Rembrandt (1606-1669), The Apostle Paul, c. 1657, marked as public domain, more details on Wikimedia Commons
In mainstream discussions regarding the Christian faith, Jesus’ admonition to “do not judge, or you too will be judged” (New International Version Bible, 2011, Matt 7:1), often gets quoted. Sometimes we avoid deeper discussions on what Jesus meant because the topic is broad and demands diligent study. Just recently, I was asked to consider the topic of creating for others a communal space free of the fear of being judged, based on Paul’s admonition in Romans 14:13, “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.” What did Paul mean when he admonished the believers in Rome? While a comprehensive discussion of Jesus’ view on what we can judge or not is beyond the scope of this blog article, here I will discuss some of the historical circumstances of Paul’s life in order to contribute to understanding what he may have meant when he cautioned the Roman disciples to “stop passing judgment on one another.”
Some Historical Context
The book of Acts recorded how Paul and his companions preached the gospel throughout Asia Minor. Paul generally first entered a city’s synagogue to preach Jesus to the Jews in the city, only later preaching to the Gentiles in the city. Paul and his friends preached Christ first in the synagogues in Salamis (Acts 13:5), Pisidian Antioch (13:14), Iconium (14:1), Thessalonica (17:1), Berea (17:10), Athens (17:16), Corinth (18:4), and Ephesus (19:8). We are also well aware from the Acts narrative that Paul faced opposition from many, including the Jews, such as in Pisidian Antioch (13:45), Iconium (14:19), Thessalonica (17:5), Corinth (18:12). Paul and his companions would then continue to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, who had no background in the Mosaic law that the Jews studied in their worship services in the synagogues each week.
While this sketch omits other forces in society, such as the profit motive that Philippian fortune-telling businessmen felt when threatened by Paul’s message about Jesus and the Most High God (Acts 16:16-24), this focus on the reception of the gospel by Jews and Gentiles provides important historical background: because of God’s providence and the courageous preaching of the gospel by missionaries such as Paul, Barnabas, Silas, and Timothy, both Jews and Gentiles were becoming believers.
The Council at Jerusalem
Seen in this light, the Council at Jerusalem, where the debate over how much of the customs of Moses (Acts 15:1) that the Gentiles needed to obey in order to attain to God’s salvation in Christ, seems like an inevitable occurrence. Jewish believers of Christ, steeped in the tradition of Moses, honored circumcision (Acts 15:1, 21:21) and accused Paul of forsaking the Mosaic law in his teaching throughout the region. Fortunately, God’s hand, the Holy Spirit, and a spirit of collaborative, communal learning before God fashioned a simple, understandable outcome, saving the first-century church from dividing over this issue. In a letter written by the apostles and Jerusalem elders and with the whole church’s support, they addressed the Gentile believers in the region, sharing this clear result:
It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.
Farewell. (Acts 15: 28-29)
Many believe the Council of Jerusalem was held around 48-50 CE (Britannica Editors, 20210; Campbell, 2014, 2018; Wright, 2020). The timing of this key event, along with the chronology of other events in Paul’s life, provide us with an interpretive framework to understand better his admonition to the Roman believers to “stop passing judgment.”
The Content and Timing of Paul’s Letter to the Romans
Unsurprisingly, Paul began his letter to the Romans acknowledging the universal applicability of the gospel: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Romans 1:16). Throughout this long letter, Paul described to the Roman brethren how the gospel applied to all, both Jew and Gentile:
There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. (Romans 2:9-11)
Even as Paul addressed the entire Roman church, which presumably had numerous Gentile believers, he described his longing and God’s desire for his own Jewish brethren to know Christ and be saved (Romans 9- 11).
And when did Paul write his letter to the Romans? All the references this writer found indicated that Paul had written his letter to Roman sometime during the 50s CE. One academic dated the letter as being written as early as ~ 51 CE (Campbell, 2014, 2018). Others dated it ~57 CE, around the time when Paul was traveling from Corinth to Jerusalem, mentioned in Acts 20 (Britannica Editors, 2026; Wright, 2020). At least one academic claimed that Paul sent his letter to Rome from Corinth (Clarke, 1832), while another put forward that Romans “…was likely written from Corinth around 57 C.E., as he [Paul] prepared to bring the collection from his Gentile churches to Jerusalem” (Marina, 2025, Timeline of Paul’s letters section, para. 18).
