freedom of conscience

Say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.
Romans 14:1-12 The Message

It can easily be argued that Saturday should be set aside as holy. After all, the Hebrew scriptures make it very very clear that keeping the Sabbath holy is a crucial part of obedience to God the creator.

But what if the Sabbath is more a principle than a day? Then what day should it be? Sunday? Monday? It's a luxury Christians and Jews can follow when living in a country that observes the weekend. But in a place like first century Rome that luxury was not offered to most followers of Jesus.

So - the tension between being pure and being pragmatic was around back then as it is now. Paul gives permission for people to develop a sense of personal responsibility in this tension. Having that freedom changes the nature of the gospel somewhat. Instead of being called to living as 'Messianic Jews' with one shared culture, we're invited into the multi-cultural diversity of Christ followers.