Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.
Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.
Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another?
It is before his own master that he stands or falls.
And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
“One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike.
Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
The one who observes the day, observes it in honour of the Lord.
The one who eats, eats in honour of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honour of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.
If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord.
So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
“Why do you pass judgment on your brother?
Or you, why do you despise your brother?
For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,
‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.’
“So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.” [1]
One of the greatest tragedies to plague modern Christendom are the anathemas Christians pronounce against one another.
These maledictions toward other believers usually arise out of arguments over opinions.
Paul warns Christians not to “argue about doubtful issues.”
[2] Both strong Christians and weak Christians can be equally adept at pronouncing judgement against each other because of private opinions.
Thus, for all the problems we face in this world as Christians, one of the gravest dangers to our faith and practise is the loss of unity arising from the attitude of fellow Christians.
In a church I pastored for a brief while, one worshipper admirably blended godly gentleness and strength.
This man had suffered greatly during the Second World War.
He had been a sergeant in the Dutch army when the Nazis invaded Holland.
Joining the underground resistance, during the following six years he lived under unrelenting threat of imminent death.
His family—his wife, his children, and even his brother—paid an unimaginable price for his conscientious choice to resist the nightmarish evil imposed by the German occupation of his homeland.
During those years of living without a public identity, knowing that momentarily he might be captured and tortured until dead, Gerry acquired the habit of smoking a pipe.
He did not smoke heavily, nor even frequently; but in later years he did enjoy sitting quietly each evening with his pipe and smoking a bowl of fine cut tobacco.
Gerry loved God, and he loved to sing.
He joined the church choir, but his tenure would be brief.
One woman, a self-appointed arbiter elegantiae of the Faith objected to his singing in the choir.
“He has an unsanctified voice,” she announced to the assembled choir.
Confused as to her meaning, one choir member asked for clarification.
“He smokes a pipe,” she haughtily announced, “and therefore he has an unsanctified voice.”
Upon hearing his account, and having previously encountered that shrewish creature, I laughingly told Gerry that he should have responded that evening by saying, “Madam, you have an unsanctified tongue.
Here is a pair of scissors.
Cut it off.”
Strong or weak, we each bring to church attitudes and opinions that can hurt or restrict others.
It is all well and good for me to encourage you to affirm one another and to encourage one another, but how should we treat one another at worship?
THE ISSUE FOR THE CHURCH — A church must be a welcoming place where wounded people can find refuge.
Christians are not cut out with a cookie cutter; rather, we differ in every imaginable aspect, with the sole exception that we have each put our faith in the Risen Son of God.
We have each been born from above and into the Family of God through faith in Christ.
Nevertheless, we are each at differing stages of maturation.
Among us are some who have grappled to understand and to apply divine truth throughout long years.
These individuals have internalised the great truths concerning the Son of God and they are making every effort to walk with Him in the Spirit.
Others have just initiated that journey, and they are not even aware of the implications of their struggle that at times seems overwhelming and on occasion even appears futile.
They may be weak in their faith, and they could be easily offended; yet, they are confident of their salvation and of their acceptance in the Risen Son of God.
Both the one who has walked with Christ throughout long years and the one who is only beginning the journey with the Master meet together in the House of God.
Superficially, we might imagine that the one who has named the Name of Christ for many years is the stronger of the two, but that is not always the case.
I often say that it does not matter how long you have been on the journey; what matters is how far you have come.
Frequently, I have observed that one who is young in the Faith has a more secure grasp of grace than does one who claims many years of walking with the Master.
Paul instructs the Church in Rome to “welcome … the one who is weak in the Faith.”
His words challenge us to ask whether this church is a welcoming place.
We grow comfortable with one another and we silently accept one another—even with all our flaws; but, are we prepared to make the stranger welcome among us?
That Greek word translated into English by the word “welcome,” speaks of far more than merely greeting an individual.
The word communicates the idea of taking someone along as a travelling companion; it speaks of receiving an individual into your home, or of accepting an individual into your circle of acquaintances.
[3] This strong word is quite descriptive.
God has welcomed us [ROMANS 14:3] and Christ has welcomed us [ROMANS 15:7].
Therefore, as those who are welcomed in Christ, we are obligated to welcome one another.
In particular, we are responsible to accept the one who is weak in the Faith.
Applying the understanding we have from consideration of the normal use of the word, we are to include each other in our various activities, treating one another with respect.
Paul’s teaching should lead each Christian to question who is weak in the Faith.
Should we actually think through this issue, we may be surprised at what we discover!
Obviously Paul is not speaking of one who is timid or even of one who possesses little faith.
The caution He provides has nothing to do with quantitating faith, nor even with whether the individual has but a rudimentary grasp of biblical theology.
The Apostle is speaking of a fellow believer who struggles with how to express his or her convictions.
In the First Corinthian Letter, the Apostle urges believers to show consideration toward those who are weaker in the Faith.
He focuses on the freedom we enjoy in this most Holy Faith, even as he reminds readers of the responsibility that accompanies our freedom in Christ.
“Take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols?
And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died” [1 CORINTHIANS 8:9-11].
Weakness in the Faith implies a weak conscience—a conscience that is easily offended by choices another might make.
Weakness in the Faith is the exhibition of exaggerated scruples concerning issues of secondary importance, or even about issues of no importance whatsoever.
At issue is not the doctrine held, but the freedom to exercise goctrine.
Paul’s concern is for the Christian who feels inhibited from specific actions.
Paul is concerned with the manner of life, the expression of one’s faith.
I appreciate J. B. Phillips’ translation of the opening verse of our text.
“Welcome a man whose faith is weak, but not with the idea of arguing over his scruples.”
[4] Focus on the individual’s relationship with the Master, and not on her struggles with how to express her faith.
Likewise, Eugene Peterson has summed up the Apostle’s intent with his paraphrase of this verse.
“Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do.
And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department.
Remember, they have their own history to deal with.
Treat them gently.”
[5] Treat them gently!
Good advice for each believer.
So, what was the big issue that segregated the weak from the strong in Rome?
There were actually two issues.
The first was whether one should be vegetarian, or whether the Christian could eat anything, including meat purchased in the meat market.
“One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables” [ROMANS 14:2].
The other issue was whether one was required to observe special holy days, or whether they could conduct their lives without special observance of such days.
“One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike” [ROMANS 14:5].
These two issues loomed large in the minds of some of the congregation in Rome; and Christians then—just as in our day—fall on either side of these issues.
The strong realised that they were not under law, but under grace.
Consequently, they tended to look down on the weaker Christians because of their exaggerated scruples.
The weak felt that those who did not maintain their scruples were compromising the Faith, and so they despised the stronger Christians for their freedom.
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