Wednesday: Observance of Days
In this discussion about not judging others who might view some things differently than we do, and not being a stumbling block to others who might be offended by our actions, Paul brings up the issue of special days that some want to observe and others don’t.
Read Romans 14:4-10. How are we to understand what Paul is saying here? Does this say anything about the fourth commandment? If not, why not?
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Paul is speaking about which days? Was there a controversy in the early church over the observance or nonobservance of certain days? Apparently so. We get a hint of such controversy in Galatians 4:9-10, where Paul berates the Galatian Christians for observing “days, and months, and times, and years.” As we noted in lesson 2, some in the church had persuaded the Galatian Christians to be circumcised and to keep other precepts of the law of Moses. Paul feared that these ideas might harm the Roman church, as well. But perhaps in Rome it was particularly the Jewish Christians who had a hard time persuading themselves that they need no longer observe the Jewish festivals. Paul here is saying: Do as you please in this matter; the important point is not to judge those who view the matter differently from you. Apparently some Christians, to be on the safe side, decided to observe one or more of the Jewish festivals. Paul’s counsel is: let them do it if they are persuaded they should.
To bring the weekly Sabbath into Romans 14:5, as some argue, is unwarranted. Can one imagine Paul taking such a laid-back attitude toward the fourth commandment? As we have seen all quarter, Paul placed a heavy emphasis on obedience to the law, so he certainly wasn’t going to place the Sabbath commandment in the same category as people who were uptight about eating foods that might have been offered to idols. However commonly these texts are used as an example to show that the seventh-day Sabbath is no longer binding, they say no such thing. Their use in that manner is a prime example of what Peter warned that people were doing with Paul’s writings: “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Pet. 3:16).
| What has been your experience with the Sabbath? Has it been the blessing it was meant to be? What changes can you make in order to experience more fully what the Lord offers you in the Sabbath? |
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While I agree with the lesson writer saying "the important point is not to judge those who view the matter differently from you", I cannot agree that Paul was saying "do as you please in this matter". For as the writer also notes, "As we have seen all quarter, Paul placed a heavy emphasis on obedience to the law".
Rather than suggesting Paul was saying "do as you please in this matter", I would propose that Paul advocated each person be "fully convinced in their own mind" (Rm 14:5) with the implication (from Paul's wider writings) that each person take time to consider (under the guidance of the Holy Spirit's enlightenment, discernment and conviction - as per John 16:8, 1 Cor 2:14, etc) what they do and why they do it to see if it promotes or hinders their salvation/restoration (to progressively greater and greater Christlikeness) and the salvation/restoration of others too (as per Rm 14:19).
Incorporated in this is each person's need to prayerfully study and reflect upon God's Word so that they might rightly understand and apply the guidance and instruction (2 Tim 2:15) that God has provided for us to be active participants in His salvation/restoration of humanity (as per Philippians 3:12-15).
[PS: I believe it was Paul's awareness of God's salvation as a complete salvation and restoration process that led to Paul's declaration in Rm 1:16 via calling people to live in conformity ('obedience') to the realities that are stated by God and accepted by faith (Rm 1:5)].
Please read "Acts 10:9-16" and let us understand how God wants us to live with each other. He was not literally speaking about meat because Peter and others like him thought that they were clean and the gentiles were unclean. Later on in the lesson Peter understood how to treat people.Cornelius was not a Jew (in this case not a Christian) therefore, still for some of us (like Peter then) unclean but "Act 10:2" said different. Remember God looks at the "Heart".
I know that in Genesis 2, God created a weekly day of Worship. And no one on this planet can change that...Can no human on this planet can create a day. So now it appears that Paul is dealing with ceremonial festival between the Jewish and Non Jewish Christian...Paul is saying take a chill Pill. And remember Sabbath keeping is not a contributing factor for savior. The history book saying we are saved by faith through faith and both are gift from God. If we put Sabbath Keeping in front of the creator,we become legalistic. When we put God first the real truth will follow.