Romans 14:1–23: Welcome the Weak, Days and the Judgment Seat, and Faith

Says Romans 14 continues the appeal that began when Paul urged the believers, on account of God’s mercy, to present their bodies as living sacrifices and not to be conformed to this age (12:1–2). Love was to be sincere (12:9). The debt that remains is mutual love, and love does no wrong to the neighbor (13:8–10). The hour has come to wake, because salvation is nearer than when they first believed (13:11). The next words turn to a person inside that same fellowship: “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions” (14:1, BSB).

Says The chapter has three movements. First, the weak in faith are to be welcomed, and neither eating nor abstaining is a ground for despising or judging a fellow servant of the Lord (14:1–4). Second, days and food are to be held to the Lord, and every person will stand before God’s judgment seat and give an account (14:5–12). Third, judging is to stop, a stumbling block is not to be laid in a brother’s way, the kingdom is not eating and drinking, and what is not from faith is sin (14:13–23).

Implies The movements belong together. Welcome is not a softer ethic beside the judgment seat, and the judgment seat is not a license to despise the weak. The same people who are not to avenge themselves (12:19) are told that the Lord, not the brother, makes the servant stand (14:4). The same love that fulfills the law by doing no wrong (13:10) is the love that refuses to destroy with food one for whom Christ died (14:15). None of that reopens a second ground of standing before God. Justification by faith, apart from works, remains what Romans 3–4 has already argued (see note.exegetical.Rom.3.21-Rom.3.26.righteousness-revealed and note.exegetical.Rom.4.3-Rom.4.8.crediting-righteousness).

English display and Greek differ at several points, and those differences are kept distinct below. The BSB says “Accept” (14:1); the Greek has προσλαμβάνεσθε (proslambanesthe, “welcome, take to yourselves”). The BSB says “without passing judgment on his opinions”; the Greek has μὴ εἰς διακρίσεις διαλογισμῶν (mē eis diakriseis dialogismōn, “not into judgments of opinions”). The BSB says “God’s judgment seat” (14:10), and that English matches the printed Greek τοῦ θεοῦ (tou theou, “of God”), not a rival wording. The BSB says “to God” in 14:12; the SBLGNT line as printed is λόγον δώσει (logon dōsei, “will give an account”) without τῷ θεῷ (tō theō) in that clause. The printed Greek of 14:21 includes ἢ σκανδαλίζεται ἢ ἀσθενεῖ (ē skandalizetai ē asthenei); the BSB sentence does not translate those verbs. The BSB does not place a doxology after 14:23, and the printed Greek ends the verse without one.

Uncertain Who the weak are, and who the other side is, is not named in the chapter. What the days are is not named. Whether the judgment seat of God in 14:10 is simply the same seat as “the judgment seat of Christ” in 2 Cor 5:10 is not settled by rewriting 14:10 from that parallel. No lean is taken on those identifications. How far “destroy” goes, how 14:14 relates to food laws, and how wide 14:23b reaches are treated in the third movement, where a lean is stated and the alternatives are named.

Says The chapter does not name Jews or Gentiles, the Sabbath, festivals, or food offered to idols. Background on food, days, and a mixed Roman congregation (note.historical.Rom.14.1-Rom.14.23.food-days-rome; note.historical.Rom.14.1-Rom.14.23.mixed-congregation) does not fix the commands to welcome, not to despise, and not to judge. Romans 15:1 later says, “We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves” (BSB). That sentence may be noted as the letter’s next step. It is not used here to collapse every weak person in chapter 14 into one reconstructed party.

Says Structure. 14:1–4, welcome, vegetables, and the household servant; 14:5–12, days, living and dying to the Lord, and the judgment seat; 14:13–23, stumbling, what is unclean in itself, the kingdom, and faith.

Note ID: note.exegetical.Rom.14.1-Rom.14.23.overview

¹ Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions. ² For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables. ³ The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him. ⁴ Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (BSB)

Says “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions” (14:1, BSB). The Greek is Τὸν δὲ ἀσθενοῦντα τῇ πίστει προσλαμβάνεσθε, μὴ εἰς διακρίσεις διαλογισμῶν. The object comes first: τὸν ἀσθενοῦντα (ton asthenounta), the one who is weak, with the dative τῇ πίστει (tē pistei, “in faith”). ἀσθενέω (astheneō) means to be weak or feeble. The verb προσλαμβάνεσθε is a present middle imperative of προσλαμβάνω (proslambanō, “take to oneself, receive”). The same verb returns in 14:3: ὁ θεὸς γὰρ αὐτὸν προσελάβετο (ho theos gar auton proselabeto, “for God has welcomed him”). The welcome commanded of the believers is the welcome God has already given.

