Romans 14

5 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. 6 Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. 7 For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. 8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead. 10 So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will confess and give praise to God.’” 12 Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. 13 So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. 14 I know and am convinced on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong. 15 And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. 16 Then you will not be criticized for doing something you believe is good. 17 For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. 19 So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up. 20 Don’t tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble. 22 You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. 23 But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.

okay.. for me this is not only about what we eat or when we worship... the background from this scripture comes from the law of the israelites that they were to observe the sabbath to keep it holy.. to them this was a particular day and observing a different day would be considered sin... also they could not eat unclean food.. the gentiles were not taught with these laws and the jews were saying the gentiles were unclean because of these things...

but really the discussion or argument is bigger than that.. it is basically about people who are weak in the faith and don't really understand God's grace.. so they strive to never mess up... which we all strive for.. but the closer you become to God the more you realize we all mess up and we just have to get back up.. repent and try again... but these jews were condemning other believers because they were not following the rules of religion....

I think in our relationship with God... He will tell us individual things that He may not have said to someone else... an example of this is that God has told me for a particular reason that I am to change my eating habits and eat by the levitical law... this has to do with a health issue... but He has not said this for everyone... so someone else would not feel the same way.. it is not for me to tell someone else that they should not eat particular foods.. (although I sometimes do.. not because I feel they are necessarily wrong.. but maybe because I miss those things...) He may have told me not to do something particular but someone else is not at the same place.. so He has not convicted them of this.. whatever it may be.. so who am I to judge their walk with Christ??

this is a big problem in the church.. for us to feel there are rules that people must follow to belong... to feel that whoever doesn't do the same things as us are wrong... all of this is judgement.. and God alone sits on the judgement seat.... so we need to all get down off that seat... I say too... if we look through the mirror of Christ's life into our own life... we will see enough wrong with us that we can quit trying to decide what is wrong with someone else...