Hercules Henderson

As many of you know, my blogging was interrupted recently by the birth of my daughter Madison and my poor timing on moving to a new house. Three weeks ago, I began to post on the issue of the weaker brother from Romans 14 and 1Corinthians 8-10. I am now in a position to continue these posts.

I set out to demonstrate that the weaker brother issue is one of the most misused and misunderstood doctrines we have today. It is constantly brought up among Christians as an argument for legalist principles, which I do not believe is what Paul was telling us.

There are three posts so far in this series and I highly recommend reading them even if you have already read them. The posts describe who the weaker brother actually is and who he is not. I have linked them for ease of use.

http://fide-o.blogspot.com/2005/10/when-all-else-fails-quote-bible-verse.html

http://fide-o.blogspot.com/2005/10/larry-legalist-goes-to-corinth.html

http://fide-o.blogspot.com/2005/10/weaky-weakerton.html

RECAP
Who is NOT the weaker brother?

For clarification, let’s go back one more time and look at who the weaker brother is not.

He is not limited to any new or immature believer.
This reasoning is not found in these passages.

He is not any Christian who tries to apply his personal conviction in a universal way. This brother has knowledge.

He is not simply a brother who disagrees with me and gets angry because he thinks I have sinned. This brother is legalistic and has not violated his own conscience.

Conclusion: "A weaker brother is a Christian who, because of the weakness of faith, knowledge, conscience and will, can be influenced to sin against his conscience by the example of a differing stronger brother." Robin Maxson

Who is the stronger brother?

What makes someone the stronger brother surprisingly enough is that he is strong in the same areas where the weaker brother is weak. He is strong in faith, strong in knowledge, strong in conscience and strong in will. In the passages, the stronger brother is always the one who is doing the influencing not the other way around. The weaker brother doesn’t influence the stronger brother. Because of this, it is the responsiblity of the stronger brother to maintain integrity in the relationship. It is the stronger brother who is proactive in not becoming a stumbling block.

It is also assumed from Romans 14:14 and 1 Corinthians 8:4-7 that the stronger brother is correct in his opinion. What does that mean you ask? Well it means that whatever the stronger brother is doing that is having the influence on the weaker brother is not a sin. It is a satisfactory use of the freedom given this brother in Christ. However, do not assume that this stronger brother is strong in love. That is the challenge Paul is placing on the stronger brother.

So who is the stronger brother?

The stronger brother is a Christian who, because of his understanding of Christian freedom and strength of convictions, exercises his liberty with full peace of conscience, and is not influenced by the differing opinions of others.