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Welcome to Studies with Stearman. Join us as we look deeper into the Bible. Strengthen your faith with us even as we see the day approaching. And now here's Gary.
Gary
As we get into today's study, which
Stearman
is going to be in chapter 14, we're going to go from the subject we covered last week, which was good citizenship and being a good citizen of a gentile government. Today we go to kosher food. Just flip the page. Chapter 14 talks about kosher food. Is it okay to eat a pork
David
hot dog or do we have to stick to the Hebrew national all beef kosher hot dog?
Gary
Well, last week we looked at our relation to government, and the chief point to be made in Romans 13 is found in verse 8, where it says, owe no man anything but to love one another. The chief operating principle of Christianity is owe no man anything or be obligated to no one on grounds other than love. You are obligated to love. That is a staggering thought. You stop and think about it. So we hop Forward after the 14th verse of Romans 13, which says, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. Paul says in the first verse of the next chapter, him that is weak in the faith, receive ye. But not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things. Another who is weak eateth herbs. It says in the King James eats vegetables, or is a vegetarian. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not. And let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth. For God hath received him who art thou that judgest another man's servant to his own master. He standeth or falleth, yea, he shall be held up or helped up, for God is able to make him stand. So Paul just makes what appears to be a huge swerve here, going from obedience to government to receiving one who is weak in the faith. In the literal Greek, the first verse of this chapter says, and it has an emphatic positive now it says, now the one who is weak in respect to the faith, you be giving him a cordial welcome, not with a view toward a critical analysis of his inward reasoning. That's the most literal way to translate this sentence. Someone who is weak in the faith give him a cordial welcome, not with a view toward a critical analysis of his inward reasoning. Now you stop and think about that.
Stearman
You meet a new Christian.
Gary
What do you immediately do? You begin to put out little feelers to say, what does this guy really Believe. You approach every Christian as suspect, right? You never know what he believes. He probably doesn't even believe thereafter. He may be one of those guys that says go to church on Saturday and on a Sunday, you just don't know. Boy, if he believes those two things, what else does he believe? And you begin to approach Christians on a kind of a critical basis, particularly new Christians or weak Christians, Christians who are fishing around for what they really believe. They haven't studied all that much. They would like to believe this or that, but they really haven't gone that deeply into the word. And Paul says, now listen here, the one who's weak with respect to the faith, welcome him cordially, not with a view toward a critical analysis of his inward reasoning. Have you ever critically analyzed someone's inward reasoning? Of course you have, all the time. That's what we do. You're talking to somebody in a little place in the back of your head. You say, now why did he say that?
David
I wonder what he really meant.
Gary
You know, we do that with each other. And so Paul recommends a better way. And Paul's motive is always the way of love. You stop and think about it. When Jesus came to earth, there was the smartest man who had ever walked the face of the earth. Probably had an IQ of about 5,000. I don't know what Jesus IQ is, but it would be so far off the charts in every way that you can think of that it would be mind boggling. And yet how did Jesus behave? Did he go around saying you're a bunch of dumb clodhoppers? You know, it makes me sick to be around you, a bunch of stinky farmers and shepherds. And I'm just coming from a beautiful clean place and I know so much more than you that you can't tell me anything. And Jesus whole attitude would be imperious, antagonistic. He would be staring down his nose at the entire world. But that's not the way Jesus handled his life. He came as a pleasant personality, very, very appealing guy who didn't drive people into the ground with his incisive wit and logic, but just rather made a very simple point. He came in love. He was not critical, except where criticism was due. And he was the very model of
David
what Paul is talking about here.
Gary
He came to a whole world weak in the faith, but he did not come as a critic. He came representing the love of God. That's astounding to me to think about that, that God came in that way. Doubtful disputations is the King James. He that's weak in the faith, receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. Doubtful diacrisis means to discern or discerning disputations is the Greek word dialogismos. We got our Eng Dialogue, dialogues of dispute. What you have here is that if you encounter a weak Christian who is vacillating in his views and is not absolutely certain of his faith or the facts of his faith or the apologetics of the faith, you're still to be cordial to him. What Paul is describing here is the vacillating views of a weak or anxious person. If you encounter a Christian who's operating at that level, you are to extend the love of Christ to him. You're to receive him cordially. And then Paul says, for one, believeth that he may eat all things. Another, who is weak, constitutionally weak, eats veggies. Now, there are two kinds of vegetarianism. There's nutritional vegetarianism and there's religious vegetarianism. And for example, in India, just to give a very large example, there are a lot of vegetarians who are religious vegetarians because they don't believe in eating animals at all. It's against their faith and their creed to munch on beautiful little critters.
