This is a chapter of some repetition - indeed the theme is continued into chapter 15 - a sure sign that Paul considers the topic an important one. Paul was very concerned that the Gentile Christians who experienced much freedom in Christ should accept the conservative Jewish Christians with their traditions, scruples and peculiarities. The apostle longed for a united church in which believers concentrated on what they had in common.

I think the passage reflects once again Paul's abiding concern for his fellow Jews. He wants to make it as easy as possible for them to remain in the church. In this Paul did not achieve what was for him a dominant desire.

I will deal with the major themes of chapter 14 in what will be a rather long exposition under 4 headings:

(1) Mutual tolerance. See vs1to4. Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. v1.

(a) What count as disputable matters.

It is evident from the example of Jesus and Paul that there are occasions when judgments have to be made. Jesus denounced the Pharisees root and branch for their self-righteousness, greed and hypocrisy. See exposition on Luke11v37to54. Paul attacked the false, "super apostles" who were leading the Corinthians astray. See exposition on 2Cor11v1to15.

Paul addressed a specific situation. Many of the Jewish Christians in Rome found it hard to abandon their ancient traditions. They saw these as of continuing relevance and importance. These traditions included dietary restrictions, Sabbath observance and participating in the major festivals like Passover. In reality these things neither made you a Christian nor a non-Christian. Either way they were not essential to salvation.

Conservatives or traditionalists exist in most Christian denominations. For example:

• A few Roman Catholic diehards still want the Mass conducted in Latin.

• There are some among the Anglicans for whom worship without candles, incense, vestments and Cramner's Prayer Book is hardly worship at all.

• There are Grace Baptists who have a strong attachment to the AV, Grace Hymns, the retention of "Thees" and "Thous" in public prayer and dull sermons of great length.

(b) Why Paul describes traditionalists as weak in faith. Accept him whose faith is weak. v1.

Their faith is weak because:

• It is buttressed by what is non-essential. Their faith is partly about what should be largely irrelevant to it. Traditionalists almost let their idiosyncrasies define them.

• Conservatives undervalue the essentials of Christianity; those things that should unite us. They are inclined to think that clinging to tradition makes them special or even superior. But it is God's grace that makes Christians special. Unity is the product of a common dependence upon God's grace alone. Traditionalists are always in danger of slipping into Pharisaism.

(c) The weak in faith should be accepted and their scruples respected. The man who eats everything should not look down on him who does not.

Paul realises that there is a tendency for progressives to be at odds with conservatives. William Barclay describes three things the progressives should avoid:

• Getting irritated and becoming impatient with those deemed to be stuck in the past. I experienced this as a teacher and was accused of living in the past and refusing to move on.

• Ridicule. It is tempting to mock those who can't be parted from their AV and still address God in prayer with "Thees" and "Thous". How is the use of 17th Century terminology an appropriate way to talk to our Father.

  I find myself inclined to ridicule bishops for dressing up like medieval princes and creationists for their head in the sand mentality.

• Contempt. Many our contemptuous of Christian fundamentalists for their old fashioned views on the inerrancy of Scripture.

(d) Traditionalists should not condemn those who are more progressive. And the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does.

A judgmental attitude exists wherever there is a whiff of legalism and pride. It is a matter of experience that traditionalists tend to be judgmental. For example:

• The teetotaler condemns the moderate drinker. The non-smoker won't have anyone who practices the filthy habit in their house.

• Adherents of vestments bitterly oppose those wanting to dispense with hundreds of years of tradition.

• Sticklers for the AV advocate all other versions should be burned.

• Strict sabbatarians look down on those engaging in innocent forms of recreation on Sunday.

(e) Why judgment of this kind is inappropriate. God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? v 3.

• Christians with progressive views, who enjoy their liberty in Christ, are as fully accepted in him as the traditionalists. All Christians owe everything to God's grace. Faith is the only criteria God uses to discriminate between individuals.

• It is not our place to pass a verdict on the worth of our fellow Christians. They are NOT our servants and we are not their masters. Jesus is their master and it is he who judges the worth of his servants. As Paul said, writing to the Corinthians: It is the Lord who judges me. 1Cor4v4.