Says The prohibition is μὴ εἰς διακρίσεις διαλογισμῶν. διάκρισις (diakrisis) is an act of judgment or discernment. διαλογισμός (dialogismos) is a thought, a reasoning, or an inward questioning. The phrase does not say “without having any opinion.” It forbids turning welcome into a quarrel that passes judgment on the other person’s reasonings.

Says “For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables” (14:2, BSB). ὃς μὲν πιστεύει φαγεῖν πάντα (hos men pisteuei phagein panta) is “one believes to eat all things.” The other person is ὁ ἀσθενῶν (ho asthenōn, “the one who is weak”), and what he eats is λάχανα (lachana), garden herbs or vegetables. The contrast is food, not a named party. Chapter 14 does not say that the vegetable-eater is a Jew, or that the one who eats all things is a Gentile.

Uncertain Who the weak are, and who the implied strong are, is not settled by the wording. No lean is taken here. Four readings are in view, each with grounds, and each must account for what the chapter does not say.

(1) Jewish Christians keeping food distinctions, or avoiding marketplace meat, over against believers who eat all foods. Grounds: vegetables rather than “all things”; “unclean” in 14:14; days in 14:5–6; and the letter’s later grounding of mutual welcome in Christ’s welcome of Jews and Gentiles (Rom 15:7–13). An earlier note on the Roman church does not settle the identification (note.historical.Rom.1.1-Rom.1.32.roman-church). Objection: chapter 14 never says “Jew” or “Gentile,” and vegetables are a narrower practice than a full list of forbidden animals.

(2) Scruples about food connected with idols, by comparison with 1 Cor 8–10. Grounds: a brother who stumbles over what another eats; meat and wine in 14:21; the command not to destroy one for whom Christ died. Objection: Paul does not say “idol” in Romans 14, and “eats only vegetables” is stronger than “avoids marketplace meat” unless that avoidance is inferred.

(3) A broader ascetic or vegetarian practice, not limited to Torah. Grounds: the text names vegetables, then meat and wine, and does not name the law. Objection: “unclean in itself” (14:14) uses a word that, in Jewish Greek, often marks what is not set apart. A purely philosophical diet must still explain that word.

(4) A mixed congregation in which more than one kind of scruple may be present. Grounds: the chapter speaks of “opinions,” of days and of foods, and of “anything” by which a brother stumbles (14:21). Objection: a mixed account can become so broad that it no longer explains why Paul chooses vegetables, days, meat, and wine.

Implies Romans 15:7–13 grounds mutual welcome in Christ’s welcome of Jew and Gentile. That letter-context may be noted without collapsing every weak person in chapter 14 into a Jewish Christian. The four options stay open.

Says “The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him” (14:3, BSB). ὁ ἐσθίων (ho esthiōn, “the one who eats”) must not ἐξουθενείτω (exoutheneitō) the one who does not eat. ἐξουθενέω (exoutheneō) means to set at nought or despise. The BSB “belittle” is that verb, not a milder English invention. The one who does not eat must not κρινέτω (krinetō, “judge”) the one who eats. The two sins are paired and not the same. Despising looks down. Judging passes a verdict. Both are forbidden because God has welcomed the person in view. αὐτὸν (auton, “him”) most naturally takes the person just named as the one not to be judged, the eater. The same logic, God’s welcome, already covers the weak person in 14:1.

The κριν- word group is not new. The one who judges another condemns himself when he does the same things (2:1; note.language.Rom.2.1.krino-krima; note.exegetical.Rom.2.1-Rom.2.5.the-judge-without-excuse). Here the issue is not that the abstainer commits the eater’s act. The issue is that the abstainer takes a seat that belongs to the master.

Says “Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand” (14:4, BSB). σὺ τίς εἶ ὁ κρίνων ἀλλότριον οἰκέτην; (sy tis ei ho krinōn allotrion oiketēn) is “Who are you, the one who judges another’s household servant?” οἰκέτης (oiketēs) is a house-servant. ἀλλότριον (allotrion) means another’s, not one’s own.

Says τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ στήκει ἢ πίπτει (tō idiō kyriō stēkei ē piptei): to his own master he stands or falls. The master in the image is the one who has the right to judge the servant. σταθήσεται δέ (stathēsetai de, “and he will stand”) is a future passive. The ground is δυνατεῖ γὰρ ὁ κύριος στῆσαι αὐτόν (dynatei gar ho kyrios stēsai auton), “for the Lord is able to make him stand.” δυνατέω (dynateō) means to be able. στῆσαι is “to make stand,” not merely “to watch him stand.”

