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Today's Pathway: Romans 14:22-23 Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Paul is continuing his theme of Christian liberty. In verse 22 he mentions those who have faith. The normal interpretation of this verse is that Paul is speaking to the spiritually mature who have great faith in God and thus appreciate their liberty. However, it is possible that Paul is speaking to anyone who honestly believes before God that his view on a questionable issue is the correct one. Both the man who eats meat and the man who only eats herbs (Romans 14:2) believe that their view is Biblical and that the other man is wrong. Thus, they both have "faith" in the validity of their position. Paul tells both men to "have it to themselves". In other words, in areas where the Bible is silent, people should not be forcing their personal convictions on others. Warren Wiersbe wrote,

"Christians must not force their opinions on others. There are certain truths that all Christians must accept because they are the foundation for the faith. But areas of honest disagreement must not be made a test of fellowship. If you have a sincere conviction from God about a matter, keep it to yourself and do not try to force everybody else to accept it".

Next, Paul writes that a man who holds a certain conviction is blessed if he does not violate that conviction. If you believe something is sinful, then God will bless you if you abstain from that activity, regardless of what others may say. In addition, if you have a conviction that it’s okay to do, or not do, a certain thing then you’re blessed to hold and follow your convictions. It shows that you have thought things through Biblically and you’re not just following the crowd.

Paul follows this up in verse 23 by teaching that if a man violates his conscience he will be judged. As we have mentioned previously, "damnation" does not always mean condemnation to Hell. It obviously does not mean that in this context because then a man would lose his salvation any time he did something that he didn't think that he should. However, the man who does things that he truly believes that he shouldn't is guilty of sin. The person who has a conviction against eating meat but eats meat anyway brings judgment upon himself. This is because he is no longer doing what he believes God wants him to do. The underlying factor in personal convictions is that the individual really believes that this is what God expects of him. When he ignores his own convictions he is, in effect, ignoring what he believes God has said. In fact, anytime we make decisions that are not based upon what we believe God's will is, we are in the wrong, for Paul writes that "whatsoever" we do that is not based upon our faith in the Lord is sin.

I want to close with these thoughts from Charles Cranfield:

"A man may sometimes do something because everyone else is doing it. He may do it because he does not wish to be different. He may do it because he does not wish to court ridicule or unpopularity. Paul’s answer is that if, for any of these reasons, a man defies his conscience he is guilty of sin. If a man in his heart of hearts believes a thing to be wrong, then, if he does it, for him it is sin. A neutral thing only becomes a right thing when it is done out of faith, out of the real, reasoned conviction that it is the right thing to do. The only motive for doing anything is that a man believes it to be right. When a thing is done out of social convention, out of fear of unpopularity, to please men, then it is wrong."

Why do you do what you do?