Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

Submission to the Authorities

13 Let every person ^(A)be subject to the governing authorities. For ^(B)there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you ^(C)will receive his approval, ⁴ for ^(D)he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, ^(E)an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also ^(F)for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ^7 (G)Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

^8 (H)Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^(I)the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, ^(J)“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: ^(K)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^(L)love is the fulfilling of the law.

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

Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another

14 As for ^(X)the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. ^2 (Y)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 ^(Z)let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. ^4 (AA)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 (AB)One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. ^(AC)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 ^(AD)he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For ^(AE)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, ^(AF)whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. ⁹ For to this end Christ ^(AG)died and lived again, that he might be Lord both ^(AH)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 ^(AI)we will all stand before ^(AJ)the judgment seat of God; ¹¹ for it is written,

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

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

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

^20 (AZ)Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. ^(BA)Everything is indeed clean, but ^(BB)it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. ^21 (BC)It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.^{[c] 22} The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. ^(BD)Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. ²³ But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.^[d]