Romans 14:16-23
16 “Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For the one who serves Christ in this way is acceptable to God and approved by other people. 19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. 20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the person who eats and causes offense. 21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother or sister stumbles. 22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is the one who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But the one who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.”
Spoken of as evil: Until now, Paul has focused on the importance of strong Christians loving weaker Christians. Here, Paul is now protecting the freedom of mature Christians. Love for those who are weaker does not mean that mature Christians are to let their practices be judged. Christians are to stand firm in their freedom (Galatians 5:1).
Kingdom of God: This verse summarizes the entirety of Paul’s point in this chapter: Believers are to live in accordance with God’s kingdom, which is a spiritual kingdom. This means that the inner spiritual reality takes precedence over the externals. This kingdom of God is about the righteousness, peace, and joy given to us in Christ. This is why mature believers are to love weaker Christians while guarding their own freedom: We receive Christ’s love for us and give it away freely (John 13:34).
Make for peace: We are to strive for peace with fellow Christians and build deep and meaningful relationships. This means not causing our fellow Christians to stumble while also guarding our freedom.
Doubts is condemned: Paul is not speaking of a condemnation from God (Romans 8:1). This is a condemnation of an individual’s conscience. If something violates our conscience then we ought not do it otherwise we will experience condemnation. Again, Paul is not speaking about sin here. He is referring to innocuous issues that may be big deals for weaker Christians.
