“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, ESV).
Jewish conventions are evident in these verses, particularly in relation to the religious calendar of special feasting and fasting “days” [ἡμέραι]. In Galatians the allusion is more comprehensive regarding the observance of “days and months and seasons and years” (Gal. 4:10),1 although Paul’s expectations and tone are very different. To the Galatians he says, “I am fearing for you, lest in vain I have labored for you” (Gal. 4:11). The non-Jewish Galatians had been misled to observe culturally-irrelevant rituals of the Mosaic system to supposedly merit divine favor (cf. Gal. 2:3-5, 11-21; 3:1-21).2 In contrast, the apparent discord among the multi-ethnic Romans was a matter of cultural diversity unrelated to their common faith.
Paul was not opposed to the precepts or conventions of the Jewish law (cf. 7:7, 12) with respect to those for whom it was an important part of their cultural heritage (i.e., within the context of ethnic Judaism), as long as it was not at variance with the Christian faith.3 On the other hand, he was vehemently opposed to the enforcement of the law’s ritualistic ordinances on those for whom these practices had no relevance (i.e., non-Jewish Christians), especially if the imposition of such created division in the church and supplanted reliance on God through Christ.
Pertinent to the mid-first-century Romans, in matters indifferent or inconsequential to the Christian faith, each member of the body “should be fully convinced” [πληροφορέω] (cf. 4:21) “in his own mind.” This does not mean everyone is free to believe and practice whatever he or she wants (cf. 6:17-22; 7:6), but all are accountable to God and ought to live according to God-centered convictions.4 The renewed “mind” [νοΐ] (12:2; cf. 7:22-25) is to be joined with all others in the church in a collective unity of faith (12:16; cf. 1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 1:27; 2:2), despite differences of individual opinions.5
The word “esteems” (ESV, NKJV) or “values” (NASB20) in v. 5 is actually “judges” [κρίνω] (CSB, LSV) in regard to a personal cognitive decision.6 But the verb rendered “observes” (ESV, NASB, NKJV) in v. 6 is φρονέω (cf. 8:5; 11:20; 12:3, 16; 15:5), involving a more thorough engagement of thinking, feeling, and doing. “The one regarding [mentally, emotionally, actively] the day, to the Lord he regards it.” The whole self is invested in acknowledging and honoring the Lord, which, in the context of Jewish history, routinely recognizes and celebrates, with customary memorials, what the Lord has done for his people.
The Byzantine Majority Text and Textus Receptus, based on later manuscripts, have the added, “and the one not regarding the day, to the Lord he does not regard it” (v. 6b), which seems to be a “scribal expansion.”7 It is absent from earlier manuscripts, presumably “prompted by the desire to provide a balanced statement after the model of the clause καὶ ὁ μὴ ἐσθίων later in the verse.”8 Nevertheless, it is congruent with what Paul is saying.
Gratitude
“And the one eating, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks [εὐχαριστεῖ] to God; and the one not eating, to the Lord he does not eat and gives thanks [εὐχαριστεῖ] to God.” In a different albeit similar context, addressing Christian liberty governed by selfless concern for how one’s actions affect others, Paul rhetorically asks, “If I partake with thankfulness [χάριτι], why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks [εὐχαριστῶ]? So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:30-31).
The point Paul is making to the Romans is that the aim of the conscientious believer, whether eating or abstaining, is to be grateful, reverential, and subservient to the Lord.9 Therefore, unconcern or contempt from opposing views is an inappropriate response.
We Are the Lord’s
“For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:7-9).
While the term “Lord” [κύριος] (without the article) is referenced three times in v. 6, highlighting the spiritually motivated intent of certain observances or nonobservances, “the Lord” (article appended) occurs three times in v. 8, indicating the greater sense in which the Lord rules the Christian’s everyday life beyond any momentary or recurring acts. Rather than an inordinate fixation on personal self-interests, we are to live with a constant awareness of how our actions affect those in our immediate circle of influence, but more importantly how we reflect the lordship of Jesus throughout our lives. We are his servants [οἰκέται], he is our master [κύριος], and he alone has the right and authority to rule and to judge [κρίνω] (v. 4; cf. vv. 10-13; 2:1-11; 8:33).10
