14:1  AS FOR the man who is a weak believer, welcome him [into your fellowship], but not to criticize his opinions {or} pass judgment on his scruples {or} perplex him with discussions.

14:2  One [man's faith permits him to] believe he may eat anything, while a weaker one [limits his] eating to vegetables.

14:3  Let not him who eats look down on {or} despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains criticize {and} pass judgment on him who eats; for God has accepted {and} welcomed him.

14:4  Who are you to pass judgment on {and} censure another's household servant? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he shall stand {and} be upheld, for the Master (the Lord) is mighty to support him {and} make him stand.

14:5  One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike [sacred]. Let everyone be fully convinced (satisfied) in his own mind.

14:6  He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

14:7  None of us lives to himself [but to the Lord], and none of us dies to himself [but to the Lord, for]

14:8  If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord.

14:9  For Christ died and lived again for this very purpose, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

14:10  Why do you criticize {and} pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you look down upon {or} despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.

14:11  For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God [acknowledge Him to His honor and to His praise].

14:12  And so each of us shall give an account of himself [give an answer in reference to judgment] to God.

14:13  Then let us no more criticize {and} blame {and} pass judgment on one another, but rather decide {and} endeavor never to put a stumbling block {or} an obstacle or a hindrance in the way of a brother.

14:14  I know and am convinced (persuaded) as one in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is [forbidden as] essentially unclean (defiled and unholy in itself). But [none the less] it is unclean (defiled and unholy) to anyone who thinks it is unclean.

14:15  But if your brother is being pained {or} his feelings hurt {or} if he is being injured by what you eat, [then] you are no longer walking in love. [You have ceased to be living and conducting yourself by the standard of love toward him.] Do not let what you eat hurt {or} cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died!

14:16  Do not therefore let what seems good to you be considered an evil thing [by someone else]. [In other words, do not give occasion for others to criticize that which is justifiable for you.]

14:17  [After all] the kingdom of God is not a matter of [getting the] food and drink [one likes], but instead it is righteousness (that state which makes a person acceptable to God) and [heart] peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

14:18  He who serves Christ in this way is acceptable {and} pleasing to God and is approved by men.

14:19  So let us then definitely aim for {and} eagerly pursue what makes for harmony and for mutual upbuilding (edification and development) of one another.

14:20  You must not, for the sake of food, undo {and} break down and destroy the work of God! Everything is indeed [ceremonially] clean {and} pure, but it is wrong for anyone to hurt the conscience of others {or} to make them fall by what he eats.

14:21  The right thing is to eat no meat or drink no wine [at all], or [do anything else] if it makes your brother stumble {or} hurts his conscience {or} offends or weakens him.

14:22  Your personal convictions [on such matters]--exercise [them] as in God's presence, keeping them to yourself [striving only to know the truth and obey His will]. Blessed (happy, to be envied) is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves [who does not convict himself by what he chooses to do].

14:23  But the man who has doubts (misgivings, an uneasy conscience) about eating, and then eats [perhaps because of you], stands condemned [before God], because he is not true to his convictions {and} he does not act from faith. For whatever does not originate {and} proceed from faith is sin [whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful].