Romans 14:18
For whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
For whoever serves Christ in this way
This phrase emphasizes the act of service to Christ, which is central to the Christian life. The Greek word for "serves" is "δουλεύει" (douleuei), which implies a deep, committed form of service akin to that of a bondservant. In the historical context of the Roman Empire, a bondservant was someone who willingly served their master, often for life. This reflects the Christian's call to serve Christ wholeheartedly, not out of obligation, but out of love and devotion. The phrase "in this way" refers back to the preceding verses, which discuss living in a manner that promotes peace and edification within the body of Christ. It suggests a lifestyle that prioritizes the spiritual well-being of others over personal freedoms.

is pleasing to God
The concept of being "pleasing to God" is rooted in the Greek word "εὐάρεστος" (euarestos), which means well-pleasing or acceptable. This term is often used in the New Testament to describe actions and attitudes that align with God's will. In the Old Testament, the idea of pleasing God is frequently associated with offerings and sacrifices that are made with a pure heart. Here, the Apostle Paul is emphasizing that serving Christ by promoting peace and mutual edification is a spiritual sacrifice that delights God. It underscores the importance of aligning one's actions with God's desires, which is a recurring theme throughout Scripture.

and approved by men
The phrase "approved by men" uses the Greek word "δοκιμάζεται" (dokimazetai), which means to be tested and found genuine. In the ancient world, this term was often used in the context of testing metals for purity. Paul is highlighting that when Christians live in a way that serves Christ and promotes harmony, they not only please God but also earn the respect and approval of others. This approval is not about seeking human praise but about living a life that is visibly consistent with the values of the Kingdom of God. Historically, the early Christians were often scrutinized by their communities, and their genuine love and service often led to a positive witness, drawing others to the faith. This dual approval—by God and by men—reflects the holistic nature of Christian witness, which impacts both the spiritual and social realms.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Paul the Apostle
The author of the Book of Romans, Paul was a key figure in the early Christian church, known for his missionary journeys and theological teachings.

2. The Roman Church
The recipients of the letter, the Roman Christians were a diverse group of Jewish and Gentile believers living in the heart of the Roman Empire.

3. Christ
Central to this verse, Christ is the one whom believers are called to serve, embodying the principles of the Kingdom of God.

4. God
The ultimate judge and the one whom believers aim to please through their service and conduct.

5. Men
Refers to fellow humans, both within and outside the church, whose approval is secondary to God's but still significant in the context of witness and testimony.
Teaching Points
Serving Christ with Integrity
Serving Christ involves living out the principles of the Kingdom of God, such as righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. This service is not just about actions but the heart's posture.

Pleasing God as the Primary Goal
Our primary aim should be to please God. This involves aligning our actions and attitudes with His will, as revealed in Scripture.

The Importance of Witness
While God's approval is paramount, being approved by men is also important as it reflects our witness to the world. Our conduct should draw others to Christ.

Balancing Freedom and Responsibility
In the context of Romans 14, believers are called to exercise their freedom in Christ responsibly, considering the impact on others and the unity of the church.

Living Out the Gospel
Our service to Christ should be a living testimony of the Gospel, demonstrating love, humility, and grace in our interactions with others.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does serving Christ in the way described in Romans 14:18 reflect the values of the Kingdom of God?

2. In what ways can we ensure that our actions are pleasing to God in our daily lives?

3. How can we balance seeking God's approval with being a positive witness to those around us?

4. What are some practical steps we can take to avoid causing others to stumble in their faith?

5. How do the teachings in Romans 14:18 challenge us to live out our faith in a diverse and often divided world?
Connections to Other Scriptures
1 Corinthians 10:31-33
Paul emphasizes doing everything for the glory of God and not causing others to stumble, aligning with the idea of being pleasing to God and approved by men.

Galatians 1:10
Paul discusses the importance of seeking God's approval over man's, which complements the balance found in Romans 14:18.

Philippians 2:12-13
The call to work out one's salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, relates to serving Christ in a way that pleases God.

Matthew 5:16
Jesus teaches about letting your light shine before others, so they may see your good deeds and glorify God, which ties into being approved by men.

