Romans 13:8-14:20

English Standard Version

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

^8 (A)Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^(B)the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, ^(C)“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ^(D)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^(E)love is the fulfilling of the law.

¹¹ Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you ^(F)to wake from sleep. ^(G)For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. ^12 (H)The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ^(I)cast off ^(J)the works of darkness and ^(K)put on the armor of light. ^13 (L)Let us walk properly as in the daytime, ^(M)not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, ^(N)not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴ But ^(O)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, ^(P)to gratify its desires.

Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another

14 As for ^(Q)the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. ^2 (R)One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. ³ Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and ^(S)let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. ^4 (T)Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master^[a] that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

^5 (U)One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. ^(V)Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since ^(W)he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For ^(X)none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸ For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, ^(Y)whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. ⁹ For to this end Christ ^(Z)died and lived again, that he might be Lord both ^(AA)of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰ Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For ^(AB)we will all stand before ^(AC)the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written,

¹² So then ^(AE)each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

^13 (AF)Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide ^(AG)never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. ¹⁴ I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus ^(AH)that nothing is unclean in itself, ^(AI)but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. ¹⁵ For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, ^(AJ)you are no longer walking in love. ^(AK)By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. ^16 (AL)So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. ^17 (AM)For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but ^(AN)of righteousness and ^(AO)peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Whoever thus serves Christ is ^(AP)acceptable to God and approved by men. ¹⁹ So then let us ^(AQ)pursue what makes for peace and for ^(AR)mutual upbuilding.

^20 (AS)Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. ^(AT)Everything is indeed clean, but ^(AU)it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.