REMINDER:
REMEMBER, ONLY 6 VERSES (LISTED ON THE HOME PAGE) IN THE ENTIRE BIBLE SAY THAT CHRISTIANS ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW, BUT NONE OF THE 6 CAN POSSIBLY REFER TO THE GENERAL LAW (REMAINING LAWS AFTER THE SACRIFICE, CIRCUMCISION, AND LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD LAWS HAVE BEEN ANNULLED), WHICH INCLUDES THE SAFE MEAT, SATURDAY REST, AND MOSTLY PROPHETIC FESTIVAL LAWS, BECAUSE MORE, MANY MORE, THAN 5 OTHER VERSES (LISTED ON THE HOME PAGE) WARN, QUITE EMPHATICALLY, THAT THE GENERAL LAW, EXCLUDING THE APOSTLE ITEMIZED SACRIFICE, CIRCUMCISION, AND LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD LAWS, MUST BE OBEYED. SO NO MATTER WHAT THE MAINSTREAMERS FANATICALLY PREACH, THE 6 VERSES, WITH A LITTLE REASONING, CAN ONLY REFER TO THE FEW NEARBY LAWS THAT THE APOSTLES DISCUSSED SPECIFICALLY BY NAME AND “SPELLED OUT” AS ANNULLED, WHICH WERE THE BURDENSOME OR NOW UNNECESSARY SACRIFICE, CIRCUMCISION, AND LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD LAWS.
Romans 14:1-10: “Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over DOUBTFUL things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him WHO DOES NOT EAT, and let not him WHO DOES NOT EAT judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. 5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he WHO DOES NOT EAT, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” NKJV 1 Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions. 2 One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Don’t let him who eats despise him who doesn’t eat. Don’t let him who doesn’t eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. 4 Who are you who judge another’s servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for God has power to make him stand. 5 One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. He who doesn’t eat, to the Lord he doesn’t eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died, rose, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. (World English Bible) still editing
Romans 14:1: “And tho who is weak in tha faith receive ye not for ARGUMENTS OF OPINIONS.” (A Conservative Version Interlinear)
Romans 14:1: “But you should welcome [into your fellowship] the person whose faith is weak, and not argue [with him] over QUESTIONABLE MATTERS.” (An Understandable Version)
Romans 14:1: “And receive the one who is weak in the faith, not to JUDGMENTS OF YOUR THOUGHTS.” (Green’s Literal Translation)
Romans 14:1: “Him that is weak in his faith, receive ye,—not for DISPUTING OPINIONS:—” (Rotherham Emphasized Bible)
Romans 14:1: “Now receive the one who is weak in faith, but not for QUARRELS ABOUT OPINIONS.” (Lexham English Bible)
Romans 14:1: “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing JUDGMENT ON HIS OPINIONS.” (Berean Study Bible)
Romans 14:1: “I now pass to another subject. Receive as a friend a man whose faith is weak, but not for the purpose of deciding MERE MATTERS OF OPINION.” (Weymouth New Testament)
Romans 14:1: “As for the man who is weak in faith, accept him, but not for DISPUTES OVER OPINIONS.” (Common Edition New Testament?)
Romans 14:5: “One considers a certain day as HIS PREFERRED FAVORITE DAY; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.” (Erickson’s Literal Translation, not yet published)
Romans 14:1 reveals the CONTEXT (general subject) of verses 5 and 6: the discussion is merely about “opinions.” Law keeping Paul, the author of Romans, of course NEVER considered any Old Testament law a matter of “opinion.” The original Greek for “opinion” basically means “opinions.” These were matters of very personal opinions (about vegetarianism, for example, and quite probably when to fast) which show that the author, Paul, was not addressing issues clearly stated and established in the Bible, such as when and if to obey the commandment to rest on the Sabbath day, avoiding the consumption of unclean meats, and observing the OT holy days. The word “Sabbath” and references to Sabbath keeping or any OT holy day DO NOT APPEAR EVEN ONCE in the entire book of Romans. Paul and other New Testament writers NEVER ambiguously cloaked the Sabbath or a commanded festival day in phrases such as “one day.” Verses 5 and 6 about days occurs immediately between references to eating meat, vegetarianism and fasting in verses 2, 3, and 6, which are not Biblically related to Sabbath observance. To assume that Paul, a strict Pharisee who quoted the Old Testament many times and ALWAYS kept the Sabbath in every city that he visited, meant that the Sabbath, a feast day, no longer had to be observed is taking verses 5 and 6 far out of context.
PAUL’S LETTER WAS WRITTEN TO A MIXED CHURCH OF GENTILE AND JEWISH BELIEVERS, AND ARGUMENTS HAD BROKEN OUT OVER SOME OF THEIR EATING PRACTICES AND FASTING DAY TRADITIONS.
