Appendix E

Reason:

The last verses of Romans 14 clearly indicate that for people who can so believe, their actions are not sin.

Romans 14:21-23

It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

If I am not causing my brother to stumble and I am believing God to stay in fellowship, my adultery is not sin.

Answer:

The context of the whole chapter of Romans 14 is food, not sex. Although the principles in the chapter can be applied to other areas of life, the principles must be examined carefully so that they are not applied in error. A major key in Romans 14 regarding food is in verse 20. "For meat destroy not the work of God. All things are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offense." "All things are pure...." All what things are pure? Is this verse saying that everything in the wide world is pure? Of course not. The context is food. All food is pure.

If all food is pure, how could eating food possibly be a sin? It is a sin when it is eaten in such a way that it causes a brother in Christ to stumble, or if it is eaten with doubt and not believing. Of course, if the food is eaten with believing it is not sin.

The point of Romans 14 is that doing something that God says is okay to do can be a sin if there is doubt and fear involved. Thus, an ex-Judean can eat pork, which is okay with God to do, but still be sinning in doing it because he has doubt, fear, and condemnation in his life from eating it. This principle can be applied outside the food category. Smoking a cigarette is not a sin. Yet it would be if it were done with doubt, fear, and condemnation instead of believing.

The premise in Romans 14 that governs verses 21-23 is that "All things (food) indeed are pure." There is absolutely nothing in Romans 14 about taking something that God calls impure in His Word and purifying it by believing. No homosexual can "believe" to make homosexuality not a sin. God calls it a sin. It is not "pure" in God's sight, and man cannot make it pure by believing.

In one sense, the principles of Romans 14 do apply to the sexual field. My having sexual intercourse with my wife is pure in God's sight. Yet I can take that "pure" act and make it a sin by having sexual intercourse in the aisle of the local grocery store. Yes, it is possible to make something that is pure in God's sight a sin by doing it with doubt and fear, or by doing it in such a manner that a brother in Christ stumbles. It is not available to "purify" an act that God says is a sin by "believing" it is not a sin.