Rom 14:20-23 | TNotes | STEP | 14:20 The work of God refers both to the spiritual life of other Christians (14:15 ) and to the Christian community itself (14:19 ). The strong, with their dogged insistence on doing whatever they want, create division and disrupt God’s intention to build a healthy and united community of believers.

eDan 1:3-16►

‏ Romans 14:20-23

14:20 ^a The work of God refers both to the spiritual life of other Christians (14:15 ^b) and to the Christian community itself (14:19 ^c). The strong, with their dogged insistence on doing whatever they want, create division and disrupt God’s intention to build a healthy and united community of believers.
14:21 ^d or drink wine: Jews sometimes abstained from wine to avoid the appearance of ritual contamination, since wine was used in pagan religious celebrations (see Dan 1:3-16 ^e).
14:22 ^f keep it between yourself and God: Paul did not contest the freedom of the strong believers, but he instructed them to limit the expression of their freedom out of love for fellow believers so that the whole Christian community could be built up.

• Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty: Guilt could come from harming the faith of the weak believers. Christian freedom is only worthwhile when it can be lived out without bringing such guilt.
14:23 ^g If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning: God’s word defines sin for us, yet sin also involves violating our conscience. The weak Christians in Rome did not yet believe in their own hearts that they could eat meat, drink wine, or ignore Jewish holy days; their consciences were still weak. They should not violate their consciences on these matters. Nor should the strong, by the power of their example or by their scorn, force weak Christians to do so.