Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The way of love and peace
13 Do not, then, pass judgment on one another any longer. If you want to exercise your judgment, do so on this question: how to avoid placing obstacles or stumbling blocks in front of a fellow family member.
14 I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself, except that some things do become unclean for the person who regards them as such. 15 For if your brother or sister is being harmed by what you eat, you are no longer behaving in accordance with love. Don’t let your food destroy someone for whom the Messiah died!
16 So don’t let something that is good for you make other people blaspheme. 17 God’s kingdom, you see, isn’t about food and drink, but about justice, peace, and joy in the holy spirit. 18 Anyone who serves the Messiah like this pleases God and deserves respect from other people. 19 So, then, let’s find and follow the way of peace, and discover how to build each other up. 20 Don’t pull down God’s work on account of food. Everything is pure, but it becomes evil for anyone who causes offense when they eat. 21 It is good not to eat meat, or drink wine, or anything else which makes your fellow Christian stumble.
22 Hold firmly to the faith which you have as a matter between yourself and God. When you’ve thought something through, and can go ahead without passing judgment on yourself, God’s blessing on you! 23 But anyone who doubts is condemned even in the act of eating, because it doesn’t spring from faith. Whatever is not of faith is sin.
Unity: modeled by the Messiah, encouraged by scripture
15 We, the “strong” ones, should bear with the frailty of the “weak,” and not please ourselves. 2 Each one of us should please our neighbor for his or her good, to build them up.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.