Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Verse

Romans 14:5

ESV 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.
NIV One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind.
NASB One person values one day over another, another values every day the same. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
CSB One person judges one day to be more important than another day. Someone else judges every day to be the same. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind.
NLT In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced that whichever day you choose is acceptable.
KJV One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
NKJV One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.

What does Romans 14:5 mean?

In Romans 14, Paul deals with the issue of "disputable matters" between Christians. These are issues where the Bible does not give distinct, obvious guidance. Sexual immorality and idolatry, for instance, are clearly condemned. In contrast, however, are issues such as the example given by Paul: the freedom to eat meat, versus abstaining from it for religious reasons. Now he introduces another example, the observance of special days, as a point of disagreement between Christians.

Previously, Paul commanded people on both sides of these opinions not to judge each other. It's important to note that Paul described those who felt bound by stricter-than-Scripture religious requirements as having a "weaker" faith. They were not yet convinced that God's grace in Christ had completely freed them from following the law. Still, both groups were to fully welcome the other.

Now Paul applies that same teaching to the observance of religious holidays. Some Bible teachers suggest that Roman Christians were still following cultural religious ideas, which included a belief that some days were lucky, while others were not. It is more likely, however, that Paul is thinking about Jewish feast days and Sabbath days.

Elsewhere, Paul condemned the Christians in Galatians for continuing to observe "days and months and seasons and years" (Galatians 4:10). In that case, Paul seemed to feel the Galatians were trusting their religious rule-keeping to save them instead of trusting God's grace through faith in Christ.

With the Roman Christians, however, Paul simply tells them to be fully convinced in their own minds about whether to observe special days or not. Apparently, they were not trusting in the observance of these days to save them. As the following verse will show, some Roman believers may have been keeping these days to voluntarily honor God.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app: