Chapter XIV.
(Vers. 1.)
(Version 1.) But those who are weak in faith, receive them, not for the purpose of arguing about opinions. For there were some who were from Jewish background and had accepted the name of Christ, but were still following the Law, as I mentioned at the beginning of this letter. Therefore, it seemed to some that they should not eat meat that had been offered to idols; but to others who were not bound by the Law, it seemed that they were free to eat anything. And because of this disagreement, there were disputes among them. The Apostle, however, in his desire for unity and salvation, removes these disputes by offering divine reasoning, showing that neither those who eat nor those who abstain gain favor with God. He says that it is weak, who, because the Jews have prohibited it, is afraid to eat. Therefore, he wishes this person to be remitted to his own judgment, so that he does not suffer scandal and depart from charity, which is like the mother of souls, with disturbance of mind; since Christians should be peaceful and calm.
(Vers. 2.)
(Version 2.) Another person believes in eating everything. This person does not doubt in the certainty of reading and believes that everything should be eaten, which has been given for human use. They read in Genesis that everything that God created is very good (Gen. 1:31); therefore, nothing should be rejected, since neither Enoch, who pleased God first, nor Noah, who alone was found righteous in the flood, nor Abraham, the friend of God, or Isaac, or Jacob, the righteous and friends of God, among whom was also Lot, nor the other righteous are reported to have abstained from these things.
Indeed, the one who is weak should eat vegetables. Therefore, because he thinks this, that he should eat vegetables: it is not advisable, therefore, that he should eat meat, lest he eat with hesitation and seem to sin; because he does not keep his purpose.
(Vers. 3.)
(Verse 3.) Therefore, let the one who eats not despise the one who does not eat, and let the one who does not eat not judge the one who eats. For it is a matter of choice to eat or not to eat, and thus this question should not arise. All things have been made for this purpose, to be subject to our will, for they are subject to human dominion.
For God indeed assumed him. He was assumed by God when he was called to grace.
(Vers. 4.)
(Verse 4.) Who are you to judge someone else's servant? He stands or falls to his own master. It is clear that a servant should not judge the will of his fellow servant, to whom the law in this regard has not been given; for whether he is conscious of it or not, God is the judge of whom he is a servant.
But it will stand, for God has the power to establish it. It will stand, he says, before his master, because neither if he gives it, will he be guilty; nor if he does not give it, will he be culpable; if, however, he does this out of devotion, not avoiding it as contrary.
(Vers. 5.)
(Verse 5.) For some people indeed judge day between day; that is, it pleases them to fast on certain days. For there are some who have decreed not to eat meat on Wednesdays; there are those who do it on Saturdays, and there are again those who fast from Easter until Pentecost.
But another judges every day. He judges every day, who never eats. Let each one abound in his own sense: this is, let each one be referred to his own judgment.
(Vers. 6.)
(Verse 6.) He who knows the day, knows the Lord. It is true, because he who is always abstaining, thinks himself pleasing to God. And he who eats, eats to the Lord. He eats to the Lord; because he gives thanks to the Creator. And he who does not eat, does not eat to the Lord, and gives thanks to God. He gives thanks, while confessing that he is a creature of God, and a good creature; but he does not condemn himself for hiding from it.
(Vers. 7.)
(Verse 7) For no one lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. Someone would live for oneself, if they did not act under the Law: but whoever is governed by the restraint of the Law, does not truly live for oneself, but for God who gave the Law, in order that they may live according to His will. And whoever dies, dies in a similar way to God, under whose judgment they will be either crowned or condemned.
(Vers. 8.)
(Verse 8) For whether we live, we live for the Lord; and whether we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. It is true that we all are the Lord's as if servants in our condition and under the authority of the Redeemer, and each one is treated according to their merits.
(Vers. 9.)
(Verse 9) For in this way Christ died and rose again, so that He might rule over the dead and the living. Through Christ the Lord, a creature was made, which was alienated from its creator through sin, made captive: whom God the Father, so that His work would not perish, sent His Son from heaven to earth, teaching by His own hands how to escape the clutches of pirates. Therefore, He allowed Himself to be killed by His enemies, so that descending into hell, being innocent, He would make sin guilty; so that those whom He held captive in hell, He would release. Therefore, since you are alive, he has shown the way of salvation and offered himself for them, but he has freed the dead from Hell, and he rules over both the living and the dead; for he has restored them to himself as servants from the lost.
