Why did Paul include the section about the strong and the weak in Romans 14?

The question that caused me to have the greatest curiosity concerns the beginning of Romans 14, where Paul teaches the church in Rome how to treat the weak. He expresses that there is no clear and concise distinction between the strong and the weak because all will be arbitrated at their appointed time by God. All people, no matter what level of faith, strength, weakness, love, etc., are equally liable for their actions and beliefs, and no person can judge another who is in the same position as they are. Paul sums Chapter 14 of Romans up in one verse: “Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for Elohim is able to make him stand.” There is no way that a servant is able to judge another servant, and this is the classification of all men. He assures the church that they should be judged only by the master that they serve and pay homage to, God.

In Romans 14 Paul expresses that although we as men make a difference in people because of the food they eat and the customs they keep, that everyone will have to stand before the Lord and be judged. Paul is addressing the church in Rome, and he is critiquing their judgmental nature concerning each other. One can never judge another’s worth by their strengths or weaknesses concerning their knowledge and execution of the Christian guidelines, because every man has the chance to answer for all that they have done and all that they know and be forgiven. I researched who Paul meant the strong and the weak people were, and it has nothing to do with the physical attributes of a person. The individuals with more understanding were considered stronger in faith: “The stronger (more knowledgeable) faith, for example, perceives that certain meats, formally “unclean” under the Mosaic economy (Leviticus 11), no longer are forbidden to those in Christ. These saints understood that certain “days,” formerly esteemed as “holy,” henceforth are not to be viewed as such under the law of Christ. The apostle Paul informs the reader that whether strong or weak, knowledgeable or unknowledgeable, that we all have a chance to be purified by the forgiveness of the Lord. He tells the church that no person has the right to judge any human being, because they still have to prepare for the verdict that will be passed according to their own actions.

There were many other idols who were popularly worshipped during the time Paul wrote his letter to the church in Rome. It was custom to offer up a meat sacrifice to those idols; therefore, some of the meat during that time was considered unclean. No one, let alone God who is supremely powerful, would ever want His people to consume something that was intended for a sham of a god who received underserved glory. People had different opinions about the clean or unclean nature of the meat that was sacrificed: “Some thought there was nothing wrong with eating meat that had been offered to idols because idols were worthless and phony. Others carefully checked the source of their meat or gave up meat altogether, in order to avoid a guilty conscience.” It was thought by some to be a slap in God’s face to eat meat that had been technically given as sacrament to an idol that did not hold half the power that He did. Many believers during that time made a conscious effort to avoid eating meat that had been tainted by idol worship. Some of the members of the church chose to eat vegetables only, in order to ensure that they did not violate themselves by consuming meat spiritually contaminated meats. There were a few very clever persons who avoiding eating altogether by fasting. Romans 14 is Paul’s assurance that all of these things do not matter, when it comes to being judged equally in the eyes of God.

In conclusion, I was unclear about who Paul meant the strong and the weak were considered to be, but it is clear that he was referring to those who had strong faith and those who did not. He is conveying to the church in Rome the ignorance that comes from allowing non-essential customs, doctrine, and traditions to determine who was subject to the judgement of the Lord. Romans 14 shows that Paul wanted the people to understand that whatever condition they were in did not dictate whether they would be held to the same standards. He conveyed to the church that the frivolous things that they chose to judge one another on did not mean a thing to God. All were to be held accountable at their given time for their lives, and no individual had the right to evaluate another because they all had the same master. The lesson taken from Romans 14 is that we are all attempting to do our very best in this life, and the worst thing that we can do to each other is judge each other where we have absolutely no room to do so.