Lesson 6 Romans 14:1-23 Living To Serve Others

VII. Practicing God’s Received Righteousness (Romans 12-16)

A. Believers Respond To God’s Grace By Using Their Gifts and Opportunities (12:1-21)

B. Believers Respect Authority And Pay The Debt Of Love (13:1-14)

C. Believers Live For The Benefit Of Others (14:1-15:13)

Questions

  1. In Romans 14:1-15:13, Paul addressed the matter of handling differences that arise when believers have a “strong” or “weak” faith about the way their believe they should conduct themselves? (verses 2 and 14)

a) What does Paul mean by a “strong” faith?

b) What does Paul mean by a “weak” faith?

  1. How are “disputable” matters of the Christian faith different from “indisputable matters of the Christian faith? (verse 1)

  2. Give three examples of “disputable” matters.

  3. Give 3 examples of “indisputable” matters.

  4. How does God want a Christian to regard and treat a fellow believer who is either “weak” or “strong” in one or more “disputable” matters? (verses 1, 3 and 4)

  5. Why does God want us to treat fellow believers in that way? (verses 3b-4)

  6. What attitudes are to guide and motivate our conduct in the use of the things that God has neither commanded nor forbidden us to do or use (matters of adiaphora)? (verses 5-9 and 13)

  1. Verses 5-6

  2. Verses 7-9

  3. Verse 13

  1. How should the knowledge of God’s coming judgment help us in dealing with different views among Christians in matters of adiaphora? (verses 10-12)

  2. Agree or Disagree? God’s commands to accept the weak in faith mean that the strong in faith should not try to strengthen the weak by instructing them from God’s Word. (Explain your answer)

  3. How can a strong in faith Christin harm a weak in faith Christian by his use of the things that God has neither commanded nor forbidden? (verses 13-16)

  4. What important truths about God’s kingdom does Paul impress on us in verse 17?

  5. Give an example of how a believer might cause a fellow Christian to “stumble” by insisting on acting in a certain way in a matter in which God has declared free to do or not to do, but in which this weaker (less confident) fellow member might be misled or offended.

  6. What are some practical ways we can follow God’s command in verse 19 to pursue peace and mutual edification among fellow Christians?

  7. Agree or Disagree? In verses 20-21, God is telling the strong Christian that the conscience of the weak Christian is to be his guide in the use of adiaphora. (Explain your answer)

  8. What did Paul teach the strong in faith believer about his personal convictions in matters of adiaphora? (verse 22)

  9. What do we learn in verse 23 about the place of personal conviction and of following one’s conscience in matters of Christian conduct?