1 And him who is weak in the faith receive ye -- not to determinations of reasonings;
And we ought -- we who are strong -- to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves;
I became to the infirm as infirm, that the infirm I might gain; to all men I have become all things, that by all means I may save some.
but not in all men `is' the knowledge, and certain with conscience of the idol, till now, as a thing sacrificed to an idol do eat `it', and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. But victuals do not commend us to God, for neither if we may eat are we in advance; nor if we may not eat, are we behind; but see, lest this privilege of yours may become a stumbling-block to the infirm, for if any one may see thee that hast knowledge in an idol's temple reclining at meat -- shall not his conscience -- he being infirm -- be emboldened to eat the things sacrificed to idols, and the brother who is infirm shall perish by thy knowledge, because of whom Christ died? and thus sinning in regard to the brethren, and smiting their weak conscience -- in regard to Christ ye sin; wherefore, if victuals cause my brother to stumble, I may eat no flesh -- to the age -- that my brother I may not cause to stumble.
Right `it is' not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to `do anything' in which thy brother doth stumble, or is made to fall, or is weak.
verily, verily, I say to you, he who is receiving whomsoever I may send, doth receive me; and he who is receiving me, doth receive Him who sent me.'
we, then, ought to receive such, that fellow-workers we may become to the truth. I did write to the assembly, but he who is loving the first place among them -- Diotrephes -- doth not receive us; because of this, if I may come, I will cause him to remember his works that he doth, with evil words prating against us; and not content with these, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and those intending he doth forbid, and out of the assembly he doth cast.
receive him, therefore, in the Lord, with all joy, and hold such in honour,
And I, brethren, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual, but as to fleshly -- as to babes in Christ; with milk I fed you, and not with meat, for ye were not yet able, but not even yet are ye now able,
Lo, thou hast instructed many, And feeble hands thou makest strong.
`Beware! -- ye may not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you, that their messengers in the heavens do always behold the face of my Father who is in the heavens,
`And he who may receive one such child in my name, doth receive me, and whoever may cause to stumble one of those little ones who are believing in me, it is better for him that a weighty millstone may be hanged upon his neck, and he may be sunk in the depth of the sea.
And immediately Jesus, having stretched forth the hand, laid hold of him, and saith to him, `Little faith! for what didst thou waver?'
a bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench, till he may put forth judgment to victory,
`He who is receiving you doth receive me, and he who is receiving me doth receive Him who sent me, he who is receiving a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward, and he who is receiving a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man's reward, and whoever may give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say to you, he may not lose his reward.'
For lo, I am raising up a shepherd in the land, The cut off he doth not inspect, The shaken off he doth not seek, And the broken he doth not heal, The standing he doth not sustain, And the flesh of the fat he doth eat, And their hoofs he doth break off.
The lost I seek, and the driven away bring back, And the broken I bind up, and the sick I strengthen, And the fat and the strong I destroy, I feed it with judgment.
A bruised reed he breaketh not, And dim flax he quencheth not, To truth he bringeth forth judgment.
As a shepherd His flock He feedeth, With His arm He gathereth lambs, And in His bosom He carrieth `them': Suckling ones He leadeth.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Romans 14
Commentary on Romans 14 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 14
The apostle having, in the former chapter, directed our conduct one towards another in civil things, and prescribed the sacred laws of justice, peaceableness, and order, to be observed by us as members of the commonwealth, comes in this and part of the following chapter in like manner to direct our demeanour one towards another in sacred things, which pertain more immediately to conscience and religion, and which we observe as members of the church. Particularly, he gives rules how to manage our different apprehensions about indifferent things, in the management of which, it seems, there was something amiss among the Roman Christians, to whom he wrote, which he here labours to redress. But the rules are general, and of standing use in the church, for the preservation of that Christian love which he had so earnestly pressed in the foregoing chapter as the fulfilling of the law. It is certain that nothing is more threatening, nor more often fatal, to Christian societies, than the contentions and divisions of their members. By these wounds the life and soul of religion expire. Now in this chapter we are furnished with the sovereign balm of Gilead; the blessed apostle prescribes like a wise physician. "Why then is not the hurt of the daughter of my people recovered,' but because his directions are not followed? This chapter, rightly understood, made use of, and lived up to, would set things to rights, and heal us all.
Rom 14:1-23
We have in this chapter,