Romans 14:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

NIV: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

NASB: for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

CSB: for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

NLT: For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

KJV: For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

NKJV: for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

It's not worth it.

That, in brief, is what Paul wrote in the previous verse to Christians of strong faith who were tempted to flaunt their freedom in Christ in front of others. This refers to those who boldly eat meat, drink wine, or choose not to observe the Sabbath in the presence of those of weaker faith who feel convictions about those issues. Such "weak in faith" (Romans 14:1–2) believers could be harmed by their example. By tempting them to violate their conscience, such actions become a "stumbling block" to brothers and sisters in Christ (Romans 14:13–15).

Paul reminds the Christian believer that they didn't come to faith in Christ just to eat meat and drink wine. Those freedoms from the restrictions of the law are real and meaningful, but they are not the point of the kingdom of God. There are other benefits: we receive God's declaration that we are righteous in His eyes because of our faith in Christ. We experience both peace and joy because of God's Holy Spirit with us. In other words, our place with God is secure, and that brings real emotional stability and confidence.

Compared to those benefits, the freedom to eat meat and drink wine on this side of eternity are clearly not worth what they might cost those of weaker faith. Exercising those freedoms in a callous way isn't justified compared to the risk of causing a weaker believer to violate his conscience.

Paul is asking a challenging question to those who insist on unfettered expression of their Christian liberty: Why did you come to Christ in the first place? For the food and drink or for the real benefits of participating in the kingdom?

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.

Paul turns from the black-and-white instructions about light and darkness in Romans 13 to the issue of disputable matters with the potential to divide the church. Paul instructs those who feel free to participate in activities formally forbidden under the law not to flaunt their freedom in front of those who, by conscience, still believe those actions to be wrong. Those strong-faith Christians should be willing to set aside their freedom to keep from leading their weaker brothers and sisters into sin by violating their convictions. Paul addresses this topic with additional comments in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.