Do Not Judge Another
Welcome those who are weak in faith,a
but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions.
2 Some believe
in eating anything, while the weak eat only vegetables.
3 Those who eat
must not despise those who abstain, and those who abstain must not
pass judgment on those who eat; for God has welcomed them.
4 Who are
you to pass judgment on servants of another? It is before their own
lord that they stand or fall. And they will be upheld, for the Lordb
is able to make them stand.
5 Some
judge one day to be better than another, while others judge all days
to be alike. Let all be fully convinced in their own minds.
6 Those
who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who
eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while
those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to
God.
7 We do
not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves.
8 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.
9 For to this
end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both
the dead and the living.
10 Why do
you pass judgment on your brother or sister?c
Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister?dFor
we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.e
11
For it is written,
“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow
to me,
and every tongue shall give praise tof
God.”
12 So then,
each of us will be accountable to God.g
Do Not Make Another Stumble
13 Let us
therefore no longer pass judgment on one another, but resolve
instead never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of
another.h
14
I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in
itself; but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
15 If your
brother or sisteri
is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love.
Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died.
16
So do not let your good be spoken of as evil.
17 For the
kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and
joy in the Holy Spirit. 18
The one who thus serves Christ is
acceptable to God and has human approval.
19 Let us then
pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
20 Do not, for
the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed
clean, but it is wrong for you to make others fall by what you eat;
21
it is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes
your brother or sisterj
stumble.k
22
The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God.
Blessed are those who have no reason to condemn themselves because
of what they approve. 23
But those who have doubts are condemned if
they eat, because they do not act from faith;l
for whatever does not proceed from faithmis
sin.n
The Holy Bible : New Revised
Standard Version. 1996, c1989 . Thomas Nelson: Nashville