1 Peter 2:12
Encourages believers to live such good lives among the pagans that they may see your good deeds and glorify God, echoing the dual approval theme.
Christian LibertyT.F. Lockyer Romans 14:1-23
Three Laws of Christian LifeC.H. Irwin Romans 14:10-23
Deference to Weak Consciences, not Condemnation of ThemR.M. Edgar Romans 14:13-23
Christianity ApprovedA. Maclaren, D.D.Romans 14:17-18
Distinguishing Marks of the Kingdom of GodRomans 14:17-18
God's KingdomP. Morison.Romans 14:17-18
JoyT. L. Cuyler.Romans 14:17-18
Joy in the Holy GhostJ. Lyth, D.D.Romans 14:17-18
Men's Approbation DesirableT. Robinson, D.D.Romans 14:17-18
Moral Goodness, or True ReligionD. Thomas, D.D.Romans 14:17-18
The Constitution of the Kingdom of GodJ. Lyth, D.D.Romans 14:17-18
The Essentials of ChristianityW. A. Griffiths.Romans 14:17-18
The Ideal Character and ServiceJ. W. Burn.Romans 14:17-18
The Inward and Spiritual Character of the Kingdom of GodR. P. Buddicom, M.A.Romans 14:17-18
The Kingdom of GodT. Robinson, D.D.Romans 14:17-18
The Kingdom of GodJ. Leifchild, D.D.Romans 14:17-18
The Kingdom of God a Kingdom of JoyJ. W. Burn.Romans 14:17-18
The Kingdom of God a Kingdom of PeaceJ. W. Burn.Romans 14:17-18
The Kingdom of God is a Soul-KingdomH. W. Beecher.Romans 14:17-18
The Kingdom of God RighteousnessT. Robinson, D.D., J. W. Burn.Romans 14:17-18
The Spirituality of the Kingdom of GodW. Limont.Romans 14:17-18
True ReligionJosiah Hill.Romans 14:17-18
People
Paul, Romans
Places
Rome
Topics
Acceptable, Approval, Approved, Christ, Christ's, Commend, Devotedly, Herein, Highly, Pleasing, Pleasure, Servant, Serves, Serveth, Serving, Takes, Thus, Well-pleasing
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Romans 14:18

     5262   commendation
     5861   favour, human
     8441   goals

Romans 14:1-18

     6662   freedom, abuse

Romans 14:1-23

     4478   meat

Romans 14:13-22

     8353   tolerance

Romans 14:17-18

     6670   grace, and Holy Spirit
     8289   joy, of church

Romans 14:17-19

     6705   peace, experience

Library
July 25. "He that in These Things Serveth Christ is Acceptable to God" (Rom. xiv. 18).
"He that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God" (Rom. xiv. 18). God can only use us while we are right. Satan cared far less for Peter's denial of his Master than for the use he made of it afterwards to destroy his faith. So Jesus said to him: "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not." It was Peter's faith he attacked, and so it is our faith that Satan contests. "The trial of our faith is much more precious than gold that perisheth." Whatever else we let go let us hold steadfastly
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Twenty-First Day. Holiness and Happiness.
The kingdom of God is joy in the Holy Ghost.'--Rom. xiv. 17. 'The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Ghost.'--Acts xiii. 52. 'Then Nehemiah said, This day is holy unto the Lord: neither be ye sorry, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. So the Levites stilled the people, saying, Hold your peace; for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved. And all the people went their way to make great mirth, because they had understood the words.'--Neh. viii. 10-12. The deep significance of
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

December the Fifteenth what is My Tendency?
"Whether we live, we live unto...." --ROMANS xiv. 7-21. Unto what? In what direction are we living? Whither are we going? How do we complete the sentence? "We live unto money!" That is how many would be compelled to finish the record. Money is their goal, and their goal determines their tendency. "We live unto pleasure!" Such would be another popular company. "We live unto fame!" That would be the banner of another regiment. "We live unto ease!" Thus would men and women describe their
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

The Limits of Liberty
'So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. 13. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock, or an occasion to fall, in his brother's way. 14. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

The Necessity of Actual Grace
In treating of the necessity of actual grace we must avoid two extremes. The first is that mere nature is absolutely incapable of doing any thing good. This error was held by the early Protestants and the followers of Baius and Jansenius. The second is that nature is able to perform supernatural acts by its own power. This was taught by the Pelagians and Semipelagians. Between these two extremes Catholic theology keeps the golden mean. It defends the capacity of human nature against Protestants and
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

