Back to the question of whether someone’s inner struggle means someone else can’t wear certain clothing, Winger said, “I think this is not the intention of Romans 14.” To explain this belief, he read Romans 14:1-23, pausing at different points to offer commentary on the text.
The passage describes believers who are “strong” and recognize they have the freedom to participate in certain activities, as well as believers who are “weak” and feel guilty for participating in the same activities, even though those behaviors are not objectively wrong.
The activities in question are “disputable matters,” such as eating certain foods or observing certain days. The Apostle Paul encourages Christians to follow their own convictions and not to judge one another about issues that are not central to the gospel. In verse 13, he goes on to exhort believers “not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.”
“God’s main concern here is unity of the brethren over totally tertiary issues,” said Winger.
If people feel guilty about eating certain foods, they should not eat them. If they do, they will violate their consciences even though eating that food is not objectively wrong.
And those who feel free to eat that food should not do so in a way that causes problems for someone else. As an example, Winger said that he likes to eat at a certain restaurant that has idols in it. While he feels free to eat there, he would not bring certain people to that restaurant because they would be bothered.
Nothing in Romans 14, said Winger, mentions clothing, modesty or lust. Rather, the examples are of people participating in certain behaviors and encouraging others to participate in those same behaviors. Paul’s instructions, therefore, do not apply to lust because people who are lusting are doing so in their hearts and are not encouraging others to participate in lust with them.
Winger argued that it is not wise to use Romans 14 as a guide for what worship leaders can or cannot wear. If a group of people decide that something on stage should not happen simply because they don’t like it, “you start to turn into oppressors of the people that are in ministry,” he said.
Furthermore, it is not fair to use Romans 14 to limit what women can wear. “Limiting women from wearing clothes that cause any man in the house to feel lust is so broad that women would be limited to wearing, like, burlap sacks,” said Winger, adding that even then someone would still find a way to lust. “It’s too heavy of a burden to place the lust of man on the shoulders of women. It’s far too heavy of a burden.”
