For teachers and students of Lifeway’s Explore the Bible lesson of Romans 14:5-20, “Unity,” for November 22, 2026. Includes a suggested introduction to the lesson, text outline and highlights, illustrations to share, discussion questions for your group, and spiritual life applications to make. A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:
INTRODUCTION/ILLUSTRATION:
Alexander Cruden is the author of the famous Cruden’s Concordance, but he was a very eccentric man. Cruden spent almost the entire next year of 1754 trying to get himself appointed as the official “Corrector of the People.” In 1755 he started touring the country as “Alexander the Corrector,” hoping to bring the people back to what he considered to be Christian morality. He accosted people who were taking walks on the Sabbath and gave serious “admonitions” to those engaged in “merry-making.” He also appointed three “deputy correctors,” one of them a woman who, shortly after being appointed, went for a walk on the Sabbath evening! Cruden attacked Sunday feasting, card playing, dancing, and other forms of sin, but, as author Warren Wiersbe says, it is doubtful that anybody took his words seriously.” (Wiersbe, Walking With The Giants, pp. 250-252)
Is there someone in your church who is an “Alexander the Corrector?” Are YOU?! Our passage for today addresses those of us who might be tempted to lean in that direction, and shows us God’s more perfect way.
CONTEXT:
The Book of Romans is best-known for its in-depth explanation of the gospel which is found in Chapters 1-11. It explains how both Jews and Gentiles have sinned and are in need of salvation, and of how Christ came to die for all of them — and how anyone of any background who believes in Him can be saved.
But then with Chapter 12, Romans gets more practical, teaching us how following Christ should impact the way we live everyday. Last time in Romans 13 we saw how our faith should impact our attitude towards government and other authorities God has placed in our lives.
This brings us to Romans 14 and our focus passage for today. Sometimes chapter divisions can seem arbitrary, when the thought from the previous chapter actually continues into the next. But in this case, Romans 14 really does mark a change in topic from the previous chapter. It begins, “Now …” and begins a new train of thought. That new thought is this: don’t judge other Christians for their opinions. (“Opinions” in :1 is “dialogizomai,” it means “inward thoughts,” we get our word “dialogue” from it. Picture it as one’s “inward dialogue,” inward thoughts, reasoning (speaking back & forth within one’s self) it’s translated “opinions,” “disputed matters,” etc.) So he says, don’t judge other Christians on these things.
Then in :2 he gives a specific example of the kind of thing he’s talking about: “One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.” (Likely they ate vegetables to avoid eating meat sacrificed to idols.) As Paul explains in I Corinthians 8 & 10, some had faith that they could eat meat sacrificed to idols; it’s just meat! But others couldn’t bring themselves to eat something that came from a pagan sacrifice. This is a good example of something that people may have differing opinions about. But he says in :3, don’t judge or look down on someone who has a different opinion on it than you do. In fact, :4 asks a great question: “Who are you to judge the servant of another?” Of course the Lord is the Master; we’re just His servants. HE will judge His own servants — that’s not our job! This is the important context for our focus passage this week, that begins with :5:
OUTLINE:
I. Differing Convictions (:5-9)
II. One Judge (:10-12)
III. Prevailing Love (:13-20)
TEXT: Romans 14:5-20
I. Differing Convictions (:5-8)
:5 “One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. 7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; 8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.” (NASB 1995)
So after Romans 14 starts off with the admonition not to judge each other in the church for these varying opinions, Paul continues the thought here in :5: “One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike.”
What’s he talking about here? He’s talking about Christians attitudes towards different “days” — like for example the Sabbath Day. Some believe the Sabbath should be Saturday. Some think it’s now Sunday, but should be treated like the Old Testament Sabbath. Others say the Sabbath command was the only one of the 10 Commandments that was not repeated in the New Testament, so Sunday is “the Lord’s Day,” a day to gather to worship, but a regular day after that. Different Christians have differing ideas on the Sabbath.
