For none of us lives for ourselves alone,(A) and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.(B) For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life(C) so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.(D)

10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister[a]? Or why do you treat them with contempt?(E) For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.(F) 11 It is written:

“‘As surely as I live,’(G) says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
    every tongue will acknowledge God.’”[b](H)

12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.(I)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 14:10 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family; also in verses 13, 15 and 21.
  2. Romans 14:11 Isaiah 45:23

6-9 What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.

10-12 So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I’d say it leaves you looking pretty silly—or worse. Eventually, we’re all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren’t going to improve your position there one bit. Read it for yourself in Scripture:

“As I live and breathe,” God says,
    “every knee will bow before me;
Every tongue will tell the honest truth
    that I and only I am God.”

So mind your own business. You’ve got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God.

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We do not live for ourselves only, and we do not die for ourselves only. If we live, it is for the Lord that we live, and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For Christ died and rose to life in order to be the Lord of the living and of the dead. 10 (A)You then, who eat only vegetables—why do you pass judgment on others? And you who eat anything—why do you despise other believers? All of us will stand before God to be judged by him. 11 (B)For the scripture says,

“As surely as I am the living God, says the Lord,
    everyone will kneel before me,
    and everyone will confess that I am God.”

12 Every one of us, then, will have to give an account to God.

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