Romans
The
same verse in the New King James Version reads:
NKJV Romans
Notice
the difference: the KJV uses the word “nothing”, while the NIV uses
the words “no food”. This is resolved, however, when we look at the
original language in which the epistle is written. The word is ti (ti),
denoting “some or any person or object”, as Strong’s
Greek Dictionary defines it. So the apostle known as
Paul expressly states that nothing is “unclean in itself”, innately
“unclean”. But what did he mean by that? To understand, let’s
go to the beginning of the chapter to see what it is about.
Romans 14:1 Accept him whose
faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.
Romans 14:2 One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but
another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.
Romans 14:3 The man who
eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does
not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.
The
focus on the chapter is on food. Paul refers to “disputable
matters”. These he explains as vegetarianism (vs. 2) and what appears to
be fasting (vs.3). The New King James Version renders verse three as such:
NKJV Romans 14:3 Let not him who
eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him
who eats; for God has received him.
Notice the word “everything” is absent in the King James. Looking at this passage in Greek (the language in which the New Testament was written), we meet on the word mh which is transliterated me (pronounced ‘may’). Strong’s Greek Dictionary explains that the word is, “a primary particle of qualified negation (whereas ou - ou 3756 expresses an absolute denial)”. So, it’s not “absolute denial” of whatever food is not being eaten. Looking at this fact, I have deduced that this passage is referring to fasting and it appears that later verses relate to this point:
Romans 14:5 One man considers one day more sacred than another; another
man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own
mind.
Romans 14:6 He who regards
one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord,
for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives
thanks to God.
“Days” are mentioned only in these two verses.
And such, it appears to me that they must be seen in the context of food as the
rest of the chapter focuses on this. As such, I have deduced that these
“days” are chosen days for fasting.1
Notice
that Paul refers to disputable things: things not addressed directly in
Scripture. His example, vegetarianism, is a case in point: the Scriptures do
not condemn vegetarianism, nor do they command it. If the issues Paul was
addressing was a direct contradiction of Scripture then Paul would have
adamantly berated them. But since the points he is addressing are not addressed
in Scripture (Tanakh, what we know as Old Testament), he states that we should
not judge each other based on things that are neither here nor there:
Romans 14:4 Who are
you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And
he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Romans
14:9 For this very reason, Christ died and
returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
Romans
Romans
It is in the following verse that Paul expresses that “nothing is unclean in itself”. Perhaps most who have read this passage have come to the understanding that it refers to the concept of “uncleanness” as recorded in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14; a declaration that the distinctions in the Torah are no longer applicable to New Covenant people of God. So, let us take a look at the word “unclean” used in this verse.
The word used is koinon (koinon). It is rendered in Acts 10 as “impure” in the NIV and “common” in the KJV. In fact, Acts 10 has a whole other, unrelated word translated unclean: akaqarton (akatharton). Acts 10 has both akatharton and koinon:
Acts
Acts
Is there a difference between these words? Indeed, there is. The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Tanakh or Old Testament that was available to Paul used one of these words to refer to the meats that were considered “unclean” by God’s standards. That word is not koinon but akatharnon, used in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14. In other words, Paul was not in any way speaking of the distinction between clean and unclean meats. So, what is he talking about?
The word is defined by the Strong’s Greek Dictionary as “to make (or consider) profane (ceremonially)”. Once again, it cannot be referring to the Biblical definition of uncleanness; if so, he would use the word akatharton. Those who chose to live a vegetarian lifestyle deem all meat “unclean”, or rather, “defiled”. Such a concept is not Biblical as God commanded the Israelites to eat lambs and other creatures (Exodus 12).
Paul simply is not referring to the distinction between clean and unclean meats in Romans 14. The writer of the book of Revelation shows that certain animals were still considered unclean when he said:
Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, “Babylon the
great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison
for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird!
If the
distinction between clean and unclean creatures was not relevant to Christians,
why would it matter if
Note: All Scripture quotations are taken from the New
International Version (NIV) of the Bible unless otherwise indicated. For New
King James Version (NKJV) quotations, words in italics are added by
translators. Bolded words in Bible quotations are my own emphasis.
1.
If you view Romans 14:5-6 as relating to the Sabbath, you might be
interested in seeing an excerpt from an article by Anthony Coore addressing
this point. Click here to
see it. Go back.
© Copyright 2006 Keneil
Thomas
· A related except from another study
· What Is Means To Be Under Grace
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