• In the end our service will stand up to Christ's scrutiny or fall below what is acceptable. However it is not the intention of Jesus that we should fail. It is his intention that all those who believe in him and follow him should succeed. And he (the believer) will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

  Christ's attitude is very different to that of many Christians who want to put their brothers down, to relegate them to the ranks of the unsound and the unworthy.

The main lesson from all this is that we should not be divided over non-essentials. Yet Christians are! I know a fellowship where a faction was bitterly offended when the new pastor introduced the NIV in place of the AV. This was such an issue with the conservative element in the church that the pastor was forced out and others left with him. It is appalling that things like this still happen.

(2) Jesus must be pre-eminent. See vs5to8.

(a) A surprising ruling. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. v6.

Paul accepts that it is possible for the practices of both traditionalists and progressives to honour the Lord. The important thing is not what is eaten or not eaten but the thanks given to God. There is one caveat: Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Seev5 and also v23.

Whatever we do should be done out of a sincere conviction and not out of:

• Superstition.

• A desire to be different. Being out of the ordinary is all a few quirky individuals are interested in. Some of the Christians in Corinth were like that. They demonstrated their freedom in Christ by adopting the hairstyle of the opposite sex! See exposition on 1Cor11v12to16.

• Habit. Christians can confuse what they do out of habit with best practice. Jesus dealt with this trait in Luke5v33to39. See exposition on the danger of an acquired taste. Jesus considered the entrenched attitudes of the Pharisees a barrier to spiritual enlightenment.

• A need to belong to a faction. For some people it is not enough to be a Christian. They want to belong to an inner ring of superior Christians. This gave rise to the factionalism in Corinth. See exposition on 1Cor1v10to17.

• Taste. Some people enjoy dressing up! Some enjoy ritual! Some enjoy the happy clappy, endless singing of banal modern hymns! It doesn't make it right!!

Nevertheless I have found Paul's surprising judgment that both traditionalists and progressives in their own way can honour God absolutely true.

When I attend one of the united prayer meetings of our association of churches I always enjoy hearing Jack pray. He doesn't pray like me! He prays in the language of the Av. His prayer is liberally sprinkled with "Thees" and "Thous" and quotations from obscure hymns no longer widely sung. Jack also makes frequent reference to God's free and sovereign grace. But he prays with the utmost sincerity and reverence. His prayers honour God.

In one of my stories (See story on thanksgiving) I write about an old man who I watched light the candles in the church at Winterbourne Strickland when I was on holiday in Dorset. Now as far as I am concerned candles are neither here nor there when it comes to worship but there was no doubting the careful, reverent way the old man performed his task. The benign, attentive, peaceful face caught in the flickering light of the candles brought honour to God.

God is undoubtedly honoured in the rapturous singing of the black charismatic churches and initiatives like, 'Messy Church,' holiday clubs and even church picnics on a Sunday afternoon. All can be offered with thanksgiving to God.

(b) Our Christian lives are a partnership. For none of us lives to himself alone ..... . If we live, we live to the Lord. v7and8.

• A husband doesn't live to himself alone - he is in a relationship with his wife. Neither does a mother live to herself alone - she is in a relationship with her children.

• A Christian does not practice the Faith for his or her own personal satisfaction. This is a common but grave mistake. Presenters of BBC TV, 'Songs of Praise,' fall into this trap with questions like, "What does your Faith do for you?" They never ask, "What does Jesus mean to you?" or "What do you do for Jesus?" Jesus is mentioned as little as possible!

  So it is wrong to demand the retention of the AV in the church you attend because it suits you or to push for modern songs sung to a band because this is the music you like. Worship and Christian service is not all about you! A Christian lives to the Lord. We should live to please him - not ourselves. We know for sure that a narrow, judgmental legalism doesn't please Jesus. He criticised the Pharisees for neglecting justice, mercy and faithfulness.