The Sabbath day was never an issue here. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, published by Zondervan, says that
“the close contextual association with eating suggests that Paul has in mind a special day set apart for observance as a time for feasting or as a time for fasting”
(Everett Harrison , 1976, vol. 10, p. 146). So it is apparent that Paul, instead of discussing the Sabbath, was talking about OTHER days during which feasting, fasting, or abstaining from eating certain foods was practiced. The Talmud records that MANY JEWS living at the time that the book of Romans was written FASTED ON MONDAYS AND THURSDAYS. They also had other traditional fasting days (Zechariah 7:3-5). Some of the Jewish Christians in Rome self-righteously criticized the gentile Christians (Romans 2:17-24), perhaps bragging like the Pharisee who said “I FAST TWICE A WEEK” (Luke 18:12). So some of the Jewish Christians set themselves up as more righteous than others who were not abstaining from eating on certain days. Paul explains that observing the “day” was an issue about one’s eating habits. Those who fasted or abstained from eating meat on particular days of the week gave thanks to the Lord on those days. Those who ate food every day of the week similarly thanked the Lord for their daily food. Therefore NONE OF THE ABOVE VERSES PROVES BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT that the observance of the Mosaic Saturday Sabbath or annual, high holy days has been annulled. For additional study of Romans 14:5-6 please visit ucg.org/booklets/NC/opposite. You can also visit ucg.org/booklets/nc/worship. Also, visit one or more of the following three international, law keeping churches recommended on the INTRODUCTION page, at cogwa.org, lcg.org, or ucg.org then select Contact to ask online for an explanation of “one man esteemeth one day above another in Romans 14:5-6.”
Many people mistakenly believe that Romans 14 also proves that the Old Testament dietary laws restricting which meats can be eaten has been done away with. Many Bible authorities agree that Paul wrote this letter to the Romans in about 56 or 57 A.D. from Corinth, where there had been a lot of arguments about meat sacrificed to idols. These Bible experts say that the book of 1 Corinthians was written by Paul around 55 A. D. Chapters 8 and 10 in 1 Corinthians discuss meat sacrificed to idols, and this food controversy is the logical reason for Paul’s comments about it in the book of Romans. The common practice of the Romans at the time was to offer sacrifices of meat and wine to idols, and then they sold whatever was left over in the marketplace. Romans 14:21 shows that the main subject of Romans 14 is the sacrifice of meats and wine to idols. The “Life Application Bible” comments on Romans 14:2 saying that some Christians at the time felt guilty about eating meat or drinking wine they had bought because they knew it could have been part of the meat or wine recently sacrificed to idols. Some Christians thought it was okay to eat part of the meat or drink wine that was used as a sacrifice. The most important point Paul makes in Romans 14 is to not offend anyone else if they are present when you are eating some meat or drinking wine as he points out in verses 13, 15, 16, 20, and 21.
Romans 14:3,5: “…… FOR GOD HAS RECEIVED HIM …… 5 ….. another esteems every day alike ……” Analyzing even further, the general context here includes the idea that God has APPROVED OF and has accepted these particular people into Christianity and is APPARENTLY AWARE of their willingness to obey all of His laws, INCLUDING those involving His festival holy days and the regular Saturday Sabbath when routine work is forbidden. Every day IS NOT alike, of course, according to God. For example, the first day of the annual Feast of Tabernacles is a very special holy day of REST when routine work is NOT allowed, quite different from the other 6 days of the feast. Observing this feast is still MANDATORY since Zechariah 14:16-19 has warned the nations that failure to observe it after the return of Jesus will still result in the divine curses of no rain for a year plus a plague. Does that sound like God now considers every day alike, too? NO, OF COURSE NOT, A DOZEN TIMES OVER!! Also, Isaiah 2:2-4, Micah 4:1-3, and Jeremiah 31:31,33,34, as well as many other verses, all revealed that “the law,” which included commanded rest on certain holy days showing that every day is not alike, will be observed by all Christians everywhere in the distant future. So the “day,” again, in Romans 14 could not be referring to any of the well established festival or holy days of God, or the weekly Sabbath. Otherwise, God, who can “read” minds, would not have received these people discussed in Romans 14, some who consider “every day alike.”
In summary, the verses surrounding Romans 14:5,6 overwhelmingly point to days OTHER THAN the weekly Sabbath or the still commanded Old Testament festival days. In a sane and rational world, then, wannabe antinomians CAN NOT come even close to using any of the above Romans verses as “proof” BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT that God’s holy days and Sabbath have been “done away with.”
A reminder of the need to obey all of God’s laws is the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, which could very well be the beginning of another divine curse kicking in right on schedule because of people’s refusal to obey the Year of Jubilee. Admittedly, this particular law may now be impossible to accurately keep since the record of who originally owned a piece of rural land may no longer exist. The well researched Kondratieff long wave economic cycle shows that recessions and depressions occur roughly in 40 and 60 year cycles (which average the 50 year cycle in the still commanded Year of Jubilee). The last major global recession was in the early 1980’s, considered by many as worse than the one in 2008-2009. Add 40 years to the 1980’s and you get the 2020’s. Proverbs 10:3 is a comforting verse, though, which reveals that the Lord will not allow the righteous (law keeping Christians) to starve to death.
So you should be able to now more easily believe 2 Peter 3:17 which says: “Dear friends, you have already been warned about this. So be on your guard. Then you won’t be led astray by PEOPLE WHO DON’T OBEY THE LAW. Instead, you will remain SAFE.” (New International Reader’s Version)
Jude 1:4: “…… some people have infiltrated our ranks …… who beneath their pious skin are SHAMELESS SCOUNDRELS. Their design is to REPLACE the sheer GRACE of our God with SHEER LICENSE—which means doing away with Jesus ……” (The Message) Don’t be fooled by the idea that the majority is always right. In the 1950’s for example, smoking was considered safe by most people, and even most doctors smoked. Jude’s warning applies even if these breakers of Jesus’ laws, the shameless scoundrels he is referring to, make up the majority of “Christians.”