Darby's Synopsis of the New Testament - Romans 14:1
14:1 of (d-16) Or 'disputes in.' read more
14:1 of (d-16) Or 'disputes in.' read more
The Duty of Sympathy and TolerationIn chapter Romans 13:12 St. Paul urged his readers, by their expectation of Christ’s coming, to avoid the licence and immorality of the heathen. Now he turns to the opposite extreme, and deals with the ascetic scrupulousness of certain Christians.Under the Jewish Law there was a distinction between clean and unclean meats. This distinction, which perpetuated the separation between Jew and Gentile, Christ abolished (Mark 7:19 RV), as was afterwards revealed to... read more
(1) Weak in the faith . . .—The presence of a single strong master-motive is apt to silence petty scruples. Where the “eye is single”—where all the powers and faculties of the man are concentrated upon one object, and that object the highest that can engage human thought or affection—there will naturally be a certain largeness of view. The opposite of this is to be “weak in the faith.” There may be a sincere desire to lead a religious life, and yet the mind is taken up with petty details, each... read more
Romans 14:5 'Do consider the immense strength of that single verse, Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind,' writes Dr. Arnold of Rugby. 'I am myself so much inclined to the idea of a strong social bond that I ought not to be suspected of any tendency to anarchy; yet I am beginning to think that the idea may be over-strained, that this attempt to merge the soul and will of the individual man in the general body is, when fully developed, contrary to the very essence of Christianity.... read more
Chapter 29CHRISTIAN DUTY: MUTUAL TENDERNESS AND TOLERANCE: THE SACREDNESS OF EXAMPLERomans 14:1-23BUT him who is weak-we might almost render, him who suffers from weakness, in his faith (in the sense here not of creed, a meaning of πίστις rare in St. Paul, but of reliance on his Lord; reliance not only for justification but, in this case, for holy liberty), welcome into fellowship-not for criticisms of his scruples, of his διαλογισμοί, the anxious internal debates of conscience. One man... read more
CHAPTER 14 1. Strong and Weak Brethren are the Lord’s Servants. (Romans 14:1-12 .) 2. The True Way of Love. (Romans 14:13-23 .) Romans 14:1-12 The question concerning brethren who were weak in faith, how they are to be treated by those who are strong is now taken up. Those weak in the faith had not the complete knowledge of their position in Christ, though they knew Christ and loved Him. They did not realize that certain observances of days, or abstinences from meats and drinks, could not... read more
14:1 Him {1} that is weak in the faith {a} receive ye, [but] not to {b} doubtful disputations.(1) Now he shows how we ought to behave ourselves toward our brethren in matters and things indifferent, who offend in the use of them not from malice or damnable superstition, but for lack of knowledge of the benefit of Christ. And thus he teaches that they are to be instructed gently and patiently, and so that we apply ourselves to their ignorance in such matters according to the rule of charity.(a)... read more
Personal Conscience Toward God In Romans 12:1-21 we have seen instruction in many details of moral conduct. In such cases conscience has no liberty to take any stand but that of truth and honor. Just so in Romans 13:1-14, where questions of government are involved. For conscience sake I must be subject. If conscience requires my disobedience to authorities in order that I might obey God, it is a different matter; but I cannot plead that conscience allows me to disobey authorities simply... read more
PRACTICAL APPLICATION In chapter 6 Paul revealed the secret of experimental sanctification as the yielding of one’s self unto God, in which case sin would not have dominion over one In chapter 8 he showed the divine process of sanctification as the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer. Having finished the doctrinal part of his epistle, he returns to what he then said (chap. 6), and exhorts us to yield because of the “mercies of God” of which he had been speaking throughout (Romans 12:1-2... read more
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Romans 14:1-13
D. Conduct within Christian liberty 14:1-15:13In Romans 14:1 to Romans 15:13, Paul gave special attention to the problem of knowing how to live in Christian freedom. This section of Romans deals with Christian conduct when God does not specify exactly what we should do in every situation (cf. 1 Corinthians 8). In such cases some Christians will do one thing and others another, both within God’s will. How to handle these situations is the focus of this section.Paul moved on to discuss a problem... read more