Romans 14:6 - Exposition

He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord (omit, as ill-supported, as well as unnecessary, and he that regardeth not, etc .); he that eateth, eateth unto the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks . Both parties are supposed to be equally desirous of serving God. The eater of whatsoever is set before him is so, as is shown by his thanking God for it—observe "for he giveth," etc.—and no creature of God can be polluting "if received with thanksgiving" ( 1 Timothy 4:5 ); the abstainer gives thanks too; and so his dinner of herbs is also hallowed to him. (Though it is not necessary to confine the thought to the practice of saying grace before meat, this is doubtless in view as expressing the asserted thankfulness. For proof of the custom, cf. Matthew 15:36 ; Acts 27:35 ; 1 Corinthians 10:30 ; 1 Corinthians 11:24 ; 1 Timothy 4:4 , 1 Timothy 4:5 .) The general principle on which, in eating and drinking, as in all beside, Christians are of necessity supposed to act, and which both parties are to be credited with desiring to carry out, is set forth in Romans 14:7 , Romans 14:8 , Romans 14:9 , which follow.