Stearman
They think that's a crime and a sin.
Gary
In fact, the Jainists in India are
Stearman
so frenetic about that, so religious that they don't even walk on grass because there are little things living in the grass and they might stomp the little things and kill them. But point is, the Bible speaks of religious vegetarianism as weakness. There it is.
David
Now, have you ever gone to dinner
Stearman
with an Orthodox Jewish?
David
I have a number of Orthodox Jews.
Stearman
For example, if they live in New York City and they're visiting Oklahoma City, they will eat only glat kosher. It has to be not just kosher, but a particular kind of kosher.
Gary
And so if you went to the Golden Corral with such a person, which
David
I did on one occasion, because this Jewish guy wanted to eat at the
Stearman
Golden Corral because he could pick through
Gary
and find just vegetable things that would
Stearman
not offend his kosher upbringing.
David
In other words, he couldn't eat meat
Gary
that had not been prepared in a particular way.
David
So he skipped all the meat items
Gary
and he ate only the vegetable items on the menu because he was a very strict kosher.
Stearman
He was kosher after the manner of
David
what's called the mitznogtic tradition.
Stearman
Very strict. You run into that.
David
Well, Paul ran into that all the time.
Stearman
That's what he's talking about here. One new convert to Christianity believes that
Gary
he can eat everything.
Stearman
Another, who is weak, that is who is still residing in the area of law, believes that meat has to be kosher before you can eat it. Therefore, when he's eating in a group, he will only eat vegetable things. By the way, if you ever have occasion to dine with an Orthodox Jewish,
David
just be on the lookout.
Stearman
Early on, don't offer, hey, they serve
David
the best steak in town or the best chicken in town because this guy's not going to eat steak or chicken,
Stearman
much less pork, unless it's prepared ritually
David
in the kosher way.
Stearman
This is the thing that Paul had to deal with. The purpose of kosher as given in the Old Testament was one purpose that was to separate Israel from the Gentiles.
David
God gave the law and you've probably read the dietary laws of the Jews. Can't eat a bird of prey, you can't eat a shrimp, etc. On and on and on. You can't eat a fish with no scales.
Stearman
Lots of things you can't eat.
David
And then you can't eat lamb unless
Stearman
it's been prepared in a particular way. And you can't eat beef unless it's
David
been prepared and butchered in a particular way and so forth.
Stearman
And, and so the very strict kosher dietary laws were given to Israel at Mount Sinai for a cultural reason. There is nothing that separates cultures faster than dietary habits. If two cultures with two different dietary
David
styles cannot merge, they cannot and will not merge.
Stearman
Food separates people,
David
period.
Stearman
And that's what kosher is all about. And you may say, well, isn't it
David
a better way to eat?
Stearman
Aren't you healthier eating kosher? And therefore shouldn't we all eat kosher?
David
Because obviously it's a healthy thing.
Stearman
Why? Pork will kill you. And didn't God say that if you follow the dietary laws that I gave you, you shall have none of the diseases of the Gentiles? He did.
David
Therefore we should eat kosher.
Stearman
Well, let's talk about that.
David
Remember now Paul's got a problem.
Stearman
He's going out and evangelizing. He's bringing Jews to Christ and he's trying to convince them that it's okay to eat food in a non ritualistic way. And he says, he who is weak with respect to the faith. And we're talking about a new believer here. Give him a cordial welcome.
David
Don't critically analyze his inner reasoning, just welcome him.
Stearman
If he wants to eat veggies, just serve up the best veggie plate you
David
can possibly serve up. It's just perfectly fine. Let's go back to Acts, chapter 9,
Stearman
verse 36. We've been through this before. This is a very important section of scripture. The book of Acts is a book of historical transition.
David
That's why it's in the Bible.
Stearman
Acts begins at Pentecost and it ends
David
with Paul going to Rome and being shipwrecked, etc.
Stearman
It's a book of historical transition. It talks about what happened in the early church.
David
And believe me, the early church in its first days was entirely different than the early church a few years later. The first 10 years or so of
Stearman
the early church, which were years of rapid, rapid revolutionary change. And here's one of the most graphic descriptions of change. Verse 36 of chapter 9. Just to set the scene. There was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and alms deeds which she did. And it came to pass in those days that she was sick and died, whom, when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber.
