Romans 14:1-9

1Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2One person's faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the LORD is able to make them stand. 5One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6Whoever regards one day as special does so to the LORD. Whoever eats meat does so to the LORD, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the LORD and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8If we live, we live for the LORD; and if we die, we die for the LORD. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the LORD. 9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the LORD of both the dead and the living.

Listening guide

Last week: When connected Christians pay attention to his Word (watch his Word), we stay safe. 

John Koehler 

What goes with watching?  

14:2 “One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.” 

Watching well cannot keep us from ______________ ___________________ the gospel to our lives. 

14:3 “The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not [eat everything].” 

14:1 “Accept the weak” 

Shantung Compound  

“There was a quality seemingly unique to the missionary group, namely, naturally and without pretense to respond to a need which everyone else recognized only to turn aside. … If there were any evidences of the grace of God observable on the surface of our camp existence, they were to be found here.” (Langdon Gilkey, Shantung Compound, pg 192) 

People with the gospel don’t just ___________ the weak, they ____________ the weak. 

14:8-9 “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.” 

Watchfulness only works with _____________________. 

Discussion questions