ADDRESSES ON ROMANS
15: 7, noting the many references to our responsibility to "him that is weak in the faith." Let us bear in mind that in this passage Paul shows the strong believer his responsibility toward the immature Chris.- tian, untaught in the things of God. He does not discuss here the way of salvation. That he has done in the first eight chapters. In the matter of justification by faith there is no room for difference of opinion, no room for diversity of judg- ment, no room for toleration. Concerning the death and resur... rection of Christ for the saving of the sinner's soul, there is only the "Thus saith the Lord." In these things Paul took his stand, without the question of a doubt. In Rom. 14: 1...15: 7, however, he deals with certain mat- ters, concerning which there is room for toleration, for liberty of conscience. In Rome there were some ultra.-scrupulous Jews who were saved, yet who were untaught concerning the ob.- servance of certain matters touching the law. For example, they could not bring themselves to eat the foods forbidden by God in Lev. 11: 1-47. They were "weak in the faith," and had · a conscience about this thing. as well as about the observance of the feast days. Their years of training in the letter of the law kept them in bondage; they had not apprehended the full light of the grace of God. Yet they were born again. Evi... dently they were judging their brothers who were stronger in the faith, while the strong were looking with disdain upon the weak. Paul admonishes both classes to exercise Christian love and tolerance concerning "personal liberty in things not ex.- pressly forbidden in Scripture." He urges the strong not to · take the "holier than thou" attitude; and he urges the weak not to accuse the strong of inconsistency and insincerity. He urges each not to doubt the motives of his brother, but rather to give him credit for seeking to please his Lord. A Sunday School teacher once asked a class of boys the question, "What is conscience?" to which one lad promptly replied, "Conscience is that thing in us which tells us when the other fellow does wrong." My Christian friend, let us not Page 240]
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