In today's passage Paul is dealing with differences of opinion in the Christian church. These are not differences in opinion regarding the gospel, but regarding matters of personal preference. He urges everyone to get along together peacefully, with no one looking down on another. In his day some were abstaining from eating meat altogether for fear it had been offered to an idol. Living in idolatrous Rome, that was certainly possible. After a Roman offered part of a sacrifice to a god, he could then sell the meat in the marketplace. In Paul's opinion the person whose faith is strong will understand that any food that is blessed is now clean, but that person should not look down on the person who is afraid to eat foods without knowing their origin.
"Accept those whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters." (Romans 14:1) Many things in the church come down to personal opinions, not specific commandments. For instance, there are those who don't feel right using anything but the King James Bible, while others feel free to utilize other versions. I myself use the New International Version for this blog because I find it more user-friendly. I've had people tell me that the old English used in the KJV is hard for them to read and that it actually prevents them from reading it more. So my personal opinion on this matter is: use the version you will enjoy reading. I've tested out all the most popular versions and can't find a problem with any of them and can't find any place where the gospel message has been altered in any way, so if you like the KJV, NIV, Message Bible, or whatever---read the one you enjoy reading. It's no use to have a Bible you won't read. Another example of disputes in the church involves music. My church uses contemporary music, which is my favorite. But that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with anyone who prefers traditional music. If contemporary music feeds your soul and helps you worship the Lord, listen to it. If traditional music is what puts you in a reverent and worshipful frame of mind, listen to it.
Paul goes on to say, "One person's faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand." (Romans 14:2-4) In our world today we have vegetarians and vegans who, for either moral or health reasons, do not eat animal products. That's their business and not mine. I don't have the right to make fun of them for not eating meat, and they don't have the right to make fun of me for eating a piece of fried chicken. Disputes over minor matters are how Satan causes division in the church. He will try to cause us to disagree on small things in order to take our minds off the things that really matter. Our focus is to be on Christ and on getting the gospel message to the world, not on arguing about matters that have nothing to do with our salvation.
"One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God." (Romans 14:5-6) Paul understood that Jewish converts might still prefer to observe the traditional Sabbath and the Jewish holy days, and he feels it's fine if they want to set aside these days to give particular attention and worship to the Lord. The Gentile converts didn't have these traditions, and there is nothing to be gained by forcing these traditions on the Gentile believers. So he's saying something like, "If you want to give special thanks to the Lord on particular days, do it. If you want to thank God equally for each day, do it."
Our lives are to revolve around the Lord, not around disputes regarding matters of food or holy days or music or what version of the Bible to read or anything similar. We are to observe what Jesus said are the two greatest commandments: to love the Lord and to love others. In keeping our minds on what really matters in the church, we are both loving God and loving others. "For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living." (Romans 14:7-9)
We might not agree in every way with the person sitting beside us on the church pew, but Christ died for that person just as much as He died for us. He loves that person like He loves us. Keeping this in mind, we should all be gentle with each other. The body of Christ is made up of people from all walks of life and with very different backgrounds, but what matters is that we are all saved in the same way, by the same faith, by the same grace, by the same Savior.
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