Romans 14:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.

NASB: One person values one day over another, another values every day the same. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.

CSB: One person judges one day to be more important than another day. Someone else judges every day to be the same. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind.

NLT: In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable.

KJV: One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

NKJV: One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.

In Romans 14, Paul deals with the issue of "disputable matters" between Christians. These are issues where the Bible does not give distinct, obvious guidance. Sexual immorality and idolatry, for instance, are clearly condemned. In contrast, however, are issues such as the example given by Paul: the freedom to eat meat, versus abstaining from it for religious reasons. Now he introduces another example, the observance of special days, as a point of disagreement between Christians.

Previously, Paul commanded people on both sides of these opinions not to judge each other. It's important to note that Paul described those who felt bound by stricter-than-Scripture religious requirements as having a "weaker" faith. They were not yet convinced that God's grace in Christ had completely freed them from following the law. Still, both groups were to fully welcome the other.

Now Paul applies that same teaching to the observance of religious holidays. Some Bible teachers suggest that Roman Christians were still following cultural religious ideas, which included a belief that some days were lucky, while others were not. It is more likely, however, that Paul is thinking about Jewish feast days and Sabbath days.

Elsewhere, Paul condemned the Christians in Galatians for continuing to observe "days and months and seasons and years" (Galatians 4:10). In that case, Paul seemed to feel the Galatians were trusting their religious rule-keeping to save them instead of trusting God's grace through faith in Christ.

With the Roman Christians, however, Paul simply tells them to be fully convinced in their own minds about whether to observe special days or not. Apparently, they were not trusting in the observance of these days to save them. As the following verse will show, some Roman believers may have been keeping these days to voluntarily honor God.

Romans 14:1–12 describes how Christians with opposing views on matters of freedom and sin should treat each other. First, strong-faith Christians who understand that all things are clean for those in Christ should welcome and not try to change weaker-faith Christians who believe some things, like eating certain meats, to be sinful. Each should act on their convictions and honor the Lord in doing so. Neither should judge the other, for the real day of judgment is coming when we will all stand before Christ and give an account of our lives.

In Romans 14, Paul tackles the question of how Christians with different convictions about disputable matters should treat each other in the church. Strong-faith Christians who feel free to eat and drink what was formerly forbidden under the law of Moses should not flaunt their freedoms in front of weaker-faith Christians who are not convinced it is right to participate in those things. Neither group should judge the other. Those strong in their faith should rather yield than lead those weaker in faith to violate their conscience, which is a sin.

Paul turns from the black-and-white instructions about light and darkness in Romans 13 to the issue of disputable matters with the potential to divide the church. Paul instructs those who feel free to participate in activities formally forbidden under the law not to flaunt their freedom in front of those who, by conscience, still believe those actions to be wrong. Those strong-faith Christians should be willing to set aside their freedom to keep from leading their weaker brothers and sisters into sin by violating their convictions. Paul addresses this topic with additional comments in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.