The printed Greek of 14:4 is κύριος (kyrios, “Lord”), with SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, Tregelles, and NA28. Robinson–Pierpont reads θεός (theos, “God”). Says On the printed text, the Lord is able to make the servant stand. The Robinson–Pierpont reading says God is able to make him stand. Uncertain Whether κύριος in this verse means Christ or God is not settled by the variant alone. Verse 9 will say that Christ died and lived in order to be Lord of the dead and the living. Verse 3 has already said that God welcomed the person. Both statements stand. The variant does not force a choice between them.

A smaller difference at 14:4, δυνατεῖ γάρ over against δυνατὸς γάρ ἐστιν (dynatos gar estin, “for he is able”), is a separate unit (var.Rom.14.4.dynatei). Both say that the master is able. RP’s καὶ ὁ at 14:3, over against SBLGNT’s ὁ δέ, is a connective and does not change the command; it is listed with the minor lines after 14:13–23.

Implies The question “Who are you?” removes the brother from the judge’s chair. It does not say that eating and abstaining are morally indifferent in every case. Verses 13–23 will forbid laying a stumbling block, and will call it sin to eat while doubting. The point in 14:4 is jurisdiction. The servant stands or falls to his own master, and the Lord is able to make him stand. Standing here is the master’s act, not the brother’s verdict.

Note ID: note.exegetical.Rom.14.1-Rom.14.4.welcome-the-weak

⁵ One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone. ⁸ If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰ Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. ¹¹ It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.” ¹² So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. (BSB)

Says “One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind” (14:5, BSB). Ὃς μὲν κρίνει ἡμέραν παρ’ ἡμέραν, ὃς δὲ κρίνει πᾶσαν ἡμέραν (Hos men krinei hēmeran par’ hēmeran, hos de krinei pasan hēmeran): one judges a day above a day; another judges every day. The same verb, κρίνει, is used for both. The BSB “regards” and “considers” are two English words for that one verb. They should not be read as two different Greek judgments. ἕκαστος ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ νοῒ πληροφορείσθω (hekastos en tō idiō noi plērophoreisthō): each one is to be fully convinced in his own mind. The verb is a present imperative.

Uncertain What the days are is not named. No lean is taken here. Sabbath observance, a Jewish festival calendar, and other special days are all open. The paragraph is not a comprehensive ruling that either abolishes Sabbath observance or binds it on every believer. It says that the one who esteems a day and the one who esteems every day alike are each to be fully convinced, and, in the next verse, that the observance in view is done to the Lord. A reading that treats 14:5 as the whole Christian calendar, or as a ban on every shared day of worship, goes beyond what the verse states.

Says “He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God” (14:6, BSB). ὁ φρονῶν τὴν ἡμέραν κυρίῳ φρονεῖ (ho phronōn tēn hēmeran kyriō phronei). φρονέω (phroneō) means to think or to be minded. Implies With a day, in the contrast of 14:5–6, it means observing or regarding that day, not a bare mental habit with no practice. The BSB “observes a special day” adds “special,” which is not a separate Greek word. The dative κυρίῳ is “to the Lord.” Eating is κυρίῳ ἐσθίει (kyriō esthiei), and the ground is εὐχαριστεῖ γὰρ τῷ θεῷ (eucharistei gar tō theō, “for he gives thanks to God”). Abstaining is also κυρίῳ οὐκ ἐσθίει (kyriō ouk esthiei), “to the Lord he does not eat,” and that person also gives thanks to God.

The printed text at 14:6 is the shorter wording, without καὶ ὁ μὴ φρονῶν τὴν ἡμέραν κυρίῳ οὐ φρονεῖ (kai ho mē phronōn tēn hēmeran kyriō ou phronei, “and the one who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it”). SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, Tregelles, and NA28 lack that clause. Robinson–Pierpont adds it. Says The shorter text says that the one who observes the day does so to the Lord, then turns to eating and abstaining. The RP addition also says that the one who does not observe the day does so to the Lord. The shorter text still says that both eating and abstaining are done to the Lord with thanks. It does not leave the non-observer of days outside the Lord’s claim. Verse 5 has already set the two day-judgments side by side, and verses 7–9 place all of life and death under the Lord.

Says “For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone” (14:7, BSB). Οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἡμῶν ἑαυτῷ ζῇ, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἑαυτῷ ἀποθνῄσκει (Oudeis gar hēmōn heautō zē, kai oudeis heautō apothnēskei): “For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself.” The BSB “alone” is English expansion of the dative ἑαυτῷ. It is not a second Greek adverb. The point is the direction of life and death, not a denial that people live in households.

Says “If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (14:8, BSB). ἐάν τε γὰρ ζῶμεν, τῷ κυρίῳ ζῶμεν, ἐάν τε ἀποθνῄσκωμεν, τῷ κυρίῳ ἀποθνῄσκομεν (ean te gar zōmen, tō kyriō zōmen, ean te apothnēskōmen, tō kyriō apothnēskomen). The conclusion is ἐάν τε οὖν ζῶμεν ἐάν τε ἀποθνῄσκωμεν, τοῦ κυρίου ἐσμέν (ean te oun zōmen ean te apothnēskōmen, tou kyriou esmen): “whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” The genitive τοῦ κυρίου is possession or belonging. Life and death are not two owners. Both are under one Lord.

