Weak and Strong Consciences

Entering the 'period of explanation and confirmation' (the Epistles), Pastor Martin expounds Romans 14:9 as one of the clearest New Testament assertions of Christ's present kingship. He shows Paul resolving the conflict between the 'weak' and 'strong' in Rome by assuming that both have been received by God in grace and both are now under the government of Christ the King, for Christ died and rose again that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. From this he draws four principles: Christ's rule is a present reality to Him as Savior, a practical reality in every recipient of salvation, a matter of Christian growth in its working out, and a matter of life and death in its initial embrace.