David
And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to
Stearman
Joppa, the disciples heard that Peter was there. They sent unto him two men, desiring that he would not delay to come to them. So Peter, by divine mandate, goes to Joppa. Joppa's on the Mediterranean Sea coast, on the south edge of what is today Tel Aviv. And Peter goes there and encounters a young dead girl, and he raises her from the dead. This sets the scene. You want to advertise your presence.
David
Tell you what you do.
Stearman
Raise somebody from the dead, because I
David
guarantee that's going to get out.
Stearman
It's a great. Just a terrific method of making your
David
message known on a broad scale.
Stearman
And that's exactly what happened here.
David
The word went out.
Stearman
Peter raised this girl from the dead. Chapter 10. There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band
David
called the Italian band. Mamma mia, the Italian band.
Stearman
When I think about a centurion and a house full of servants in Caesarea,
David
which was the Malibu of ancient Israel,
Stearman
that's where all the beautiful seacoast homes
David
were, the big theater, and all the rich people lived there.
Stearman
And Cornelius was obviously a rich man, and he was an Italian, had a household of Italian servants. And his house would have been strictly off limits to any Jew. You would break kosher to go into
David
the house of an Italian.
Stearman
It would be considered dirty. I mean, just the smell of the things they cook. They cook up a big Italian Kettle full of every kind of sea creature you can think of, seasoned with various kinds of spices and herbs and vegetables, and ladle that out in a big soup bowl, kind of like the Italian
David
version of a bouillabaisse.
Stearman
About as unkosher as you can get. Why, a Jew just walking past that
David
place and smelling that soup would have to go to the temple and ask forgiveness.
Stearman
And those of you who know Judaism are shaking your heads, yes, you would be ritually unclean. And yet Peter is sent to Joppa, just down the coast from Caesarea, where
David
he performs a miracle.
Stearman
Word gets out of all places to Caesarea and to a man named Cornelius, a centurion, a captain of a hundred. And he lives probably a very well to do lifestyle. He's called a devout man and one that feared God with all his house. So he's a centurion, but he's also a believer. Through some miracle that we don't understand, he's been given the grace of believing in the Lord Jesus Christ somehow, or he was a believer in God before that, we just don't know. But he gave alms, he prayed to God always. He saw in a vision, evidently about the ninth hour of the day, that would be middle of the afternoon, an angel of God coming to him and saying unto him, cornelius. And when he had looked at him, he was afraid. He said, what is it, Lord? And he said unto him, thy prayers and thine alms are come up for
David
a memorial before God.
Stearman
And now send men to Joppa. Call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter. He lodgeth with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside, and he shall tell thee what thou ought to do. And when the angel which spake to Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually. And when he had declared all these things to him, he sent them to Joppa. Well, now the scene is set. And in the early days of the church, this is the way the church was spread in a very miraculous way, with signed gifts, with angelic messengers, with prophets and prophecies. There was no written New Testament. The Gospel had to go forth in some way, and it went forth miraculously. But by the time you get to the end of the Book of Acts, those miracles have all but disappeared, because the church by that time had established a considerable foothold and the early letters
David
had begun to be circulated, and there
Stearman
was beginning to be a New Testament. Historically, there's a transitional period that goes out to the whole world through the apostolic doctrines. So the next day, verse nine, on
David
the morrow, as they went on their
Stearman
journey, drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up to the housetop to pray. About the sixth hour behind noon, he became very hungry. He would have eaten. And while they made ready, he fell into a trance and saw heaven open and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great she,
David
knit at four corners, let down to
Stearman
the earth, wherein were all manner of four footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. All we have here are the animals
David
of non kosher origin. These would be everything from owls to ossifrages, to frogs to shrimp to who knows what. All squid. Calamari. Boy, love those calamari appetizers, but strictly
Stearman
non kosher can't eat those. But the Mediterranean Sea is absolutely full of calamari. And the Romans knew how to fix them about 18 different ways. And so down comes the sheet with everything in it from calamari to who
David
knows what, some strange bird that nobody ever heard of.
Stearman
And there came a voice to him saying, rise, Peter, kill and eat. Peter says, not so, Lord, in the King James, but in the Greek, Peter
David
says, ain't no way, Lord.
