Romans 14:1-6 – Do Not Judge Others

Topic: Do Not Judge Others

Reading: Romans 14:1-6

1 As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. 2 One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgement on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgement on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand. 5 One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it in honour of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honour of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honour of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

Introduction and Overview

One of the most important lessons we learn in the New Testament in the teachings of Jesus is do not judge others. There are many scriptures across the New Testament telling us this key principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is very important to understand this from several perspectives. The first and most important is found in this verse:

There is one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you that you judge your neighbour? (James 4:12)

There is only one lawgiver and judge. That one lawgiver and judge is God the Father, but He does not judge anyone. Instead, He also gave all judgement into the hands of Jesus, as we see in this verse:

The Father judges no one, but has given all judgement to the Son (John 5:22)

So, what happens when a person judges someone else, they are taking the place and standing in the place of the Lord and of God. And if we stand in their place, taking the place of God, we are not following the truth of Jesus Christ who taught us to love one another, not to judge each other. As God has overlooked our sins, weaknesses and failings, so too we are to give the same mercy and compassion to others. We do not have the right to judge others as these two introductory verses show, so do not judge others.

Now as we get into the reading we see even more reasons why we do not judge others. And recall the words of Jesus who also said, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1)

So, do not judge others as you may be judged for the judgement you mete out to them. The scripture says as much and one of the key reasons why we do not judge others is found in these words:

For judgement is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy; yet mercy triumphs over judgement. (James 2:13)

We are called to love one another. One of the aspects of love is mercy. God is love and God is merciful, and we are to emulate God and Jesus Christ in mercy. But judging others is not an act of mercy or love. So, once again, do not judge others.

Key points from reading:

1. People are individually different so do not judge others.
2. People are at different levels of understanding of the truth and may yet still have to learn what you know.
3. God is the one who will judge all mankind. It is not our right or place to judge others.

Discussion:

1. Scripture: Romans 14:1-3
   • Christians have many different ideas about the forms of worship they take. In these verses Paul writes about some who believe they ought to be vegetarians and not eat meat, and there are Christians today who believe likewise. There are some diets these days, based upon the actions of some in the Bible, that promote a vegetarian diet. One that comes to mind is the Daniel diet.
   • But it is equally evident that the early Christians ate meat. They caught fish, and ate the Passover lamb, as too did Jesus Himself (Read: Luke 24:41-43 and Luke 22:7-12). Jesus certainly showed it was acceptable to eat meat when He fed the five thousand, and also when He fed the four thousand in two different events. In both cases the people were fed bread and fish. Note also that Jesus ate the fish in Luke 24:41-43 after He had risen from the dead, which would suggest that eating flesh is acceptable under the New Covenant that was ratified and began after His death.
   • But, despite these examples, there are still those who believe you should eat only vegetables. Even though the scripture clearly shows it is acceptable to eat meat. It is evident in the days when Paul wrote these words that the two camps were judging one another. The vegetarians judged the carnivores, and vice versa.
   • Neither of these positions is of any importance in wider quest for salvation. Neither position will lead to salvation or has any significance spiritually. But to judge someone else on the basis of what they eat or drink is wrong. Do not judge others on the basis of any physical matter because it is wrong to judge at all. Instead, recognise that God welcomes both the vegetarians and carnivores equally. He shows no distinction and does not judge people for what they eat, so do not judge others on these or any other basis either. God has welcomed you with all of your weaknesses and issues, and He has done the same with others as well. He is the judge and will judge both you and them, so do not judge others and see to your own salvation.
2. Scripture: Romans 14:4
   • Again we see the instruction to not judge others. Who are we, who also suffer the same weaknesses and passions as anyone else, to judge someone else’s weaknesses and passions? If you judge someone for, say drinking alcohol while you talk gossip or tell lies, do you think your are any better off?
   • No. We all have our own issues to deal with and we need to focus on those. Just as we hope and pray that God will work in our own lives, those who you might judge are asking God the same things. None of us knows what the Lord is doing in someone else’s lives. It’s easy to judge the things that are seen, but God may be working with them over more important issues that cannot be seen. We simply do not know, so do not judge others.
   • And besides, as this verse tells us, God is their master just as He is ours. We pray that He will help us to stand in His presence, just as others do too. And God will help us to stand and help them to stand as well. The depths of God’s love for all of His children is unfathomable. He loves His children and He wants us to love our brethren in the same way He loves us, in spite of our differences.
3. Scripture: Romans 14:5
   • The key to your own standing in Christ is shown in this scripture. But first it looks at another aspect where people judge others. There are those in the church who judge other Christians because they do or do not uphold certain days.
   • For example, some Christians observe Saturday as the Sabbath, while others don’t. Some observe different holidays, such as Christmas and Easter, while others don’t. Some Christians observe the Jewish holidays, such as the Passover, while others don’t. And there are a myriad of other such days that Christians may or may not observe.
   • Paul made the observation that the observance of days is fruitless. In fact he pointed out that to observe days for whatever reason is of no help at all, and in some cases may even be a hindrance. He said it like this:
     
     10 You observe days, and months, and seasons, and years! 11 I am afraid I have laboured over you in vain. (Galatians 4:10-11)
     
     Like the eating of foods, the observance of days will not lead you to salvation, and in some cases may be a stumbling block given that some of the regular holidays are not based in Christianity but rather pagan worship.
   • But again, it is not our place to judge others for what they believe and do. It is possible that the Lord has not given them the understanding of some of these issues yet, but will do so in good time. There are other more important things to learn. And even after learning the truth, they may have difficulty applying it in their lives.
   • As stated before, do not judge others for the things they do or believe. If you are able, help them to see the truth, and be prepared to listen to what they say as it may be you who needs to learn the truth that they will show you. Whatever their position, ask them to back it up with the scripture and weigh what is said so you can understand their position. After all, they may be right and you may be wrong. Anyone who thinks he knows it all is just showing their arrogance, and the Lord does NOT like arrogance.
   • But the key to all of this is found at the end of the scripture saying: “Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind.” That is the key. Have full faith and conviction in what you believe in honour of the Lord. But be prepared to listen to what others say because there may be a greater truth. And do not judge others for their differences in belief, but try to understand and come together to for mutual encouragement, not for disputes over opinions. Seek the truth and not opinion.
   • Whatever you do, do it in honour of the Lord and you will be rewarded by the Lord. Whether it is to eat or abstain, observe days or not, do what you do with conviction and honour the Lord. And be prepared for the day when He opens up to you a greater truth, especially if that truth seems to contradict what you currently believe. We are being transformed into His image by small degrees (Read: 2 Corinthians 3:18), and the next degree of change may take you in a completely different direction from what you currently believe. So, do not judge others for what they believe. They may be right and you wrong. And even if they are wrong, recall there was a time when you were wrong too and the Lord had to show you the right way, and He will do so with others as well. Be a help and not a hindrance, and perhaps the Lord may use you to help the other person find a greater truth.

Prayer Points

1. Pray and ask the Lord to help you to look at people from a different, non-judgemental perspective. If they are Christians, pray that He will show them the fullness of the truth as you pray He will do so for you. And if they are not Christians, pray that the Lord will bring them to the place of enlightenment in His ways.
2. Pray also that you do not judge others. Ask the Lord to keep you humble rather than being an arrogant judge.