1Accept the person whose faith is weak. Don’t argue with them where you have differences of opinion.2One person’s faith allows them to eat anything. But another person eats only vegetables because their faith is weak.3The person who eats everything must not look down on the one who does not. And the one who doesn’t eat everything must not judge the person who does. That’s because God has accepted them.4Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? Whether they are faithful or not is their own master’s concern. And they will be faithful, because the Lord has the power to make them faithful.5One person considers one day to be more holy than another. Another person thinks all days are the same. Each of them should be absolutely sure in their own mind.6Whoever thinks that one day is special does so to honour the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to honour the Lord. They give thanks to God. And whoever doesn’t eat meat does so to honour the Lord. They also give thanks to God.7We don’t live for ourselves only. And we don’t die for ourselves only.8If we live, we live to honour the Lord. If we die, we die to honour the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.9Christ died and came back to life. He did this to become the Lord of both the dead and the living.10Now then, who are you to judge your brother or sister? Why do you act like you’re better than they are? We will all stand in God’s courtroom to be judged.11It is written, ‘ “You can be sure that I live,” says the Lord. “And you can be just as sure that everyone will kneel down in front of me. Every tongue will have to tell the truth about God.” ’ (Isa 45:23)12So we will all have to explain to God the things we have done.13Let us stop judging one another. Instead, decide not to put anything in the way of a brother or sister. Don’t put anything in their way that would make them trip and fall.14I am absolutely sure that nothing is ‘unclean’ in itself. The Lord Jesus has convinced me of this. But someone may consider a thing to be ‘unclean’. If they do, it is ‘unclean’ for them.15Your brother or sister may be upset by what you eat. If they are, you are no longer acting as though you love them. So don’t destroy them by what you eat. Remember that Christ died for them.16So suppose you know something is good. Then don’t let it be spoken of as if it were evil.17God’s kingdom is not about eating or drinking. It is about doing what is right and having peace and joy. All this comes through the Holy Spirit.18Those who serve Christ in this way are pleasing to God. They are pleasing to people too.19So let us do all we can to live in peace. And let us work hard to build up one another.20Don’t destroy the work of God because of food. All food is ‘clean’. But it’s wrong to eat anything that might cause problems for someone else’s faith.21Don’t eat meat if it causes your brother or sister to sin. Don’t drink wine or do anything else that will make them sin.22Whatever you believe about these things, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the person who doesn’t feel guilty for what they do.23But whoever has doubts about what they eat is guilty if they eat. That’s because their eating is not based on faith. Everything that is not based on faith is sin.
Romans 14
English Standard Version
Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another
1As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. (Ro 15:1; 1Co 8:9; 1Co 9:22)2One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. (Ro 14:14)3Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. (Col 2:16)4Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master[1] that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (Jas 4:12)5One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. (Zec 7:5; Ro 14:23; Ga 4:10)6The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. (Mt 15:36; 1Co 10:30; 1Ti 4:3)7For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. (1Co 6:19; 2Co 5:15; Ga 2:20; 1Th 5:10; 1Pe 4:2)8For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. (Php 1:20)9For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. (Ac 10:42; Re 1:18; Re 2:8; Re 20:12)10Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; (Ro 14:9; 2Co 5:10)11for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess[2] to God.” (Isa 45:23; Php 2:10)12So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. (Mt 12:36; Mt 16:27; Ga 6:5; 1Pe 4:5)
Do Not Cause Another to Stumble
13Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. (Mt 7:1; 1Co 8:13)14I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. (Ac 10:15; Ro 14:2; Ro 14:20; 1Co 8:7; 1Co 8:10)15For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. (Ro 14:20; 1Co 8:11; Eph 5:2)16So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. (Ro 12:17; 1Co 10:29)17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Ro 15:13; 1Co 6:9; 1Co 8:8; Ga 5:22)18Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. (2Co 8:21)19So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. (Ps 34:14; Ro 15:2; 1Co 7:15; 1Co 14:12; 2Ti 2:22)20Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. (Ro 14:14; Ro 14:15; 1Co 8:9; Tit 1:15)21It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.[3] (1Co 8:13)22The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. (1Jo 3:21)23But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.[4]