Joy in the Holy Ghost.
Romans 14:17.--For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. In this text we have the earthly revelation of the work of the Trinity. The Kingdom of God is righteousness; that represents the work of the Father. The foundations of His throne are justice and judgment. Then comes the work of the Son: He is our peace, our Shiloh, our rest. The Kingdom of God is peace; not only the peace of pardon for the past, but the peace of perfect assurance
Andrew Murray—The Master's Indwelling

Of the Three Woe Trumpets.
There still remain three trumpets, the greatest and most grievous of all, and therefore discriminated from the former by the appellation of Woes. For after the conclusion of the fourth trumpet, "I saw and heard," says he, "an angel flying in the midst of heaven, and saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabitants of the earth, by reason of the other voices of the trumpets of the three angels, which are yet to sound." Also, c. ix. v. 12, and c. xi. v. 14. Doubtless, since the Christian
Joseph Mede—A Key to the Apocalypse

Thus Much Will Suffice to have Treated on Behalf of True Continence against The...
26. Thus much will suffice to have treated on behalf of true Continence against the Manichees deceitfully continent, lest the fruitful and glorious labor of Continence, when it restrains and curbs the lowest part of us, that is, the body, from immoderate and unlawful pleasures, be believed not healthfully to chasten, but hostilely to persecute. Forsooth the body is indeed different from the nature of the soul, yet is it not alien from the nature of man: for the soul is not made up of body, but yet
St. Augustine—On Continence

Letter xxxi (A. D. 1132) to the Abbot of a Certain Monastery at York, from which the Prior had Departed, Taking Several Religious with Him.
To the Abbot of a Certain Monastery at York, from Which the Prior Had Departed, Taking Several Religious with Him. [50] 1. You write to me from beyond the sea to ask of me advice which I should have preferred that you had sought from some other. I am held between two difficulties, for if I do not reply to you, you may take my silence for a sign of contempt; but if I do reply I cannot avoid danger, since whatever I reply I must of necessity either give scandal to some one or give to some other a security
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

September 29. "Call not Thou Common" (Acts x. 15).
"Call not thou common" (Acts x. 15). "There is nothing common of itself" (Rom. xiv. 14). We can bring Christ into common things as fully as into what we call religious services. Indeed, it is the highest and hardest application of Divine grace, to bring it down to the ordinary matters of life, and therefore God is far more honored in this than even in things that are more specially sacred. Therefore, in the twelfth chapter of Romans, which is the manual of practical consecration, just after the passage
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity Treasure Christians have in the Gospel.
Text: 1 Corinthians 1, 4-9. 4 I thank my God always concerning you, for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus; 5 that in everything ye were enriched in him, in all utterance and all knowledge; 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: 7 so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ; 8 who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye be unreprovable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, through whom ye were called
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

A Summary of the Christian Life. Of Self-Denial.
The divisions of the chapter are,--I. The rule which permits us not to go astray in the study of righteousness, requires two things, viz., that man, abandoning his own will, devote himself entirely to the service of God; whence it follows, that we must seek not our own things, but the things of God, sec. 1, 2. II. A description of this renovation or Christian life taken from the Epistle to Titus, and accurately explained under certain special heads, sec. 3 to end. 1. ALTHOUGH the Law of God contains
Archpriest John Iliytch Sergieff—On the Christian Life

Further Journeying About Galilee.
^C Luke VIII. 1-3. ^c 1 And it came to pass soon afterwards [ i. e.,. soon after his visit to the Pharisee], that he went about through cities and villages [thus making a thorough circuit of the region of Galilee], preaching and bringing the good tidings of the kingdom of God [John had preached repentance as a preparation for the kingdom; but Jesus now appears to have preached the kingdom itself, which was indeed to bring good tidings--Rom. xiv. 17 ], and with him the twelve [We here get a glimpse
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Perseverance Proved.
2. I REMARK, that God is able to preserve and keep the true saints from apostacy, in consistency with their liberty: 2 Tim. i. 12: "For the which cause I also suffer these things; nevertheless, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Here the apostle expresses the fullest confidence in the ability of Christ to keep him: and indeed, as has been said, it is most manifest that the apostles expected
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

