Christian Formation
September 13, 2026
Romans 14:1-12
Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.The 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. Who 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.
One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever 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.
For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 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. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
INTRODUCTION
From the earliest days of the Christian church, congregations have had teachers who were responsible for helping people understand the Gospel and how to live as Christians. There was even a special word katekchumenos or catechumen for those who were being taught how to be a Christian. Most of the catechumens in the early Christian church were adults who were converting from traditional pagan religion to Christianity. Catechumens were not just learning doctrine; they were learning a new way of understanding the world and a new way of living. They were engaged in a process of Christian formation.
ACCEPTING THE WEAK
Let’s unpack this passage and see how it relates to our lives today. Right off the bat, Paul tells the Christians in Rome that they should welcome those who are weak in faith. The Greek word for welcome here also means accept. To welcome someone was to accept them and include in the congregation.
Congregations in Paul’s day were small, and worship was in private homes. When Paul says that you should welcome people, he wasn’t talking about having “greeters” at the door like we do here at Home. People did not just wander in off the street. Someone had to invite them and introduce them to the congregation. They had to be taught about the gospel and learn how to worship Christ.
What is most interesting in this passage is that Paul tells the Christians in Rome to welcome those who are weak in faith. Too often we act like we expect everyone who comes to church or joins a church or who grows up in a church is strong in faith rather than appreciating the fact that many people, perhaps most people, are grappling with faith and seeking to believe. I’ve talked to many people who said that they saw a sign in front of church saying, “All are welcome.” Or “Come as you are” And when they entered the church they could tell that they were not welcome. They felt more excluded in the church than they did outside the church.
Paul tells us to welcome those who are weak in faith. Welcome those who have doubts and questions. Welcome those who are still learning what it means to follow Christ. The Christian Formation program here at Home Church is based on the premise that each of us is on a faith journey; each of us is still learning and growing; each of us have questions. All are welcome, included, and accepted, including those who are weak in faith.
WITHOUT QUARRELLING
Notice that Paul warns against quarrelling over disputable matters. Several times in my life, I’ve met people who thought that the best way to share their faith with me was by telling me in detail all the ways I and my church were wrong. Often, they tell me that I don’t understand the Bible correctly or my baptism wasn’t valid and that I’m not on the highway to heaven. Rather than being welcomed, I felt attacked and excluded. I felt like I should defend myself and my theology.
Paul says that the church is not a place for quarrels. He does not reject honest theological questions or the search for greater understanding in the church. He is not condemning honest disagreements, but he is condemning the common practice of persistent argument over opinions that cannot be proven right or wrong. There’s a line in a musical about PT Barnum in which a married couple sings about “one simple fuss to dissect and discuss for the next one hundred years.” That describes a lot of conflicts in the church as well as marriages. What’s the point?
Many things we argue about are just opinions and there is no right answer. Why fight about them? Paul was teaching the Roman Christians that they shouldn’t let disagreements turn into toxic arguments. Those who are strong in faith should accept those who are weak in faith. But there is a twist in this passage, Paul doesn’t identify who is strong in faith and who is weak in faith. He is aware that sometimes it is people who are weak in faith who are the most judgmental and exclusive. Paul asks why do you judge your brother or sister or treat them with contempt? Even if you disagree with them, it is important to treat them with love and respect.
Paul is clear. We should accept those who are weak in faith without fighting over opinions and disputable matters. Quarrels and showing contempt are far more destructive to the church than differences of opinion of practice. Paul is telling us that we should tolerate differences of opinions in matters of faith.
FOOD
One of the most polarizing issues among Christians is Paul’s day was food. Some Christians who had been raised as Jews continued to observe Kosher dietary laws. Other Christians believed that those laws had been superseded, and all food is acceptable for Christians. Some Christians refused to eat meat, especially meat purchased in the marketplace that came from pagan sacrifices.
Christians who were vegetarians they looked down on their spiritual siblings who were not strong enough to give up mutton. But other Christians believed that there are no other gods besides the Triune God, so it didn’t matter if they ate meat that came from a pagan sacrifice to a fictious god. The meat-eaters accused the vegetarians of being weak in faith because they would not eat meat.
I think Paul would be surprised and sad to learn that food is still a polarizing issue. In Texas the word “vegan” has become an insult and people running for office feel the need to publicly eat BBQ to prove their manliness. There are other people who argue that eating meat is immoral. Paul does not enter in the debate or try to resolve the issue. He was probably one of the meat-eaters, but he doesn’t insist that the Roman Christians eat as he ate.
Rather, he urged vegetarians and non-vegetarians to treat each other with kindness and respect. Those who eat meat should give thanks to God for their food, and those who abstain from meat should give thanks to God for their food. They can be siblings in the spirit even though they disagreed profoundly on an important issue. Paul was telling us that we should be cautious in condemning the sincere religious beliefs and practices of others. If my brother or sister keeps Kosher, I should not ridicule them or force my ways on them.
SACRED DAYS
Meat wasn’t the only polarizing issue in the early Church. Some people had strong opinions about whether certain days were more holy than other days. It is fascinating that Paul didn’t write to the Romans to resolve this issue by identifying which days are sacred. We can assume that the issue was whether Christians should observe the sacred days of Judaism, like Yom Kippur and Passover. But it is possible that the argument in Roman was about the Sabbath Day. Should Christians refuse to work on Saturday because the sabbath is holy?
The Jewish sabbath was a serious problem for the Roman Empire because all workers were expected to work every day, but Jews throughout the empire refused. After years of sometimes violent conflict, emperors granted Jews permission to rest on the Sabbath day. But that did not apply to Gentile Christians. Those who were wealthy Christians who could afford take a day of rest on the Sabbath, but most people were forced to work. Paul is addressing whether it was okay for wealthy Christians to criticize poor Christians who had to work on the Sabbath? His answer was simple. No.
On the other hand, there were Christians who claimed that every day is holy. They argued that it was wrong to set aside one day as a day of worship and study. Christians should treat every day as sacred. Every day is a Sabbath because you should refrain from sin. Every day is a day of worship because you can pray while you work.
The question of holy days continued long after Paul’s time. One of the things that divided Protestants and Catholics during the Reformation was the question of whether some days are fast days and others are feast days. Some churches observe Lent; others do not. Some denominations insist that Sunday is a Sabbath day, and forbid people to work on Sundays. Count Zinzendorf got arrested in New York for violating Sabbath laws by writing a hymn on Sunday. Seventh-day Adventists insist that Saturday should be the day of worship. And the list goes on.
Once again, Paul refuses to solve this problem. He tells the Romans that the real issue is not whether one day is more sacred than another; the issue is how they treat each other when they disagree. If some people dedicate one day a week to the Lord while others hold every day as sacred, it’s okay. Paul tells us that we can and should tolerate differences if we are sincere in our faith. We Moravians often call these “non-essentials.”
WHETHER WE LIVE OR DIE
This brings us to Paul’s most important point. “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.” Our Moravian liturgy for funerals includes this verse, and I think it is a profoundly meaningful statement in times of grief. But it has a deeper meaning when read it in the context of Romans 14.
Paul was not offering solace in grief; he was trying to eliminate pointless conflict in the church. He was teaching us that we belong to the Lord every day of our life and even in death. Our faith is not demonstrated by zealous observation of religious rituals, fasts or feasts. Our faith is demonstrated by our devotion to Christ and being kind to each other. Toleration is a Christian virtue. As we grow in our faith, we can become more gracious of others, more tolerant of diversity, and more inclusive of those who are different from us. Amen.