We see more on this in Colossians 2:16, where Paul writes: “Let no one pass judgment on you … with regard to a festival, or a new moon, or a sabbath.” Some thought these Jewish days should still be observed; others didn’t.
Same thing with fasting, he says in the second part of :6, some don’t eat (fast) on special days; others eat. Each one “regards” it differently. The word “regards” here is “krinei,” literally “judges.” Some “judge” it one way; some “judge” another.
We have the same kinds of things today, don’t we?
???DISCUSSION QUESTION???
“What are some other “days” like this that people might have different convictions about?”
(— Today some feel like Christmas is a special day. Others say, no, Jesus wasn’t born December 25, that’s just from a pagan ritual, so you shouldn’t observe it.
— Same with Easter: some worship Christ’s resurrection that day; others say no, it comes from a pagan holiday and we shouldn’t have anything to do with it.)
You/your group may think of others.
Here’s the thing: we all have our opinions on these days, and how we should treat them. Paul’s saying here: HOW WE TREAT THESE “DAYS” IS NOT A CENTRAL MATTER OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. Different people will “judge” them differently, as God leads them. But he’s saying, that’s ok! You “judge” it one way; another church member “judges” it another. That’s all right. “Each one is to be convinced in his own mind.” He says in :7-9, each one is doing what they think they should be doing for the Lord. So the point here is: these things are a matter of one’s own personal conscience, and THERE SHOULD BE ROOM FOR DIFFERENT OPINIONS ON THESE THINGS IN THE CHURCH.
Because we often feel strongly about our convictions, we want everyone else to agree with us — and that’s an ok desire. But we should also know that not everyone is going to agree with us on everything — and Paul makes it clear here that not everyone HAS to agree with us on everything. WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO TOLERATE DIFFERENT OPINIONS ON NON-ESSENTIAL MATTERS IN THE CHURCH and not break fellowship over it.
One of the big mistakes that people often make, is taking some “minor issue” and making a major battlefield over it; and leaving the church (or chasing others out) if they don’t agree with them.
NOW: having said all that, there ARE some things that we can’t just say “You have your conviction, I have mine.” There are essential Christian doctrines that are not “up for discussion.”
ILLUSTRATION
Al Mohler, the long time President of our Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, has a great concept he calls “The Theological Triage.” Many of you know what a “triage” is. Whenever there is a tragedy, and many people are injured, the emergency responders sort the patients into groups: those that are most critical and need immediate help, vs. those that are superficial and not as urgent. “Triage” comes from a French word that means to “sort.” Dr. Mohler suggests that doctrines are like that. Everything we believe is important, of course, but some teachings are more essential to our faith than others.
For example, the Triune nature of God, and the Deity of Jesus Christ are central doctrines which a person must believe to even be a Christian. On the other hand, the timing of the Return of Christ or what you are free to do on The Lord’s Day are secondary concerns. What you believe about those things will not affect your eternal salvation.
The point of Mohler’s “theological triage” is that WE MUST AGREE ON THE PRIMARY DOCTRINES. There is no room for compromise on those. But on the other hand, there IS room for differing opinions on secondary or tertiary (third-level) issues. That’s the attitude we should have in our churches: hold strongly to the primary doctrines we must believe — but also exhibit a tolerant and loving spirit towards each other regarding secondary doctrines and issues. It’s like the old saying:
“In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, diversity. In all things, charity (love).”
???DISCUSSION/APPLICATION QUESTION???
“Let’s call out some things that good Christian people may disagree/hold different convictions on, and also some examples of essential doctrines that we must all agree on.” (You might list these under two headings on your dry erase/chalkboard.)
(Some examples of vital doctrines might include: God made the heavens and earth; every man is a sinner; Christ died to pay for our sins; Jesus rose bodily from the grave; salvation is by grace through faith; and so on.