Stearman
Very emphatic refusal, for I have never eaten anything that's common or unclean. So at this point, Peter is a Christian, but he's a weak Christian, as Paul describes Christians over here in Romans, chapter 14. He does not yet have the strength of his newfound faith. He is still operating on the fringes of the law. Verse 15. Voice spake unto him again, second time. What God hath cleansed that call not thou common, profane, non kosher. What God has cleansed, don't call it unkosher. This was done thrice, and the vessel was received up again to heaven. Now, while Peter doubted in himself what
David
this vision which he had seen should
Stearman
mean, behold, the men which were sent
David
from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house and stood before the gate and
Stearman
called and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.
David
Peter thought on the vision. The Spirit said unto him, behold, three men seek thee.
Stearman
So here's the growth of the early church actually being led by the hand through angelic ministry and through the gifts
David
of the Holy Spirit.
Stearman
And what's being developed here is that the laws of kosher are being overturned in a very systematic way, in a way that will bring Peter to the house of Cornelius and allow Peter to enter an unclean Gentile house and not lose his blessing. Because for Peter, a lifelong Jew to enter the house of Cornelius would have
David
been to lose the blessing of God.
Stearman
So Peter went downstairs, verse 21. He went down to the men which were sent to him from Cornelius and said, behold, I am he whom you seek. What's the cause wherefore you come? And they said, cornelius, the centurion, a
David
just man, one of the fierce God,
Stearman
and of good report among all the
David
nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send
Stearman
for thee unto his house and to
David
hear the words of thee.
Stearman
And so Peter follows them. He goes up to the house of Cornelius. He relates the story of what happened to him, and then dropping down to about the 34th verse, because we don't have time enough to completely follow this. At the end of all this, Peter opened his mouth, this is Acts 10:34, and said of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. But in every nation, he that feareth
David
him and worketh righteousness is accepted with him.
Stearman
So Peter has a shocking revelation at this point. And the revelation has everything to do with the union of two cultures. A kosher Jewish being merged with a non kosher Italian. And Peter has this revelation. Wow. He said, up to now I've thought that the only people on earth blessed were the Jews. But he says, now I see that in every nation, he that feareth him, worketh righteousness is accepted with him. I'm sure Peter was staggered by this revelation, because all his life, like all Jews, he had been totally convinced that the only people on earth who could receive God's blessing were Jews. So with this as a little background, we go back to chapter 14 in Romans, him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things. Another who is weak eateth veggies Lachana,
David
which is veggies in Greek.
Stearman
Peter went up to the house of
David
Cornelius there and sat down and ate this incredible meal, I'm sure, around this huge table in this beautiful villa that was decorated with frescoes. And I mean, he was living a good life.
Stearman
And from that point forward, Peter became solid.
David
Never doubted ever again that it was okay to eat non kosher food, right?
Stearman
Wrong. Because you go to Galatians, which, by the way, Galatians takes place a long time later. Let's just flip over there and look at Galatians 2 for a minute, holding your place. Galatians was written about 1857, about the
David
same time Romans was written when Nero was on the throne.
Stearman
Quite a bit later, Peter has Had years to mature. He's been out preaching and teaching. And Paul was at Antioch, by the way, the headquarters church, the First New Testament Church was up in Antioch of Syria. And it says here in Galatians 2:11. But when Peter was come to Antioch,
David
says Paul, I withstood him to the
Stearman
face because he was to be blamed for before certain men came from James, that is the Jerusalem church, he did eat with the Gentiles. In other words, he was sitting there
David
eating the calamari appetizer and the fried shrimp and who knows, maybe a little
Stearman
leg of pork, because, let's face it, the Romans ate leg of pork.
David
But when they were come, that is, when the representatives from the Jerusalem church came up to Antioch, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him, insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. Hypocrisy is what Paul says.
Stearman
So he read Peter the riot act. And we've studied this in the past. And here, years later, Sometime in the 50s, probably 55 A.D. peter is still having trouble. He's still vacillating in the faith. You know, I love the idea that the apostles were not perfect men. I love it.
David
David was not a perfect man. Solomon was not a perfect man.
Stearman
Jesus came out of the line of the tribe of Judah. Have you ever read about the tribe of Judah? Whoa, you talk about imperfect people. And I love this, that we don't have a bunch of plaster saints up here representing us. These men were humans and they made mistakes. They were men of passion.
David
And Peter made mistakes out of passion
Stearman
and out of weakness. And that gives me great hope.