(Vers. 10.)
(Verse 10) But you, why do you judge your brother for not eating? Or why do you despise your brother for eating? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. He teaches that it is not necessary to judge in this matter; both because it is not included in the Law, and also because we are waiting for God, the Judge.
(Vers. 11.)
(Verse 11) For it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God (Isaiah 45:24). This is written in Isaiah, because every tongue shall confess to God in the faith of Christ. For because he who was killed will rise again to be the future judge, he rightly says: As I live, says the Lord; and not only do I live, but I am also the one who will judge, and my enemies will be astonished, and they will bow their knees, acknowledging me as God from God.
(Vers. 12.)
(Verse 12) Therefore, each one of us will give an account to God for ourselves. For, as it is said, we will each give an account for ourselves, not condemning one another in this matter that is written above.
(Vers. 13.)
(Verse 13.) Therefore, let us no longer judge one another, that is, knowing this, let us cease from discord. But judge this instead, not to put a stumbling block or scandal in the way of a brother. In judging this, it is advised that what is profitable and can be defended by the authority of the law should be considered: but let no offense be given to a brother who eats or does not eat meat.
(Vers. 14.)
(Verse 14) I know and trust in the Lord, for nothing is common through him. It is clear that by the grace of the Savior, all things are clean, who, by freeing men from the yoke of the Law and justifying them, has restored the state of former freedom, so that they may be worthy to use the whole creation, as the ancient saints did. But those who are still under the Law are not allowed to use or eat what the Law prohibits, because they despise the granted indulgence. For they are not clean according to their own nature, but when they are eaten against the decree, they are unclean. Finally, in the Law it says: They shall be unclean to you, etc. (Leviticus 11:4).
And surely whoever considers something to be common, that thing is common. Whether someone is a Judeo-Christian or a faithful Gentile, if they think there is something to be avoided, they themselves are the weak ones mentioned above; for by doubting, they are weak. In the case of such a person, what they think should not be eaten is considered unclean; and because they do not do this out of superstition but out of fear, their judgement should be respected.
(Vers. 15.)
(Verse 15) For if your brother is grieved because of food, you are no longer walking according to love. In another letter it says: Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, but God will destroy both it and them (1 Corinthians 6:13). Because neither eating nor abstaining from certain foods pleases or displeases God, he advises us to follow love, which God has deemed us worthy to be liberated by. For he says: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us (Ephesians 2:4). Therefore, whoever is mindful of this benefit cultivates it and does not prefer anything to it, but disregards the greatest things, which he knows do not earn him favor with God.
Do not destroy him with your food, for whom Christ died. The value of the salvation of the brother is known from the death of Christ. Therefore, the one who knows how much it costs should support him, not scandalize him; so that he does not make him scrupulous from a trivial matter: and he begins to hesitate whether flesh should be eaten or not, who perhaps simply ate, confident in his conscience. But when controversies arise, he will begin to sin against God's creature in a disturbance, and it will be an injustice to the Creator, which will lead to the destruction of the doubter.
(Vers. 16.)
(Verse 16) Therefore, let our good not be blasphemed. This means that the Lord's teaching, since it is good and beneficial, should not be blasphemed through a frivolous matter; it is blasphemed, however, when there is doubt about God's creation. Our good can also be understood as being blasphemed, because someone who has good works, if they are criticized for a minor matter, tarnishes their own good and their good will begin to be blasphemed because of their evil, as it is written in Ezekiel: The righteousness of the righteous will not save them if they go astray (Ezek. 33:12). Such is the case if someone has a defect by chance in their appearance, such as a misshapen forehead or a flattened nose; from which their beauty is deformed. Therefore, those things should be avoided that do not win favor from others.
(Vers. 17.)
(Verse 17) For the kingdom of God is not food and drink. It is evident that no one pleases or displeases God by means of food. But righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. These are the ones whom he says will enter the kingdom of God, those who pursue righteousness and have the Christian peace which the Lord gave, saying, 'My peace I give to you, my peace I leave you' (John 14:27); from which joy arises in the Holy Spirit. However, argumentation does not have joy, but anger. Therefore, the Holy Spirit does not look upon it, because He delights in peace alone. For just as he is saddened by us, so he also rejoices in us.
