Romans
Chapter
14
{Doctrine
of Flexibility}
1~~Now
accept/'take to oneself as a companion/friend' {proslambano - an order}
that
one who is weak {astheneo}
{because of being deficient}
in
the sphere of doctrine
but
not for the purpose
of
getting into quarrels {diakrisis}
about
opinions {dialogismos}.
{Note:
Pistis is the Greek word related to faith/trust/reliability. It has
three meaning:
1)
Non-meritorious perception - faith/confidence.
2)
As an attribute - faithfulness, reliability
3)
Passive - 'that which is believed' - see Hebrews 11 - doctrine -
that is the use here.}
{Note: Ouk is the negative denies the fact. Me is the negative that denies the idea.}
{Note: The 'weak because of a deficiency of doctrine resident in his soul'. He is 'flexible about the essentials' but is dogmatic about the nonessentials! Exactly opposite of what he should be doing. Still, the strong believer is commanded to take them in but not for the purpose of 'straightening them out'.}
2~~On
the one hand {men},
the
one category {believer with doctrine in his soul - mature}
believes/'is
convinced' {pisteuo}
that
he may eat/consume all things
{esthio - means to consume food and/or beverages
mature believer KNOWS that there are no diet restrictions in
the Church Age spiritual way of life}.
On
the other hand {de},
that
one, because of weakness {astheneo}
{the weak believer with no doctrine who lives by his background}
eats
only vegetables {lachanon - 'what is dug out of a garden'}
{includes any 'depravation' believing he is doing it to please God -
legalism}.
{Note: See I Corinthians 8:4-8 to see more on this problem in the ancient world that is being addressed here. This is an example of a problem in the spiritual life - bullying less mature believers - doctrine of the long proboscis, judging, and the privacy of the priesthood. Today's example would be a 'Christian Crusader' who is against smoking, or drinking, or abortion, etc. YOU make your decisions for you, but leave others alone so they are free to take in doctrine!}
{Note: When Paul gets excited, he reverts to classical Greek and that is what we have here. In Classical Greek, 'men' (followed later by 'de') should be translated 'on the one hand'; and the 'de' should be translated 'on the other hand'.}
3~~He
who eats {strong believer who eats everything}
let
him stop regarding with contempt
that
one {weak believer} who does not eat
{Principal of judging - do not judge others - they will learn doctrine
and hopefully understand when they grow spiritually}.
Furthermore,
he who does not eat
{referring to the weak believer mistakenly imposing religious taboos
on others}
stop
judging that one {the mature believer}
who
keeps on eating everything.
For
{explanation}
the
God has 'accepted him'/
'admitted
him {mature believer} into His friendship' {proslambano}.
{Note: Not all believers are 'friends of God'. Only those with His divine viewpoint in their souls are called friends of God. First, the mature believer engages in arrogance and hinders the spiritual growth of the immature believer by his contempt of him. Then the immature believer judges the mature one (who in this case is accurate) - and judging is usually wrong.}
4~~You
there {believers},
who
are you (?) . . .
the
one who keeps judging a 'house slave' {oiketes}
belonging
to another?
To
his own lord/Lord {in this case - Jesus Christ}
he
'stands firm' {steko}
{is a military word meaning to stand firm or to advance steadily
here means to advance in the intake of doctrine}
or
becomes a casualty/'falls {pipto}
{means to fall back from the intake of the Word and therefore
to fall back from spiritual growth}.
In
fact, he will 'hold his ground'/'stand firm' {histemi}.
For
the Lord has the power {dunatos}
to
make/cause him to 'stand firm' {histemi}.
{Note: In the time the bible was written, one of the greatest social mistakes was to criticize the domestic servant of a household. If you had a problem with a slave, you took your complaint to the lord of the slave. And, that is the analogy here - do NOT talk to the slave, but to the Lord! It is between the Lord and His servant!}
5~~For,
on the one hand {men}, this one
{weak believer who is legalistic this time about holy days}
considers/judges
{krino}
one
day greater than another day
{those who continue to 'honor the Sabbath' or recognize holy
days}.
On
the other hand {de},
that
one {the mature/strong believer}
considers/judges
{krino}
everyday
alike . . . as from the Lord
{in the Church Age, we are under a HIGHER standard - live
everyday as unto the Lord - daily intake of Doctrine}.
Let
each one
{all types of believers under the privacy of the priesthood}
be
fully convinced {plerophoreo} in his own mind
{from doctrine resident in his own soul
- hence indirectly, the command to learn doctrine}.
6~~He
who observes the day
{the mature believer regarding everyday alike}
observes
it to the Lord.
He
who eats {meaning eats meat - the mature believer} . . .
eats
to the Lord . . .
for
he gives thanks to the God.
In
fact, he who does not eat
{the weak in doctrine believer who thinks we should
follow religious taboos such as do not eat meat
or drink wine to please God},
with
reference to the Lord
he
does not eat
{in his mainly human viewpoint norms and standards
he does not eat, because it is his understanding this is God's will},
and
he gives thanks to the God.
7~~For
not one of us {Royal Family in Phase II - in time}
lives
for himself
-
to his advantage or disadvantage -
and
not one of us dies for himself
-
to his advantage or disadvantage.
{Note: There are 4 cases here. With doctrine in your soul, living is to your advantage and the advantage of those in your periphery. Without doctrine, life is a disadvantage to you and those around you. Next, with doctrine in your soul, your death will be fantastic and the dying will be advantageous - not to mention eternity future. But without doctrine, the believer will face a horrible death - but will have no regrets in eternity future (though probably no rewards either). Rapture generation is not in 'death' view here.}
8~~For
'just as when' we live {ean te zao}
-
maybe we will, maybe will not -
we
live to the Lord.