Some examples of things good Christians might disagree on might include: matters of diet, like Paul mentions in this passage; whether Sunday is a “sabbath” or not; whether to homeschool or have your kids in public school; where you draw the line on what movies to watch: PG/R? Harry Potter/Pokemon/No? Is Halloween just a fun time for kids to get candy, or demonic and to be avoided altogether? You can think of many others.
NOW, DON’T let this discussion time turn arguments about any of these specific issues. That’s exactly the opposite of the point Romans 14 is making: that good Christian people will disagree on minor issues, and we need to accept that. If someone gets vehement about a minor issue of faith or practice, it shows they are missing the whole point here: if it is not a cardinal doctrine of the faith (Incarnation/Resurrection/Grace etc.) then we need to be tolerant of sincere Christian differences in these things. We will have differing convictions on some of these things, and that’s ok. We need to practice tolerance and love in the church, not judgment (more on that later!).
This sounds like a good way to approach things; the problem is, some don’t do that, as we see in the next section:
II. One Judge (:10-12)
:10 “But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall [c]give praise to God.” 12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” (NASB 1995)
Paul says the PROBLEM is that some don’t practice the kind of tolerance he taught in the first verses. Verse 10 begins: “BUT YOU …” because some were not content with that. They were judging their brothers & sisters on these minor things. He says, “Why do you judge your brother?” “Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt?” He’s indicating TWO different kinds of people here;
— Some were “judging”: condemning those who didn’t practice what they did: “You’re breaking the Sabbath!” or “You’re not fasting!” They might call the others “sinners,” or “liberals”!
— But on the other hand, others were holding the ones who were judging them with “contempt”: “They think I’m sinning because I’m not fasting, but THEY’RE the wrong ones! I’m actually ‘more spiritual’ than they are, because I know that ‘every day is holy to the Lord; they just don’t understand.” They might call the others “Pharisees” or “legalists.” But that too is a form of judging.
BOTH these attitudes are misplaced: judging others on secondary issues is wrong; and also thinking that you’re “more spiritual” than the “legalistic” judging members is also wrong. Paul corrects both of these at the end of :10: “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.”
The Greek word for “judgment seat” is “bema.” It literally means “a raised platform” that a judge or ruler would sit upon to judge. Of course, our Judge is no mere Caesar or governor, but Christ Himself, as II Corinthians 5:10 proclaims: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” This is not “the Judgment” in the sense of whether we are going to heaven or hell, but the judgment of Christians in regards to our works as believers.
But the key teaching here is that Christ will do this; HE is the Judge, not us! People are not accountable to the judgment seat of Shawn, or Tom, or Nancy. They will stand before the judgment seat of GOD; of Christ. HE will judge people’s actions and attitudes on these things, not us.
ILLUSTRATION:
John Barletta was a Secret Service agent assigned to President Reagan. On a trip with Reagan to the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Barletta said the CIA told everyone who was traveling with the President: “Act as if you’re being tape recorded no matter where you go, because most of the time you are.” (John Barletta, Riding With Reagan, p. 144)
The Bible tells us that we aren’t being recorded “most of the time,” but ALL the time! God sees and hears everything we do — and not only that, He sees into our very hearts, our motives, our attitudes. So HE and only HE is able to be our Judge.
??? DISCUSSION QUESTION???
“What are some reasons why we shouldn’t judge other believers?”
(— We don’t know all the facts; what we see and hear is very limited.
— We don’t know people’s circumstances
— We don’t know a person’s heart or mind; what is going on inside of them.
— The fact is, we may not even be right in some of our own opinions/beliefs! We aren’t God! A little humility is called for on our part.
God said in Jeremiah 17:10 “I the Lord search the heart; I test the mind.” The Hebrew word for “search” means to penetrate into the depths, like a mine into a mountain. God knows the very inner thoughts, motives — and we don’t! The heart matters most to God, and that is exactly what we CAN’T see! So we have to be very careful about judging, when we don’t have some of the most important information about the situation: the person’s heart!
