Tim responds to a progressive Christian who claims Romans 14:14 teaches that sin depends on the person.
Transcript
Original video: Sin is subjective. It says so in Romans 14:14. In it, Paul says, “I am convinced, being fully persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if someone regards something as unclean, then for that person, it is unclean.” So, I say again, to whom? Because it depends on the person.
Tim: This is what happens when you read a single verse without looking at the context. We have a principle, don’t we? Never read a Bible verse. What that means is you always read the verses around the verse for context. And when you read the context, you find out that Paul is specifically talking about eating food that is clean but that you think is unclean.
On one hand, there were Christians with weaker faith (those are Paul’s words), who believed eating certain foods was sinful. As a result, they passed judgment on those Christians who would eat those foods. On the other hand, there were Christians with stronger faith, like the Apostle Paul, who knew all food is clean. But those stronger Christians were causing the weaker Christians to stumble into sin by getting them to do something that they believed was wrong. That’s the context. But this raises a question about the weaker Christians. How does doing something that’s not sinful in itself become sinful if the person believes God prohibits it?
Maybe an illustration will help. Imagine I, Tim Barnett, believe it’s a sin to go to the movie theater. FYI, I actually met someone from a legalistic home who believed that. Now, if I believe God prohibits going to the movie theater, and I go to the movie theater because my Christian friends are going, that would be sin. Why? Is it because all sin is really subjective? Of course not. It’s because, in that act, my heart is set against God. It’s objectively sinful to do something that you believe is prohibited by God.
You don’t have to believe something is a sin for it to be a sin. For example, you might not believe murder is a sin, but that doesn’t change the fact that murder is a sin. However, you do have to believe something that’s not a sin is a sin for it to be a sin. You may need to listen to that sentence again. Using Paul’s example, if you believe eating certain meat is a sin, even though it’s not a sin, but you eat it anyway, then that is a sin. The problem is a sinful heart, not sinful food. That’s why, concerning eating, Paul says, “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” If you’re not convinced that it’s okay to eat, and you eat it anyway, you have sinned against God. Paul says, “But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”
Faith is a confidence that what you’re doing is for the Lord. So, if you think you’re doing something against the Lord, and it’s not from faith, it’s sin.
This content creator thinks sin is subjective and that this verse proves it. Ironically, this passage teaches just the opposite.