The legalist Christian finds it easy to judge those who do not keep the rules they believe should be kept, and the free Christian judges the legalist for being proud and self-righteous for trying to impose their rules on them. However, we all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to confess Him as Lord, and will give an account for what we have done. This judgment seat is the bema seat in which believers will be rewarded for their works after those works have been tested by fire.

So then, we are not to judge one another in these matters, but there is another principle at play here. This principle is love. Although we may be free to do or not do something, there may be times when exercising our freedom will harm others. Paul said that he was convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself, but if someone deems it to be unclean, to him it is unclean. If a brother or sister thinks eating meat is unclean, and we flaunt our freedom in front of them, we are not walking in love. Our actions may offend them or stumble them back into the sin the Lord delivered them from, and they are someone for whom Christ died. At this point our freedom becomes evil because it is offensive or possibly bondage to someone else. The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. We can make a big deal out of our own personal freedoms or rules, but miss what is really important as it relates to the things of the Lord. When we focus on righteousness, peace, and joy, this is acceptable to God and to men. We are to pursue the things that make peace and that build up others rather than destroying the work of God over food. All things are pure, but it is evil to do it if it offends others. We should not want to eat meat, drink wine, or do anything that stumbles, offends, or makes someone else weak.

Almost in passing, Paul mentions wine as one of those freedoms believers have that we may not want to exercise because it may stumble others. This is another one of those topics for which people have strong opinions, and understandably so, since alcohol abuse has destroyed countless lives. The Bible does not condemn the drinking of alcohol, but it does come with some clear warnings. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation (excess); but be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18) Now, if the Lord wanted to communicate to us that drinking in any amount is sinful, I believe He would have said it right here. However, it is drunkenness that He says is a sin. Some like to debate what drunk is, but it’s simply drinking to the point where one’s physical and mental faculties are impaired. So, Christians are free to drink in moderation unless it offends or stumbles someone else. For more on what the Bible has to say regarding alcohol abuse, you can read Proverbs 20:1 and 23:29-35.

There is one other point worth mentioning here, and that is the possibility of stumbling ourselves. Chuck Smith said that if by exercising his freedom to have, he loses his freedom not to have, then he is no longer free, and this is so true. When it comes to things with an addictive nature such as alcohol, we need to be careful we are not ensnared by it. If we have difficulty drinking in moderation, then we should not drink at all. It’s not worth the consequences of drunkenness or potentially becoming an alcoholic.

Paul ends the chapter by asking, do we have faith to exercise a freedom? Have it to yourself before God. If those whom we are around are offended or stumbled by our exercising of a particular freedom, then keep it to ourselves before God. Enjoy those things we can do in faith. However, if we doubt, we are condemned if we eat, because it is not done out of faith. Whatever is not done out of faith is sin. In other words, if we believe something to be wrong and do it anyway, or if we do something not being fully convinced it is alright, it is sin. At this point, it becomes a matter of the heart. Our heart is not right with the Lord if we are willing to do something that we believe to be sinful or has the potential to be. We should act on our convictions until the time comes that we are convinced through the Scriptures that what we want to do is in line with the Lord’s will.

There are no doubt other things we are free to partake in, but we may choose not to exercise those freedoms. We should apply the same principles: If the Scriptures do not speak to them as being sinful, we should make sure we are doing them out of faith, not passing judgment on others for seeing it differently. We should also make sure we are not causing a brother or sister to stumble by exercising those freedoms. If these things check out, we are free to enjoy or not enjoy them in the Lord.    

