Do you find the church judgmental?

This passage stands in the face of an affirmative answer. It also cautions us to be wise and careful. Let’s unpack the idea behind the idea a bit. If the Gospel is true, Jesus is indeed Prince of Peace and Lord of Lords, the one who rules (ultimately) over this world and His church. While satan is “prince of the world” at the moment (John 14:30, etc), he is only allowed to reign by the sovereignty of God and one day will have no control (Rev 20). So Christ reigns in us, His church, and we believe He is the one true God. Therefore, if He is the one true God, there is no such thing as a false god. One may worship a god, for sure, they are imaginary and false. In Paul’s time, there was a debate over what one could eat and drink. This came up in Acts 15, oddly enough. However, Paul’s argument (based on Acts 10, etc) is that Christ has made all things new and proves idols and false gods false. Therefore, if a piece of meat is “offered” in worship to Zeus, and is cooked thoroughly and looks appetizing, may it then be eaten? Many would say “no!” due to the idea that it is tainted and unclean. However, if the god doesn’t exist, Paul would say, then it was offered to nothing but the flame and barbecue becomes tasty if done correctly. If the god isn’t real, food was created, not an offering.

So now we get the theme of part of Romans 14, the argument of what one should do. Can we eat things offered to idols or false gods? Paul says yes! Can we drink something that was made “sacred” by someone? Of course! What if someone doesn’t understand this truth? What if they have trouble with you eating what you wish and having no theological issue with it? Be generous and abstain, thinking of them more highly than yourself (see Phil 2:5-11, 1 John 4). But there is no guilt in becoming “unclean” by food, for it does not make us unclean. Compare with Matthew 15:1-20 and see what Jesus is saying. We have faith that eating habits do not condemn us. In fact, they show our faith and proper theological understanding. Yet we do not deal with these issues in pride or arrogance, but lovingly care for one another and help one another to understand properly. This is just as much based on our faith.