There are SO many things we don’t know. We just aren’t qualified to be judges of other’s opinions and convictions. We need to leave that to God.
NOW there is a balance to be kept here. REMEMBER THE CONTEXT here in Romans 14: Paul’s been saying, don’t judge someone on minor issues of conscience where good Christians may differ. He’s NOT saying never judge anyone on anything! And that’s exactly the attitude so many people have today: “Don’t judge me; you can’t judge me!” — no matter what crazy thing they may believe or what immoral thing they may do. (This attitude is so prevalent today I like to say that Matthew 7:1 is “America’s Verse” — it’s just about the only verse many Americans know or quote: “Judge not!” They think that verse means that nobody can tell them anything they’re doing is wrong, no matter what it is.) But this is a totally erroneous application of “judging.”
+x Remember in I Corinthians 5, Paul rebuked the church at Corinth, because they tolerated a man who was living immorally with his father’s wife. He told them in :3, “I have already judged him who has so committed this.” PAUL JUDGED this couple’s immorality! And he expected the Corinthian church to do it too. He rebuked them for NOT doing so! He said in :12, “Do you not judge those who are within the church?” and he added in :13, “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves”! He said, you need to judge this man, and exercise church discipline and cast him out of the church.
The point is, WE CAN AND SHOULD JUDGE on clear-cut, moral and doctrinal issues. If someone is teaching Biblical heresy, we should judge that teaching as wrong and correct it. If someone is committing a clear-cut sexual sin, we should judge that and rebuke it, and if they don’t stop, exercise appropriate church discipline like Paul did in Corinth. So don’t take these verses in Romans 14 to mean that we’re never to judge anybody for anything. That’s NOT what it’s teaching here. It’s saying don’t judge each other on minor matters of personal conviction. It’s NOT saying don’t judge clear-cut moral issues and essential doctrines. We’re actually wrong if we DON’T judge on those things!
III. Prevailing Love (:13-20)
:13 “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. 14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 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 he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 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 man who eats and gives offense.” (NASB 1995)
“Therefore” he says in :13 — because of all that we’ve covered so far in :4-12 — “Therefore …” here’s how we should act:
— “let us not judge each other anymore” (what he’s been talking about)
— AND, he says, “not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way”
What is this referring to? A “stumbling block” is a picture of someone who is walking, but trips or stumbles over something that makes them fall.
??? DISCUSSION QUESTION???
“Anybody trip over anything recently — or almost trip?”
(I have a blanket that I keep in my office that I sometime wrap up in while I’m reading my Bible or praying. When I got up from the desk the other day, my foot caught in it, and I almost fell! That blanket made me “stumble”!)
Of course Paul’s not talking about physically “tripping;” he’s referring to someone getting “tripped up” spiritually. He says don’t put a stumbling block in a brother’s way. Don’t say or do anything that might cause someone who is walking with the Lord, to stop, or otherwise hurt their faith.
— Jesus mentioned this in Matthew 18:6, when He said it’s better to have a millstone hung around your neck and be thrown into the sea, than to cause one of these little ones to “stumble.”
He was saying, don’t say or do anything that might keep one of these children from following Him.
In the same way Paul says here, don’t put a “stumbling block,” or an “obstacle” in someone’s way, that will hurt their faith. And remember, he’s writing here in the context of judging each other on these minor issues. He’s saying, don’t judge people, or flaunt what you consider your Christian freedom, and hurt someone’s faith, because of your conviction or preference on some minor issue of faith or practice:
— Don’t go up to a new believer and chew them out for eating out on Sunday. They’re new in the faith; don’t burden them with your own personal convictions and make them stumble.
— Don’t tell some young, growing Christian that they aren’t “really” spiritual because they don’t fast when you, or they don’t have the same belief on the end times as you do, or because they’re not a Calvinist, or because they don’t have the same daily devotional format that you do.
