World English Bible · Under Rome
Romans 14
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Now accept one who is weak in , but not for disputes over opinions. One man has to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Don't let him who eats despise him who doesn't eat. Don't let him who doesn't eat judge him who eats, for has accepted him. Who are you who judge another's servant? To his own he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for has to make him stand. One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own . He who observes the day, observes it to ; and he who does not observe the day, to he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to , for he gives thanks. He who doesn't eat, to he doesn't eat, and gives thanks. For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself. For if we live, we live to . Or if we , we to . If therefore we live or , we are . For to this end Christ , rose, and lived again, that he might be of both and the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the seat of Christ. For , "'As I live,' , 'to me every knee will bow. Every will to .'" So then each one of us will give account of himself to . Therefore let's not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother's way, or an occasion for falling. I know and am persuaded in that nothing is of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be , to him it is . Yet if because of food your brother is grieved, you walk no longer in love. Don't destroy with your food him for whom Christ . Then don't let your good be slandered, for Kingdom is not eating and drinking, but , peace, and joy in . For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to and approved by men. So then, let's follow after things which make for peace, and things by which we may build one another up. Don't overthrow work for food's sake. All things indeed are clean, however it is evil for that man who creates a stumbling block by eating. It is good to not eat meat, drink , nor do anything by which your brother stumbles, is offended, or is made weak. Do you have ? Have it to yourself before . Happy is he who doesn't judge himself in that which he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it isn't of ; and whatever is not of is . 24Now to him who is able to establish you according to my and the preaching of , according to the of which has been kept secret through long ages, 25but now is , and by of , according to the of the , is for of to all the nations; 26to the only , through , to whom be the ! .
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Christians read this chapter differently
- Should Christians keep the biblical feasts? · Romans 14:5-6
Every view at its strongest, with who holds it and what it has to answer for.
The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.