Regardless of these exact details, the overall timeline places Paul’s writing of Romans after the Council at Jerusalem (~48-50 CE), and, as will be discussed below, before his arrest in Jerusalem, depicted in Acts 21.
To the Text: Romans 14:1-13
With this selected historical sketch of the Jew-Gentile controversy in the early church and timeline of the apostle’s life, Paul’s practical admonitions to the disciples in Rome gain depth and clarity. Consider, for example, the first three verses of chapter 14:
Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. (Romans 14:1-3)
While this passage may not be only speaking about the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in the Roman church, I believe we can claim with some assurance that Paul’s words here certainly included the interactions between Jewish and Gentile Christians in Romen. It is good to note that verse 1 informs us that whatever issues engendering quarreling were “disputable matters.” Matters of salvation had been decided at the Council of Jerusalem years before, so arguments arising from current topics were “doubtful” or perhaps matters of opinion. Whatever these arguments were about, the agreement sent down from Jerusalem years earlier outlining the simple requirements for Gentiles to become Christians had clarified that issue, but even so, Paul must have felt that issues of the heart, including judging others, still required reminders and teaching. As our own lives and experiences teach us, prejudices toward others, ingrained in one’s upbringing and worldview, do not dissolve instantaneously after a decisive, once-and-for-all agreement. The Romans, like us, still had a long way to go.
Judging versus Treating with Contempt
Gentiles, arising from a background with fewer dietary restrictions, could have been inclined to not accept their Jewish brethren, especially since they would have been more scrupulous about matters of the law, given the restrictions that the Mosaic law had taught them (Leviticus 11). From this perspective, Gentile Christians were “treating with contempt” (verse 3) their Jewish brothers and sisters. The verb used here often means “to despise, to treat with contempt, to regard as nothing” (Bible Hub, n.d.-a). On the other side, those of a “weaker faith,” such as perhaps some Jewish brethren, could have been among those who judged their Gentile brethren for not following guidelines protecting holiness. They had ventured to judge or to “decree” and “determine” (Bible Hub, n.d.-b) the righteousness of the “stronger” brethren who were not scrupulous about what they ate. In addition to the example of what one ate, Paul used the example of treating certain days as special or not as another instance of a “disputable matter” that had one side judging the other, while the ones being judged in turn treated with contempt those who were judging them (verses 5-6).
Paul directed the Roman disciples to remember the Judge of us all, the Lord Himself. He is everyone’s master (14:4), whom we belong to, whether in life or death, and whom we owe our freedom to (14:7-9). Fittingly, Paul corrected the Romans:
You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.’
So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. (Romans 14:10-13)
Paul roundly admonished the Roman fellowship to stop passing judgment. He appealed to them to not do anything to hinder or put any stumbling block in another Christian’s way.
Paul Led by Example
Paul powerfully admonished the Romans even before he had personally visited the church. Some may have thought, who was Paul to speak so forcefully to those whom he had not even met yet? Paul certainly responded to others, such as some in Corinth, who may have considered his writings “weighty and forceful but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing” (2 Corinthians 10:10). Was the charge that his teaching was forceful, but his personal example was not, a fair accusation to be made of Paul? How did he live out his practical admonitions to not pass judgment on others in his own life?
Recalling that Paul had written Romans before his arrest in Jerusalem, let’s examine the circumstances surrounding his capture and detention. He had returned to the city, bringing the Gentile churches’ contribution to the church in Jerusalem (Marina, 2025). James and the Jerusalem elders greeted him; Paul shared with them good news of the Gentiles coming to faith (Acts 21:17). His hearers praised God, but then informed Paul of the thousands of Jews who had come to faith, and who were concerned with Paul’s faithfulness to Jewish custom (Acts 21:21). Wanting to reassure the Jewish brethren, James and the elders directed Paul:
What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. (Acts 21:22-25)
Demonstrating his trust in God and acceptance of these Jewish brethren, Paul responded quickly:
“The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them” (Acts 21:26). We do well to pause and appreciate how humble Paul was. Certainly, he accepted totally the direction given to him by James and the elders, embracing his own Jewish tradition, but he had already given himself entirely to preaching to the Gentiles, insisting that they need not accept the entirety of Jewish law to be saved.
