Beginning
Do Not Judge Your Brother
14 Welcome him who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of arguing over opinions. 2 For one has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. 3 Do not let him who eats despise him who does not eat, and do not let him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to judge another man’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for God is able to make him stand.
5 One man judges one day above another; another judges every day alike. Let each one be fully persuaded in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day observes it for the Lord, and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and the one who does not eat, in honor of the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself. 8 For if we live, we live for the Lord. And if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, so that He might be Lord of both the dead and living.
10 So why do you judge your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written:
“As I live, says the Lord,
every knee shall bow to Me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”[a]
12 So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.
Do Not Make Your Brother Stumble
13 Therefore let us no longer pass judgment on one another, but rather determine not to put a stumbling block or an obstacle in a brother’s way. 14 I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 If your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what is good to you be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God does not mean eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.
19 Therefore let us pursue the things which produce peace and the things that build up one another. 20 Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but it is evil for the man who causes someone to fall by what he eats. 21 It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine, nor do anything whereby your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.
22 The faith that you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it is not from faith, for whatever is not from faith is sin.
Please Others, Not Yourself
15 We who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak and not please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. 3 For even Christ did not please Himself. But as it is written, “The insults of those who insulted You fell on Me.”[b] 4 For whatever was previously written was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
5 Now may the God of perseverance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6 so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel for Jews and Gentiles Alike
7 Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed us, for the glory of God. 8 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs, 9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written:
“For this reason I will acknowledge You among the Gentiles,
and I will sing praises to Your name.”[c]
10 He also says:
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!”[d]
11 And again:
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples praise Him.”[e]
12 And again Isaiah says:
“There shall be a root of Jesse;
He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles,
in Him shall the Gentiles hope.”[f]
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s Missionary Commission
14 Now I myself am persuaded concerning you, my brothers, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and also able to instruct one another. 15 Nevertheless, brothers, I have written even more boldly to you on some points, to remind you, because of the grace that is given to me from God, 16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
17 In Christ Jesus therefore I have reason to boast in my service to God. 18 For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 So I have strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, so that I should not build on another man’s foundation. 21 But as it is written:
“To whom He was not announced, they shall see;
and those who have not heard shall understand.”[g]
Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome
22 For this reason also I was often hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, no longer having a place in these regions, and having a great desire for many years to come to you, 24 whenever I go to Spain, I shall come to you, for I hope to see you when I pass through and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a little while. 25 But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. 27 It has pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, they also ought to minister to them in material things. 28 Therefore, when I have completed this and have given this blessing to them, I shall come by way of you to Spain, 29 and I know that when I come to you, I shall come in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.
30 Now I ask you, brothers, through the Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my ministry for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you. 33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Personal Greetings
16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant[h] of the church at Cenchrea, 2 that you welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you assist her in whatever matter she may have need of you, for she has been a helper of many and of myself as well.
3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I, but also all the churches of the Gentiles, give thanks.
5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house.
Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the first convert of Achaia for Christ.
6 Greet Mary, who labored much for us.
7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and fellow prisoners, who are noteworthy among the apostles, who also came to Christ before me.
8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.
10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ.
Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus.
11 Greet Herodion, my kinsman.
Greet those who are of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord.
12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord.
Greet the beloved Persis, who also labored much in the Lord.
13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who is like a mother to me.
14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.
15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.
16 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
The churches of Christ greet you.
17 Now I urge you, brothers, to closely watch those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and avoid them. 18 For such people do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites, and through smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. 19 Your obedience has become known to all men. Therefore I am glad on your behalf. Yet I want you to be wise to that which is good, and innocent to that which is evil.
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
21 Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, greet you.
22 I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord.
23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you.
Erastus, who is the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you.
24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Doxology
25 Now to Him who has power to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret for long ages past, 26 but now is revealed by the prophetic Scriptures according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all the Gentiles for the obedience of faith, 27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.