Romans 13 - The Debt of Love

After discussing a Christian’s relationship with human government, including paying taxes, Paul moves on to discussing money owed to one another. He says we are to owe no one anything but the debt of love. The word for ‘no one’ and ‘anything’ are actually the same word in Greek, which makes this pretty all-inclusive. We are to be in debt to nobody, no one, or nothing (e.g. financial institutions or credit card companies) for money, property, or the like. No doubt, this is a radical statement, especially in today’s culture. According to Ramsey Solutions, 77% of Americans have at least some type of debt. The total personal debt in the U.S. is 17.5 trillion, and the average debt per adult is nearly $67,000, around $6,500 of that being from credit cards. With the inflation rate of 19% since 2020, this is not a good time to be in debt. I would not say going into debt is a sin, because Jesus Himself permits lending to others at least in some circumstances in Matthew 5:42. However, the Scriptures have a lot to say about money, and staying out of debt is one such admonition. The Lord said through Solomon, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7) This says then that one of the keys to financial prosperity and freedom is not going into debt if at all possible. Most financial advisors (including those from Christian organizations such as Ramsey Solutions or Crown Financial) see an exception for a home mortgage. The idea is that buying a home is an investment because real estate tends to appreciate over time when other property does not. For example, a brand-new car loses about 20% as soon as you drive it off the lot. So, if you finance a vehicle at 50 thousand, it’s only worth 40 thousand once you leave the dealer, meaning you are already upside down on it. This is just the principal, then you have to pay the interest on top of that, which at a 7% interest rate, comes out to $9,404 over 60 months. This means you will pay almost 60 thousand for a vehicle that is only worth 40 thousand. So, as we can see, the math is not in our favor when it comes to going into debt, especially when it is for our own personal pleasure.

Rather than going into debt, however, we should be obligated to love one another, for this is the true fulfilling of the law. This love, again, is the unconditional love with which God loves us. If I really love my wife, I will be faithful to our marriage vows. If I love my neighbor, I won’t murder him or steal his belongings. I won’t lie to him or about him, and I won’t covet his things. These are only five of the 10 Commandments, but all the Commandments are summed up in this, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This is the second of the two greatest commandments that Jesus gave for which He said hangs all the law and prophets. Love does no harm to its neighbor (anyone with whom we encounter in our daily lives), and therefore is the fulfilling of the law. Sometimes, we get so caught up in rule-keeping, we forget the why behind the rule. God is love. He doesn’t say sin is bad because it is forbidden, but that it is forbidden because it is bad. Sin hurts me, and it hurts those around me. Therefore, the Lord does not want us to sin. If I love God and my neighbor as I ought, I will not sin either, and I won’t need a law to tell me not to do so.

Because of the time, Paul calls believers to awaken out of sleep. As believers it can be easy at times to just go along for the ride. We become lazy and dull to spiritual things, and can drift into a carnal or backslidden state. However, our salvation (future glorification) is closer now more than ever. The night is over, and the day is at hand. If we truly believe Jesus is coming soon, this should motivate us to clean up our act if we have allowed sin into our lives, and really begin living for the Lord. We need to cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light (Ephesians 6:10-18). The imagery is that of changing clothes. As a follower of Jesus Christ, we should act decently as people do in the daytime. The works of darkness Paul mentions here are revelry and drunkenness, lewdness and lust, and lastly, strife and envying. Revelry is boisterous drunken merrymaking. Lewdness speaks to desiring sexual immorality (the forbidden bed), and lust here means not caring what people think about their sexual sins (they are shameless).

Finally, we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ. This phrase also appears in Galatians, and speaks to our new nature we receive at salvation. There is both a positional and a practical application of this: we are to, day-by-day, moment-by-moment, choose to walk in this new nature, and make no provision for our flesh (sin nature). The sin nature will be as active as we allow it to be. In Galatians it also states, “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Gal 5:16-18) So then, to put on the Lord Jesus Christ is to walk in the Spirit, and to walk in the Spirit is to love one another, fulfilling the law. Again, we do this by being transformed by the renewing of our minds through the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

In closing, how are we doing as it relates to debt? There are organizations as I mentioned earlier like Ramsey Solutions or Crown Financial that can assist you in getting on a budget, getting out of debt, and building wealth for the future. How are we doing in loving our neighbor? How many problems would we solve relationally if we would just love one another as Jesus said to? Love works no harm to our neighbor. Are we sleeping spiritually? Are we coasting through our Christian walk and lapsing into sinful behavior? Jesus is coming back soon, so let’s put off the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light. Let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ by forsaking sin and walking the way He wants us to. In the next chapter Paul will discuss Christian liberty, and some of what he has to say may challenge us a bit.

 

Additional Links

 

A Proven Plan for Financial Success - Ramsey

Crown Financial Ministries

 

Romans 13 - Christians and Human Government

Last time in Romans, we saw how we as believers are to yield ourselves as a living sacrifice unto God, and how this translates into obedience. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds through the word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. Continuing on what this should look like, Paul writes to them regarding their relationship with human government.

