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.
Psted By Cecil and Connie
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