Says “For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living” (14:9, BSB). εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν καὶ ἔζησεν ἵνα καὶ νεκρῶν καὶ ζώντων κυριεύσῃ (eis touto gar Christos apethanen kai ezēsen hina kai nekrōn kai zōntōn kyrieusē). The purpose clause is ἵνα … κυριεύσῃ: “in order that he might be Lord.” The genitives νεκρῶν and ζώντων name the dead and the living as the sphere of that lordship. The BSB “returned to life” translates ἔζησεν (ezēsen, “lived,” aorist). The Greek verb is “lived,” not a separate compound “returned.” The sense of a life after death is clear from the purpose: Lord of the dead and the living.

The printed text is ἀπέθανεν καὶ ἔζησεν, without καὶ ἀνέστη (kai anestē, “and rose”). SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, Tregelles, and NA28 have no addition after ἀπέθανεν. Robinson–Pierpont adds καὶ ἀνέστη. Says Christ died and lived, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. The Robinson–Pierpont addition inserts “and rose” before “and lived.” The lordship purpose is in both readings. A connective καί after Χριστός, present in Robinson–Pierpont and absent from SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, Tregelles, and NA28, is a box line only.

Implies The death and life of Christ are the ground of the claim in 14:7–8. Believers do not live or die to themselves because the one who died and lived is Lord of both. That is why a brother’s food or day is not a private kingdom. It is also why the brother is not the judge. The Lord who is able to make the servant stand (14:4) is the Christ who died and lived to rule the dead and the living.

Says “Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat” (14:10, BSB). Σὺ δὲ τί κρίνεις τὸν ἀδελφόν σου; ἢ καὶ σὺ τί ἐξουθενεῖς τὸν ἀδελφόν σου; The two questions return the two verbs of 14:3, κρίνω and ἐξουθενέω, and apply them to τὸν ἀδελφόν σου (ton adelphon sou, “your brother”). The address is singular, as in 14:4. πάντες γὰρ παραστησόμεθα τῷ βήματι τοῦ θεοῦ (pantes gar parastēsometha tō bēmati tou theou): “for we will all stand beside the judgment seat of God.” βῆμα (bēma) is a raised platform or tribunal. παραστησόμεθα is a future middle of παρίστημι, “we will stand before” or “we will be presented.” “All” includes the one who judges and the one who despises.

The printed text is θεοῦ, with SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, Tregelles, and NA28. Robinson–Pierpont reads χριστοῦ (christou, “of Christ”). Says On the printed text, all will stand before the judgment seat of God. Robinson–Pierpont reads the judgment seat of Christ. The BSB “God’s judgment seat” matches the printed Greek. It is not a loose English for χριστοῦ.

Uncertain Whether this seat is simply identified with “the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor 5:10) is not settled here. The parallel may be named fairly. Both passages speak of a βῆμα and of a reckoning. Romans 14:10, as printed, says θεοῦ. 2 Corinthians 5:10 says Χριστοῦ. Verse 12 will say that each gives an account, and verse 11 will say that every tongue will confess to God. Those lines keep the printed wording from being “corrected” by the parallel. No lean is taken on whether the two phrases name one seat. The doctrinal point that does not depend on the variant is the one the verse states: the brother is not the tribunal.

Says “It is written: ‘As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God’” (14:11, BSB). γέγραπται γάρ (gegraptai gar, “for it is written”) marks a citation of Scripture. The Greek that follows is Ζῶ ἐγώ, λέγει κύριος, ὅτι ἐμοὶ κάμψει πᾶν γόνυ, καὶ πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσεται τῷ θεῷ (Zō egō, legei kyrios, hoti emoi kampsei pan gony, kai pasa glōssa exomologēsetai tō theō): “As I live, says the Lord, that to me every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess to God.” The form of the citation beside Isaiah 45:23, in the Hebrew and in Swete’s Greek, is set out in the Hebrew note (note.language.Rom.14.11.isa-45-23.heb). A nearby echo of Isaiah 45:9 at Romans 9:20–21 is a different verse (xref.Rom.9.20-Rom.9.21.Isa.45.9.heb) and is not the citation here. Shared wording is a form comparison. It does not by itself identify which scroll Paul used.

Says The citation supports 14:10. The bowing of every knee and the confessing of every tongue are to the Lord and to God. That universal reckoning is why the brother is not to be judged or despised now as if the tribunal had already been handed to him. Isaiah’s words are not turned, in this paragraph, into a map of end-time stages. They are cited to stop the quarrel.

