Whatsoever Is Not of Faith
by Pastor Ricky Kurth
“What does Paul mean when he says that whatsoever is not of faith is sin”?“And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23).
We know that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Rom. 10:17). The Word of God through Paul
says that we can eat all things (1 Tim. 4:4), but he who is “weak in
faith” (Rom. 14:1) doubts this and limits himself to eating “herbs” (v.
2). His faith has not yet matured to believe Paul when he says he can
eat meat, so “he that doubteth… if he eat…he eateth not of faith.”
But
if he wouldn’t eat it “of faith,” why would he eat it? Well, in this
passage, he might eat meat trying to follow the example of his stronger
brother. This is why Paul encourages strong brethren not to eat meat in
front of a weaker brother (v. 15), which might make “the conscience of
him which is weak be emboldened to eat” meat (cf. 1 Cor. 8:10). If he
eats meat to try to walk in the footsteps of his stronger brother,
rather than eating it because “of faith” in God’s Word, it will cause
him to stumble (Rom. 14:13,21) by doing something that bothers his
conscience.
Back
to our question. How come “whatsoever is not of faith is sin”? It is
because “to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is
unclean” (v. 14). God actually adjusts the definition of what is
unclean to agree with a weak brother’s conscience. Since his faith does
not yet believe that he can eat meat, “he eateth not of faith,”
and whatsoever is not of faith is sin to him.
Why would a weak brother “be damned if he eat”? Well, the word “damnation” doesn’t always refer to eternal damnation in Hell.
If all damnation was eternal, the Lord was being redundant in
speaking of “eternal damnation” (Mark 3:29). Likewise, if all damnation
was to Hell, He would not have had to add the words “of Hell” when
He spoke of “the damnation of Hell” (Matt. 23:33). The word
“damnation” simply means condemnation or judgment of any
kind. Those who resist the government “shall receive to themselves
damnation” (Rom. 13:1,2), the judgment and condemnation of the government. So when a weak brother eats meat that he believes is unclean, it is sin for him, and he is condemned by his own conscience, since he judges what he has done to be sinful.
The Day of The Lord- Isiah 2:14
By Les Feldick
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgigDZRi-Pw
King James Bible
The Preserved and Living Word of God
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