“We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” (Romans 15:1)
Paul’s teaching on Christian liberty is too liberal for the legalist and too restrictive for the libertine. It may not fit neatly within people’s preconceived notions of right and wrong, but it strikes the perfect balance between liberty and love.
The Previous chapter of Romans is all about the “weaker brethren”—those whose conscience won’t allow them to eat certain meats, and hold to more restrictive service to the Lord. Nowhere does Paul rebuke the weaker brethren. Instead, he instructs the stronger not to offend them. He also hints at a maturing process, stating in Romans 14:4 that God is able to make them stand. In essence, a weaker brother’s conscience and the protection of it is between him and the Lord. Where his conscience has been misinformed, God is fully able to re-educate him.
If you were raised in a certain sect of Christianity, you may have been taught that specific styles of dress were sinful in and of themselves—while Scripture clearly condemns only that which is immodest or provocative. You may have grown up with a particular way of doing church, and to stray from that would trouble your conscience. I am not speaking of violating biblical mandates but of traditions and formalities. As we grow in the Lord, He matures us and educates our conscience through His Word and by His Spirit. The things we once deemed evil may not be evil in themselves, and things we once viewed as harmless may, in fact, be detestable in God’s eyes. So give your weaker brethren some grace. If he insists on serving God in a particular way or abstaining from certain things, do not try to educate his conscience—leave that to the Word of God and the Spirit of God. After all, it is God we will all stand before (Romans 14:12).
If our job is not to educate and persuade the weaker brethren, then what is our job? Paul tells us plainly: “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” (Romans 15:1)
To “bear the infirmities of the weak” in simple terms means to put up with them. Their infirmity is their lack of freedom in Christ—the extra lines they draw closer to home than the Bible does. We don’t go to their house and parade our liberty in front of them. Instead, we are mindful of their sensitivity, choosing to please them rather than ourselves: “Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.” (Romans 15:2)
This is the mindset required: a “you first” mentality. Put others’ needs, wants, and spiritual well-being ahead of your own. This is the example Christ set for us: “For even Christ pleased not himself…” (Romans 15:3)
And this is the way of thinking every Christian ought to have: “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 2:5-7)
Those who boast in their maturity and liberty in Christ, wielding it like a weapon to cut down those they deem weaker, have entirely missed the point. We are free to love. We are free to help. We have been made free to be a blessing—to bear the burdens and infirmities of the weak—not to offend them.
A knife in the hands of a surgeon can be used for good and beneficial purposes, but that same knife in the hands of a child is often used to harmful and destructive ends. May God never allow us to see our liberty in Christ until we are mature enough to use it for edification and not destruction.
Do you consider yourself the stronger brother? Most people do. If so, are you using your strength to bear burdens? Are you using it to help others? Or are you exercising your “strength” only to please yourself? Answering this question honestly will reveal whether you are truly the stronger or the weaker brother.
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