Catholic Commentary on Romans 14

"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Romans 14:17)

The Strong and the Weak

Romans 14 addresses a conflict in the Roman community between those Paul calls the strong, who are confident in the freedom the Gospel gives with respect to food and days, and the weak, who are still bound by scruples about clean and unclean food and the observance of certain days. This is likely a conflict between Gentile and Jewish Christians. Paul's instruction does not adjudicate which position is theologically correct. Instead he addresses both groups: accept the one whose faith is weak without quarrelling over disputable matters; the weak should not judge the strong; the strong should not look down on the weak. Both are accountable to God, not to each other.

The governing principle is the conscience of the weaker brother or sister: do not cause them to stumble by the exercise of your freedom. Whatever you believe about these things, keep it between yourself and God. The person who has doubts is condemned if they eat because their eating is not from faith, and everything that does not come from faith is sin. The Catechism identifies this teaching as the basis of the Church's respect for the moral conscience: even an erroneous conscience binds the person who holds it, and those who act with secure conscience must not force others to act against their own (CCC 1790).

The Kingdom Is Not Food and Drink

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The disputes about food and days are not trivial, but they are not the substance of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is a quality of life, the fruit of the Spirit, visible in a community where justice is pursued, peace is maintained, and joy characterises the relationship with God. Anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by others. Make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, the disputes that divide Christian communities in our day are often about things that are real but not central. The question of Romans 14 is always: are these matters destroying the work of God? Is my exercise of freedom causing a brother or sister to stumble? The strong bear the responsibility to restrict their freedom for the sake of the weak. This is not weakness. It is the imitation of Christ who, though he was free from all, made himself servant of all.

Prayer

Lord God, your Kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Deliver us from the disputes that divide us over secondary things. Give us the generosity of the strong who restrict their freedom for the sake of the weak, and the humility of the weak who do not judge those who are free. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

14
The Law of Liberty
(Matthew 7:1–6; Luke 6:37–42)
1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions.* 14:1 Or without quarreling over disputable matters 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.
 
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;† 14:6 BYZ and TR include he who does not regard the day, to the Lord he does not regard it; 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.”‡ 14:11 Or will give praise to God or will acknowledge God; Isaiah 45:23 (see also LXX)
 
12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
The Law of Love
(Ezekiel 14:1–11; 1 Corinthians 8:1–13)
 
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.§ 14:21 SBL, BYZ, and TR include or to be hindered or weakened.
 
22 Keep your belief about such matters between yourself and God.* 14:22 Literally Keep the faith that you have to yourself before 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.† 14:23 Some manuscripts place the text of Romans 16:25–27 here.

*14:1 14:1 Or without quarreling over disputable matters

†14:6 14:6 BYZ and TR include he who does not regard the day, to the Lord he does not regard it;

‡14:11 14:11 Or will give praise to God or will acknowledge God; Isaiah 45:23 (see also LXX)

§14:21 14:21 SBL, BYZ, and TR include or to be hindered or weakened.

*14:22 14:22 Literally Keep the faith that you have to yourself before God

†14:23 14:23 Some manuscripts place the text of Romans 16:25–27 here.

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