Rom 14:19-23 - Do Not Tear Down the Work of God

19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. 
20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. 

21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. 

22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 

23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
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Whatever Is Not From Faith Is Sin.

V. 19 - “Pursue the things which make for peace” - If you didn’t already know it, then these verses will help you see that Christianity is personal (your salvation), public (sharing your faith with others), and corporate (living with other believers). Jesus came to seek and save the lost. (Luk 19:10) Jesus brought abundant life (John 10:10). Jesus brings peace with God, and the peace of God to the believer (Phil 4:7; Rom 5:1).

One of our pastors has said that Christianity is not for hermits, but for living in community with others. He is not saying hermits cannot be saved, but that Christian living is best when shared with others. Living at peace with others essentially involves not insisting on getting your own way. I don’t see this acted out like the ‘Chip & Dale’ cartoon (“You before me.” “No, you before me.” “No, I insist.” “No...” On and on.)

We are a fractious people, fighting for our ‘rights’ and demanding from others. We are on the outlook for the ways people are trying to pull one over on us. As believers, our attention should be running counter to that frame of mind. Live at peace with each other (Mk 9:50; 2 Cor 13:11). Jesus came that we might have peace. (Jn 14:27, 16:33) Live at peace with each other. (Rom 12:18; 1 Cor 14:33; Col 3:15; 1 Thes 5:13; Heb 12:14)

“building up of one another” - A large part of living in peace is encouraging and helping each other live our Christian lives. As we live in a secular world that is hostile to Christ, the church, and other believers can help us cope. Encouraging and building up each other is important. (See: Col 4:8; 1Thes 3:2, 4:1, 5:11, 14; Heb 3:13; 1 Cor 1:10, 4:16.)

V. 20 - “Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food” - This does not mean you, or a fellow believer, will lose salvation over eating certain foods. Whether foods forbidden by a previous covenant, or a different religion, or by tradition - these will not condemn you. Jesus came that we might have peace! Peace with God; peace with each other. Causing someone to be uncomfortable, or to feel guilty is robbing them of that peace. Destroying another’s peace is not be being thoughtful or considerate.

“they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense” - This is a “living with others” part of being a Christian. Eating or drinking when you are with another person that causes that person to question his faith in Christ, or leads that person into sin, is evil. That is a strong message! I don’t know how this applies if what you do is inadvertent - i.e., you don’t know the other is struggling in this area. If, however, you know your fellow believer is adversely effected by your activity and you do it anyway, you have just shown a callous disregard for their well-being.

V. 21 - “It is good not... to do anything by which your brother stumbles.” - Do not be confused, this is not just about what you eat. These next three verses (21-23) seem to go two directions: (1) causing someone to falter in their faith by your eating, or (2) causing someone to falter in their faith be being led to eat what they believe is wrong. Do not do anything that will lead another believer to question their faith and commitment to Christ. (See: 1 Cor 8:7-13)

V. 22 - “The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God.” - The relationship you have with Jesus is very personal. I cannot live out your faith for you, nor you for me. Do not take off on the tangent of relativity - that is, ‘You have your truth. I have my truth.” There is only one way to be in the Lamb’s Book of Life (be saved, with eternal life in the presence of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) - believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, confess and commit to Him.

How you live out your faith, or as Paul says in Philippians, “work out your faith” (Phil 2:12), is between you, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. For example: Does drinking beer bring conviction of sin in your heart and mind? Then, don’t drink beer. The same could be said for any alcohol beverage. Does eating bacon bring conviction of sin? Don’t eat bacon.

Doing things that causes disquiet in your heart, soul, mind, or spirit are things that should not be done! That uneasiness you sense is the Holy Spirit prodding you. Let me be clear, there are things we might do that are sinful - no grey, just black and white. (Start with: No other gods but God, honor father and mother, lying, stealing, adultery, coveting, murder, blaspheming God - see Deut 5:7-21.) These are wrong whether Jewish or Christian. Paul is not warning us against these things - it is a given that these are sin.

“Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.” - This is the positive outlook about living out your faith. If you can drink a beer without shame or guilt, then it is not a sin to you. Don’t talk yourself into doing something about which you feel uncomfortable. That discomfort is the Holy Spirit guiding you to peace with God and yourself.

If you have to argue with yourself, convince yourself that it’s OK - it probably is NOT OK for you. If you have, for all your life, have thought drinking alcohol is bad, violating that conviction is causing sin, guilt, and shame in you. On the other hand - Be careful: we can ‘sear’ our conscience with compromise and rationalization to the point our conscience no longer gives warning. Therefore, we must always listen to the urging of the Holy Spirit!