Says “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God” (14:12, BSB). The SBLGNT line is ἄρα ἕκαστος ἡμῶν περὶ ἑαυτοῦ λόγον δώσει (ara hekastos hēmōn peri heautou logon dōsei): “so then each of us will give an account concerning himself.” περὶ ἑαυτοῦ limits the account. It is an account of oneself, not a brief against the brother. The BSB includes “to God.” That English is not in the SBLGNT wording of this verse. Westcott–Hort, NA28, and Robinson–Pierpont add τῷ θεῷ (tō theō, “to God”). Tregelles reads ἀποδώσει τῷ θεῷ (apodōsei tō theō, “will render an account to God”; var.Rom.14.12.dosei). The SBLGNT connective is ἄρα, without οὖν; Westcott–Hort, NA28, and Robinson–Pierpont add οὖν. The sense of the paragraph is not in doubt: 14:10 has already named the judgment seat of God, and 14:11 has named confession to God. The English and the Greek wording remain distinct.

Implies The account each person gives is the reason the commands of 14:3–4 and 14:10 can be so sharp. The one who despises and the one who judges will themselves stand there. The weak person will stand there too. “He will stand” (14:4) and “we will all stand” (14:10) are not contradictions. The Lord is able to make his servant stand, and every servant will still give an account of himself. The passage does not say that the account is a second way of justification beside faith. It says that the brother’s food and day are not the tribunal. Judgment according to deeds, and justification by faith, are treated in the Romans 2 and Romans 3–4 notes and are not reopened as a new doctrine here (note.exegetical.Rom.2.6-Rom.2.16.judgment-according-to-works; note.exegetical.Rom.3.21-Rom.3.26.righteousness-revealed).

Note ID: note.exegetical.Rom.14.5-Rom.14.12.days-and-judgment-seat

¹³ Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. ¹⁴ I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. ¹⁵ If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ Do not allow what you consider good, then, to be spoken of as evil. ¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ For whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. ¹⁹ So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification. ²⁰ Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block. ²¹ It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble. ²² Keep your belief about such matters between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. ²³ But the one who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin. (BSB)

Says “Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way” (14:13, BSB). Μηκέτι οὖν ἀλλήλους κρίνωμεν (Mēketi oun allēlous krinōmen): “Therefore let us no longer judge one another.” The hortatory subjunctive includes the writer. ἀλλὰ τοῦτο κρίνατε μᾶλλον (alla touto krinate mallon) uses the same verb, κρίνω, in a different sense: “judge this instead,” that is, decide this. The BSB “make up your mind” is that second use, not a denial that any decision is allowed. The content of the decision is τὸ μὴ τιθέναι πρόσκομμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ ἢ σκάνδαλον (to mē tithenai proskomma tō adelphō ē skandalon), “not to put a stumbling block or a snare before the brother.” πρόσκομμα (proskomma) is a stumble or an occasion of stumbling. σκάνδαλον (skandalon) is the snare or obstacle beside it. The same noun πρόσκομμα is used of the stone in 9:32–33 (note.exegetical.Rom.9.30-Rom.9.33.stumbling-stone). There the stone is Christ, and Israel stumbles. Here the brother is not to become the one who lays a stumble in another brother’s way.

Says “I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean” (14:14, BSB). οἶδα καὶ πέπεισμαι ἐν κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ (oida kai pepeismai en kyriō Iēsou): “I know and I am persuaded in the Lord Jesus.” The perfect πέπεισμαι names a settled persuasion. The content is ὅτι οὐδὲν κοινὸν δι’ ἑαυτοῦ (hoti ouden koinon di’ heautou), “that nothing is unclean through itself.” κοινός (koinos) can mean common or shared, and it can mean ordinary and so unhallowed or unclean. Implies In this sentence, with “in itself” and with the contrast that it is unclean for the one who reckons it so, κοινός is cultically unclean, not merely “ordinary” in a neutral sense. The second half is εἰ μὴ τῷ λογιζομένῳ τι κοινὸν εἶναι, ἐκείνῳ κοινόν (ei mē tō logizomenō ti koinon einai, ekeinō koinon): “except to the one who reckons something to be unclean, to that one it is unclean.”

A reading that keeps only the first half turns the weak brother’s conscience into a mistake Paul tells the strong to ignore. A reading that keeps only the second half denies the sentence “nothing is unclean in itself.”