  However, there are things to die to. Paul writes: If we die we die to the Lord. Not everything is permissible or beneficial. Self-denial is an important part of being a Christian. I enjoy my freedom to imbibe alcoholic drinks. But I could die to self and bring honour to Jesus by giving up my daily two glasses of sherry and giving the money saved to charity. So far I have only thought about it!

  We must remember that whatever we do or refrain from doing, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

• Jesus' death and resurrection gives him the right to our allegiance. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. v9. He has first claim on our lives both as we freely offer him our service and as we deny ourselves for him.

(3) Stop judging one another.

(a) What Paul means by judging.

It is obvious we have to make judgments about one another. Paul has made a judgment even in this passage by calling the traditionalists weak in faith. This is rather a stark judgment! His letters to the Corinthians are full of criticisms of the church member's unacceptable behavour.

We have a clue to what Paul meant in verse 10: You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? Paul means we should desist from passing a verdict on another Christian's life. We shouldn't despise those from whom we differ. It is wrong to conclude that we are superior to other Christians - to the extent we feel it is hardly worthwhile associating with them.

It is very, very easy to look down on Christians from whom we differ and to speak disparagingly about them. I am afraid that this is all too common. One of my Anglican "friends" invariably dismissed me as a tub-thumping member of a sect. This doesn't mean that we cannot say that in some respects other Christians are wrong. I think it is wrong, for example, to call any Christian leader a priest. But I have to remember my own inadequacies. I lack that intense devotion to Jesus found in some Roman Catholics.

(b) Judgment is the prerogative of Jesus. For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. v10. So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. v12.

It appears from several scriptures that God has delegated judgment to Jesus. See John5v22, Acts10v42 and 2Thes1v6to10.

• We shouldn't pre-empt Christ's judgment. He is in a much better position to judge than any of us. He knows the difficulties we face. He is able to assess our motives. See exposition on 1Cor4v1to5 for a fuller treatment of this subject.

• None of us will avoid Christ's judgment. For ALL will stand before God's judgment seat. Our work will be evaluated. See exposition on 1Cor3v10to17. We will not be asked our opinion of others. Each of us will give an account of himself to God. v12.

Paul devotes a lot of space to this subject but his view is summed up in verse 21: It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.

Let us look at the points Paul made:

• He made absolutely clear what his belief about food was. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that NO food is unclean in itself. v14.

  Paul knew what Jesus' blunt and revolutionary teaching on the subject was. See Mt15v10and11, 16to20. He had also undoubtedly heard of Peter's experience in Joppa. No food was unclean.

• Paul considered concessions should be made to Jewish Christians who had been brought up to avoid certain meats and who still could not bring themselves to eat them. They were like Peter before his experience in Joppa. Jesus' teaching on the subject obviously had not made much impression on Peter.

  Paul's position was: But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. v14. If a person abstained from certain foods as a matter of conscience this should be respected.

• Paul points out that it is not loving to upset fellow Christians over matters not essential to the Faith. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. v15.

  The apostle warns against exercising your freedom if this proves detrimental to another's Christian life and witness. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. v15.

  Paul goes on to say: It is better not to eat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. v21.

  We need to pause and think how the freedom loving Gentile Christians could have such a devastating effect upon traditionalist Jewish Christians. The danger was that Jewish Christians would take such offence at the free and easy lifestyle of Gentile believers that they went back to Judaism.

• Paul believed that there were some issues over which it was not worth destroying God's work. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. v20.

  A united church is the work of God. Believers have been adopted by grace into his family. Christians have a common dependence upon and allegiance to Jesus. Consequently we should avoid squabbling over non-essentials and dividing God's family.

• Christians must be careful how they promote their beliefs. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. v16.

  I fell into this trap as a school teacher. I used to put forward my opinions in such a belligerent, bombastic and aggressive fashion that notwithstanding the merits of my case the majority of my colleagues were alienated. My colleague Mr Clear was a rarity in that he would sometimes say to the headmaster, "Mr Reed may have a point if we forget for a moment the uncivil way he put it."

  Christians are their own worst enemies when they voice their views stridently, harshly and ungraciously.