(Vers. 18.)
(Verse 18.) For whoever serves Christ in this way pleases God and is approved by men. Because Christ has redeemed us, He says: Whoever serves Christ in this way, is pleasing to God, as to a Redeemer. Why? Because He Himself sent Christ to redeem the human race, as the Lord Himself says: Whoever does not honor the Son, does not honor the Father who sent Him (John 5:23). Therefore, whoever pleases God, is approved by men. How? For he accepted the gift, by which it appears he is worthy of God.
(Vers. 19.)
(Verse 19.) So let us pursue those things that lead to peace and build each other up. Because arguments create discord, it teaches us to hide our intent to eat or not eat, so that we may be peaceful. But it encourages us to follow the path of building up, so that we may contribute to each other's growth, avoiding things that are unfruitful and contrary. For discussion can be beneficial, as it stimulates the mind, as long as the desire to win is not despised, for that is what causes strife.
(Vers. 20.)
(Verse 20.) Do not, because of food, neglect the work of God. Man is the work of God by creation, and again man is the work of God, as he is reformed by regeneration. And food is the work of God, but man is not for the sake of food, but food is for the sake of man. Therefore, there is a great difference; therefore, do not, he says, neglect this work of God, which is noble, for the sake of that which is lowly. This is to strive for the salvation of a brother, not to focus on the care of food, so as not to cause distress to a brother. For the favor of God makes void the one who, through argument, again prompts the brother who has been freed from sin to sin, undoing in him the works of Christ that he has accomplished, in order to liberate man from sin.
Indeed, all things are clean. But it is also true and evident that all things are clean, since it is written in Genesis that everything God made is very good. But it is evil for a person to eat with offense (Gen. I, 31). Therefore, although all things are good and clean by nature, they become unclean to those who doubt, and it will be a stumbling block to them if, despite their doubts, they eat with an unclean conscience, because they do what they consider useless. Therefore, no one should contradict what follows in this matter.
(Vers. 21.)
(Verse 21.) It is good not to eat meat, and not to drink wine. When the discussion was only about meat, he added drink as well; so that those who abstain from these might be comforted by what is lawful, both to eat meat and to drink wine. In order not to sadden those who use these, he gave them solace in breathing; so that they might rest in their own will, and the dispute through which discord arises would cease. For since it is not hidden that it is good to eat meat and drink wine, and on the other hand not to eat meat and not to drink wine, they learn that it is good, and no one argues. A creature has been given for the use of those who wish; however, neither necessity is imposed on the willing nor the unwilling.
For indeed in that in which your brother offends, or is scandalized, or is weakened. The same thing he says ought not to be done to a brother, who has established a weak mind for himself in order to eat, so that he may not offend in confusion, not knowing what he holds.
(Vers. 22.)
(Verse 22.) You have faith in yourself: have it in the presence of God. This means that you who sit secure, because the creation of God is good, do not need to judge another; for it is better to have peace with your brother; for this is useful before God. For in food, the utility is the flesh, but in peace, both of the flesh and the soul: and for this reason, there should be a cessation of such disputes; so that each person can remain in the purpose of their own heart.
Blessed is he who does not judge himself, in which he proves himself. Each one considers himself worthy of condemnation by his own judgement, who does what he says he should not do: and he considers blessed the one who does nothing other than what he proves to be beneficial to himself.
(Vers. 23.)
(Verse 23.) But whoever eats without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.
But everything that is not from faith is sin. He rightly calls sin that which is done differently than it is approved. For the Romans were instructed in the law, as I mentioned at the beginning of the letter: but as those who believe rightly came, questions were raised about abstaining from meat and not abstaining; and the part of those who said that it should be eaten and not condemned seemed better; for all things are very clean: he calls weak those who denied eating whether they were from the Jews or from the Gentiles, and he pardoned them in the intention of their heart. For neither is it harmful not to eat, nor does it benefit to eat with respect to God; they are not bound by any reason, through which, however, they would sin by eating with scruple.