Uncertain How 14:14 relates to Mark 7, Acts 10, and the Torah food laws is not a quotation of those passages in this verse. Clean and unclean in Leviticus is background, not a claim that Paul quotes Leviticus. That comparison is set out in the Hebrew note (note.language.Rom.14.14.clean-unclean.heb). This commentary leans toward reading Paul as stating a Christian liberty about food, including that those laws are not binding in themselves, while the weak brother’s conscience is still to be respected. Grounds for the lean: οὐδὲν κοινὸν δι’ ἑαυτοῦ is a general negative, “nothing”; it is persuasion “in the Lord Jesus,” not a private taste; 14:20 will say πάντα μὲν καθαρά (panta men kathara, “all things are clean”); and 14:15–21 still forbid using that liberty to distress or destroy a brother. The main alternatives are named and not dismissed by assertion. (1) The issue is only idol-food, so 14:14 does not speak about food laws as such. (2) The issue is only some foods, so “nothing” is limited by the dispute even though the Greek negative is unqualified. (3) The verse is a pastoral word that does not formally settle the Torah question. Each alternative must still explain “nothing is unclean in itself” and “in the Lord Jesus.” The lean does not turn 14:14 into antinomianism. Love still fulfills the law by doing no wrong (13:8–10; note.exegetical.Rom.13.8-Rom.13.10.love-and-law). The liberty about food is not a liberty to despise the brother or to eat against one’s own conscience (14:23).

Says “If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died” (14:15, BSB). εἰ γὰρ διὰ βρῶμα ὁ ἀδελφός σου λυπεῖται (ei gar dia brōma ho adelphos sou lypeitai): “for if because of food your brother is grieved.” βρῶμα (brōma) is food. λυπεῖται is “is distressed” or “is grieved.” οὐκέτι κατὰ ἀγάπην περιπατεῖς (ouketi kata agapēn peripateis): “you are no longer walking according to love.” The imperative is μὴ τῷ βρώματί σου ἐκεῖνον ἀπόλλυε ὑπὲρ οὗ Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν (mē tō brōmati sou ekeinon apollye hyper hou Christos apethanen): “do not by your food destroy that one for whom Christ died.” ἀπόλλυμι (apollymi), here ἀπόλλυε, is “destroy.” The phrase ὑπὲρ οὗ Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν ties the brother to Christ’s death. Genuine love in 12:9 and the debt of love in 13:8–10 are the same love, now applied to the table (note.exegetical.Rom.12.9-Rom.12.16.genuine-love).

Uncertain How far “destroy” goes is not defined by a second sentence. Eternal ruin and grievous spiritual harm are both urged. This commentary leans toward serious spiritual harm, kept in the phrase “one for whom Christ died,” without settling a perseverance or apostasy debate from this verse alone. Grounds: the verb is strong; the object is a brother for whom Christ died; and the paragraph’s remedy is to stop the eating that grieves him, not to announce his final state. The alternative, that ἀπόλλυε here means eternal ruin as a settled outcome, must explain how that outcome is commanded against in the present tense without this verse becoming a treatise on falling away. Whether a true believer can finally fall away is not settled by Romans 14. That question is left where it already stands (note.exegetical.Rom.8.28-Rom.8.39.can-believers-fall-away). The lean forbids treating “destroy” as a light word. Food is not worth the brother’s harm.

Says “Do not allow what you consider good, then, to be spoken of as evil” (14:16, BSB). μὴ βλασφημείσθω οὖν ὑμῶν τὸ ἀγαθόν (mē blasphēmeisthō oun hymōn to agathon): “so do not let your good be blasphemed” or “spoken of as evil.” The BSB “what you consider good” is interpretive English for τὸ ἀγαθόν, “the good.” The Greek does not add a verb of considering in this verse. The good in view, in the flow from 14:14–15, is the liberty Paul has just called clean in itself, or the conduct that uses it. The imperative is that this good not become a cause of evil speech. Verse 16 does not say that the weak brother’s distress is itself blasphemy. It says that the ones who have the good are not to let it be spoken of as evil.

Says “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (14:17, BSB). οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ βρῶσις καὶ πόσις (ou gar estin hē basileia tou theou brōsis kai posis): “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking.” βρῶσις (brōsis) is eating. πόσις (posis) is drinking. The positive side is ἀλλὰ δικαιοσύνη καὶ εἰρήνη καὶ χαρὰ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ (alla dikaiosynē kai eirēnē kai chara en pneumati hagiō), “but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” βασιλεία (basileia) is royal power or kingdom. Righteousness in Romans is not redefined here as table manners. The gift sense of God’s righteousness, received by faith, remains what 1:17 and 3:21–26 have argued (note.exegetical.Rom.1.17.righteousness-of-god; note.exegetical.Rom.3.21-Rom.3.26.righteousness-revealed). Peace with God is the peace of those already justified (note.exegetical.Rom.5.1-Rom.5.5.peace-with-god). Joy in the Holy Spirit belongs with the Spirit’s life, not with a new food rule (note.exegetical.Rom.8.5-Rom.8.13.flesh-and-spirit).

