What does Romans 14:18 mean?
In the previous verse, Paul wrote that the point of belonging to the kingdom of God is not the freedom to eat meat and drink wine. The freedom from the restrictions of the law for those in Christ are real and meaningful, but they are far less significant than righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.Now Paul writes that those who serve Christ with a focus on righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit are both acceptable to God and approved by other people. In other words, when those of strong faith insist on exercising their freedom in Christ at the risk of harming the faith of others, the result is that what is good ends up being spoken of as evil or being blasphemed (Romans 14:16). But when the focus on those of strong faith is on serving Christ in what matters, the result is approval by men and doing what is acceptable to God.
Romans 14:13–23 instructs strong-faith Christians who understand that all food and drink is clean for those who are in Christ to be willing to set aside indulging their freedom for the sake of weaker-faith Christians. Those who cannot partake in good conscience—even though they are free in Christ to do so—should not do so. To violate their conviction is sin. It is also wrong for strong-faith Christians to tempt weaker-faith brothers and sisters into sin by insisting on exercising their own right to eat and drink those things.
In Romans 14, Paul tackles the question of how Christians with different convictions about disputable matters should treat each other in the church. Strong-faith Christians who feel free to eat and drink what was formerly forbidden under the law of Moses should not flaunt their freedoms in front of weaker-faith Christians who are not convinced it is right to participate in those things. Neither group should judge the other. Those strong in their faith should rather yield than lead those weaker in faith to violate their conscience, which is a sin.