There are four institutions God has ordained, and their purpose is to restrain evil and to promote righteousness in this world. The first of which is man’s freewill. God has given each person the ability to choose or reject Him. Freewill is the prerequisite to love. The second is marriage, which is a union of one man and one woman for life (Genesis 2:21-25). One reason for marriage is procreation, to provide a safe place to birth and raise children to further the human race. In addition to procreation, marriage is a model of intimacy that reflects the intimacy the Church has with Jesus Christ Ephesians 5:22-33) Third, is the nuclear family which, in a perfect world, consists of a mom and dad and their children. Parents are to be those solely responsible for raising children to serve and fear God (Ephesians 6:1-4). Lastly, the fourth institution is human government which Paul will discuss in this chapter of Romans. If these are the four institutions God has ordained, it’s no wonder then the radical Left, which are really Socialists and Marxists, have sought to corrupt and gain control of all four. At its heart, it is really a devilish attack on what God says is good. If God has ordained them for our good, then we should agree with Him, and seek to promote them in society.

So, what does the Bible have to say about human government? To understand this, we have to go all the way back to Genesis. If we recall, Cain became envious of his brother, and out of hatred, murdered him. This unleashed a string of violence that grew exponentially worse until the Lord destroyed the whole world with a flood. After the flood, the Lord spoke to Noah, and said, “Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. ‘Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.” (Gen 9:5-6) Here, the Lord was giving Noah and his family the basis for human government, and that basis was capital punishment for murder. The Lord did not want violence to erupt in the way it had before the flood, so His deterrent was capital punishment for murderers and even for animals who killed a person. God’s reasoning for this is that man is created in His image. The Lord loves us so much He created us in His image, so hatred carried to its natural end is a direct attack on Him. This was given before the law, so it is still in effect today. Every society (including our own) that has turned its back on God has gotten away from capital punishment, and this has only served to lower the standard of justice and emboldened criminals to do more.

It is important to note that human government from a biblical perspective does not mean a one-world government. We see the first example of this in Genesis 11:1-10 where all the people were united with one language under the leadership of Nimrod, and sought to build a tower to heaven, probably an astrological temple. The Lord came down, confused their languages, and spread them out over the earth. As we can see then, it was never the Lord’s intention for the whole world to be united under an earthly leader, but several nations with their respective leaders Acts 17:26-27). A one-world government or the world under the control of one leader as we can see from the beginning is, at its core, anti-God, and will ultimately culminate with the antichrist during the tribulation. The only time God intended the whole world to be under the control of one man is when His Son, Jesus Christ, the God-man, rules for one thousand years, and one day soon, this will be the reality. With this back-drop, let’s jump into Romans 13.

Paul begins by saying, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.” Here he is affirming again that human government is one of God’s institutions for mankind. Not only this, but God is the one who appoints governments and their leaders. Because of this, believers are to be subject to these authorities, and those who fail to do so will bring judgment on themselves. This is God’s judgment administered through earthly rulers.

Rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil ones. If we want to be unafraid of the authorities, we should do good, and we will be praised for doing so. Rulers are God’s ministers (servants) for good. However, if we do evil, we should be afraid, because they do not bear the sword in vain, a reference to capital punishment. They are actually God’s servants to administer vengeance on those who practice evil. Believers submit to authority, not only to avoid wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. By submitting to authority, we can have a clean conscience before God because we are really doing it unto Him.

Not only are we right before God, but we are a good example to those very leaders and may open them to receiving the Gospel. Paul wrote to Timothy, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim 2:1-4) Paul was not alone in his teaching of submitting to authority, for Peter also writes, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” (1 Peter 2:13-17)

For this reason, we also pay taxes, because this is how the government is funded to do its job. Most of us understandably do not like paying taxes, especially when they are exorbitant and/or used to fund immoral behaviors and lifestyles. However, even Jesus, when speaking to the Pharisees, told them to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s (Matthew 22:15-22). Rome was definitely corrupt during Jesus’ time, and no doubt was using tax revenue to fund immoral practices. If the government is collecting exorbitantly or funding immoral behaviors, the Lord will sort it out. We just need to render to all their due whether it be taxes, customs (tariffs), fear to whom fear, and honor to whom honor.