Implies In this dispute, 14:17 describes the kingdom’s present character. The γάρ explains why the good of 14:16 must not be spoken of as evil, and why food must not govern the brother’s life: the kingdom, as it bears on this quarrel, is not eating and drinking. Uncertain A purely future-kingdom reading may be named. It appeals to passages where the kingdom is still to come, and to the fact that βασιλεία can name a reign not yet consummated. It does not remove the present force of the contrast in this paragraph. No separate lean is taken against that future sense as a wider truth.

Says “For whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men” (14:18, BSB). ὁ γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ δουλεύων τῷ Χριστῷ (ho gar en toutō douleuōn tō Christō): “for the one who serves Christ in this.” The antecedent is the kingdom-character just named, not a private technique. εὐάρεστος τῷ θεῷ (euarestos tō theō) is “well-pleasing to God”. The same adjective describes the living sacrifice that is pleasing to God (12:1; note.exegetical.Rom.12.1-Rom.12.2.living-sacrifice). δόκιμος τοῖς ἀνθρώποις (dokimos tois anthrōpois) is “approved by people.” Approval by people is stated. It is not the ground of pleasing God. The ground is serving Christ in the way 14:17 has described.

Says “So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (14:19, BSB). ἄρα οὖν τὰ τῆς εἰρήνης διώκωμεν καὶ τὰ τῆς οἰκοδομῆς τῆς εἰς ἀλλήλους (ara oun ta tēs eirēnēs diōkōmen kai ta tēs oikodomēs tēs eis allēlous): “so then let us pursue the things of peace and the things of building up toward one another.” διώκωμεν is a hortatory subjunctive. οἰκοδομή (oikodomē) is building or edification. The pursuit is corporate. It matches the mutual love of 13:8 and the harmony of 12:16.

Says “Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block” (14:20, BSB). μὴ ἕνεκεν βρώματος κατάλυε τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ (mē heneken brōmatos katalye to ergon tou theou): “do not for the sake of food tear down the work of God.” κατάλυε is a different verb from ἀπόλλυε in 14:15. The BSB uses “destroy” for both. The Greek of 14:20 is “tear down,” the opposite of the building up in 14:19. τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ is “the work of God.” In this context it is the brother, or the work God is doing in him, not a building of stone. πάντα μὲν καθαρά (panta men kathara): “all things are clean.” The Greek adjective is “clean,” καθαρά, not κοινός. ἀλλὰ κακὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ διὰ προσκόμματος ἐσθίοντι (alla kakon tō anthrōpō tō dia proskommatos esthionti): “but it is wrong for the person who eats through a stumbling block,” or “with stumbling.” The BSB “to let his eating be a stumbling block” is one English of that participle. Another English is that the wrong lies with the one who eats in a way that causes stumbling. The verse does not say that clean food becomes unclean in itself. It says that eating which proceeds by means of a stumble is κακόν (kakon, “wrong, evil”).

Says “It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble” (14:21, BSB). καλὸν τὸ μὴ φαγεῖν κρέα μηδὲ πιεῖν οἶνον μηδὲ ἐν ᾧ ὁ ἀδελφός σου προσκόπτει (kalon to mē phagein krea mēde piein oinon mēde en hō ho adelphos sou proskoptei): “it is good not to eat meat, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything in which your brother stumbles.” κρέας (kreas) is meat. οἶνος (oinos) is wine. προσκόπτω (proskoptō) is to stumble. The BSB “It is better” is English for καλόν, “good.” The verse states a good: restraint for the brother’s sake. It does not state that meat or wine is unclean in itself. That would contradict 14:14 and 14:20. It states that not eating and not drinking are good when the brother’s stumbling is the alternative.

The printed Greek of 14:21 includes ἢ σκανδαλίζεται ἢ ἀσθενεῖ (ē skandalizetai ē asthenei), with SBLGNT, Tregelles, and Robinson–Pierpont. Westcott–Hort and NA28 omit that clause. The BSB sentence matches the shorter English sense and does not translate the additional verbs. The English and the Greek wording remain distinct. Says On the printed text, it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything in which a brother stumbles, or is caused to stumble, or is weak. σκανδαλίζω (skandalizō) means to cause to stumble. The added verbs widen the description beside προσκόπτει.

Says “Keep your belief about such matters between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves” (14:22, BSB). σὺ πίστιν ἣν ἔχεις κατὰ σεαυτὸν ἔχε ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ (sy pistin hēn echeis kata seauton eche enōpion tou theou): “the faith that you have, have it by yourself before God.” “Such matters” is not a separate Greek phrase. The faith in view is the conviction about eating, already called πιστεύει in 14:2 and πίστις in 14:1. It is not a command to hide the gospel. μακάριος ὁ μὴ κρίνων ἑαυτὸν ἐν ᾧ δοκιμάζει (makarios ho mē krinōn heauton en hō dokimazei): “blessed is the one who does not judge himself in what he approves.” The BSB “does not condemn himself by what he approves” matches κρίνων with the sense of adverse judgment. δοκιμάζει is “approves” or “tests and approves,” the verb of testing God’s will in 12:2. The blessing is for the person whose approval and whose self-judgment do not collide.

