Wednesday Night Bible Study Romans 14:1-12
Romans: “The just shall live by faith”
Liberty and Love
Read: Romans 14:13-23
Scripture and Key References:
“Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.”
~ Romans 14:20
Leviticus 19:14 Galatians 5:13-15 1 Cor. 8-10 Ezekiel 3:20 1 Thessalonians 2:4 Ephesians 4:12-16
Introduction:
When we started Romans 14 we observed that some Christians in Rome were breaking fellowship and passing judgement about another’s salvation based on those things that are less clear in Scripture. The word “therefore” at the beginning of today’s opening verse (vs. 13) signals that Paul has arrived at a concluding point. Here is at least his partial summary, …”let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.” Paul’s argument up to this point has been help those in Rome - stop passing judgment on brothers and sisters about things which God’s will is unclear. And today in our text He will argue that the best way to “stop judging” is to actively remove “stumbling blocks.” As we will see this is all about using our “liberty” for the sake of “love.”
Discussion and Review Questions:
1. As we pick up in verse 13, to whom is Paul talking? Does He narrow His focus at all in verses 14 and 15? To whom is he speaking?
2. Do you consider yourself a “stronger” believer over a “disputable matter”? What will be your priority: living out your liberty or giving it up to serve another believer?
3. In verse 15 he mentions “acting in love”. What does this assume believers should be doing? How will you come to understand where others are in their understanding of the faith?
4. How should we distinguish between a “stumbling block” and a petty grievance? What do we find in the text to help us?
5. What key principle does Paul give us in verse 19? What thoughts should guide us as we seek to remove “stumbling blocks”.