Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

Chapter 13

Obedience to Authority.^{[a] 1} Let everyone submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which derives from God, and whatever authorities exist have been instituted by God. ² Consequently, anyone who resists authority is rebelling against what God has appointed, and those who so resist will bring judgment upon themselves.

³ Rulers are a source of fear not to those who do good but rather to those who do evil. Do you wish to be free of fear from someone in authority? Then continue to do what is right and you will receive his approval. ⁴ For he is acting as God’s representative for your welfare. But if you do what is evil, then be afraid for he does not wear a sword for nothing. People in authority are God’s servants to mete out punishment to wrongdoers.

⁵ Therefore, you are obliged to submit, not only because of fear of punishment but also because of conscience. ⁶ That is why you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, and they devote themselves to this service. ⁷ Pay to each person what is rightfully his—taxes to the one to whom taxes are due, tolls to the one to whom tolls are due, respect to the one to whom respect is due, honor to the one to whom honor is due.

Love Is the Fulfillment of the Law.^{[b] 8} Owe nothing to anyone except the debt of love you owe one another. The one who loves others has fulfilled the Law. ⁹ “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and every other commandment are all summed up in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love cannot result in any harm to the neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the Law.

¹¹ Live Honestly As in the Light.^[c] Do this knowing that the hour has come. It is time for you to awaken from sleep. For our salvation is nearer to us now than it was when we first began to believe. ¹² The night is nearly over, and the day is at hand.

Let us therefore cast aside the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let us behave honorably as in the day: not in orgies and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴ Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ and allow no opportunity for the flesh to gratify its sinful desires.

Chapter 14

The Weak and the Strong in the Community.^{[d] 1} Welcome anyone whose faith is weak, but do not get into arguments about doubts. ² One person may have the faith to eat any kind of food, whereas a weak person may eat only vegetables. ³ The one who eats everything must not look contemptuously on the one who does not, and the one who abstains must not pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed both. ⁴ What right do you have to pass judgment on someone else’s servant? The master will determine whether that servant will stand or fall. But the servant will be upheld, for the Lord has the power to enable him to stand.

⁵ One person may consider one day to be more sacred than another, while another may judge all days to be alike. Let everyone be convinced in his own beliefs. ⁶ Whoever observes the day observes it for the Lord. Also, the one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and thereby also gives thanks to God.

⁷ None of us lives for himself, and none of us dies for himself. ⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ It was for this reason that Christ died and came to life again: so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰ Why then do you pass judgment on your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? All of us will have to stand before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹ For it is written,

¹² Consideration for the Weak Conscience. So, then, each one of us will have to give an account of himself to God. ¹³ Therefore, let us cease passing judgment on one another, but rather judge never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. ¹⁴ I know, and am convinced in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. However, it is unclean for someone who believes it to be unclean.

¹⁵ If your brother is seriously offended by what you eat, then you are no longer being guided by love. Do not allow the food that you eat to destroy anyone for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ Do not let what you think is good to become what others say is evil. ¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ The one who serves Christ in such things is pleasing to God and respected by others.

¹⁹ Let us^[e] then pursue the ways that lead to peace and mutual edification. ²⁰ Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is indeed clean, but it is wrong for you to cause others to fall by what you eat. ²¹ It is best not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that causes your brother to stumble.

²² Whatever faith you have, keep it between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to condemn himself because of what he approves. ²³ But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not act from faith. Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.