{"id":96031,"date":"2026-06-10T16:30:55","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=96031"},"modified":"2026-06-10T16:30:55","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:30:55","slug":"how-to-handle-romans-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-to-handle-romans-14\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Handle Romans 14"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<p>by Hugh DeLong<\/p>\nIn studying this chapter, the tendency\u00a0that appears to me is to drag\u00a0<strong>all\u00a0<\/strong>disagreements among\u00a0disciples into this context, including things specifically condemned by the scriptures.<br \/>\nYet, there are plain declarations in <strong>other<\/strong> scriptures that put boundaries on our understanding of the limits, at least some of them, on the application of Paul&#8217;s teaching here. In your study of this text, consider:\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Romans 16:17-18<\/strong>\u00a0&#8211; &#8220;<em>Watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the teaching you have learned; avoid<\/em> (ekklinete) <em>them<\/em>.&#8221; The teaching in question is the apostolic deposit received, not personal scruple. The motive Paul identifies: such people serve their own appetites and use smooth speech to deceive the naive.<\/li>\n<li><strong>I Corinthians 5:9-13<\/strong> &#8211; Paul distinguishes between immoral people in the world (with whom normal contact is unavoidable and expected) versus a professing brother who is sexually immoral, greedy, idolatrous, slanderous, a drunkard, or swindler, and who refuses correction. The latter calls for exclusion from table fellowship. The purpose, notably, is redemptive (I Corinthians 5:5 &#8211; &#8220;<em>that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord<\/em>&#8220;).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Galatians 1:6-9<\/strong>\u00a0&#8211; Paul invokes the anathema (let him be accursed) on anyone &#8211; including himself or an angel &#8211; who preaches a gospel different from the one delivered. The severity is unparalleled in his letters. The issue: the sufficiency of Christ&#8217;s atoning work versus the addition of Torah works for justification. This is not a matter of conscience; it is the gospel itself.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Titus 3:10<\/strong>\u00a0&#8211; The <em>hairetikon anthropon<\/em> (factious\/divisive person) is to be warned once, then twice, then &#8220;have nothing more to do with&#8221; (<em>paraitou<\/em>). After two warnings, the person has demonstrated self-condemnation. This applies to divisiveness as a pattern of conduct threatening the community.<\/li>\n<li><strong>II Thessalonians 3:6, 14-15<\/strong>\u00a0&#8211; Disorderly conduct (here, idleness and refusal to work) warrants withdrawal of normal association, but Paul explicitly says not to treat such a person as an enemy &#8211; &#8220;<em>warn him as a brother<\/em>.&#8221; The separation is meant to produce shame leading to repentance, not permanent excommunication.<\/li>\n<li><strong>I Timothy 6:3-5<\/strong>\u00a0&#8211; Those who teach otherwise (<em>heterodidaskalei<\/em>) and do not consent to sound words are described as conceited, knowing nothing, and diseased with controversies. The implied response is withdrawal.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Matthew 18:15-17<\/strong>\u00a0&#8211; The graduated discipline process: private confrontation, then two or three witnesses, then the assembly, and finally treatment as <em>&#8220;a Gentile and a tax collector<\/em>&#8221; &#8211; which in context means exclusion from the covenant community.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Hugh DeLong In studying this chapter, the tendency\u00a0that appears to me is to drag\u00a0all\u00a0disagreements among\u00a0disciples into this context, including things specifically condemned by the scriptures. Yet, there are plain declarations in other scriptures that put boundaries on our understanding of the limits, at least some of them, on the application of Paul&#8217;s teaching here.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1200,120],"class_list":["post-96031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-disagreements","tag-romans"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":58603,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/paul-barnabas-and-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":96031,"position":0},"title":"Paul, Barnabas, and Us!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Greg Gwin We received an email communication from a man named Joe. He is a member of the First Christian Church. He has been using the Internet to search for \"people of like-minded faith.\" In his letter, Joe explains what he sees as the necessary conditions before he can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":44729,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-meant-by-the-ignorant-and-unstable-would-twist-scriptures-to-their-own-destruction\/","url_meta":{"origin":96031,"position":1},"title":"What is meant by the ignorant and unstable would twist Scriptures to their own destruction?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What was Peter talking about in II Peter 3:16 when he said that the ignorant and unstable would twist scriptures to their destruction? Answer: \"And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89194,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/lines-of-separation\/","url_meta":{"origin":96031,"position":2},"title":"Lines of Separation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer (Note: for starting points about what to do when we differ, you can see \"When We Differ.) Christians are taught to walk in love and unity. Paul wrote, \"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55023,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-appeal-of-ketchersides-teachings\/","url_meta":{"origin":96031,"position":3},"title":"The Appeal of Ketcherside&#8217;s Teachings","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 7, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Herschel Patton via\u00a0Truth Magazine\u00a0- April 1974 We have been saddened lately by a few brethren, mostly among the young, abandoning strict adherence to a \"thus saith the Lord\" and casting their lot with liberal brethren, even to the extent of \"open fellowship\" with the denominations - as advocated by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":81519,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-men-disagree\/","url_meta":{"origin":96031,"position":4},"title":"When Men Disagree","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Adapted by Raymond Warfel From \"When We Disagree\" by Mike Willis Guardian of Truth, XL:9, p. 2, 2 May 1996 Brethren do disagree from time to time despite their desire to be united in the Spirit. We are not likely to remove all areas of disagreement any more than we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66351,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-have-been-blessed-much-by-your-teaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":96031,"position":5},"title":"I have been blessed much by your teaching","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Mr. Hamilton, I have so many questions. May I ask of you?\u00a0I've been trying to understand the Scriptures on my own, but I believe in the blessing and command of the church and teachers. I have been so blessed by many of your letters and teachings, and I long\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96031"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96031\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}