Some have read these verses and felt that Paul was teaching that it was fine to be legalistic.  This is not the point he is making.

Galatians 4:9-11 "But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain. "

     Paul was not teaching that it was fine or all right to be legalistic, but he was teaching that it was perfectly all right "to be temporarily weak".  When we were born again we were babies that needed to grow spiritually.  No one expects an infant to walk, talk, and act as if he were fully grown.  We "must allow the weaker his time of growth".  The stronger should not expect the weaker to fully understand Christian liberty.  All are accountable to God, and God will judge both the stronger and the weaker, leading each person by His precious Holy Spirit.  We need to be patient, to grow together in love.  As long as both parties, both stronger and weaker, have the interests of their Lord at heart then God will bless their efforts.

     In the first clause Paul highlights that "we are not masters of either our lives or of our deaths".  "For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself." The entire purpose, our ultimate goal as Christians,  is to worship and serve God.  The Stoics, a philosophical sect, felt that they were "masters of their souls and captains of their fates".  "No man" has ever asked to be born, and no man can control when he dies:

Hebrews 9:27 "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."

     Another interesting thing about the context is that it tells us that Christ's death and resurrection was accomplished in order to "give him Lordship" over creation.  We see this further expressed:

Philippians 2:7-11 "But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

     All Christians will, after the great resurrection day known as "the Rapture",  be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ.  We see this taught in:

II Corinthians 5:10 "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."

     We who are saved by Grace "are not saved from judgment", but we are saved "from eternal damnation".  It is important that we understand this!

     We are not to judge one another for one day we shall be judged, having to give an account of our stewardship to the Lord Jesus.  We will have to explain "how we used our stewardships" while Christians.  "Give account" is the Greek "DOSEI LOGON", meaning "to refer to a bookkeeper's accounting ledger".

     "It is important to realize that we will not be condemned" at the Judgment seat of Christ, but all the work we did in this life "will be tested".  If our works do not stand the test then we will receive no reward (other than salvation, which was secured at the Cross).  If our works stand the test we will receive crowns, which will glorify the Plan of God and the work of the Son.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

     We are not condemned at the Judgment seat of Christ, though our stewardship of what God entrusted to us at salvation is "accounted for".  We should not judge one another's stewardship before the proper judge, Jesus Christ, judges them at "the proper time".  This is the main point Paul is making.

     Paul now addresses the "gray areas" of sin.  We all know that adultery, murder, theft, and so forth is sinful.  These things are plainly highlighted in Scripture.  But eating meat offered to idols, is this sinful?

     There are gray areas not mentioned in Scripture which are left up to us to determine whether it is sin or not.  Though no meat or drink is "unclean of itself", if your action causes a brother to stumble then the action becomes "unclean because of the result".  "Unclean" is the Greek "KOINON", meaning "that which is opposed to the Divine".  "Anything which causes someone to stumble is unclean",  opposed to God's Plan.  It is God's will that we love one another and not cause any to stumble.

     In verse 15 the "responsibility for removing stumbling blocks" relies on the older or stronger brother.  This verse can be paralleled with:

I Corinthians 8:7-13 "Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. "

     The burden of non-offensiveness "is placed on the stronger" believer in Christ.  The weaker brother often cannot help himself, much like an infant must be helped by someone older. The younger in Christ must be helped by the matured believers in the Church.

     Though Paul placed the injunction on the "weaker not to judge the stronger", the stronger Christian has the "heavier burden".  Christ, in the parable of the unfaithful servant, gave the following rule for stewardship:

Luke 12:48 "But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. "

     "Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" refers to the mature Christian who, in growing, understands the Divine Law of Liberty. As the mature has been given much, God expects more from him than He does from the immature believer. The elder "must serve" the younger,  willingly and out of love.

     In the phrase "Destroy not him with thy meat" we see the seriousness of the mature Christian's responsibility.  In an earlier lesson we looked at the Doctrine of the Sin unto Death, noting that "any habitual unconfessed sin" can cause a believer meet an untimely death. We read:

I John 5:16-19 "If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, {Tell his brother about it} and he {God} shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. {This brother's life may be saved if his eyes are opened and he not continue in sin} There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death."

     If we see a brother in sin (as clearly outlined in the Scriptures), by going to that brother we may redeem or save him from physical death.  The reverse is also true, as seen in our paralleled Romans and Corinthians texts, "Destroy not him with thy meat".

     If we who are Christians cast a stumbling block before a weaker brother, we may "cause him to feel that he has sinned".  Feeling that he has fallen out of fellowship by eating "meat", he may then,  in despair, "turn to actual sin."  This may lead to habitual sin or the Sin unto Death.

     The mature Christian who is careless with his freedom may start a chain reaction which will cause the weaker to be destroyed.  The mature Christian "has a terrible responsibility" to avoid offending the weaker.  We need to keep this constantly in mind.

     "Follow" is the Greek "DIOKO", meaning "to run swiftly in order to catch, to seek after eagerly".  The idea is that the Christian should "diligently seek to create peace" in the Body of Christ.  This is not an passive action, but a vibrant and active role that we must "each" take.

     Another interesting point can be drawn from the sentence: "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine".  Let's take a look at the Biblical aspect of Christians drinking alcohol.

