Our Personal Exercises Regarding Matters of Conscience (Rom. 14:10-12)

"But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you also, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me, and every tongue will confess to God. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God." The judgment seat of Christ is mentioned here, but, again, in a completely different context. The apostle is exhorting the saints in Rome not to criticize their brothers and sisters regarding matters of personal conscience.

In this chapter, Paul talks about those who have a conscience about certain foods. One has no problem eating all foods, while the other eats only herbs (vegetables). Another scenario he mentions is someone esteeming one day as having some religious excellence while another viewed all days the same way. He said they should not judge one another over these matters of personal exercise. He then reminds them that everyone would stand before the judgment seat one day and the Lord would judge those personal exercises. Then it will be known whether they were things that emanated from the flesh or whether they were true godly exercises coming from the Lord.

Some of us have some rather strange personal exercises and you wonder if they are being used to differentiate ourselves from other brothers and sisters as being pseudo-spiritual. But we have to leave that with the Lord. The flesh is so subtle that it can get involved in spiritual matters and we may not know it. Some of these things seem to grow out of trying to be better than the other in super-spirituality. For example, someone may have a godly exercise of having his wife and daughters wear skirts, and I am one who defends that. But another brother comes along against this exercise and says they should be wearing a dress 24 hours a day. Then another brother comes along against that and says that not only should they wear a dress 24 hours a day, but that it should be down to the feet – even when they go swimming! Don't laugh. These things happen. What can begin as a godly exercise can be reduced to nothing more than the flesh trying to be better than the flesh in the things of God. Some of these things are just a game of "who is better".

Some time ago when I was thinking about these five different areas of review in our lives, I had a word for each one that began with the letter "W" (in English), except for this last one. I had our walk, our words, our works, our ways, but I couldn't think of a word for this last one. I asked some of my daughters and after thinking about it they said, "How about 'our weirdnesses'!" That wasn't exactly what I was looking for, but the more you think about it, it's likely not far off. Some of the personal exercises you hear about are extremely weird.

Paul's observation here is that we should not criticize our brothers and sisters while they seek to walk before the Lord, because there is a coming day when all these things will be judged. People we see with some different and unusual exercises may not be altogether right in our view, but we are not judges in these things. On that day, the Lord will show us whether those things were truly godly exercises of Himself or whether it was just the flesh trying to be admired. The Lord said to Abraham, "Walk in my presence and be perfect" (Gen. 17:1). However, if we begin to walk before our brothers and sisters – seeking their approval instead of the Lord's approval – we may fall into this kind of thing.

At the end of the chapter, he warns the saints that they should not let their liberties become an object of criticism and misunderstanding (vs. 16-23). This is important, because we can take liberties such that they offend those who have a conscience about these things. Going ahead without considering their consciences is not love. Our brothers and sisters must be considered even though we walk in liberty. Love gives up things so that others do not stumble.

Summary of the Various Areas of Review

Our walk in general (2 Cor. 5:9-10). o Our words (Matt. 12:36).

Our works of service (1 Cor. 3:12-15).

Our thoughts and motives (1 Cor. 4:3-5)

Our personal exercises regarding matters of conscience (Rom. 14:10-12).