For whatsoever is not of faith is sin – Romans 14:23b

Jim Humphrey

Today we consider the last 7 times the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to use the word faith in Romans. Seven is the number for Spiritual perfection in the Bible. The first 2: “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;” Romans 12:3 – 6.

Paul proceeds to declare some “marks of the true believer” in Romans 12:9 – 21; “the believer’s submission to authorities,” Romans 13:1 – 7 and “fulfilling the Law through Love,” Romans 13:8 – 14. He exhorts believers “Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.” Romans 14:1. The Greek word translated “doubtful” means “by man’s reasoning/ purpose/ inward reasoning.” The word “disputations” comes from the Greek word meaning “discerning or judging” and is found only two other places in the New Testament (NT) where the King James Version (KJV) translates it “dividing” and “discern” where it is used in both passages to convey basically the same thought as presented here in Romans:

  • “But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.” 1 Corinthians 12:7 – 11.
  • “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5:14

Our modern dictionary defines “disputations” as “the action of disputing : verbal controversy”

or “an academic exercise in oral defense of a thesis by formal logic.” Bullinger’s book “Figures of Speech Used in the Bible,” page 696 indicates Romans 14:1 can be translated “Him that is weak in the faith received ye, but not for disputings of doubt.” Romans 14:2 – 12 fleshes out this thought; teaching members of Christ’s Body not to pass judgement upon one another, the bottom line being “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” Romans 14:12.

Romans 14:13 – 23 exhorts believers not to cause a fellow believer to stumble by doing something he/she believes is wrong, even if the strong believer in faith knows such activity is not wrong. The example used was a problem at the time of Paul wherein meat that had been first offered to an idol was then sold in the marketplace. The believer weak in the faith believed it was sin to eat because it had been offered to an idol while the believer whose faith was strong in God’s Word knew that idols amounted to nothing, and the meat was just meat and therefore okay to eat. Paul had to expand on this same issue when he wrote the Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 8:1 – 13. Believers today don’t encounter meat having been offered to an idol, but the idea can be projected to some of today’s activates because the principal is the same. For example, attending certain entertainment events, dancing, smoking, drinking alcohol, etc. may be deemed by some as sinful while others don’t consider them as such (smoking and drinking may be bad for one’s health but that’s another issue). Romans 14:13 – 23 is summarized in the last two verses where the 4th, 5th and 6th occasions of the word faith occur: “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,” Romans 14:22 – 23. Page 24 of the above referenced book “Figures of Speech” quotes this verse: “And he that doubteth is damned (or condemned) if he eat,” i.e., “and he that holdeth a difference [between meats] is condemned if he eat, because [he eateth] not from faith; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

The note in the Companion Bible explains the phrase “for whatsoever is not of faith is sin” as “whatever is done by the believer that does not proceed from the faith-principle by which he was saved, and is not in accordance therewith, is sin.” Here, we must remember “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Romans 4:5; and this because the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ is bestowed upon all who believe, Romans 3:22. All Members of Christ’s Body are saved through faith, Ephesians 2:8 and all live by faith, Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11 – 12; Hebrews 10:38 and thus “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

Finally, the last of the 7 occasions of the word faith in Romans nails down or recaps the truths revealed in the previous 6: “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:” Romans 16:25 – 26. Here we note that Romans opens and closes with the phrase “for the obedience of faith;” Romans 1:5 vis a vis Romans 16:26. The Greek word translated “nations” in both places is from the Greek “ethnos” (G1484) translated “gentiles” 93 times, “nations” 64 times, “heathen” five and “people” twice in the NT KJV. “Ethnos” is first found in the NT in Matthew 4:15, where it is translated gentiles in a quote from Isaiah 9:1 where the Hebrew word translated nations refers to all nations except Israel, i.e., the gentiles. Thus, Paul’s ministry was to preach to all nations/gentiles “for obedience to the faith.”

“For as by one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (Jesus Christ) shall many be made righteous.” Romans 5:19. If we take the final passage in which the word “faith” appears, that “God, made known to all nations (or Gentiles) for the obedience of or to the faith:” Romans 16:26 and consider the previous 6 occasions of the word, we find it is always directed to the believer, teaching how believers should deal with fellow believers:

  • The first two establish that all believers today are Members of Christ’s Body and God has dealt a measure or proportion of faith to each individual member, Romans 12:3 – 6. (Another name for each member of Christ’s Body is “Saint,” for all have been “called” or divinely invited or selected as “Saints,” Romans 1:7.)
  • Members of Christ’s Body are not to pass judgement upon one another (apart from obvious moral violations, 1 Corinthians 5:1 – 8), the bottom line being “… everyone shall give account of himself to God.” Romans 14:12.
  • Saints are not to engage in conduct that cause a weaker believer to stumble, with the knowledge that whatsoever is not of faith is sin, Romans 14:22 – 23.

Consider the phrase “whatsoever is not of faith is sin,” Romans 14:23b in relation to the following Scriptures: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6. “Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;” Philippians 1:27. “Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:” Philippians 2:2 – 7.

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