You can probably think of a lot of examples of these kinds of things. Don’t load these people up with your own personal convictions and preferences.
In Acts 15, some Jewish Christians were complaining that the new Gentiles who were being saved needed to keep the Old Testament Law and be circumcised. But Peter and the apostles said in :10, “Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?” And they did NOT require them to do that. But that’s an example of how we need to be careful not to “load up” especially new/young believers with the baggage of all of our own personal convictions. Give them the basics, and help them to grow. God will grow them, and give them their own convictions as they do.
SO he says don’t judge/condemn them about these things. Significantly, he says in :15 “For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love.” LOVING your brothers and sisters in Christ is far more important than any of these minor issues on which we may disagree.
Remember we just saw in Romans 13 where Paul had said, “Love does no wrong to a neighbor,” and that we’d fulfill all of the commandments towards each other, if we would just love one another. So now he says here in Romans 14:5, if you’re judging each other, or putting stumbling blocks in front of each other, YOU ARE NOT ACTING ACCORDING TO THAT LAW OF LOVE! It is the rule of love that we are to live by as Christians. We should constantly be asking ourselves: “Am I acting in love?” “What would be the loving thing to do?”
This phrase from :15 is a big one:, “him for whom Christ died.” That outlook is crucial for our attitude. Think of other church members as “him/her for whom Christ died.” If we would really do that, it would totally change our attitude towards them.
ILLUSTRATION:
I remember a missionary testimony by a woman who went with her small children to a foreign country. She tried to build into her kids this attitude, that we should love these people because they are the people for whom Christ died. But you know how hard things get, in the “nitty gritty daily grind.” Things wear on you. The people they were trying to minister to would show up at their house at all hours, usually unannounced. One evening here they were again, knocking at the door, and the mom had just about lost her patience with them. She was headed to the door to really “let them have it,” when one of her kids called out: “Who is it, Mommy, is it the people for whom Christ died?” That stopped her in her tracks. That is exactly who they were, and that thought set her heart back right again. These were the people for whom Christ died. And she treated them with love.
That’s what God is calling us to do here. Too often we see people as somebody to argue with, or to impose our opinions on, or to judge — but Romans 14 says, consider them as the brother or sister for whom Christ died. Think about it: if Jesus loved this person enough to die for them, shouldn’t we love them too? If we’ll treat them as those Christ loves, and seek to love them ourselves, it will totally change our attitude towards them. We’ll be “patient” with them, “kind” towards them, and all the other qualities of I Corinthians 13.
Verse 17 here is a great one: “The Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” God’s kingdom is not about fasting; or whether you eat certain kinds of meat or special diets — or all kinds of other things that we sometimes make it. God’s Kingdom is about the righteousness that Christ gives us through His death on the cross; and the joy and peace we get as we walk with Him. Focus on those “big” things of the Kingdom. If you have a personal conviction regarding some minor issue, that’s great; you live that way. But don’t try to force other people to conform to the “mold” of your personal convictions.
Remember: God has not called us to impose our version of Christianity on everyone else in the church — especially when it does not involve central doctrines or clear-cut moral practice. What He IS calling you do, is to LOVE THEM. Let’s ask God to help us to walk in an attitude of love for all our brothers and sisters in the church, “for whom Christ died.”
There’s a lot more that we could say here — it’s hard when you could preach an entire sermon on each verse, and the focus passage is 15-20 verses! But I’d focus on the main points in this passage, which are:
— Believers in the church will have differing convictions on a number of lesser issues.
— But we are not to judge each other on those; only GOD is the Judge.
— The most important responsibility He’s given us towards each other in the church is to LOVE one other.
Each of should pray and ask: Is there something I’ve been making too much of in our church; being too hard on some people, and it does not involve a major moral or doctrinal issue? If so, ask God to help you just focus on loving the people instead. If you’ll do that, you’ll not only please God, you’ll also have a wonderful church!
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