Romans 13:8-14:12

New International Version

Love Fulfills the Law

⁸ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.^{(A) 9} The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”^[a](B) and whatever other command there may be, are summed up^(C) in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[b](D) 10} Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.^(E)

The Day Is Near

¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come^(F) for you to wake up from your slumber,^(G) because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.^(H) So let us put aside the deeds of darkness^(I) and put on the armor^(J) of light. ¹³ Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness,^(K) not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.^{(L) 14} Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,^(M) and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.^[c](N)

The Weak and the Strong

14 Accept the one whose faith is weak,^(O) without quarreling over disputable matters. ² One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.^{(P) 3} The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt^(Q) the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge^(R) the one who does, for God has accepted them. ⁴ Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?^(S) To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

⁵ One person considers one day more sacred than another;^(T) another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. ⁶ Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God;^(U) and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For none of us lives for ourselves alone,^(V) and none of us dies for ourselves alone. ⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.^{(W) 9} For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life^(X) so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.^(Y)

¹⁰ You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister^[d]? Or why do you treat them with contempt?^(Z) For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.^{(AA) 11} It is written:

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.^(AD)