Romans pt 6: The Weak and Strong (Ro 14: 1-10)
By Tommy Preson Phillips
Paul starts chapter 14 by addressing the strong and talking to them about addressing the weak. Now, without a good understanding of these two terms, no healing work can be done here, so let's start with the one central question for this chapter: “Who are the strong and the Weak?”
When I was eighteen and in Bible college, I remember a conversation about who is strong and who is weak. Of course, there is no one more arrogant or dangerous in the church than a first-year Bible student, and each of us was convinced that if Paul had written this about us, we would undoubtedly be considered in the strong camp. We assumed, of course, that the Strong were in the right.
For a quick refresher, the labels strong and weak were cultural terms in the first century.
Strong
When we read “strong” here, it is much more akin to how we might talk about the elite; these were wealthy Gentile Christians Romans living in a city in which they were the majority race and held all of the privileges and honors of the local society.
Weak
The weak are the impoverished Jewish Christians, a cultural minority oppressed by the Romans and with very little power over their own lives, but there’s so much more here than that.
The church in Rome was a Jewish-Christian community until about the year AD45 when the Jews [including Xian jews] were exiled from the city of Rome. Then it became a gentile Christian church. The keeping of Jewish laws faded away, the worship styles of the Greeks entered in, and the church changed. When the Jews returned in AD 56, the church was wildly different, and how the Gentiles worshipped Jesus offended their spiritual convictions. So what do we do? Do we default to cultural Darwinianism? Do the stronger majority, those who can pay for the services and who are already in charge, do they rule by default? Or do we give everything back to the Jewish Christians whom it was taken from? What can we do?
Conflict #1: Meat Sacrificed to Idols.
Let's start by looking at some of the offenses that the weak are complaining about because VS1 talks about a weak faith instead of a weak status, so let's get some context here. V1-4 are about food; the Gentile Christians ate meat, and the Jewish Christians only ate vegetables. Now, this isn’t just your run-of-the-mill “vegan VS carnivore” debate; this is not about ethics, per se’, but about their conviction that God has called them out to live differently from everyone else, they only ate kosher food; they weren’t against meat, they were against meat that had originally been meant to go to the glory of other gods, meat raised to be sacrificed to the local deities as a way of praising them or stoking their egos in order so that they might make it rain so that Rome could defeat enemies, and so that they could have wealth and prosperity.
“Why were the Jews in Rome Vegetarian?”
Remember, the Jews had been exiled ten years earlier, and there was no longer a market for kosher meat in Rome. Now with the Jews returning, there was nothing for them to eat in Rome because all of the meat would have been sacrificed to idols. They were so devout in their convictions that they gave up meat without appropriate meat!
But a personal conviction can quickly become a banner under which we form an identity against others; it's called an ideology. And when you get tangled up in your ideology, everyone begins to fall into one of two categories, those who agree and those who do not, and then your posture towards them changes to “in-group VS out-group.”
So the vegetarians began to judge the liberal meat eaters, declaring them to be “living in sin” and separating themselves.
The meat-eaters, in turn, began to judge the conservative Jews as “weak snowflakes who couldn’t even eat meat” because their faith was so weak and fragile.
Conflict #2: Observing Sacred Days
“In the same way,” Paul starts VS 5, “some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike.” Some believed that the Sabbath should be observed on Saturday, and others should observe it on Sunday. Some thought they should fast on Wednesdays, and others believed they should fast on Tuesdays and Thursdays. An early church manual called The Didache tells us there was disagreement on the fasting day because Tuesdays and Thursdays were market days when everyone in the city would be out in the Agora trading their goods. Too many pious people were making a show of their fasting… wearing rags, covering themselves in dirt, moaning, and holding their gut as they stumbled through the crowds of godless Romans. Jesus even addresses this in Matthew 6:16-18; he condemns it. And so there were groups on each side… we aren’t even sure who is on which side… we know that they were fighting about it and that both sides held deep convictions.
Paul starts chapter 14 by saying, “Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters.” So let's talk about that.
Pauls Message to a Divided Roman Church:
Look at verse 5: “Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind” (Ro 14:5). This is an important point! You are responsible for understanding why your conviction is important to you.
In short, to “accept” (v1) means that we must respect the convictions of the one who abstains and does things differently, whether because of culture or conviction. Paul is asking you to make a seat at the table… not in the dark corner of it, not at the foot of the table, but next to you, as an equal with you.
Jesus looks much more like your outsider than your insider, and whenever you draw the line of separation between the two of you, when you look up, you will see Jesus on the other side of that line.
Our deepest held convictions should be the things that form us unto Christlikeness. If that means you live a traditional Christian life - if you find that it spiritually forms you well - DO IT.
If you have come to the church out of the dominant culture, you likely are more like the Strong; you may not hold the same convictions as some in your faith community; Paul wants to caution you against trying to pull them away from deeply held convictions as it may hurt their faith (see 14:10-23). Instead, remain present and be curious. Enter into transformational relationships with your Weaker brothers/sisters, and help them live by their convictions.
Paul put it best: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—33 even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved” (1 Co 10:31–33).
Discussion Questions
1. Consider Paul’s instructions below for how members of the church are to accept one another. After reading these instructions, ask yourself this question: Do you identify more with the weak or the strong? Why?
a.) The one whose faith is weak
● Must not judge the one who eats everything;
● Lives as to the Lord and gives thanks to God;
● Will give an account to God.
● They are full of goodness
b.) The one whose faith is strong:
● Must not treat the weak with contempt;
● Must not judge the one who is weak;
● God has accepted them;
● They do so to the Lord and give thanks to God;
● Will give an account to God.
● They are full of goodness.
2. Have you ever looked down on another person’s spiritual convictions with contempt? Have you ever judged someone for having what you perceive to be lower moral or spiritual standards?
3. Paul advises the Roman Christians to be fully convinced in their own minds, but not to try to convince or coerce others to adopt their convictions.
a. If God has convicted us of something that forms us well spiritually, how can share this good fruit without being condemning or coercive?
b. What can we do if we are concerned another person’s habits are creating bad fruit or causing harm?