Welcome the weak, and do not judge another’s servant (Romans 14:1–4)

Says “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions” (14:1, BSB). One person has faith to eat all things; the weak person eats only vegetables (14:2). 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). No one is 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).

Uncertain Who the weak and the implied strong are is not named. The chapter does not name Jews or Gentiles. Four options are held, and no lean is taken here. (1) Jewish Christians keeping food rules or avoiding marketplace meat, over against believers who eat all foods. (2) Scruples about food offered to idols, by comparison with 1 Cor 8–10. (3) A broader ascetic or vegetarian practice not limited to the law. (4) A mixed congregation in which more than one kind of scruple may be present.

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 this chapter into a Jewish Christian.

The printed text at 14:4 reads “the Lord,” not “God.”