Today’s Scripture: Romans 14:1

“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.”

The issue of differing opinions about certain practices has been around at least since the days of the apostle Paul. He devoted an entire chapter of the book Romans to this brand of legalism.

The crux of the problem is stated well by Paul in Romans 14:5: “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.” People simply have different opinions about various issues. One person sees no problem in a certain practice; another person considers that practice to be sinful.

As Christians we can’t seem to accept the clear biblical teaching in Romans 14 that God allows equally godly people to have differing opinions on certain matters. We universalize what we think is God’s particular leading in our lives and apply it to everyone else.

When we think like that we are putting God in a box, so to speak. We’re insisting that he must surely lead everyone as we believe he has led us. We refuse to allow God the freedom to deal with each of us as individuals. When we think like that, we are legalists.

We must not seek to bind the consciences of other believers with the private convictions that arise out of our personal walk with God. Even if you believe God has led you in developing those convictions, you still must not elevate them to the level of spiritual principles for everyone else to follow. The respected Puritan theologian John Owen taught that “only what God has commanded in his Word should be regarded as binding; in all else there may be liberty of actions.” (Excerpt taken from Transforming Grace)

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