Sunday School Notes: Romans 14:9-12
9 For this purpose Christ died and lived, so that he might be Lord of the dead and the living. 10 So why are you judging your brother? Or also you, why are you condemning your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written, “‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall praise God.'” 12 Therefore, each of us will give an account concerning himself [to God].
Continuing on the thought from last time, Paul puts the squabbling between the Jewish and Gentile factions into a broader context. If we are all brethren in Christ, then we’re all serving the same Lord. Our lives are not our own, and even our death is in the hands of the Lord. The lordship of Christ doesn’t cease when we no longer draw breath. He continues to own us when we pass from this life.
What Paul says in verse 9 echoes somewhat his words in 2 Corinthians 5:15: “He [Christ] died on behalf of all, so that those living may no longer live for themselves but for the one who died on their behalf and was raised.” Note that in this context, the “all” does not mean every single person in the world. If Christ died on behalf of every single person, then Christ rose for them, and the wrath of God is no longer upon them (see Romans 5:6-11 and 8:29-30). There would, therefore, no longer be any basis upon which God could judge anyone for sin. We know this is not the case, so the “all” here must be talking about those who are “in Christ”–i.e., Christians. Christ died for us so that we may no longer live selfishly, seeking only our desires, but that we would live for him, the one who saved us.
Paul’s point is simply that by virtue of Christ’s death and resurrection, Christ is Lord of both the living and the dead. Neither life nor death has power over Christ, and neither has greater authority. If we are in Christ, we don’t serve life, and we don’t serve death. Both are in the loving hands of our sovereign Savior. Those who die in Christ are still his, and will continue to be his into eternity. Christ’s rule and lordship transcends life and death.
In verse 10, you can almost see Paul turning to the Jewish Christians and saying, “Why are you judging your brother?” And then to the Gentile Christians and saying, “Why are you condemning your brother?” Again, the issue is not whether what the two groups were doing was right or wrong (abstaining from meat or eating meat; observing feast days, or treating all days equally), but the sinfulness of their attitudes toward one another. We’ve seen that Paul sides with the Gentile Christians in principle, but he condemns their attitude as much as that of the Jewish Christians. And this is why he discussed the lordship of Christ in verses 7-9: if Christ is lord of all, and if we are all his by virtue of nothing other than his redeeming love giving us the faith to believe in him, then it’s him we all serve, both Jewish and Gentile Christians, and it’s to him alone that we’re answerable. That’s not to say we don’t encourage and exhort the brethren, but it’s not our place to judge men’s hearts beyond the judgment of God.
It’s important once more to emphasize that Paul is addressing believers here–he calls them “brethren.” If they are believers, then God has already judged them to be righteous by virtue of Christ’s merit, and that alone. We should not regard our Christian brethren differently; God’s verdict is final, and binding upon us. If someone claims to be a Christian, but their doctrine and/or practice demonstrates the opposite to be the case, we would discern this by examining Scripture. God’s Word clearly indicates the doctrine and lifestyle of someone who is in Christ. When we separate ourselves from false brethren, we do so not on the basis of our own feelings or opinions, but on the judgment of God declared in His Word. Paul sees no gospel violation in the practice of either the Jewish or Gentile Christians in Rome, which is why he calls both “brethren.” If these issues don’t separate the brethren in the judgment of God, then the judgment on the church should fall in line.
The “judgment seat” Paul refers to in verse 10 is the bêma, which is a secular term for the seat from which judgment is rendered. Paul is the only New Testament writer to bring that term into a theological context. Notice Paul says we, not you. Paul puts himself with the Roman Christians as standing before the judgment seat of God, so I don’t think this is a “sheep and goats” type of judgment. In other words, I don’t think Paul intends to scare the church by speaking of the “judgment seat of God.” Again, he’s reminding them that we are not ultimately answerable to one another, but we all stand shoulder-to-shoulder before God, and it’s to Him that we all give an account. If we are truly Christians, we have nothing to fear, our salvation is secure because a “not guilty” verdict has already been rendered. And that verdict stands even if you abstain from eating meat, or you observe certain feast days. If you are a genuine believer, then you will respond to the admonitions to live a life befitting a follower of Christ. You will love your brother, and not try to ruin him, or condemn him. You will seek to gently and lovingly instruct and encourage the weaker brethren. And you will receive godly counsel with gratitude.
Verse 11 is a quotation from Isaiah 45:23, though the words “‘As I live,’ says the Lord” are not in Isaiah 45:23. These words are found elsewhere in the Old Testament (e.g., Numbers 14:28, Isaiah 49:18, and Jeremiah 22:24), and Paul probably included them here to make clear who’s speaking (and “I live” fits in with the theme of life and death). Isaiah 45 is a declaration of God’s all-encompassing sovereignty. He alone is God, He alone is Savior, and to Him alone will all people bow the knee. I think Paul’s point with this quotation is to underscore the fact that we all bow the knee to the Lord, and to no-one else. We don’t base our stand on secondary issues on whether we have the approval of others, but on whether we have God’s approval. We seek His mind on these things by studying the Word. We should also hear the opinions of those within the church given to us by God to instruct us, but we are responsible to God for the conclusions we reach. And if our brother comes to a different conclusion than us, we don’t reject him; God has accepted him, so should we.
Paul says that we shall all (note, again, Paul says us not you in verse 12) give an account (the Greek word is logos which has a wide range of meanings including “word,” “reason,” “report,” and “message”) concerning ourselves to God. I think there is a cautionary note here, especially in terms of attitude. As Christians, our greatest desire is to please God, so we want our words, thoughts, and deeds to honor Him. While Christ’s blood is sufficient to cover all our sin, it should grieve us when we are made aware of attitudes we have that bring dishonor to God. We want our life’s report to reflect the love and gratitude we have for His grace and mercy to us. But again, the point is it’s God to whom we are accountable, each one of us. He is the One who judges our lives. We need to be sure our judgment both of ourselves, and of our brethren, agrees with Him.
The Romans study is breaking for the Summer, so this is the last of the Sunday School Notes for a few months. The plan is to pick back up again on Sunday, August 25th, starting from Romans 14:13. I will post the next Sunday School Notes the following Tuesday (August 27th).
