Romans 14

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.