Beginning

How to Treat Weak Believers

14 Accept anyone who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of arguing over differences of opinion. ² One person believes that he may eat anything, while the weak^[a] person eats only^[b] vegetables. ³ The person who eats any kind of food^[c] must not ridicule the person who does not eat them,^[d] and the person who does not eat certain foods^[e] must not criticize the person who eats them,^[f] for God has accepted him. ⁴ Who are you to criticize someone else’s servant? He stands or falls before his own Lord—and stand he will, because the Lord^[g] makes him stand.

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,^[h] 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^[i] died and returned to life, so that he might become the Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰ Why, then, do you criticize your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For all of us will stand before the judgment seat of God.^{[j] 11} For it is written,

¹² Consequently, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Acting in Love

¹³ Therefore, let’s no longer criticize^[n] each other. Instead, make up your mind not to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. ¹⁴ I know—and have been persuaded by the Lord Jesus—that nothing is unclean in and of itself, but it is unclean to a person who thinks it is unclean. ¹⁵ For if your brother is being hurt by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not destroy the person for whom the Messiah^[o] died by what you eat. ¹⁶ Do not allow what seems good to you to be spoken of as evil. ¹⁷ For God’s kingdom does not consist of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and joy produced by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ For the person who serves the Messiah^[p] in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people. ¹⁹ Therefore, let’s keep on pursuing those things that bring peace and that lead to building up one another.

²⁰ Do not destroy God’s action for the sake of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong to make another person stumble because of what you eat. ²¹ The right thing to do is to avoid eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that makes your brother stumble, upset, or weak.^{[q] 22} As for the faith you do have, have it as your own conviction before God. How blessed is the person who has no reason to condemn himself because of what he approves! ²³ But the person who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not act in faith; and anything that is not done in faith is sin.

Please Others, Not Yourselves

15 Now we who are strong ought to be patient with the weaknesses of those who are not strong and must stop pleasing ourselves. ² Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building him up. ³ For even the Messiah^[r] did not please himself. Instead, as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”^{[s] 4} For everything that was written long ago was written to instruct us, so that we might have hope through the endurance and encouragement that the Scriptures give us.^[t]

⁵ Now may God, the source of endurance and encouragement, allow you to live in harmony with each other as you follow the Messiah^[u] Jesus,^{[v] 6} so that with one mind and one voice you might glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.^[w]

⁷ Therefore, accept one another, just as the Messiah^[x] accepted you,^[y] for the glory of God. ⁸ For I tell you that the Messiah^[z] became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth in order to confirm the promises given to our ancestors, ⁹ so that the gentiles may glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

¹⁰ Again he says,^[ac]

¹¹ And again,

¹² And again, Isaiah says,

¹³ Now may God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace as you believe, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s Desire to Take the Gospel to the Whole World

¹⁴ I myself am convinced,^[aj] my brothers, that you yourselves are filled with goodness and full of all the knowledge you need to be able to instruct each other. ¹⁵ However, on some points I have written to you rather boldly, both as a reminder to you and because of the grace given me by God ¹⁶ to be a minister of the Messiah^[ak] Jesus to the gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering brought by gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷ Therefore, in the Messiah^[al] Jesus I have the right to boast about my work for God. ¹⁸ For I am bold enough to tell you only about what the Messiah^[am] has accomplished through me in bringing gentiles to obedience. By my words and actions, ¹⁹ by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of God’s Spirit,^[an] I have fully proclaimed the gospel of the Messiah^[ao] from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum. ²⁰ My one ambition is to proclaim the gospel where the name of the Messiah^[ap] is not known, so I don’t^[aq] build on someone else’s foundation. ²¹ Rather, as it is written,

Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome

²² This is why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. ²³ But now, having no further opportunities in these regions, I want to come to you, as I’ve desired to do for many years. ²⁴ Now that I am on my way to Spain, I hope to see you when I come your way and, after I have enjoyed your company for a while, to be sent on by you.

²⁵ Right now, however, I’m going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints, ²⁶ because the believers in^[as] Macedonia and Achaia have been eager to share their resources with the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. ²⁷ Yes, they were eager to do this, and in fact they are obligated to help them, for if the gentiles have shared in their spiritual blessings, they are obligated to be of service to them in material things.

²⁸ So when I have completed this task and have put my seal on this contribution of theirs, I will visit you on my way to Spain. ²⁹ And I know that when I come to you I will come with the full blessing of the Messiah.^[at]

³⁰ Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,^[au] and by the love that the Spirit produces, to join me in my struggle, earnestly praying to God for me ³¹ that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ³² and that if it’s God’s will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed together with you.

Doxology

³³ Now may the God who grants^[av] peace be with all of you! Amen.

Personal Greetings

16 Now I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon^[aw] in the church at Cenchrea. ² Welcome her in the Lord as is appropriate for saints, and provide her with anything she may need from you, for she has ministered to many people, including me.

³ Greet Prisca^[ax] and Aquila, who work with me for the Messiah^[ay] Jesus, ⁴ and who risked their necks for my life. I am thankful to them, and so are all the churches among the gentiles. ⁵ Greet also the church in their house. Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who was the first convert^[az] to the Messiah^[ba] in Asia. ⁶ Greet Mary, who has worked very hard for you. ⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia,^[bb] my fellow Jews who are in prison with me and are prominent among the apostles. They belonged to the Messiah^[bc] before I did. ⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. ⁹ Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in the Messiah,^[bd] and my dear friend Stachys. ¹⁰ Greet Apelles, who has been approved by the Messiah.^[be] Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew. Greet those in the family of Narcissus, who belong to the Lord. ¹² Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard for the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, who has toiled diligently for the Lord. ¹³ Greet Rufus, the one chosen by the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. ¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. ¹⁵ Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints who are with them. ¹⁶ Greet one another with a holy kiss.^[bf] All the churches of the Messiah^[bg] greet you.

Final Warning

¹⁷ Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and sinful enticements that oppose the teaching you have learned. Stay away from them, ¹⁸ because such people are not serving the Messiah^[bh] our Lord, but their own desires. By their smooth talk and flattering words they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. ¹⁹ For your obedience has become known to everyone, and I am full of joy for 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. May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,^[bi] be with all of you!^[bj]

Final Greeting

²¹ Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my fellow Jews. ²² I, Tertius, who penned this letter, greet you in the Lord. ²³ Gaius, who is host to me and the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you. ²⁴ May the grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,^[bk] be with all of you!^[bl]

Final Doxology

²⁵ Now to the one who is able to strengthen you with my gospel and the message that I preach about Jesus, the Messiah,^[bm] by revealing the secret that was kept hidden from long ago ²⁶ but now has been made known through the prophets to all the gentiles, in keeping with the decree of the eternal God to bring them to the obedience that springs from faith— ²⁷ to the only wise God, through Jesus the Messiah,^[bn] be glory forever! Amen.