The question that often arises is, what do we do when government and its rulers are corrupt? It seems clear from verses 3-5 that Paul is operating under the assumption of godly rulers (e.g. they are not a terror to good works, they are God’s ministers for good, they do not bear the sword in vain, etc. What do we do when they are a terror to good works, they are ministers of evil, and they are putting people to death unjustly? In the same passage of 1 Peter, he tells servants to submit to their masters even though they are harsh, so it is pleasing to the Lord to submit to authority even when they are corrupt as much as possible. However, I believe there are times when we should not.

First, we should absolutely not submit to authority that is asking us to do something contrary to the word of God. When the apostles were told by the religious leaders to stop preaching in the name of Jesus, Peter and the other apostles answered, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:29) Second, I believe there are situations when we should not submit to authority when they are blatantly violating God’s moral law, attempting to force others to do the same, or if we or those we love are under threats of serious bodily injury or worse. If we look at the whole counsel of God’s word, we will see instances where the Lord did tell His people to overthrow a corrupt leader, and there were times when, due to the disobedience of His own people, He told them to submit to another leader as a means of discipline. I believe then, it comes down to seeking the Lord’s will through prayer and asking Him to search our hearts to make sure we are not simply doing it out of a rebellious spirit.

Some criticize our forefathers for fighting the American Revolution, stating they were in rebellion to God for doing so. If you have not done so in a while, I would encourage you to read the Declaration of Independence. It was not for trivial or petty offenses that they declared their independence from Great Britain. Among some of these offenses were keeping standing armies among the colonists in times of peace without the consent of the legislatures, declaring the military independent of and superior to the civil power, forcing them to house British soldiers, and protecting those same soldiers with mock trials from punishment for murdering colonists. They were deprived of trial by jury, shipped overseas and tried for pretended offenses, and even kidnapped at sea and forced to bear arms against their own countrymen or be killed. As we can see, the American colonists were both being asked to partake in evil, as well as being subjected to serious bodily injury and death by King George III. And the British parliament. Those who signed the Declaration appealed to the ‘Supreme Judge of the world,’ and relied on His protection. This does not seem to be a declaration done out of a rebellious spirit; in fact, they did everything they could to resolve their grievances peacefully. They did what they did out of their love for God and for their neighbor. Our nation has been a beacon of freedom and one of the largest promoters of the Gospel in the whole world, so when you examine the fruit, it is hard to think this was the wrong thing to do when God has blessed us so much. Again, I believe this should be done through much prayer and not taken lightly.

I don’t normally cover these things in a Bible study, but there is a bill in our state legislature, SB 5974, in which if enacted, will create an unelected state board to remove a duly elected sheriff from office. No doubt, this goes back to the COVID years, and our state politicians know one of the weapons in our arsenal against government tyranny is our county sheriffs. We had sheriffs in rural counties that were not enforcing the governor’s illegal mandates, and they don’t want this to happen again. The county sheriff is an elected officer, and therefore, is accountable to the people and the constitution only. SB 5974 would shift the balance of power away from voters into the hands of unelected bureaucrats. Not only that, the Senate Bill is illegal since the power of voters to elect their sheriff is derived from the state constitution. They would have to amend the state constitution in order for this to be legal. This means they would be the law breakers, not us. So then, counties have every legal right to not comply with this bill if it passes, and should not do so. They need to band together with the Washington State Sheriffs’ Association (WSSA) and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) to figure out what their options are, because success will be in the numbers.

Make no mistake, if this bill passes and is not overturned by the courts, we will absolutely have tyranny state-wide. This means that all the crazy legislation coming out of Olympia whether it be gun control, transgender lunacy, health mandates, etc. would be enforced regardless of what county it is. If the sheriff does not comply, then he is removed. I say all this to point out that this is a good example of when we should not comply with governing authorities.

What is our attitude toward authority, in particular as it relates to government? Do we find ourselves having a rebellious spirit and try to find ways to disobey them? If so, we will only hurt ourselves in the long-run. God has set up earthly rulers for our good and for the good of society. Or maybe we find ourselves on the other end of the spectrum: maybe we just want to comply with everything, even if it means disobeying God. We should obey the Lord first, and seek to have a government that values the things He values. In this country, that means voting for leaders and legislation that support biblical morality, and speaking out for what is right. Above all, we need to pray for our leaders and be good citizens in hopes that more will be reached for the Gospel.

 

Additional Links

 

Governments exist to restrain evil - The Christian Institute

Power and Authority of the County Sheriff

Duties-of-the-Sheriff