Says “But the one who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin” (14:23, BSB). ὁ δὲ διακρινόμενος ἐὰν φάγῃ κατακέκριται (ho de diakrinomenos ean phagē katakekritai): “but the one who doubts, if he eats, has been condemned.” διακρινόμενος is the participle of doubting or of being at odds in judgment, from the same family as διάκρισις in 14:1. κατακέκριται is a perfect: the condemnation is already the state of that eating. ὅτι οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως (hoti ouk ek pisteōs): “because it is not from faith.” The Greek clause has no separate noun for eating in the ὅτι line. The condition ἐὰν φάγῃ has already named the eating. πᾶν δὲ ὃ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως ἁμαρτία ἐστίν (pan de ho ouk ek pisteōs hamartia estin): “and everything that is not from faith is sin.”

Uncertain Whether 14:23b is a general principle for every action, or is specifically about eating against conscience in this dispute, is not settled by a single English word. This commentary leans toward a principle stated in this food-conscience setting that may be applied more broadly, without turning it into a slogan that makes every non-theological act a sin. Grounds: the Greek is πᾶν … ὃ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως, “everything that is not from faith,” which is wider than the one meal; and the setting is still the doubt of 14:23a, the faith of 14:22, and the eating of 14:2–6 and 14:14–21. The strictly limited reading is the main alternative and is not erased. It appeals to the immediate condition, “if he eats,” and to the danger of making 14:23b a rule that Paul does not apply to every ordinary act in the letter. Eating against conscience is sin here. The sentence is not a claim that tying a sandal, or paying a tax, is sin unless a theological reflection is attached to it.

The printed text has no doxology after 14:23. SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, Tregelles, and NA28 end the verse at ἐστίν. Robinson–Pierpont adds a doxology and numbers it as verses 24–26 after 14:23. In standard English versification that doxology is Romans 16:25–27. It is cited by that reference, not by an edition’s alternative position. Uncertain How copies came to place that doxology in more than one position is not reconstructed from the edition facts alone.

Implies The close of the chapter returns to the opening. The weak in faith were to be welcomed, not quarreled over (14:1). The one who doubts and eats is condemned, because that eating is not from faith (14:23). Faith, in this chapter, is both the weakness that is to be welcomed and the conviction that must govern one’s own eating. It is not a second righteousness beside the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel. The next sentence of the letter, “We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak” (15:1, BSB), takes up the same pair. Romans 15:7–13 then sets that welcome within Christ’s welcome of Jew and Gentile.

Note ID: note.exegetical.Rom.14.13-Rom.14.23.stumbling-kingdom-faith

These lines are minor units, each separate from the units discussed above. Edition alignment is given for the named editions only.

• 14:3 connective. SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, Tregelles, and NA28 read ὁ δέ (ho de, “but the one”); Robinson–Pierpont reads καὶ ὁ (kai ho, “and the one”). The command not to judge the eater is the same.
• 14:5 connective. SBLGNT, Tregelles, and Robinson–Pierpont read μὲν; Westcott–Hort and NA28 add γάρ.
• 14:9 connective. SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, Tregelles, and NA28 have no καί after Χριστός; Robinson–Pierpont adds καί. The addition καὶ ἀνέστη is a separate unit, treated above.
• 14:11 word order. SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, NA28, and Robinson–Pierpont read πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσεται; Tregelles reads ἐξομολογήσεται πᾶσα γλῶσσα. The words are the same.
• 14:12 connective. SBLGNT and Tregelles read ἄρα; Westcott–Hort, NA28, and Robinson–Pierpont add οὖν.
• 14:14 pronoun. SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, and NA28 read ἑαυτοῦ; Tregelles and Robinson–Pierpont read αὐτοῦ. Both are reflexive in sense here.
• 14:15 connective. SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, Tregelles, and NA28 read γάρ; Robinson–Pierpont reads δέ.
• 14:18 pronoun. SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, Tregelles, and NA28 read τούτῳ; Robinson–Pierpont reads τούτοις.
• 14:22 relative. SBLGNT, Westcott–Hort, Tregelles, and NA28 read ἣν; Robinson–Pierpont omits it.

Says None of these minor lines changes the commands to welcome the weak, not to despise or judge, to walk in love, or to keep one’s own eating in faith. The running Greek text here is SBLGNT in each case.