“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. 3 One who eats must not look down on one who does not eat, and one who does not eat must not judge one who does, because God has accepted him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s household servant? Before his own Lord he stands or falls. And he will stand, because the Lord is able to make him stand.”
In verse 1, Paul told us that we are to welcome all who are weak in faith. Verse 3 takes this further, instructing both the strong and the weak to withhold judgment about each other’s conscience convictions. Jesus tells a parable with a warning about passing judgment on other believers in this way.
“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people — greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”” — Luke 18:9-14
Jesus warns us not to be too quick to cast judgment on another believer, on account of the fact that they might just be more righteous than us! Rather, we are called to humbly welcome and serve them.
What is the basis of our withholding of judgment? “…because God has accepted them.” (v. 3b) How can we pass judgment on one whom Christ has saved from sin and declared righteous by His life, death, and resurrection? Continuing this thought, Paul says, “Who are you to judge another’s household servant? Before his own Lord he stands or falls.” (v. 4a) Each one of us is responsible to the Lord for how we obey and serve Him. As long as the other believer is not in sin and God’s law is not being transgressed, Christians should be careful about telling other believers how they should serve God. A Christian who is living in obedience can honor and glorify God in a whole variety of ways. In fact, Paul says later in the chapter that for the weaker Christian to violate his conscience is to sin against God!
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters. Anyone who defames or judges a fellow believer defames and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” — James 4:10-12
It’s worthwhile here to stress the point that both Paul and James are not commanding that Christians should reserve judgment in every case. If a brother or sister in Christ is living in sin, or in doctrinal error, we need to correct them. It would be unloving for us not to judge them in these cases. To love anyone truly is to teach them the truth about God and His Word.
“And he will stand, because the Lord is able to make him stand.” (v. 4b) We would not have any standing before God to begin with if it were not for the fact that Jesus came to Earth, lived, died, rose, and ascended to save sinners and offer eternal life for all who repent, confess, and believe in Him. We would have no standing before God if it were not for the fact that the Holy Spirit, in each and every Christian, changed a hardened, hateful heart into a heart of flesh, capable of repentance, reflecting glory, and bringing honor to God’s name. As Christians, we will stand before the Lord, because of what Christ has accomplished for us, and because of what the Holy Spirit has accomplished in us. That is something every Christian has in common.
Great lesson this morning Tyler. And a great reminder of how we need to be very careful in how we even think about fellow believers. None of us have the right to tell other believers how they should be serving the Lord.