⁵ One person decides in favor of one day over another, while another person decides that all days are the same. Let each one be fully convinced in his own mind: ⁶ The one who observes a special day,^[a] observes it to honor the Lord. The one who eats, eats to honor the Lord, since he gives thanks to God. And the one who does not eat, refrains from eating to honor the Lord; yet he, too, gives thanks to God.

⁷ For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself. ⁸ If we live, we live to honor the Lord; and if we die, we die to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ For this reason the Messiah^[b] died and returned to life, so that he might become the Lord of both the dead and the living.