“Whatever is not of faith is sin.” Isn’t that right?

People from the time of John Chrysostom (347-407) have tried to limit the meaning of the apostle Paul’s words in Romans 14:23: «Whatever is not of faith is sin.» Chrysostom warns: «The word “all” Paul used in reference to a specific situation, not to everything in general.».

Leon Morris also supports this restriction and notes:

«Whatever the truth may be about actions done before a person becomes a believer, Paul is not discussing them here. He is concerned with the believer who sometimes does things that are not motivated by faith.» (Romans, p. 493)

However, Richard Lenski states:

«No! Should it be limited to the Christian alone and to the question of adiaphora, namely, faith in this sphere? No, it embraces this sphere only because it is part of a much larger one.» («Interpretation of the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans,» p. 854)

What do you say?

Here is some context to help you navigate (Rom. 14:21-23):

«"It is good not to eat meat, not to drink wine, not to do anything by which your brother stumbles [or is tempted, or is weakened]. Do you have conviction? Have it for yourself before God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself for what he is sure of. But he who doubts when he eats is condemned already, because it is not from faith. And whatever is not from faith is sin.".

Augustine, in his "Lectures on the Gospel of John," quotes (Rom. 14:23) as a universal statement covering all human conditions:

«Not because you can say, «Before I believed, I already did good works, and therefore I was chosen.» For what good work can there be before faith, when the apostle says, «Whatever is not of faith is sin.»« (The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7)

Thomas Schreiner supports Augustine and notes that Paul could have expressed a more limited opinion by focusing on the first part of verse 23:

«"And he who doubts when he eats is condemned already, because he does not eat from faith.".

It would seem that the argument is over. But no. Paul adds an unconditional maxim:

«And whatever is not of faith is sin.» (Romans, p. 739)

Universal thesis for a specific point

Morris is certainly correct in arguing that Paul does not discuss the actions of unbelievers in Romans 14. However, this is not a convincing argument. We often support specific theses with general truths.

Any human «virtue» is corrupted if it does not come from a heart filled with love for the Heavenly Father, even if the behavior conforms to biblical standards.

For example, we can say: «"The long hands of the grandfather clocks in this store go 360 degrees every hour. After all, the long hands of all clocks with round dials rotate 360 degrees every hour.".

No one will think we are smart if we say, "From these two sentences, all we can learn is that the only clocks whose long hands rotate 360 degrees every hour are the grandfather clocks in this store, because that's what we're talking about.".

No, we used a universal thesis to support a specific point.

This is exactly what Paul did in his statement: «Whatever is not of faith is sin» – a universal thesis that has confirmation in other places of Scripture besides (Rom. 14:23). For example:

In (Rom. 4:20) Paul emphasizes that faith glorifies God: «By faith Abraham was strengthened and gave glory to God.» The reason why actions without faith are sin is because they do not glorify God as the One who is trustworthy.

In (1 Cor. 10:31) Paul says, «Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.».

But you cannot glorify God if you dishonor Him by not trusting Him. So where there is no faith, the commandment of 1 Cor. 10:31 is not fulfilled in any action, even if it seems neutral.

In (Heb. 11:6) it is said: «Without faith it is impossible to please God.» Therefore, where there is no faith, no action can please God.

When virtue becomes sin

Augustine argued that even the virtues of unbelievers are sins. To better understand this radical indictment of unbelieving human «goodness,» let’s consider an example.

Imagine you are the father of a teenager. You remind your son to wash his car before taking his friends to a basketball game. He has previously agreed to do so.

He gets angry and says he doesn't want to. You gently but firmly remind him of his promise and point out that this is what you expect. He balks. You say, "Well, if you're going to use the car tonight, that's what we agreed on." He storms out of the room, furious. Later, you see him washing the car.

Our depravity is a state primarily in relation to God, and only secondarily in relation to man.

But he is not doing this out of love for you or a Christian desire to obey the Scriptures. He wants to go to a game with his friends, and that is what makes him «obey.» I use «obedience» in quotation marks because it is only outward. He has a wrong heart. This is what I mean when I say that any human «virtue» is corrupt unless it comes from a heart filled with love for the Heavenly Father, even if the outward behavior is in accordance with the Bible’s standards.

First of all, to God

The terrible state of the human heart is often not recognized by those who judge it only in relation to other people. Your son takes his friends to a basketball game. It may look like «kindness.» They will perceive the act as «good.» However, the evil of our actions cannot be measured solely by the good or harm they cause to other people.

(Rom. 14:23) clearly indicates that our depravity is primarily a condition in relation to God and only secondarily in relation to man. It takes great insight to understand the extent of our sin and the greatness of the Savior.

First of all to God (second option)

The terrible state of the human heart is never recognized by those who judge it only in relation to other people. Your son will take his friends to a baseball game. That is «kindness.» They will perceive the act as «good.» Therefore, the evil of our actions can never be measured solely by the good or harm they do to other people.

(Rom. 14:23) clearly indicates that our depravity is a condition toward God first and only secondarily toward man. A great revelation must occur for man to see the extent of his sin and the greatness of the Savior.