Romans 14–16

Chapter 14

Principles of Conscience

¹Now ^aaccept the one who is ^bweak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.

^2aOne person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is ^bweak eats vegetables only.

³The one who eats is not to ^aregard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to ^bjudge the one who eats, for God has ^caccepted him.

^4aWho are you to judge the ¹servant of another? To his own ²master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

^5aOne person ¹regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be ^bfully convinced in his own mind.

⁶He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, ¹does so for the Lord, for he ^agives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

⁷For not one of us ^alives for himself, and not one dies for himself;

⁸for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore ^awhether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

⁹For to this end ^aChrist died and lived again, that He might be ^bLord both of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you ^aregard your brother with contempt? For ^bwe will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

¹¹For it is written,

“^aAs I live, says the Lord, ^bevery knee shall bow to Me,

And every tongue shall ¹give praise to God.”

¹²So then ^aeach one of us will give an account of himself to God.

¹³Therefore let us not ^ajudge one another anymore, but rather determine this—^bnot to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.

¹⁴I know and am convinced ¹in the Lord Jesus that ^anothing is unclean in itself; but to him who ^bthinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

¹⁵For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer ^awalking according to love. ^bDo not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.

¹⁶Therefore ^ado not let what is for you a good thing be ¹spoken of as evil;

¹⁷for the kingdom of God ^ais not eating and drinking, but righteousness and ^bpeace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸For he who in this way ^aserves Christ is ^bacceptable to God and approved by men.

¹⁹So then ¹we ^apursue the things which make for peace and the ^bbuilding up of one another.

^20aDo not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. ^bAll things indeed are clean, but ^cthey are evil for the man who eats ¹and gives offense.

^21aIt is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.

²²The faith which you have, have ¹as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who ^adoes not condemn himself in what he approves.

²³But ^ahe who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.

Chapter 15

Self-denial on Behalf of Others

¹Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of ^athose without strength and not just please ourselves.

²Each of us is to ^aplease his neighbor ¹for his good, to his ^bedification.

³For even ^aChrist did not please Himself; but as it is written, “^bThe reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”

⁴For ^awhatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

⁵Now may the ^aGod ¹who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you ^bto be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,

⁶so that with one accord you may with one ¹voice glorify ^athe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷Therefore, ^aaccept one another, just as Christ also accepted ¹us to the glory of God.

⁸For I say that Christ has become a servant to ^athe circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm ^bthe promises given to the fathers,

⁹and for ^athe Gentiles to ^bglorify God for His mercy; as it is written,

“^cTherefore I will ¹give praise to You among the Gentiles,

And I will sing to Your name.”

¹⁰Again he says,

“^aRejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”

¹¹And again,

“^aPraise the Lord all you Gentiles,

And let all the peoples praise Him.”

¹²Again Isaiah says,

“^aThere shall come ^bthe root of Jesse,

And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles,

^cIn Him shall the Gentiles hope.”

¹³Now may the God of hope fill you with all ^ajoy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope ^bby the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁴And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of ^agoodness, filled with ^ball knowledge and able also to admonish one another.

¹⁵But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of ^athe grace that was given me ¹from God,

¹⁶to be ^aa minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the ^bgospel of God, so that my ^coffering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found ^areason for boasting in ^bthings pertaining to God.

¹⁸For I will not presume to speak of anything ¹except what ^aChrist has accomplished through me, ²resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,

¹⁹in the power of ^1asigns and wonders, ^bin the power of the Spirit; so that ^cfrom Jerusalem and round about as ^dfar as Illyricum I have ²fully preached the gospel of Christ.

²⁰And thus I aspired to ^apreach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, ^bso that I would not build on another man’s foundation;

²¹but as it is written,

“^aThey who had no news of Him shall see,

And they who have not heard shall understand.”

²²For this reason ^aI have often been prevented from coming to you;

²³but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I ^ahave had for many years a longing to come to you

²⁴whenever I ^ago to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing, and to be ^bhelped on my way there by you, when I have first ^cenjoyed your company ¹for a while—

²⁵but now, ^aI am going to Jerusalem ^bserving the ¹saints.

²⁶For ^aMacedonia and ^bAchaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the ¹saints in Jerusalem.

²⁷Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For ^aif the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.

²⁸Therefore, when I have finished this, and ^ahave ¹put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will ^bgo on by way of you to Spain.

²⁹I know that when ^aI come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

³⁰Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^athe love of the Spirit, to ^bstrive together with me in your prayers to God for me,

³¹that I may be ^arescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my ^bservice for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the ^1csaints;

³²so that ^aI may come to you in joy by ^bthe will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.

³³Now ^athe God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Chapter 16

Greetings and Love Expressed

¹I ^acommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a ¹servant of the church which is at ^bCenchrea;

²that you ^areceive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the ^1bsaints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, ²and of myself as well.

³Greet ^aPrisca and Aquila, my fellow workers ^bin ^cChrist Jesus,

⁴who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles;

⁵also greet ^athe church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the ^bfirst convert to Christ from ^1cAsia.

⁶Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.

⁷Greet Andronicus and ¹Junias, my ^akinsmen and my ^bfellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also ²were ^cin Christ before me.

⁸Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.

⁹Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker ^ain Christ, and Stachys my beloved.

¹⁰Greet Apelles, the approved ^ain Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus.

¹¹Greet Herodion, my ^akinsman. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord.

¹²Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord.

¹³Greet ^aRufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine.

¹⁴Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brethren with them.

¹⁵Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all ^athe ¹saints who are with them.

^16aGreet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

¹⁷Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and ¹hindrances ^acontrary to the teaching which you learned, and ^bturn away from them.

¹⁸For such men are ^aslaves, not of our Lord Christ but of ^btheir own ¹appetites; and by their ^csmooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

¹⁹For the report of your obedience ^ahas reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but ^bI want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

^20aThe God of peace will soon crush ^bSatan under your feet.

^cThe grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

^21aTimothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do ^bLucius and ^cJason and ^dSosipater, my ^ekinsmen.

²²I, Tertius, who ^awrite this letter, greet you in the Lord.

^23aGaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. ^bErastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother.

²⁴¹The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

^25aNow to Him who is able to establish you ^baccording to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of ^cthe mystery which has been kept secret for ^dlong ages past,

²⁶but now is manifested, and by ^athe Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to ^bobedience of faith;

²⁷to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, ^abe the glory forever. Amen.