Romans 14
1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions.
As for those whose faith is weak, always receive them as friends, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on their scruples.
2 For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables.
One man’s faith permits of his eating food of all kinds, while another whose faith is weak eats only vegetable food.
3 The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him.
The man who eats meat must not despise the man who abstains from it; nor must the man who abstains from eating meat pass judgment on the one who eats it, for God himself has received him.
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.
Who are you, that you should pass judgment on the servant of another? His standing or falling concerns his own master. And stand he will, for his Master can enable him to stand.
5 One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
Again, one man considers some days to be more sacred than others, while another considers all days to be alike. Every one ought to be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
He who observes a day, observes it to the Master’s honour. He, again, who eats meat eats it to the Master’s honour, for he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains from it abstains from it to the Master’s honour, and also gives thanks to God.
7 For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone.
There is not one of us whose life concerns himself alone, and not one of us whose death concerns himself alone;
8 If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
for, if we live, our life is for the Master, and, if we die, our death is for the Master. Whether, then, we live or die we belong to the Master.
9 For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
The very purpose for which Christ died and came back to life was this — that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living.
10 Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
I would ask the one man ‘Why do you judge your Brother?’ And I would ask the other ‘Why do you despise your Brother?’ For we shall all stand before the Bar of God.
11 It is written: “As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.”
For Scripture says — ‘“As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “every knee shall bend before me; and every tongue shall make acknowledgment to God.”’
12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
So, then, each one of us will have to render account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
Let us, then, cease to judge one another. Rather let this be your resolve — never to place a stumbling-block or an obstacle in a Brother’s way.
14 I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
Through my union with the Lord Jesus, I know and am persuaded that nothing is ‘defiling in itself.’ A thing is ‘defiling’ only to him who holds it to be so.
15 If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died.
If, for the sake of what you eat, you wound your Brother’s feelings, your life has ceased to be ruled by love. Do not, by what you eat, ruin a man for whom Christ died!
16 Do not allow what you consider good, then, to be spoken of as evil.
Do not let what is right for you become a matter of reproach.
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
For the Kingdom of God does not consist of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and gladness through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
18 For whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
He who serves the Christ in this way pleases God, and wins the approval of his fellow men.
19 So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Therefore our efforts should be directed towards all that makes for peace and the mutual building up of character.
20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block.
Do not undo God’s work for the sake of what you eat. Though everything is ‘clean,’ yet, if a man eats so as to put a stumbling-block in the way of others, he does wrong.
21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble.
The right course is to abstain from meat or wine or, indeed, anything that is a stumbling-block to your Brother.
22 Keep your belief about such matters between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
As for yourself — keep this faith of yours to yourself, as in the presence of God. Happy is he who never has to condemn himself in regard to the very thing which he thinks right!
23 But the one who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin.
He, however, who has misgivings stands condemned if he still eats, because his doing so is not the result of faith. And anything not done as the result of faith is a sin.