David
I want to tell you, because I'm not perfect. It may come as a surprise to
Stearman
many people, but I am not. And I figure if the apostles can
David
make mistakes and show signs of weakness
Stearman
from time to time, it's okay for me. Because the fact that they receive restitution, reconciliation, and that the love of God always extended to cover their little faux pas, that means he'll do the same thing for me, which is wonderful, just terrific. And so here's Paul writing now in A.D. 57, Romans 14. Him that is weak in the faith, receive ye, that is, give a cordial
David
welcome to somebody who is weak in the faith.
Stearman
This is important enough that I have spent a little time with it. You meet a new Christian or you meet a Christian who you kind of wonder about, or there have been Christians who have come here from time to time. And some of them come in raggedy clothes asking for money.
Gary
And you say, well, the only reason
David
they're here is because they want money. To give them five bucks and get rid of them, right? No, that's not right. You receive them cordially in the love of Christ.
Stearman
You pray that the Lord will direct
David
you properly relative to these people because
Stearman
they were sent here for a reason. You may meet a Christian whom you
David
believe to be very mature and very
Stearman
influential, someone very high on the list of good Christians. And you may discover to your shock that that person maybe isn't as high
David
on the list as you thought at first.
Stearman
You still extend the love of God where you encounter weakness, where you encounter Christians who have weaknesses, you do not beat them about the head and shoulders to try to heal their weaknesses.
David
You extend the love of God to them.
Stearman
Him that is weak in the faith,
David
receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
Stearman
For one believeth that he may eat all things. Another who is weak eateth herbs. Let not him that Edith despise is the word in the King James. Hold in contempt is what it means in the Greek. Let not him that eateth hold him in contempt that eateth not. And let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth. Now, I've had a Christian judge me
David
for eating a bit of food that
Stearman
was probably not kosher.
David
I mean, I've been severely tongue lashed for having eaten a hot dog that probably was a pork. Hot dog wasn't kosher.
Stearman
And you say that's weird.
David
I won't go into the entirety of the story, but it's not weird at all. It was just that this individual was
Stearman
very serious about legal eating. You don't want to eat anything that
David
the Lord says not to eat, therefore you won't eat pork. Right? Right. Okay.
Stearman
So what is it about eating anyway? Now I'm asking that question because later
David
on we're going to answer the question.
Stearman
And you know what? I've just noticed the clock. It is absolutely spinning this morning. I thought I was going to finish chapter 14.
David
Woe. Who art thou that judgest another man's servant to his own master? He standeth or faileth, yea, he shall
Stearman
be helped up, for God is able to make him stand. In other words, the principle here is that this individual is accountable to God. You are accountable to God, that other person is accountable to God. This is a very big Christian principle. You remember the disciples in John 21 when they were eating down by the stone side of the Sea of Galilee on shore they were very eager to
David
ask Jesus, what are you going to do in this man's life? What are you going to do in this man's life?
Stearman
And Jesus essentially said, that's not for you to know. That's between me and him. That was always Jesus attitude. People were always questioning Jesus concerning this guy over here. And Jesus invariable answer was, that's between
David
me and him, period. End of comment.
Stearman
And that's what's going on here in
David
verse 4. Who are you to judge another man's servant?
Stearman
The other man here being Jesus to his own master, he stands or falls. Yes, he shall be helped up, for
David
God's able to make him stand.
Stearman
In other words, this person whom you perceive as weak may be weak in
David
the faith, maybe weak in the mind.
Stearman
However you perceive him to be weak, God's going to help him up. That's what God does. One man esteems one day above another, another esteems every day alike.
David
Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
Stearman
So is it okay for Christians to go to church on the Sabbath? Sure.
David
What happens then when those people who
Stearman
go to church on the Sabbath come
David
to you and say, you know you're going to hell because we go to church on the Sabbath and you don't, you're violating the ten Commandments.
Stearman
Kosher hot dogs, going to church on the Sabbath.
David
What else is there?
Stearman
Drinking wine.
David
Whoa, what you mean grape juice or wine? You know, it's fascinating.
Stearman
When God created grapes, he created them with a little white film on the surface of the peel of the grape. Have you ever seen that? You can take your finger and kind of wipe that little sheen, that little
David
powder, I guess you would say, off of the surface of the grape.
Stearman
You know what that powder is? That's yeast spores. They're right on the grape. So if you crush the grape and
David
put it in a big vat, the yeast spores mix with the juice of the grape, and at a certain temperature
Stearman
and acidity, those little yeast spores busily
David
begin to eat the sugars released by the grape and they convert the sugars to alcohol.
