One person esteems one day is 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
Now, this verses may not make sense, apart from the surrounding context. So just to fill you in real quick. I have spent a lot of time over recent years in Romans 14 and 15. I’ve seen division in the church in so many ways over non-essential doctrines. That’s what’s happening here in Romans 14.
Romans 14:5–6 Illustrate the Fact of Diversity of Thought Within the Church
You have some people in the church, followers of Jesus who believed they should not eat certain foods. And other people who said it’s fine to eat those foods. And then some people who said, We need to honor these days, celebrate these holidays. Others said We don’t have to do that. And people believed their position strongly.
And what’s interesting is Romans 14:5. So Paul’s trying to promote unity in the church. And he doesn’t say, Don’t have a strong position. Which is what I think he would say. Instead, he says, in Romans 14:5, Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Have strong convictions about where you land on what you should eat or what holidays you should or should not celebrate.
But then he goes on and he talks about how that doesn’t mean we have to divide in the church. That on these issues that are not essential, that are not core to the gospel, that don’t separate Christians from non-Christians, and even here, don’t separate you in the church. You don’t need to be in different churches where the vegetarians are over here and the meat eaters are over there, in different churches. He said, No, this is not that kind of issue. But that doesn’t mean you don’t have strong convictions. You just don’t let those strong convictions about these things that you’re free to disagree about in the church as followers of Jesus. Don’t let those strong convictions divide you. Instead, he goes on to say, Pursue what is good for mutual up-building. That’s the language in Romans 14:19, “Pursue what makes for peace,” Romans 14:19 says.
Romans 14:5–6 Encourages Us to Strive to Preserve Unity
So I want to encourage you and lead us to pray for wisdom to distinguish, to discern between convictions we have that are clear and direct in God’s word, that are essential even for followers of Jesus, essential for people to be in the church together. And then, the kinds of convictions, that it’s okay even though we have strong convictions about them, to have differences with other brothers and sisters in Christ in ways that don’t divide us as the church. Especially in my culture, where it’s just so easy, where people are so quick to cancel and accuse and divide and be polarized against each other. That we would not let that kind of culture be what marks the church of Jesus Christ.
So God help us. We pray to have discernment amidst all the convictions we have. To know what rises to the level of dividing us from other people. We know that when we believe in you, Jesus, as the savior of our sins and the Lord of our lives, this divides us from a world that does not believe in you. That by grace through faith in you, all that we’ve prayed through in Romans, we become a part of your family in a way that’s different from those who have not trusted in Jesus.
This Verse Reminds Us to Seek Peace and Mutual Upbuilding
And so, God, we praise you for truth like the gospel, that does divide us. And at the same time, God, we pray as your family, as those who are united around Jesus, we pray that you would keep us from dividing from others over convictions we have that are less clear or direct in your word. Or that are on another level that don’t rise to the level of belief in who you are, Jesus. And how you save us. And how you command us to live according to the clear, direct instructions you give us in your word.
God, we pray for this kind of discernment that we see Paul promoting in Romans 14. And as a result for Romans 14:19, like peace and mutual up-building in your church. God, so that the world might see and hear from us a clear message about what is most important, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Prayer for the Tigre People
God, we pray for that gospel to spread through us in the communities where we live and to the ends of the Earth. We pray today for the Tigre people of Eritrea.
God, please. Among this people group of almost a million people, where there are only a few followers of Jesus. God, we pray that you would bless those few followers of Jesus. Strengthen them. Empower them for the spread of the gospel among the Tigre people. And God, we pray that you would help us as your church to realize what is most important, the gospel, and to give our lives to reaching the nations with it, instead of being a people with the gospel, fighting with each other over things that are far less important, even as we have strong convictions about them.
We pray all of this according to your word in Romans 14. In Jesus’ name, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
