Romans: In View of God’s Mercy, Romans 14:1-23

April 28, 2024

Pastor Nate Roschen

Romans 14 begins the longest single discourse in all of the Pauline letters. It is Paul’s final instruction to the Roman church. Here Paul speaks of the weak and the strong. Paul identifies himself among the “strong”, which means that the “strong” are not exclusively Gentile believers. Paul is being subtle in his language as a way to encourage both the weak and strong to welcome each other without identifying them by their ethnicity. In this way, he undermines the hierarchy shrewdly. The strong are to welcome and keep from quarreling with the weak, making sure to keep them from stumbling. Paul calls on the strong to sacrifice more than the weak. The Jews and Gentiles glorify God with what they do and are received by God with equal mercy. Neither the weak nor the strong are to be prideful or feel superior because of their beliefs. Their acceptance is to flow from the hope they have found in God. Join us this Sunday as we continue to apply this letter to our lives! – Pastor Nate Roschen