Stearman
And when the alcoholic content of the grape juice reaches between 12.5 and 14%, depending on temperature and acidity, the little yeast cells die.
David
And that's where the alcohol level remains in that grape juice.
Stearman
That's called wine.
David
And it's the stuff that Jesus made at the wedding at Cana Galilee.
Stearman
And some people say, well, you can't drink that and be a Christian. Among those who abstained from the eating
David
of non kosher and the Consumption of wine in the early days of the
Stearman
church, Some did so every day, some only on certain days. So to observe the day as we have it here in verse five and in verse six, to observe the day might mean to observe it by fasting. It might be one's ordinary custom to
David
eat roast pork and drink wine on this particular day. The person would abstain from that thing.
Stearman
Somebody else might observe that same day by feasting. Nothing in the Christian religion is legal or statutory, not even the religious observance of the first day of the week. And it is this very difficult principle that the apostles all spent a great deal of time on because they were faced with people who wanted to look good for God. And they all had different ways of
David
looking good for God.
Stearman
It could be everything from clothing style, women covering their head, men covering their head in a particular way, certain kinds of robes. It could be everything from that to the eating of certain kinds of foods at certain days of the week or times of the year. It is man's way to live through custom and tradition and not through reason. People love to weave themselves into various kinds of tradition, which they then interpret as superior to these other traditions over here. And that's the history of man. The early church came along, and the apostles and their doctrine busily, busily, busily tried to dissuade human beings from cultural orientation and from being exclusive. You always want to try to exclude people from your group because you're better
David
than they are, right?
Stearman
Sure. But here we've started this chapter with this sentence. Him that is weak in the faith, receive ye.
David
In other words, cordially welcome this person,
Stearman
not with the idea of critically analyzing his reasoning. And by the way, the same phrase in the Greek means to vacillate in one's belief system, to be weak or anxious, or to vacillate back and forth,
David
which, by the way, those who are
Stearman
young in the faith often do. What chapter 14 is doing, Paul is preparing the man of faith to deal
David
with those who may be a little bit weaker in their faith in one way or another.
Stearman
But notice that the weakness is always in the one who insists on a cultural imperative. That's a weak person.
David
You got to do such and such to be righteous.
Stearman
That's weakness.
David
The Bible doesn't say you got to do such and such to be righteous. It does not say you have to go to church on Sunday. It doesn't say that you have to abstain from certain food and drink, Although people love to make it say that
Stearman
they love to create systems which they then fluff up until those systems become denominations with pageant pomp, ceremony, costuming.
David
And of course, that makes you better than everybody else who doesn't have this pageant, pomp, circumstance and ceremony. And so you can then pronounce yourself a better Christian.
Stearman
But Apostolic Christianity was exactly 180 degrees
David
opposite from that verse.
Gary
6.
Stearman
He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord. He that regardeth not the day to the Lord doth not regard it. And he that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks. And he that eateth not to the Lord, he eateth not and giveth God thanks. Well, what's being said here? What's being said is both parties, regardless of their practice, have the same end
David
in mind to give the Lord thanks. One guy says, I'm going to give
Stearman
him thanks this way.
David
Another guy says, I'm going to give him thanks this other way. Over here.
Stearman
There are so many customs that Paul had to deal with. For example, head covering among Jews, if you were a man, you had to put the tallit over the head to pray. You had to pray with your head covered. There were questions about head covering, and Paul had to deal with head covering, when, in fact, in one of my favorite places in the Bible, and I
David
think next week I'm going to look at this a little bit more deeply.
Stearman
But the question came to Paul, should we cover our head while praying? And should women cover their heads at all times when they're in church? And so Paul says in First Corinthians 11:4, he says, Every man praying or prophesying having his head covered, dishonoreth his head. Whoa. That's a direct shot at the Jews because they prayed with the tallit over their head. Prayer shawl. Paul's a rabbi. And Paul says, rip off the tallit, boys.
David
It's a new day. Wow, you talk about a challenging. I mean, just hurling a challenge into the middle of a culture. That was it.
Stearman
And he says, but every woman that
David
prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head, for that is even all one, as if she were shaven. In other words, women ought to cover their heads in church to cover up
Stearman
their hair, because hair is a woman's glory.
David
That is, women have these hairstyles. They try to look good and impress each other. So in order to avoid all this stuff in church, let's just have her cover her head.
Stearman
And this continues right on down to the 16th verse of this dissertation where Paul says, but if any man seem to be contentious.