     It is often said in many of our denominations that "the Christian is forbidden to partake of alcohol".  Some Churches have Covenants specifying that believers are forbidden to partake, sell, or give alcohol to anyone.  "I myself personally despise Church Covenants, for they are often prone to the whims of the democracy and totally devoid of Biblical truth."  Many have been created as a tool by the weaker brother to despise the stronger, or by the stronger to condemn the weaker.  Covenants are "often used in place" of the Scripture, providing the audience of the Church an opportunity to say what they like without really seeing what the Bible teaches.  The Covenant forbidding alcohol is based on Scripture taken out of context in order to satisfy the world view of "religious behavior".

     First let me state that "I do not" drink alcohol. I refrain much as Paul did, to avoid offending my brother. But "not because" it is forbidden to me. The Scripture teaches of all things, even alcohol:

Romans 14:14 "I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. "

Matthew 15:10-11 "And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man."

Titus 1:15 "Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled."

1 Corinthians 6:12-13 "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. "

Matthew 12:34-37 "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. "

     Jesus, in His earthly teaching ministry, "never taught" that the Christian was to abstain from any form of food or drink. He looked at the heart of the man, and taught that "that which came from the mouth" (our words from our hearts) defiled a man (his body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit), because the words were "a true indicator of the inward condition" of that man.

     We can go a step further and note that: "no where" in Scripture are we taught "not" to drink alcohol. The Romans, Titus, and Corinthians passages make it plain that the Christian has spiritual liberty insofar as food and drink are concerned. Many evangelicals are fond of quoting the following passages in an effort to prove that "imbibing" (drinking alcohol) is wrong:

Proverbs 20:1 "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise."

Ephesians 5:18 "And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; "

     I draw your attention to the Proverbs passage first, which states "whosoever is deceived thereby". To be "deceived" by alcohol is to "drink unto drunkenness", not to partake in a moderate manner. No scholar of the Hebrew text would seek to prove that this passage teaches against drinking. It teaches "against drunkenness". The same is true of the Ephesians text, which teaches against drunkenness ("be not drunk"), not drinking. So why do many preachers teach the opposite intent of these texts? Because many cling to Galatianistic Legalism, not trusting the power of God to uphold the Christian.

     Jesus, according to the Bible, drank wine. This was a common practice among all Jewish people of this time.

Matthew 11:19 "The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. "

Luke 7:34 "The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! "

     Jesus, by drinking and eating with publicans and sinners, opened himself up to false charges of alcoholism and obesity. Many evangelicals try to tone the Biblical truths on alcohol down by saying "Jesus was just drinking grape juice", but He was obviously drinking mildly alcoholic wine if the Pharisees could bring the charge of "winebibber" out with a straight face. "There had to be the remotest possibility" that what they said was true if it was to be an effective slander. The Pharisees were "not" fools. If Jesus was only drinking grape juice they would have known it, and attacked Him in some other way.

Jesus, scripturally, gave others wine during a wedding feast:

John 2:3-10 "And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. "

     At his mothers request He turned the barrels of water into wine. And this was not just "grape juice" or some breakfast drink, for the Greek word for wine here refers to fermented alcohol. If drinking alcohol is wrong, then Jesus, by his actions, became the merchant of sin. Yet this is not so! Many preachers, though Biblical expositors, rarely study the historic background of the Scriptures. Historically the Jewish people, from Abraham till today, have drunk wine with their meals. This was often the case because water sources were often tainted, unfit for human consumption. This brings us to the point of the Lord's supper.

Matthew 26:27-29 "And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

I Corinthians 11:20-21 "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper. For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken."

     The Passover Supper, from which came the Lords Supper, traditionally was held with wine, the fruit of the vine, as it's beverage or symbolic "blood of the Lord". It was not until more recent times that the cup of the Lord "became grape juice".

     This is evident when we see the admonition that Paul gave the Corinthians in our text. He rebuked these Christians for improperly partaking of the Lord's table in greed, eating and drinking wine unto excess. He "did not condemn the church for use of alcoholic beverages, but of it's overuse", for "another is drunken".

     Now, I am not saying that all churches should turn from using  grape juice to alcohol at the Lord's table. The Lord's table is symbolic, and in it's symbolism and in the spirit of Love we worship the Lord. If we partake using wine, orange juice, grape juice, or whatever; and do it "in the remembrance of Christ", then we honor His table.

     I do advocate that Christians "everywhere refrain from vain legalism" that edifies neither the Body nor the Spirit of God. I also encourage Christians to avoid creeds and covenants apart from Scripture. The Bible is our guide in Godly living, not some document written "by popular vote" in the local Church.

     Many people feel that the chapter divisions were placed in the Bible by God. This is not true. The chapter, verse division, and even punctuation was placed in the Scriptures and standardized by translators. In most cases the chapter divisions are accurate to the subject, though in this case it is not. The first three verses of chapter 15 belong to chapter 14 as "it's conclusion and summary".

     "Infirmities" is the Greek "ASTHENEMA", which means "physical or mental weakness". The stronger brethren are to understand and "allow for" the weaker faith of their younger brethren. Paul makes it plain that this is "not just a suggestion or request, but stands as a command" from God.

     We see this in the Greek "OPHEILO" ("ought") which means "to be a debtor under obligation, bound to a duty". Paul also reckons the elder's job is "not a light one" in his use of the word "bear" "BASTAZO", which means to "hold up that which is burdensome". We are to "hold up or to bear up under" the weaknesses of our younger brethren, knowing that this will edify the church of Christ.

     Paul draws our minds to the sacrifice of Christ. Though Christ cried "my Father, if it be thy will, let this cup pass from me" (the cup of suffering); he nevertheless said after this, "not my will but thine be done".

     "Christ bore up under our infirmities, thus bringing us to salvation. Likewise we, as our duty, must bear up under others who are weak also."