The Holy City; Or, the New Jerusalem:
WHEREIN ITS GOODLY LIGHT, WALLS, GATES, ANGELS, AND THE MANNER OF THEIR STANDING, ARE EXPOUNDED: ALSO HER LENGTH AND BREADTH, TOGETHER WITH THE GOLDEN MEASURING-REED EXPLAINED: AND THE GLORY OF ALL UNFOLDED. AS ALSO THE NUMEROUSNESS OF ITS INHABITANTS; AND WHAT THE TREE AND WATER OF LIFE ARE, BY WHICH THEY ARE SUSTAINED. 'Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.'-Psalm 87:3 'And the name of the city from that day shall be, THE LORD IS THERE.'-Ezekiel 48:35 London: Printed in the year 1665
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Peaceable Principles and True: Or, a Brief Answer to Mr. D'Anver's and Mr. Paul's Books against My Confession of Faith, and Differences in Judgment About Baptism no Bar to Communion.
WHEREIN THEIR SCRIPTURELESS NOTIONS ARE OVERTHROWN, AND MY PEACEABLE PRINCIPLES STILL MAINTAINED. 'Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?'--Psalm 58:1 SIR, I have received and considered your short reply to my differences in judgment about water baptism no bar to communion; and observe, that you touch not the argument at all: but rather labour what you can, and beyond what you ought, to throw odiums upon your brother for reproving you for your error,
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Journey to Jerusalem. Ten Lepers. Concerning the Kingdom.
(Borders of Samaria and Galilee.) ^C Luke XVII. 11-37. ^c 11 And it came to pass, as they were on their way to Jerusalem, that he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. [If our chronology is correct, Jesus passed northward from Ephraim about forty miles, crossing Samaria (here mentioned first), and coming to the border of Galilee. He then turned eastward along that border down the wady Bethshean which separates the two provinces, and crossed the Jordan into Peræa, where we soon
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Of a Private Fast.
That we may rightly perform a private fast, four things are to be observed:--First, The author; Secondly, The time and occasion; Thirdly, The manner; Fourthly, The ends of private fasting. 1. Of the Author. The first that ordained fasting was God himself in paradise; and it was the first law that God made, in commanding Adam to abstain from eating the forbidden fruit. God would not pronounce nor write his law without fasting (Lev. xxiii), and in his law commands all his people to fast. So does our
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Torments of Giant Bad Feelings
THE TORMENTS OF GIANT BAD FEELINGS I am just a bundle of feelings. I never imagined one could have such a variety of them as I am now experiencing. Most of them are bad ones and I am greatly disturbed by them. Really, I doubt whether I am sanctified, on account of the feelings I have. Do sanctified people always feel joyful? I have heard that they do, and if it is true that they do, then I am not sanctified. Big doubts take up company with me every morning, and so long as I feel as I do I do not
Robert Lee Berry—Adventures in the Land of Canaan

Letter xxi (Circa A. D. 1128) to the Abbot of S. John at Chartres
To the Abbot of S. John at Chartres Bernard dissuades him from resigning his charge, and undertaking a Pilgrimage to Jerusalem. 1. As regards the matters about which you were so good as to consult so humble a person as myself, I had at first determined not to reply. Not because I had any doubt what to say, but because it seemed to me unnecessary or even presumptuous to give counsel to a man of sense and wisdom. But considering that it usually happens that the greater number of persons of sense--or
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Epistle Lii. To Natalis, Bishop .
To Natalis, Bishop [1463] . Gregory to Natalis, Bishop of Salona. As though forgetting the tenour of former letters, I had determined to say nothing to your Blessedness but what should savour of sweetness: but, now that in your epistle you have recurred in the way of argumentation to preceding letters, I am once more compelled to say perhaps some things that I had rather not have said. For in defence of feasts your Fraternity mentions the feast of Abraham, in which by the testimony of Holy Scripture
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Li. Dining with a Pharisee, Jesus Denounces that Sect.
^C Luke XI. 37-54. ^c 37 Now as he spake, a Pharisee asketh him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. [The repast to which Jesus was invited was a morning meal, usually eaten between ten and eleven o'clock. The principal meal of the day was eaten in the evening. Jesus dined with all classes, with publicans and Pharisees, with friends and enemies.] 38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first bathed himself before dinner. [The Pharisee marveled at this because
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Death of the Righteous
'For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' Phil 1:1I. Paul was a great admirer of Christ. He desired to know nothing but Christ, and him crucified. I Cor 2:2. No medicine like the blood of Christ; and in the text, For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.' I. For to me to live is Christ. We must understand Paul of a spiritual life. For to me to live is Christ, i.e.' Christ is my life; so Gregory of Nyssa; or thus, my life is made up of Christ. As a wicked man's life is made up of sin,
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

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