Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
Be Subject To Authorities: They Are Established By God
13 Let every soul be subject[a] to superior authorities. For there is no authority except by God. And the existing ones are established[b] by God. 2 So then the one opposing[c] the authority has resisted[d] the ordinance[e] of God. And the ones having resisted will receive[f] judgment on themselves.
Rulers are God’s Servants To Reward Good And Punish Evil
3 For the rulers are not a fear to good work, but to evil[g]. Now do you want to not be fearing the authority? Be doing good, and you will have praise[h] from him[i]— 4 for he is God’s servant to you for good. But if you are doing evil, be fearing! For he does not bear[j] the sword in-vain[k]— for he is God’s servant, an avenger for wrath on the one practicing evil. 5 Therefore it is a necessity to be subject— not only because of the wrath[l], but also because of the conscience.
So Give Them Their Due
6 For because of this also you pay tributes[m]. For they are ministers[n] of God devoting-themselves to this very thing. 7 Give-back to all authorities the things owed— the tribute to the one owed the tribute, the tax[o] to the one owed the tax, the fear[p] to the one owed the fear, the honor to the one owed the honor.
Pay Your Ongoing Debt of Love
8 Be owing[q] nothing to anyone except to be loving one another. For the one loving the other has fulfilled the Law. 9 For the saying “You shall not commit-adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet” [Ex 20:13-17], and if there is any other commandment, is summed-up in this saying— in the “You shall love your neighbor as yourself ” [Lev 19:18]. 10 Love does not work harm[r] to the neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law.
Put On The Weapons of The Light, And Make No Provision For The Flesh
11 And do this knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to arise from sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is advanced, and the day has drawn-near. Therefore let us lay-aside[s] the works of the darkness and let us put-on the weapons[t] of the light. 13 Let us walk properly[u] as in the day[v]— not in revelries[w] and drunkenness[x], not in beds[y] and sensualities, not in strife and jealousy, 14 but put-on[z] the Lord Jesus Christ and do not be making provision[aa] for the flesh, for its desires.
Accept Those Weak In The Faith
14 Now be accepting the one being weak in the faith[ab]— [but] not for disputes[ac] about opinions[ad].
Don’t Judge The Opinions of Fellow Servants of Your Master
2 One has faith to eat all things, but the one being weak eats vegetables[ae]. 3 Let not the one eating be treating-with-contempt[af] the one not eating. And let not the one not eating be judging[ag] the one eating— for God accepted him. 4 Who are you, the one judging a household-servant belonging-to-another? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Live For The Lord As You Think Best, For Each of Us Will Give an Account To God
5 For one judges a day beyond a day[ah], but another judges every day alike. Let each one be fully-convinced in his own mind[ai]. 6 The one thinking[aj] as to the day, is thinking for the Lord. And the one eating, is eating for the Lord— for he gives-thanks to God. And the one not eating, is not eating for the Lord— and he gives-thanks to God. 7 For[ak] none of us lives for himself, and none dies for himself. 8 For if we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore if we live and if we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For Christ died and came-to-life for this: that He might be-Lord both of dead and living ones. 10 But why are you judging your brother? Or why also are you treating your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment-seat of God. 11 For it has been written [in Isa 45:23]: “As I live”, says the Lord, “every knee will bow to Me. And every tongue will confess-out to God”. 12 So then, each of us will give an account for himself to God.
Don’t Let Your Good Choices Cause Spiritual Harm To Others; Walk In Love
13 Therefore let us no longer be judging one another. But rather judge[al] this: not to be placing an opportunity-for-stumbling[am] or a cause-of-falling[an] for the brother (14 I know[ao] and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing[ap] is defiled[aq] in itself [ar], except to the one considering anything to be defiled— to that[as] one it is defiled). 15 For if your brother is grieved[at] because of food, you are no longer walking according-to love. Do not be destroying with[au] your food that one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not be letting your good thing be blasphemed[av]. 17 For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness[aw] and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For the one serving[ax] Christ in this is pleasing to God and approved by people.
Let Us Be Pursuing Peace And Things That Build Up, Not Things That Tear Down
19 So then, let us be pursuing the things of [ay] peace and the things of edification for one another. 20 Do not be tearing-down the work of God for the sake of food. All things are clean— but it is evil for the person eating with an opportunity-for-stumbling. 21 It is good not to eat meats, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything by which your brother stumbles.
Hold To Your Convictions, But Carry The Weak. Don’t Just Please Yourselves
22 The faith which you have, be having for[az] yourself in the sight of God. Blessed is the one not judging himself in what he is approving. 23 But the one doubting has been condemned if he eats, because it was not from faith— and everything which is not from faith is sin.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing