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Daily Devotions

Romans

Romans 
Day 
Day 280

"One believes he may eat all things..."

Text: Romans 14:2

AREAS OF DIFFICULTY

The apostle dealt with many areas of difficulties in his epistle to the Romans. We may broadly classify some of these areas of difficulties!

1. Doctrinal difficulties (the following may be highlighted)

a) The doctrine of justification by faith.
b) The doctrine of salvation by grace.

2. The difficulty in the practice of faith

a) The problem of the sin principle versus faith in Christ.
b) The problem of the flesh versus the spirit.

3. The difficulty with reference to social issues

a) There was tension between Jewish and Gentile believers.
b) Both groups needed to be addressed directly.

A FRESH AREA OF DIFFICULTY SURFACED

Paul brought up an area of difficulty that may seem almost trivial to the modern day believer. But it was a problem that mattered in those days. The new area of difficulty was with reference to the issue of food.

“For one believes he may eat all things,
but he who is weak eats only vegetables.”
Romans 14:2

1. The strong

They believe that they may eat all things, meat and vegetables. They believe that they are not under the Old Testament and thus they are not subject to the dietary laws of the Jews.

2. The weak

There are those who still struggled with the keeping of the Old Testament laws. For those who have been keeping strict dietary laws, it would be difficult to overcome their dietary scruples.

3. Possible areas of conflict

Both groups have valid concerns. They have to exercise great discretion and understanding or the weak could be adversely affected.