We ought not to pass judgment upon each other as we will all be judged together as Christians. In other words, Christians ought not to evaluate the measure of each other’s faith precisely because God also took the weak in faith into his service so that they could enter life. In Romans 14:10–12 Paul returns to what he briefly touched upon in Romans 14:4 (regarding judging each other): Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.
Mentioning the judgment seat of God (most manuscripts read the judgment seat of Christ
) fits the concluding sentence: each of us must give an account of himself. The quotation here is from Isaiah 45:23, which does not really speak about judgment, however, but rather about worshipping God. The Lord will deliver all the earth, bringing all people into subjection to him, teaching them to acknowledge him as the God who gives them justice and peace. God wants to bring all people to the praise and service of his majesty. This perfectly fits with the start of this verse, where we read: Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother?
As a people who together are on our way to standing before the Lord’s throne as his redeemed people, we must not judge or despise each other. Proceeding from the idea that we all live for the Lord and that this is our future, Paul highlights the need to accept (welcome) each other. He then also adds another idea to it, namely, that each individual is responsible before God to give an account for himself and not for anyone else. In doing so he immediately transitions to the section dealing with the daily practices in the church. When people are destined to stand together before the throne, this surely shapes how they ought to interact with each other in the church.
Apparently it had been common in the earliest church in Rome for people to subject one another to an assessment or evaluation, for Paul admonishes them to cease this practice. In Romans 14:13, Paul again harks back to Romans 14:1. Because God is the Judge of all and will render judgment over all, it is not our task to subject each other to scrutiny and assessment. Paul had already commanded his readers in Romans 14:1 to welcome each other. Now he is a bit more precise as he commands the readers to ensure that they do not cause others to stumble: Therefore, let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother
(Romans 14:13). The Contemporary English Version (CEV) translates the expression as [d]o not upset anyone.
Yet Paul is not here speaking about irritations that the other person may feel, but rather about obstacles (proskomma) and stumbling blocks (skandalon) that we ourselves could potentially erect against our neighbour. When someone has difficulty (is weak in) walking and therefore falls easily, we ought to ensure that there is nothing stands in their way— never erect thresholds for the weak.1
10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;