Romans 13–14

Submit to Government

13Let every soul be ^asubject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. ²Therefore whoever resists ^bthe authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will ¹bring judgment on themselves. ³For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? ^cDo what is good, and you will have praise from the same. ⁴For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. ⁵Therefore ^dyou must be subject, not only because of wrath ^ebut also for conscience’ sake. ⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. ^7fRender therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.

Love Your Neighbor

⁸Owe no one anything except to love one another, for ^ghe who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹For the commandments, ^h“You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” ²“You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, ⁱ“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore ^jlove is the fulfillment of the law.

Put on Christ

¹¹And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time ^kto awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. ¹²The night is far spent, the day is at hand. ^lTherefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and ^mlet us put on the armor of light. ¹³ⁿLet us walk ³properly, as in the day, ^onot in revelry and drunkenness, ^pnot in lewdness and lust, ^qnot in strife and envy. ¹⁴But ^rput on the Lord Jesus Christ, and ^smake no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

The Law of Liberty

14Receive ^aone who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. ²For one believes he ^bmay eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. ³Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and ^clet not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. ^4dWho are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

^5eOne person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶He who ^fobserves the day, observes it to the Lord; ¹and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for ^ghe gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. ⁷For ^hnone of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. ⁸For if we ⁱlive, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹For ^jto this end Christ died ²and rose and lived again, that He might be ^kLord of both the dead and the living. ¹⁰But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For ^lwe shall all stand before the judgment seat of ³Christ. ¹¹For it is written:

^m“As I live, says the Lord,

Every knee shall bow to Me,

And every tongue shall confess to God.”

¹²So then ⁿeach of us shall give account of himself to God. ¹³Therefore let us not judge one another ⁴anymore, but rather resolve this, ^onot to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.

The Law of Love

¹⁴I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus ^pthat there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. ¹⁵Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. ^qDo not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. ^16rTherefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil; ^17sfor the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and ^tpeace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸For he who serves Christ in ⁵these things ^uis acceptable to God and approved by men.

^19vTherefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which ^wone may ⁶edify another. ^20xDo not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. ^yAll things indeed are pure, ^zbut it is evil for the man who eats with ⁷offense. ²¹It is good neither to eat ^ameat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles ⁸or is offended or is made weak. ²²⁹Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. ^bHappy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. ²³But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for ^cwhatever is not from faith is ¹sin.