V. 23 - “he who doubts is condemned...” - If you are not sure you should be doing this (whatever the ‘this’ is), the unease is from the Holy Spirit. God is letting you know. Listen to Him. Seldom does God step up with a bullhorn, “Hey! You! Stop what you are doing!” More often it is a quiet whisper, “You will hear a word spoken behind you, saying, ‘This is the correct way, walk in it,’ whether you are heading to the right or the left.” (Isa 30:21)

“whatever is not from faith is sin.“ - See: Jam 2:26, 4:17. Whatever we do should be done for God’s glory (1 Cor 10:25-31).

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Rom 14:14-18 - Nothing is Unclean

14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 
15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 
16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; 
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 
18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

Walking According to Love

V. 14 - “I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself“ - Paul is not referencing activities which are sinful. Physical items - animals, rocks, wood, fire, water, etc. - are not, cannot be evil. Only our use of them in sinful activities imbues them with ‘sin’.

“who thinks anything to be unclean“ - For example, a chunk of wood is not evil, but when carved into an idol that chunk becomes involved in a sinful activity. So, is the idol evil? Let me take a different tack: Jesus is castigating the Pharisees and scribes because they are nit-picking between what is holy and what is not (See: Matt 23:15-22). It seems that people were making promises (swearing oaths) using the temple or items in the temple. By parsing the oaths, they were claiming some promises more valid than others. Jesus was asking: Which is more important - the temple or the gold covering the temple? The altar or the offering on the altar? Heaven or God who rules all of heaven and earth? The Pharisees were focusing on the wrong things. What they were doing was sinful - diminishing the importance and glory of the Lord - but they didn’t see it that way.

How do the oaths of the Pharisees tie into what Paul was addressing - thinking some things are unclean or sinful when they intrinsically are not? Both errors are caused by focusing on the wrong thing. The Pharisees were focusing on their own set of rules, cleverly (in their own minds) avoiding commitments to the Lord. They were hedging their bets: “Well, that wasn’t a valid oath! So I don’t need to keep that promise. If God wanted me to give that up, He would have given me the correct words to say!” They were narrowing down to a pin prick the size of the impact God was to have on their lives.

In the case of the people to whom Paul was writing: They were focused on what used to be unclean. They couldn’t believe the freedom they now have. “This can’t be right! How could God change His mind on what is unclean?” The focus was on what they were (used to be...) rather than on what they are - free in Christ.
The difference: The Pharisees wanted to limit God’s impact on their behavior; the new Christians were letting their past limit their freedom of behavior.

Paul sees this and understands correctly - even though something that was unclean is no longer so, these new believers were being convicted of sin. They were feeling guilt and shame, even though it was unnecessary. That guilt and feeling of shame for sins was limiting the abundant Christian life promised by our Savior.

V. 15 - “you are no longer walking according to love” - Paul gets to the nub of the matter. What is more important to you? Doing what you want, when you want, or being considerate of others? He was dealing with a clash of cultures - one group had grown up with strict rules, the others not so much. If you love a fellow believer, don’t cause them spiritual discomfort.

You like to eat bacon, but your friend grew up believing eating bacon was a sin. Why would you entice that friend when you know it makes him feel like he is sinning against a God? Is that showing love? Or maybe you know someone who sees no problem eating food taken from an altar. There were no such strictures in his pre-Christian life. Is that person showing love towards you when he grabs an offering to eat, and gives some to you (knowing this would freak you out)?

“Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died” - The first thing that pops into most of our minds is, “Come on! Come on, man!” How could food destroy someone? Anything that causes me to believe I have sinned against the Lord; anything that damages that relationship is destroying it. The ‘thing’ may not actually be a sinful act.
Why would you lead another to breaking his relationship with Jesus. (I think that Jesus knows the act is indeed not sinful, and from His perspective the relationship is intact.) When I think that I no longer can come to God because I have sinned against Him, the relationship is effectually damaged.

V. 16 - “Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil” - Anything that leads you into sin, and breaking off the relationship with Jesus Christ is evil. Just because you can do it, doesn’t mean you should. See: 1 Cor 6:12-13 - "’All things are lawful for me’ - but not everything is beneficial. ‘All things are lawful for me’ - but I will not be controlled by anything. Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both. The body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.”

Also: 1 Cor 10:23-31 "’Everything is lawful,’ but not everything is beneficial. ‘Everything is lawful,’ but not everything builds others up. Do not seek your own good, but the good of the other person. Eat anything that is sold in the marketplace without questions of conscience, or the earth and its abundance are the Lord's. If an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you want to go, eat whatever is served without asking questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, ‘This is from a sacrifice,’ do not eat, because of the one who told you and because of conscience - I do not mean yours but the other person's. For why is my freedom being judged by another's conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I blamed for the food that I give thanks for? So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”

V. 17 - “For the kingdom of God is... righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” - Jesus’ kingdom is not food or drink, but abundant life in Him.

V. 18 - “Who in this way serves Christ” - The big picture here is: serving the needs of others is serving Christ! See: “But Jesus called them and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. It must not be this way among you! Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant’ ” (Matt 20:25-26). And, “The greatest among you will be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matt 23:11-12)

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