Romans 12-14

New American Standard Bible

Dedicated Service

12 Therefore ^(A)I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to ^(B)present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, ^[a]acceptable to God, which is your ^[b]spiritual service of worship. ² And do not ^(C)be conformed to ^(D)this ^[c]world, but be transformed by the ^(E)renewing of your mind, so that you may ^[d](F)prove what the will of God is, that which is good and ^[e]acceptable and perfect.

³ For through ^(G)the grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^(H)not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to ^(I)each a measure of faith. ⁴ For ^(J)just as we have many parts in one body and all ^[f]the body’s parts do not have the same function, ⁵ so we, ^(K)who are many, are ^(L)one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another. ⁶ However, since we have gifts that ^(M)differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them properly: if ^(N)prophecy, ^[g]in proportion to one’s faith; ⁷ if ^[h](O)service, in the act of serving; or the one who ^(P)teaches, in the act of teaching; ⁸ or the one who ^[i](Q)exhorts, in the work of ^[j]exhortation; the one who gives, with ^[k](R)generosity; ^(S)the one who ^[l]is in leadership, with diligence; the one who shows mercy, with ^(T)cheerfulness.

^9 [m](U)Love must be free of hypocrisy. ^(V)Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be ^(W)devoted to one another in brotherly love; ^[n]give preference to one another ^(X)in honor, ¹¹ not lagging behind in diligence, ^(Y)fervent in spirit, ^(Z)serving the Lord; ^12 (AA)rejoicing in hope, ^(AB)persevering in tribulation, ^(AC)devoted to prayer, ^13 (AD)contributing to the needs of the ^[o]saints, ^[p](AE)practicing hospitality.

^14 (AF)Bless those who persecute ^[q]you; bless and do not curse. ^15 (AG)Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. ^16 (AH)Be of the same mind toward one another; ^(AI)do not be ^[r]haughty in mind, but ^[s]associate with the lowly. ^(AJ)Do not be wise in your own estimation. ^17 (AK)Never repay evil for evil to anyone. ^[t](AL)Respect what is right in the sight of all people. ¹⁸ If possible, ^(AM)so far as it depends on you, ^(AN)be at peace with all people. ^19 (AO)Never take your own revenge, beloved, but ^[u]leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written: “^(AP)Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ “^(AQ)But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Be Subject to Government

13 Every ^[v](AR)person is to be ^(AS)subject to the governing authorities. For ^(AT)there is no authority except ^[w]from God, and those which exist are established by God. ² Therefore ^[x]whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. ³ For ^(AU)rulers are not a cause of fear for ^[y]good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; ⁴ for it is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a servant of God, an ^(AV)avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. ⁵ Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also ^(AW)for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. ^7 (AX)Pay to all what is due them: ^(AY)tax to whom tax is due; ^(AZ)custom to whom custom; ^[z]respect to whom ^[aa]respect; honor to whom honor.

⁸ Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for ^(BA)the one who loves ^[ab]his neighbor has fulfilled the Law. ⁹ For this, “^(BB)You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “^(BC)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love ^[ac]does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^(BD)love is the fulfillment of the Law.

¹¹ Do this, knowing the time, that it is ^(BE)already the hour for you to ^(BF)awaken from sleep; for now ^[ad]salvation is nearer to us than when we first believed. ^12 (BG)The night is almost gone, and ^(BH)the day is near. Therefore let’s rid ourselves of ^(BI)the deeds of darkness and put on ^(BJ)the armor of light. ¹³ Let’s ^[ae](BK)behave properly as in the day, ^(BL)not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and debauchery, not in strife and jealousy. ¹⁴ But ^(BM)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh ^(BN)in regard to its lusts.

Principles of Conscience

14 Now ^(BO)accept the one who is ^(BP)weak ^[af]in faith, but not ^[ag]to have quarrels over opinions. ^2 (BQ)One person has faith that he may eat all things, but the one who is ^(BR)weak eats only vegetables. ³ The one who eats is not to ^(BS)regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to ^(BT)judge the one who eats, for God has ^(BU)accepted him. ^4 (BV)Who are you to judge the ^[ah]servant of another? To his own ^[ai]master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

^5 (BW)One person ^[aj]values one day over another, another ^[ak]values every day the same. Each person must be ^(BX)fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ The one who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and the one who eats, ^[al]does so with regard to the Lord, for he ^(BY)gives thanks to God; and the one who does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat, and he gives thanks to God. ⁷ For not one of us ^(BZ)lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; ⁸ for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore ^(CA)whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. ⁹ For to this end ^(CB)Christ died and lived again, that He might be ^(CC)Lord both of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰ But as for you, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or you as well, why do you ^(CD)regard your brother or sister with contempt? For ^(CE)we will all appear before the judgment seat of God. ¹¹ For it is written:

¹² So then ^(CH)each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

¹³ Therefore let’s not ^(CI)judge one another anymore, but rather ^[an]determine this: ^(CJ)not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s or sister’s way. ¹⁴ I know and am convinced ^[ao]in the Lord Jesus that ^(CK)nothing is ^[ap]unclean in itself; but to the one who ^(CL)thinks something is ^[aq]unclean, to that person it is ^[ar]unclean. ¹⁵ For if because of food your brother or sister is hurt, you are no longer ^(CM)walking in accordance with love. ^(CN)Do not destroy with your choice of food that person for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ Therefore ^(CO)do not let what is for you a good thing be ^[as]spoken of as evil; ¹⁷ for the kingdom of God ^(CP)is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and ^(CQ)peace and ^(CR)joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ For the one who ^(CS)serves Christ in this way is ^(CT)acceptable to God and approved by other people. ¹⁹ So then we ^(CU)pursue the things ^[at]which make for peace and the ^(CV)building up of one another. ^20 (CW)Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. ^(CX)All things indeed are clean, but ^(CY)they are evil for the person who eats ^[au]and causes offense. ^21 (CZ)It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother or sister stumbles. ²² The faith which you have, have ^[av]as your own conviction before God. Happy is the one who ^(DA)does not condemn himself in what he approves. ²³ But ^(DB)the one who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.