How Should You Deal With “Weaker” Christians?
How do you handle “weaker Christians”? In Romans 14, Paul answers this question. Here, Paul encourages believers to avoid judging one another over personal convictions, especially in matters of diet and observance of special days.
Romans 13-14
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
How do you handle “weaker Christians”?
In Romans 14, Paul answers this question. Here, Paul encourages believers to avoid judging one another over personal convictions, especially in matters of diet and observance of special days. Paul teaches that each person should follow their conscience in these non-essential issues, as we all answer to God, not each other. Romans 14:1-2 says, 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.
A few points to note. First, as Douglas Moo writes, “The person described in this context whose faith is weak (1-2) is not necessarily one who is immature or lacking in faith in Christ in an absolute sense. Rather he is one who does not believe that his Christian faith allows him to engage in some specific practice; one who is excessively scrupulous, or ‘delicate.”[1]
In this context, “weak in faith” refers not to “weak in belief” but to those with stricter convictions about what their faith permits them to do. Paul urges stronger believers not just to tolerate them but to fully welcome them into fellowship, ensuring that differences over disputable matters don’t disrupt unity in the body of Christ.
In verse 3, Paul goes on to say, “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.” For context, some believers, particularly those with a weaker conscience, felt that eating certain foods (possibly meat sacrificed to idols or food prohibited under Jewish law) was wrong, while others had no such concerns.