It seems to me that Paul is concerned that differences over food, drink, special days and other inessentials to Christianity will have three bad consequences.

• It causes discomfit and unease. It would be hard for a Jewish Christian to attend a meal with Gentiles if they knew pork chops were on the menu. I think there would be considerable unease if I provided several crates of beer to be consumed at our next Good Friday tea.

• It will produce damaging divisions in the church. There was a grave danger that the church in Rome would split into a mainly Jewish and traditionalist wing and a predominantly Gentile and liberal wing. They would soon cease to be in communion with one another. It would be the beginning of denominations.

  Churches still divide or fragment over matters that are by no means essential to the Faith. In my own small area of Suffolk I know of churches that have been split over what pulpit Bible the preacher should use, the type of music that should be played, whether a vacuum cleaner should be used on Sunday, the appropriateness of religious pictures and the replacement of pews with chairs. There is often a great deal of rancour about changes to the style of worship. People will leave a local fellowship if hymn singing to a traditional organ is replaced by chorus singing to guitars.

• Some will be so offended that they will be lost to the church. Some commentators like William Barclay write about the dangers of setting an example that weaker Christians will follow to their ruin. He uses drinking alcohol to illustrate his point. Now there is no doubt that although an extremely permissive environment such as has existed in some Theological Colleges will be ruinous to some this is not really the danger Paul is addressing. He is concerned that Gentile contempt for the dietary restrictions of Jewish Christians will offend them so much that they are lost to Christianity and go back to Judaism. He is worried too, that if Jewish Christians are legalistic and censorious some Gentile Christians will be upset and revert to paganism.

  Now it is undoubtedly true that legalism has put some folk off Christianity. It is also true that people will stop attending a church if the leadership rides roughshod over their preferences and introduces a style of worship that jars. There is one issue that is not essential to salvation that causes great offence and might undermine faith. It is the vexed question on how to interpret the Genesis account of creation. The way we interpret the early chapters of Genesis is not a crucial ingredient of Christianity. I can understand young Christian students of the Earth Sciences, Biology and Genetics being deeply offended by the unreasonable ideas of the Creationists who insist the early chapters of Genesis must be taken literally. Their insistance that the Noah's Ark Flood covered mountains thousands of feet high is both totally unreasonable and, indeed, unscriptural. See article on the Genesis Flood.

  My degree is in Geography and Geology so I know that there is overwhelming evidence for an old earth. It offends me deeply when Christian fundamentalists, who in their ignorance scoff at Scientists, say that anyone who cannot accept the literal truth of the six days of creation is not a Christian at all.

  But on the other hand I attend a church of elderly folk who have not been to university and do not share my academic background. They are nearly all Creationists! In order to preserve the unity of our fellowship I do not publicise my views on creation. See Article on Creation for my views. The folk I know intimately are without doubt Christians. It is not worth upsetting them over a matter not essential to the Faith. They would have a job evaluating my views because they do not have the knowledge to do so. Mind you, I think they could show a bit more humility!

(4) Concentrate on the essentials.

Paul tells the Christians at Rome to get matters peripheral to the Faith into perspective and to concentrate on what really matters. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. vs17to19.

So then we are to aim at:

• Righteousness: loving God with all our heart and our neighbour as ourselves. We need to understand our neighbour and to be in sympathy with him. This involves considering the feelings of others. It is impossible to give our fellow Christians their due and to do as we like.

• Peace: having a warm, affectionate and happy relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. If this is our objective we will desist from stirring them up over non-essentials.

• Joy: participation with others in happy, united fellowship. So let us avoid banging on about issues that cause unnecessary conflict and attendant misery. There are many issues about which it is best to adopt a live and let live attitude. Many years ago after the evening service had finished our pastor used to take the young people into a local park to play football. Some of our older people, like my fellow elder Edward, did not entirely agree with this! But Edward never dreamed of making a fuss. I only learned of his views long after our pastor had moved on to pastures new. That is how it should be: as far as possible we want to avoid making a fuss - especially if it is a fuss about nothing.