“One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.” -Romans 14:5–6
By comparison with the earlier construction of Paul’s argument, the one who esteems one day better than another is the weaker believer. And by this we must remember that while the observance of diets and days by the weaker believers was ultimately a matter of indifference in light of their common salvation and exhortation to unity, Paul is not affirming their wrongheaded notions but rather their immaturity in Christ. The reason why it can be a matter of indifference at this point in the church’s development is because both—the esteemer of days and abstainer from meats as well as the esteemer of everyday alike and eater of meats—do so out honor for and thanksgiving to God.
But let us not mistake Paul’s exhortation to the early church to be patient with weak believers during a time of significant transition (from Mosaic ceremonial laws to freedom in Christ) with some of the later developments of heresies concerning diets and days which attempt to divide the church which has fully transitioned after 70 A.D. Such discord should be seen as intolerable.
“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” -Proverbs 6:16–19
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!” -Psalm 133:1
Leave a Reply