ACC ~ Romans 14 v1

WELCOME THOSE WEAK IN FAITH. ORIGEN: A man who is weak in his faith is to be accepted and not rejected. For it is one thing to be weak in faith but quite another to be an unbeliever altogether. An unbeliever has no faith at all, but one who is merely weak has doubts about certain aspects of the faith. COMMENTARY ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

LOVE IS NOT INDIFFERENCE. APOLLINARIS OF LAODICEA: As far as matters of indifference are concerned, Paul says that it does not matter whether we do them or not, but when it comes to loving our neighbor, they cease to be matters of indifference. Any regulation concerning food is a matter of indifference, because everything has been sanctified by the power of Christ. But not everyone is so strong in his faith that he is in no danger of being corrupted by these things. Whether we injure such a person or do not injure him is not to be regarded as a matter of indifference, but we are to take great care to ensure that no one loses his soul by eating something which he thinks it might be wrong to eat. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

“WEAKNESS” RELATED TO THE DISPUTE OVER EATING MEATS. AMBROSIASTER: As I mentioned in my prologue to the epistle, those who led the Romans to faith had mixed it up with the law because they were Jews, which is why some of them thought that they should not eat meat. But others, who followed Christ apart from the law, thought otherwise, that it was permissible to eat meat, and for this reason there were disputes among them. The apostle tried to solve these disputes by arguing that the person who abstained from eating gained no advantage in the sight of God, nor did the one who ate lose anything thereby. He says that the person who is afraid to eat because the Jews had forbidden it is weak. He wants this person to be left to his own judgment, so as not to be hurt and depart from that love which is a mother of souls. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

NOT JUDGING ANOTHER’S HEART. AUGUSTINE: Paul says that we should receive the weak man in order that we might support his weakness by our strength. Neither should we criticize his opinions by daring to pass judgment on someone else’s heart, which we do not see. AUGUSTINE ON ROMANS 78.

WHY SOME ATE VEGETABLES ONLY. [PSEUDO-]-CONSTANTIUS: Paul calls “weak in faith” those who thought that meats which were being sold in the markets of that time had been sacrificed to idols, and for that reason they ate only vegetables, thinking that that way they would not be polluted. THE HOLY LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.

THE CHALLENGE OF WEAKNESS. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul points out that the person in question here is not healthy and that he must be received be-cause he needs a lot of attention, because of his infirmity. Furthermore, he makes it appear that the weak man’s error is of such a nature that the others, although they do not share his weakness, are nevertheless disconcerted by it and liable to fall into uncertainty themselves. HOMILIES ON ROMANS 25.

NOT FOR DISPUTES OVER OPINIONS. PELAGIUS: From here on Paul indirectly begins to upbraid those who thought they were strong and who therefore ate meat without restraint. Paul tells them not to judge others according to their opinions when the law does not judge them. PELAGIUS’S COMMENTARY ON ROMANS.

THOSE WHO KEEP THE LAW. THEODORET OF CYR: The weak were those who continued to observe the law. INTERPRETATION OF THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS.

CULTURAL SENSITIVITY. GENNADIUS OF CONSTANTINOPLE: Who would be so inhumane as to lay aside any sympathy for the weak and trample on them, not even offering them the help they need in adversity? Paul makes this an absolute command and accompanies it with the teaching that the law and all the behavior it entailed has been abolished in Christ. Yet he was conscious that the ethnic heritage weighed more heavily on the Jew, who felt that he would be sinning against his brothers if he went against the law. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

Rom