The Word Made Fresh
1Welcome those whose beliefs are weak, but not just to argue with them.
2Some of us believe its okay to eat anything, while others who have weak stomachs eat only vegetables. 3But of course, those who eat anything shouldn’t pass judgment on those who don’t and those who don’t eat just anything shouldn’t judge those who do. God welcomes all. 4You have no right to judge someone else’s servants. They can be rightly judged only by those who have hired them, and that is whom they must please.
5Some think one day is better than another, while others think all days are alike, and they’re all fully convinced in their own minds. 6If you honor the day, honor it for the Lord. In the same way, those who eat give thanks to the Lord and eat in honor of the Lord because they gave thanks to God; and those who refuse to eat in the Lord’s honor should also give thanks to God.
7No one lives or dies to themselves. 8While we are alive, we live to the Lord, and if we die we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die we belong to the Lord. 9That is why Christ died and then lived again, so that he would be Lord of both the living and the dead.
10Why do you despise others? Or why do you judge others? All of us stand before God’s judgment. 11For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess God.” 12And that means each one of us is accountable to God.
13So, let’s stop judging one another, and stop putting a stumbling block or other hindrance in each other’s way. 14I am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that no food is itself unclean, but is unclean only to those who think it to be unclean. 15If a member of your family is distressed over what you eat, then you are not behaving in a loving manner. Don’t let what you eat damage the faith of another for whom Christ died. 16Don’t let what you know is good be called evil. 17The kingdom of God doesn’t consist of food and drink, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18Whoever serves Christ is acceptable to God and is approved by others as well. 19Let’s look for things that make for peace and the betterment of everyone. 20Don’t destroy God’s work for the sake of your diet! Everything God made is clean, but it is a mistake for anyone to eat what causes another to sin. 21You should not eat meat or drink wine or consume anything that makes another stumble. 22Your faith is your personal conviction to God, and blessed are they who have no reason to condemn themselves because of what they approve. 23But those who have doubt about eating something are wrong if they eat it because they are not acting according to their faith. And whatever doesn’t come from faith is a sin.
Commentary
1-4: Paul cautions his readers not to allow their (perhaps supposed) maturity in the faith to make them have a superior attitude toward others who are struggling.
5-9: If we all will simply dedicate our lives and our actions to the Lord, then we can live together in harmony even when we disagree on the details. Life and death don’t matter, for Christ is Lord of both.
10-12: Paraphrasing Isaiah 45:23, Paul makes the point that passing judgment on each other is a meaningless exercise because all of us are under the authority of the Lord.
13-23: There was a great deal of debate in the early church about dietary restrictions. Early on the decision was made not to require Gentiles to follow the Jewish kosher laws (see Acts 15:28-29), but they were to abstain from food sacrificed to idols. Since that practice was widespread throughout the empire, and since there still was a strong element of Judaism in practices of fasting and abstinence it was surely quite confusing, especially to new converts. Paul simply tells them to relax. If you follow a certain diet for spiritual reasons, that doesn’t mean you should impose your diet on others. In our culture, some say a blessing before each meal, some after, some out loud, some silently, some not at all. None of them is “the” right way. Just do whatever you do to the glory of God.
Takeaway
Be faithful and do good; but cut some slack for others.