Paul bound in Jerusalem (Acts 21:33), image created by Gemini AI, using description of Paul (Nickens, n.d.)
From here, the drama in Paul’s story intensified. Even as he followed James and the elders’ direction, other Jews roused opposition to Paul. In the resulting mayhem, Paul was falsely accused, dragged from the temple, beaten, and bound in chains (Acts 21:28-33). As pointed out to me by an elder overseas, we have no record of Paul complaining about what happened, grumbling about the direction given to him by James and the elders of the Jerusalem church, and no disgust at having to follow a tradition that was no longer needed (Evans, 2026, personal communication). Instead, Paul chose to be weak—to give up his freedom, to do everything he could to remove any stumbling block to his Jewish brethren in Jerusalem. And, when that attempt failed, not one word of complaining or blame shifting came out of his mouth. Paul not only instructed Christians to stop passing judgment and treating with contempt one another: he embodied this teaching, laying his life down with it. Paul taught and acted in love (I Corinthians 16:14, I Timothy 1:5), willingly suffering for his Jewish and Gentile brethren alike. Paul “walked the talk,” enduring all the consequences out of a deep love and desire for unity for the whole church (I Corinthians 1:10-17, Philippians 4:2-3, Ephesians 2:13-22).
Conclusion
This blog article has explored important historical background and context to the common, Biblical admonition to “stop passing judgment on one another.” As we recognize that the early church addressed the Jewish-Gentile controversy during the Council at Jerusalem ~48-50 CE, we also realize that the practical living out of that unity required careful instruction and exemplary living. Paul provided both to us, leaving clear teaching on how to build this unity, but even more, demonstrating humility as in love he suffered to live out a life that fully accepted all of his fellow brethren. Like Paul, let us not just obey his admonition, but also be motivated by the love he had, accepting one another, since we are all already one in Christ Jesus.
***
Questions to Consider
1. Are the issues I am concerned with matters of correct doctrine or of “disputable matters”? Could these matters be mostly regarding personal opinion?
2. Am I trying to first understand others before expressing my point of view (James 1:19-20)?
3. What practical steps can I take to love my “weaker” brothers and sisters, as Paul did?
4. How can I make my group a safer place, without fear of being judged by others or treated with contempt? Discuss in your small group.
References
Bible Hub. (n.d.-a). Strong’s Greek: 1848. ἐξουθενέω (exoutheneó) — to despise, to treat with contempt, to regard as nothing. https://biblehub.com/greek/1848.htm
Bible Hub. (n.d.-b). Strong’s Greek: 2919. κρίνω (krinó) — to judge, decide. https://biblehub.com/strongs/greek/2919.htm
Bible Hub. (n.d.-c). Topical Bible: Jerusalem council. Topical Encyclopedia.
Britannica Editors (2020, January 2). Council of Jerusalem. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Britannica Editors (2026, July 9). Letter of Paul to the Romans. Encyclopedia Britannica.
Campbell, D.A. (2018). Paul: An apostle’s journey. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Campbell, D.A. (2014). Framing Paul: An epistolary biography. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company.
Clarke, A. (1832). Commentary on Acts 20:3. The Adam Clarke Commentary.
Marina, M. (2025, March 28). Pauline chronology: Reconstructing the timeline of Paul’s letters.
Bart Ehrman. https://www.bartehrman.com/apostle-paul-timeline/
New International Version Bible. (2011). NIV online. https://www.biblestudytools.com/niv/
Nickens, M. (n.d.). An eyewitness, physical description of Paul. Study the Church.
Valkanet, R., & Discovery Bible. (n.d.). Bible timeline. Bible Hub.
Wright, N.T. (2020). Paul: A biography. HarperOne.
Zacharias, D. (n.d.). Modern chronologies of Paul — Danny Zacharias. Modern Chronologies of Paul. https://www.dannyzacharias.net/blog/2019/1/16/modern-chronologies-of-paul