Stand!

... he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. - Romans 14:4

In the context of this verse Paul is talking to the Romans about not passing judgement on weaker believers namely because "God has welcomed him" (vs. 3). This is a hard truth to grasp. What is the line between welcoming a weaker brother and standing against false teaching?...

There is a great danger in placing rules on a young believer because they will faint under the pressure. The Lord will cause them to stand and grow not because of the rules we have created but because He is the one who upholds the weak. He will make them grow into a lush tree that is a shelter for many believers that come after them. Why do we pass judgement on someone else's servant? Why are we so passionate about making everyone to be exactly like ourselves? Not allowing a them to ask questions and to think about the deep things of God is a travisty and it must be stoped. We should do all we can to encourage the weaker brother to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus. Instead of giving them a list of dos and donts we need to be giving them scripture to meditate on.

The problem with passing judgement on a weaker brother is that we are getting in the way of Christ and His work in that Brother. In getting in the way of Christ we are, in essence, saying that we have a better way, a better plan, for that person to grow into a mature life with Christ. If we do not have scripture to give that brother then we need to not say anything. In the first verse of chapter 14 we see that Paul says, "not to quarrel over opinions" because,I believe, it will only casue tension in the followers relationship. This is by no way talking about truths that are obvious in scripture but it is talking about, specifically, eating meat. Later in cahpter 14 we see it is also talking about one who observes one day better than the other and another that observes all days alike. In verse 13 we see the heart of what Paul is saying and can hereby see application for our life.; "Therefore let us not pass judgement on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block in the way of a brother." Here we can see that as followers of Christ Jesus we must decide to never to do something that we know our brother has a hard time fighting.

One example from this chapter can be found in verse two and three where Paul says, "One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegtables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgement on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him." How are we to look at someones commitment to the Lord and pass judgement on them and their actions. It is the Lord Jesus that makes a person stand and if that brother stands it is because the Lord upheld him. This is not something that we have to do dear friend for Christ is the author and finisher of our faith and we must never forget to allow Him to work in our lives as well as our Brothers. Let us cultivate humlity in our lives and not despise our brothers commitment to the Lord where he is convinced in his mind that his particular sacrifice is pleasing to the Lord.