“1 Welcome anyone who is weak in faith, but don’t argue about disputed matters. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while one who is weak eats only vegetables.”
Paul has just concluded an extensive exploration in chapters 12 and 13 of what it means to live the Christian life now that we have been saved through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul had just reached the climax of his letter:
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.” — Romans 13:14
After the climax, Paul moves on to address the division in the local church(es) in Rome to whom he is writing. Remember that the Jewish people had recently returned to living in Rome after a period of being expelled from the land by the Roman Emperor, named Claudius. After Claudius’ edict expired, the Jewish Christians that had been living in Rome returned to their land and to a church that looked much different than how they had left it. They returned to a church that did not observe Jewish tradition like the Jews were accustomed to doing. This undoubtedly created some tension and confusion between Jewish and Gentile believers in the Roman church, thereby prompting Paul to write chapter 14, instructing them, and setting an example for us, on how to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, despite their differences in opinion on observance of the Jewish laws and tradition.
“Welcome anyone who is weak in faith,…” (v. 1a) The word “welcome” is translated as “receive” in the KJV, and as “accept” in both the NIV and HCSB Bible translations. The word “welcome” is to show a great deal of hospitality, specifically taking care of another’s physical needs. In Romans chapter 15, Paul continues to explain how we can welcome those who are weaker in faith, and why it is important that we do so:
“Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not to please ourselves. Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” — Romans 15:1-2
“Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God.” — Romans 15:7
Paul tells us that in the same way Christ welcomed us into His arms when we had absolutely nothing to offer Him, we ought to welcome those who are weak in faith. All Christians were once weak in faith. In fact, before the action of the Holy Spirit working in us, we had no faith at all. We need to have this same level of compassion, love, and hospitality towards others.
In verse 1, Paul instructed us not to argue about disputed matters, and in verse 2 he provides an example of one such instance. Paul uses dietary restrictions as a helpful example for us. There are a couple of contextual possibilities here. The makeup of the Christian church in Rome was a mix of both Jews and Gentiles, each with their own religious backgrounds. It would not be hard to imagine that some of the Gentiles may have come from a background of pagan idol worship. In such worship, food offerings, often of meat, would be brought as a sacrifice to these idols. After the ceremony was performed the priest would sell the leftover meat in a market as a means of funding the pagan temple operation. As new Christians who used to take part in sinful offerings and sacrifices such as these, some Gentiles might have been very sensitive to where their meat was sourced, not wanting to link themselves or others to this type of pagan idol worship. In some cases, they may have even decided to abstain from meat altogether, eating only vegetables. Paul addresses the eating of meat sacrificed to idols directly in his letter to the Corinthian church.
“About eating food sacrificed to idols, then, we know that “an idol is nothing in the world,” and that “there is no God but one.” For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth — as there are many “gods” and many “Lords” — yet for us there is one God, the Father. All things are from him, and we exist for him. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ. All things are through him, and we exist through him.” — 1 Corinthians 8:4-6
From this we can gather that Paul had no problem with eating meat that was previously sacrificed to idols. He’s effectively saying, “They’re not even real gods.” However, Paul explains how those who come from a background of pagan worship might violate their consciences by eating this meat.
“However, not everyone has this knowledge. Some have been so used to idolatry up until now that when they eat food sacrificed to an idol, their conscience, being weak, is defiled.” — 1 Corinthians 8:7
Another consideration is that many Jewish converts would have been accustomed to keeping the Mosaic dietary laws. There were many restrictions that Jews were to follow, including what kind and cut of meat was appropriate, and how to prepare and cook it. (See Deuteronomy 14:3-21, Leviticus 11:1-23, Daniel 1:3-16) Paul could be referring to those Jews who still observed these dietary restrictions, or it is possible that there were some Jews, much like the example found in Daniel 1:3-16, who simply abstained from all meat completely to avoid any possibility of defiling oneself.
Linking verses 1 and 2 together, is Paul calling Christians with conscience objections to eating certain kinds of foods as weak? What about these particular Jewish or Gentile Christians makes them weak? Paul is describing them as weak in their understanding that faith and belief in Jesus sets us free from any kind of traditional or pompous religious ceremony. Certainly, there is no harm in this if the Christian is doing so with the intent of ascribing glory and honor to God. Paul is simply saying that by doing this, they forfeit an amount of Christian liberty they would otherwise have. Paul, both in these verses and in his letter to the Corinthian churches, is instructing his readers, and us, to be welcoming to these weaker Christians. Not only that, but he warns us that we must be careful not to cause them to violate their sincerely held conscience convictions. It is in this way that we can truly love our brothers and sisters, showing them the love of Christ, worshiping with and serving them in unity as one body of believers.