 |  |
The Epistle to the Romans.
#79. Romans 14: 1 - 15: 7.
The Lordship of Christ, and its bearing on the attitude of
the "strong" and the "weak".
pp. 7 - 13
One of the evils associated with the judging of one another in the matter of "meats"
and "days", is that we are liable to overstep our legitimate bounds and usurp the place of
the Lord. The Apostle has twice as much to say about this question of meats and days as
he has already written (See Rom. 14: 2-5 and 14: 13-22, and the structure of the
whole passage in Volume XXIX, page 110), but for the moment the argument is held
up, while he forces upon the consciences of both "strong" and "weak", i.e. of those who
are free to eat all things, and those who are so weak that they eat nothing but herbs--the
fact of the Lordship of Christ. This section is marked D1 | 14: 6-12 in the larger
structure, and we must now see it in detail in order to appreciate the bearing of its
message upon theme of the chapter.
Romans 14: 6-12.
D1 | 14: 6-12. The Lordship of Christ. "It is written."
C1 | c | To the Lord--he regardeth it.
d | To the Lord--he regardeth it not.
c | To the Lord--he eateth it.
d | To the Lord--he eateth it not.
D1 | FOR NONE OF US LIVETH OR DIETH TO HIMSELF.
C2 | c | To the Lord--we live.
d | To the Lord--we die.
c | The Lord's--we are.
d | The Lord--both of dead and living.
D2 | FOR WE SHALL ALL STAND BEFORE
THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST.
C3 | c | Saith the Lord, To Me.
d | Every knee shall bow.
c | To God.
d | Every tongue shall confess.
D3 | SO THEN EVERY ONE SHALL GIVE AN ACCOUNT
OF HIMSELF TO GOD.
The value of thus seeking the structural analysis of the passage is at once shown by
the way in which it forces upon our attention the fact of the Lordship of Christ. Now this
is a matter of supreme importance. It is a matter of indifference to God as to whether I
eat this or that, or as to whether I observe this day or that, or none at all, but it can never
be a matter of indifference to Him as to my relationship with His Son as Lord.