Romans 14; Romans 15; Romans 16:1-27
1 Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment
on disputable matters. 2 One man's faith allows him to eat
everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The
man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who
does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted
him. 4 Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own
master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him
stand. 5 One man considers one day more sacred than another;
another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in
his own mind. 6 He who regards one day as special, does so to
the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and
he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For
none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8 If
we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we
live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason,
Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead
and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother?
Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's
judgment seat. 11 It is written: " 'As surely as I live,'
says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to
God.' " 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself
to God. 13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one
another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle
in your brother's way. 14 As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I
am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards
something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15 If your
brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in
love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 16 Do
not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. 17 For
the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of
righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because
anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.19 Let
us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual
edification. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of
food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes
someone else to stumble. 21 It is better not to eat meat or
drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. 22 So
whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed
is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But
the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from
faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the
weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please
his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For even Christ
did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who
insult you have fallen on me." 4 For everything that was
written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the
encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the
God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among
yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6 so that with one
heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted
you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that
Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, to confirm
the promises made to the patriarchs 9 so that the Gentiles may
glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: "Therefore I will praise you
among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name." 10 Again,
it says, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." 11 And
again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all
you peoples." 12 And again, Isaiah says, "The Root
of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the
Gentiles will hope in him."13 May the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit. 14 I myself am convinced, my
brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and
competent to instruct one another. 15 I have written you quite
boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace
God gave me16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with
the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might
become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17Therefore
I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18 I will not
venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in
leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done-- 19 by
the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from
Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel
of Christ. 20 It has always been my ambition to preach the
gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone
else's foundation. 21 Rather, as it is written: "Those
who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will
understand." 22 This is why I have often been hindered
from coming to you.23 But now that there is no more place for me to
work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see
you, 24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit
you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after
I have enjoyed your company for a while.25 Now, however, I am on my
way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. 26 For
Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the
saints in Jerusalem. 27 They were pleased to do it, and indeed
they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual
blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material
blessings. 28 So after I have completed this task and have
made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you
on the way. 29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in
the full measure of the blessing of Christ. 30 I urge you,
brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in
my struggle by praying to God for me. 31 Pray that I may be
rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be
acceptable to the saints there, 32 so that by God's will I may
come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. 33 The
God of peace be with you all. Amen.
1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the
church in Cenchrea. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in
a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for
she has been a great help to many people, including me. 3 Greet
Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They
risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are
grateful to them. 5 Greet also the church that meets at their
house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in
the province of Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for
you.7 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in
prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in
Christ before I was. 8 Greet Ampliatus, whom I love in the
Lord.9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear
friend Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, tested and approved in
Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus 11 Greet
Herodion, my relative. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the
Lord. 12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work
hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked
very hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and
his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. 14 Greet
Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers with them. 15 Greet
Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with
them. 16Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of
Christ send greetings. 17 I urge you, brothers, to watch out
for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary
to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For
such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth
talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone
has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to
be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. 20 The
God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus
be with you. 21 Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings
to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives. 22 I,
Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23Gaius,
whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.
Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus
send you their greetings. 25 Now to him who is able to
establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to
the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but
now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of
the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him-- 27 to
the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
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