David
In other words, if somebody disagrees with
Stearman
what I'm saying, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. In other words, forget everything I have
David
just said about head covering, because we don't have any such custom.
Stearman
Neither do any of the other churches of God. So you want to cover your head?
David
Fine. Want to uncover your head? Fine.
Stearman
These were the kinds of strange questions Paul had to answer in the early church. And guess what? People are still struggling with all these questions today when the answer is so simple that we are under no statute. Paul says, head covering. We have no such custom. And he says, he that regardeth the day regards it to the Lord. Verse 7. For none of us liveth to himself,
David
and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord.
Stearman
Whether we we die, we die unto the Lord. Whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
David
For to this end Christ both died and rose and revived, that he might be Lord, both of the dead and the living.
Stearman
But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set at naught
David
or reduce to nothing your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Stearman
Second Corinthians 5 says, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Now, when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, will we be judged on the basis of law?
David
No, we're not under law.
Stearman
So the Lord at that judgment day is not going to pull out the 613 commandments and go down them one at a time, seeing whether or not you have broken one of the commandments. No, but you are going to be judged on the basis of whether what you did is good or bad. Whoa. Who's going to decide what's good or bad? Where is that written?
David
The Lord's going to decide.
Stearman
Yeah, but you say, wow, I don't
David
even have a code to go by
Stearman
because I'm not living by the Ten Commandments. How do I know that what I'm doing is good or bad? Because I haven't seen the Lord's code.
David
Oh, yes, you have. Love the Lord your God with all
Stearman
your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.
David
In these two premises is bound the entire law. So you do know what's good or bad.
Stearman
First Corinthians 3:11. And following for other foundation can no
David
man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Stearman
Now, if any man build upon this
David
foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or stubble.
Stearman
Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire. And the fire shall try every man's
David
work of what sort it is.
Stearman
And if any man's work abide which he hath built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself
David
shall be saved yet so as by fire.
Stearman
So now you have the principle. Chapter 14, verse 1. Him that is weak in the faith, receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. In other words, not to critique this person. That's not your motive.
Gary
Your motive is to extend the love
David
of the Lord to this person. The Word will critique that person, and
Stearman
the Holy Spirit will critique that person. And that's what he's talking about throughout this whole chapter. Because we all tend to judge each other on a cultural base. I'm smarter than you, I'm more educated than you, I've got more experience than you, I know more of the Bible, I've memorized more Bible verses than you, you, I've been a Christian longer than you, etc. Etc.
Gary
Etc.
Stearman
We all tend to want to set ourselves up as being superior in some form or another. Chapter 14, and we'll not have time to finish it today, deals with that human weakness, the human weakness of setting yourself up in a way that makes
David
you internally superior so far as you are personally concerned.
Stearman
And that's the antithesis of love. By the way Jesus bared it all,
David
I do mean he bared it all on the cross.
Prophecy Watchers — March 18, 2026
Hosts: Gary Stearman & Mondo Gonzales
In this episode, Gary Stearman, joined by co-host Mondo Gonzales (referred to as "David" in some transcript portions), embarks on a deep dive into Romans 14, exploring the intersection of personal conviction, cultural tradition, and Christian community. The key theme centers on how early Christians handled disputes over kosher laws, dietary practices, religious customs, and the principle of receiving those "weak in the faith" without judgment. Through scriptural exposition and personal anecdotes, the hosts emphasize love, acceptance, and the folly of religiously motivated superiority.
Transition in Romans:
Last week’s focus was on Christian citizenship (Romans 13); this week, the study shifts to food laws in Romans 14.
Quote:
"Paul just makes what appears to be a huge swerve here, going from obedience to government to receiving one who is weak in the faith." (Gary, 02:10-02:20)
Love as the Overarching Principle:
The guiding principle is clear:
"Owe no man anything but to love one another." (Gary, 00:52)
Welcoming the Weak:
Christians are urged to welcome those "weak in the faith," without critiquing their internal reasoning or experience.
Literal Greek Translation:
"...not with a view toward a critical analysis of his inward reasoning." (Gary, 02:53)
Common Behaviors:
It's human nature to judge or analyze others, especially newcomers, but Paul calls Christians to resist this impulse.
Quote:
"You approach every Christian as suspect, right? ... you begin to approach Christians on a kind of a critical basis..." (Gary, 03:19)
Jesus’ Example:
Jesus, despite his unmatched wisdom, embodied humility and nonjudgmental love, a model for all believers.
