Slipping Into Legalism?

Q

What is the right thing to do when someone who is a mature Christian who has been walking with the Lord for many years and has a good understanding of the Bible has now decided it is unbiblical to eat pork. This person is not Jewish. My understanding of Romans 14 is that all food has been declared clean and that it was the new or immature believers that had difficulty grasping this. The Bible also says that if someone regards a food as unclean then he shouldn’t eat it and it would be wrong for us to tell them otherwise. Yet should something be said to a mature Christian who has full understanding of salvation through grace in Christ who seems to be going backwards into legalism.

A

In Romans 14:1-8 Paul wrote that each of us should be convinced in our own heart about what to do or not do, without inflicting our personal convictions on others. As long as our practices don’t modify our belief that Jesus paid the entire price for our redemption, leaving nothing else for us to do, then what we do or do not eat, or whether we elevate one day above another or not is a matter of personal conviction.

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17)