So
also when we die {ean te apothnesko}
-
maybe we will, maybe we will not -
we
die to the Lord.
So
{in conclusion}
not
only if we live {ean te zao}
-
maybe we will, maybe we will not -
but
also if we die {ean te apothnesko}
-
maybe we will, maybe we will not . . .
we
are/'keep on being' the Lord's
{eternal security - once His, always His}.
{Note: Ean followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood is the 3rd class condition of if - maybe you will, maybe you will not. Ean followed by 'te' modifies the 'if concept' a bit but is basically the maybe yes, maybe no concept.}
{Note: To live to the Lord, means to take in His Word and apply it to life's experiences. The subjunctive in the 'if we die' brings in the rapture generation who will not experience physical death.}
9~~'You
know'/'You see' {eis touto - idiom to grab attention},
for
this reason/purpose
Christ
died . . . and lived,
in
order that He might be Lord {hina kurieuo}
over
both dead and living.
{Note: The KJV has 'He arose', but it is not the most reliable original manuscripts. Next we also have 'hina' followed by the subjunctive mood, but that is also an idiom. There is no 'potential' in this - it is all reality - He IS Lord over all believers.}
{RBT
Says This is A GREAT VERSE - Application from Above -
the Occupational Hazard of the Weak then More Mature Believer}
10~~But
you {weak believer} . . .
why
do you judge your brother
{the one eating meat offered to idols or not treating the holy days
as 'special'}?
Or
you also {strong believer},
why
do you 'regard with contempt'/despise your brother
{the 'weak in doctrine believer' erroneously mixed up with regard to
religious Taboos}?
For
all believers will be present
at
the Judgment throne/seat {bema}
of
the God {Jesus Christ in view here}.
{Reference
to the Rapture of the Church and the Great Genuflect in the Sky}
11~~For
it stands written {Isaiah 45:23; 49:18},
I
{Jesus Christ} keep on living {always has, always will},
and
by Myself . . . I have sworn,
"every
knee shall genuflect/bend
{kampto - a reverent bow of respect}
to
Me {see also Philippians 2:10-11},
and
every tongue shall admit/confess to the God {God the Father}."
{Note: Solemn oaths are taken 'on great People or things' - example: "I swear in the name of God". For God there is nothing or anyone HIGHER then He is, so He swears 'by Himself' when He makes a firm promise of a future event.}
{Note: What is confessed or admitted is that Jesus Christ is Lord of Lords and King of Kings. He has won the angelic conflict. He is in His resurrection body and deserves a Royal Family. WE are His Royal Family. And, we will also have resurrection bodies similar to His. This is His victory and His glory. WE do not earn the resurrection bodies or deserve them. He did the 'work' for us on the cross. All we do is the one non-meritorious act of belief in Him and everlasting life in a resurrection body is our gift from God.}
{After
Great Genuflect in the Sky at Rapture of the Church - Bema/Judgment
Seat of Christ}
12~~So
therefore
{solemn - no way to laugh this off - it is serious},
each
one of us {Royal Family of God}
shall
give an account {logos} to God {to the Living Logos}
concerning
himself.
{Note: You stand alone before the Lord and give an account of yourself. There are no more 'second chances'. Did you live your life every day to the Lord or not? A resurrection body has been obtained, now you will see if the King of Kings will share the plunder of His victory with you (see Isaiah 53:12).}
{Verses
13-17: Honor Code of the Royal Family - Practical and Enlightening Paragraph}
13~~Therefore,
let us absolutely no longer judge
each
other {allelon}.
But
rather, prefer/determine this,
not
to place an obstacle or a distraction
in
front of his brother {weak believer}.
{Note: The syntax of the Greek says this is not quite a command. It recognizes that your volition is involved. Paul can not do this for us, we must be motivated to stop doing this ourselves.}
14~~I
{Paul} know
and
have 'received confidence'/'been persuaded' {peitho}
in/by
the Lord Jesus, that . . .
{there
is} nothing unclean {koinos - the food in this context} . . .
by
means of itself . . .
except
to that one {weak believer}
who
presumes {logizomai} something {certain foods} to be unclean.
To
that one {weak believer} . . . {it is} unclean
{because he thinks incorrectly that God prohibits us from eating
those things}.
{Note: Koinos means to be unclean in the sense of 'spiritually unclean' as under the Levitical standards.}
15~~For,
if because of food,
your
brother {weak believer} is distressed
{and therefore distracted from the intake of the Word}
-
and he is {1st class condition} -
you
no longer Walk according to love {agape}
{impersonal love of the honor code} . . .
because
of that food {meat}.
Stop
destroying {apollumi} him {weak believer},
in
behalf of whom Christ died
{Christ died for all - that includes the babies and reversionistic
believers}.
16~~Let
not 'the good of intrinsic value attained by you'/
'your
absolute good' {agathos}
{maturity adjustment to the justice of God}
be
slandered {blasphemeo}.
17~~For
{gar} the kingdom of God
{Royal Family of God as aristocracy}
is
not eating and drinking . . .
but
righteousness {dikaiosune}
{imputed righteousness of God to believers at salvation},
and
{the resultant} prosperity/'inner peace' {eirene}
{the blessings coming from divine viewpoint in your soul that is
imputed at maturity},
and
{the resultant} happiness {chara} . . .
by
means of the Holy Spirit {hagios pneuma}.
{Note: In the written Greek, there was no punctuation or punctuation marks. Gar was one of the words used to indicate the beginning of a new sentence with continuing thought.}
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