The sense of the dative τῷ κυρίῳ is that we live or die “to the Lord” (ESV, NKJV), “unto the Lord” (ASV, KJV), “for the Lord” (CSB, NASB, NIV). Every aspect of our existence ought to imitate, please, and honor him.11 But what about dying? Metaphorically, as living sacrifices (12:1) we “die” with Christ (6:6, 8)12 as we “die” to self (12:1-2),13 to sin (6:2, 7, 11; 8:13),14 and to the old-covenant law (7:4-6).15 At the same time, being a disciple of Jesus may come with the risk of physically dying (8:36; 16:4).16 Since Christ’s literal death is noted here in v. 9,17 Paul seems to be alluding to the fact that when we, as his followers, reach the end of our mortal sojourn, we are still in his gracious hands.18 “The union with the Lord Christ, with all its benefits, that the believer enjoys in this life will continue after death with, indeed, an even fuller measure of blessing (cf. 8:18, 31-39).”19 We have this hope because “Christ died and lived again …”
The verb κυριεύω (to “rule over”) in v. 9 was used earlier to affirm that Christ’s death and resurrection ensure that “death no longer has dominion over [κυριεύει] him” (6:9), therefore “sin will have no dominion over [οὐ κυριεύσει] you, since you are not under law but under grace” (6:14). The law formerly exercised dominion over [κυριεύει] those amenable to it (7:1). Now, the death and resurrection of Jesus have secured his exalted state, “that he might be Lord [κυριεύσῃ - 'he might rule over'] both of the dead and of the living.” Neither sphere of human existence is exempt from his reign. “He has achieved this dominion because he himself entered the realm of death, conquered death, and rose triumphant as the Lord of life.”20
--Kevin Moore
Endnotes:
1 The “days” would include sabbath days and single-day festivals (Ex. 31:13; Ezek. 20:12, 20). The beginning of each month was marked by the new moon (Num. 10:10; 28:11; 1 Chron. 23:31; cf. Col. 2:16), with a special worship period connected to it (Isa. 66:23). The “seasons” would be seasonal celebrations, such as the feasts of Passover and Tabernacles, observed over a several-day period each year (Deut. 16:1-17; Zech. 14:16). The “years” would be annual memorials such as sabbatical years (Lev. 25:1-7, 18-22), the year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:8-17, 23-34, 39-55), and the beginning of the new year at Rosh Hashanah. See R. N. Longenecker, Galatians 182.
2 Note also Acts 15:1, 5; Col. 2:13-17.
3 See, e.g., Acts 16:1-3; 18:18; 21:20-26; 1 Cor. 9:20.
4 C. K. Barrett, Romans 259; C. H. Dodd, Romans 214-15.
5 “In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” In various forms this saying has been traced as far back as Croatian theologian Marco Antonio de Dominus, in his 1617 De republica ecclesiastica: libri X.3, but also to Lutheran theologian Peter Meiderlin (a.k.a. Rupertus Meldenius) around 1627 in Augsburg, Germany, quoted by German poet Hoffman von Fallersleben in 1852 and attributed to “St. Augustine,” becoming a key motto of the North American Restoration Movement. See Hans Rollmann, “In Essentials, Unity: The Pre-History of a Restoration Movement Slogan,” RQ 39:3 (1997): 129-39.
6 “It need not mean that ‘another man’ treats every day as secular; it may mean that he treats every day as equally to be dedicated to the service of God, and this was certainly Paul’s attitude” (F. F. Bruce, Romans 231).
7 P. W. Comfort, A Commentary on the Manuscripts and Text of the NT 310.
8 B. M. Metzger, Textual Commentary on the Greek NT (2nd ed.) 468.
9 See also Gal. 1:10; 2 Cor. 5:9; Col. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:4; 4:1; cf. John 8:29; Heb. 13:16; 1 John 3:22.
10 Even when the Lord’s followers are called upon to make judgments (Matt. 7:5; John 7:24; 1 Cor. 2:15; 5:3, 12; 6:2-5), the divine standard of judgment remains the same.
11 Note also 1 Cor. 3:23; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Gal. 1:10; 2:20; Phil. 1:21; Col. 3:17. “Life is summed up in Christ. Life is filled up with, occupied with Christ, in the sense that everything Paul does—trusts, loves, hopes, obeys, preaches, follows … and so on—is inspired by Christ and is done for Christ. Christ and Christ alone gives inspiration, direction, meaning and purpose to existence” (G. F. Hawthorne, Philippians 45).
12 See also Gal. 2:20a; Col. 2:20; 3:3.
13 See also Eph. 4:22-23; cf. Matt. 16:24-26; Mark 8:34-38; Luke 6:23-25; John 12:24-26.
14 See also Gal. 5:24; cf. 1 Pet. 2:24. In similar vein, we die to the world: Gal. 6:14; Col. 2:20; 3:3, 5.
15 See also Rom. 6:14; Gal. 2:19.
16 See also 1 Cor. 4:9; 15:31; 2 Cor. 1:8-9; 4:10-12; 6:9; 11:23-27; Gal. 1:13; Phil. 1:20-21; 2:30; 2 Tim. 4:6-7; cf. Mark 13:12-13; Luke 21:16; 22:33; John 21:18-19; Acts 7:57–8:1; 9:1, 21-24, 29; 12:1-4; 14:5, 19; 21:13, 31; 22:4, 20, 22; 23:12-27; 25:3, 11; 26:10; 27:9–28:3; 2 Pet. 1:14-15; Rev. 2:13; 6:11; 12:11; 13:15.
17 Frequently highlighted in Romans: 3:25; 5:6-10; 6:3, 10; 8:34; 14:15.
18 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:20-23; Col. 3:4; 1 Thess. 4:13-18.
19 D. J. Moo, Romans 844-45; cf. C. K. Barrett, Romans 260.; J. A. Beet, Romans 352.
20 J. Murray, Romans 2:183.
Related Posts: The Weak and Strong: Part 1, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7
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