Quote:
"But that's not the way Jesus handled his life. He came as a pleasant personality... not critical, except where criticism was due." (Gary, 05:06)
Distinction in Dietary Practice:
The difference between nutritional vegetarianism and religious vegetarianism is discussed, with religious abstention framed as "weakness" in the context of Romans 14.
Quote:
"The Bible speaks of religious vegetarianism as weakness. There it is." (Gary, 07:55)
Jewish Dietary Laws as Cultural Dividers:
Kosher laws were primarily intended to distinguish Israel from surrounding nations.
"The purpose of kosher as given in the Old Testament was one purpose — that was to separate Israel from the Gentiles." (Stearman, 09:58)
Personal Anecdotes on Dining:
The challenges of dining with strictly kosher observers illustrate the endurance of these divisions.
"If you went to the Golden Corral with such a person... he ate only the vegetable items on the menu because he was very strict kosher." (Gary & Stearman, 08:35-09:05)
Peter’s Vision (Acts 10):
The famous vision (sheet of unclean animals) is a divine directive overturning kosher distinctions.
"What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common, profane, non kosher." (Stearman, 19:09)
Peter’s Reluctance:
Even after the vision, Peter struggled with fully embracing Gentile fellowship, especially under peer pressure (Galatians 2:11-14).
Memorable Moment:
"Peter is still having trouble. He's still vacillating in the faith. ... The apostles were not perfect men. I love it." (Stearman, 25:09)
Implication for Believers:
Human imperfection, even among apostles, is reason for hope and patience.
"I figure if the apostles can make mistakes and show signs of weakness from time to time, it's okay for me." (Stearman, 26:19)
The Call to Cordial Welcome:
The Christian response isn’t critique but loving acceptance, whether dealing with new believers, the marginalized, or those with different convictions.
"You receive them cordially in the love of Christ." (Stearman, 27:22)
Personal Weakness and Judgment:
The discussion turns to food laws, Sabbath observance, wine consumption—topics often used to judge other Christians.
"You do not beat them about the head and shoulders to try to heal their weaknesses. You extend the love of God to them." (Stearman, 28:22)
Traditions and Superiority:
Traditions often give rise to superiority and division, but the apostles worked against this tendency:
"People love to weave themselves into various kinds of tradition, which they then interpret as superior to these other traditions over here." (Stearman, 34:24)
No Statutory Religion:
"Nothing in the Christian religion is legal or statutory, not even the religious observance of the first day of the week." (Stearman, 33:52)
Head Coverings as Example:
Paul’s seemingly contradictory instructions on head coverings (1 Corinthians 11) illustrate that customs shouldn’t be elevated into universal mandates.
Quote:
"Paul says, rip off the tallit, boys. It's a new day." (Stearman, 38:39)
"...if any man seem to be contentious... we have no such custom, neither the churches of God." (Stearman, 39:13)
Judgment Seat of Christ:
Christians will be judged, not by detailed law-keeping, but by motives and love.
"...we are going to be judged on the basis of whether what you did is good or bad... Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. In these two premises is bound the entire law." (Stearman, 41:08–41:59)
The Real Test:
Extending love is the truest “looking good for God,” not external observance.
"Your motive is to extend the love of the Lord to this person. The Word will critique that person, and the Holy Spirit will critique that person." (Gary & Stearman, 43:01-43:09)
On Traditions Creating Division:
"You always want to try to exclude people from your group because you're better than they are, right? ... But Apostolic Christianity was exactly 180 degrees opposite from that." (Stearman, 35:19-37:01)
On Human Weakness and Apostolic Example:
"I love the idea that the apostles were not perfect men. I love it." (Stearman, 25:25)
On Accepting Diversity in Practice:
"You want to cover your head? Fine. Want to uncover your head? Fine." (Stearman, 39:37–39:41)
On the Christian Principle of Non-judgment:
"Who are you to judge another man's servant?... That's between me and him, period. End of comment." (Stearman, 30:46)
Stearman and Gonzales use Romans 14 and related scriptures to illustrate how Christian maturity is less about maintaining traditions or judging others’ practices, and more about extending the love, patience, and acceptance Christ himself modeled. The apostles’ struggles highlight both the challenge and encouragement for every believer: unity and love, not uniformity of practice, is what “looks good for God.” The deep scriptural exploration, relatable stories, and clear practical exhortations make this a powerful episode for all seeking to balance conviction with compassion in the Christian walk.