Alive in Christ

6 ^hTherefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 ⁱrooted and ^jbuilt up in him and ^kestablished in the faith, just ^las you were taught, abounding ^min thanksgiving.

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by ⁿphilosophy and ^oempty deceit, according to ^phuman tradition, according to the ^qelemental spirits¹ of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For ^rin him the whole fullness of deity dwells ^sbodily, 10 and ^tyou have been filled in him, who is ^uthe head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also ^vyou were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by ^wputting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 ^xhaving been buried with him in baptism, in which ^yyou were also raised with him through faith in ^zthe powerful working of God, ^zwho raised him from the dead. 13 ^aAnd you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God ^bmade alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by ^ccanceling ^dthe record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 ^wHe disarmed the rulers and authorities² and ^eput them to open shame, by ^ftriumphing over them in him.³

Let No One Disqualify You

16 Therefore let no one ^gpass judgment on you ^hin questions of food and drink, or with regard to ⁱa festival or ^ja new moon or a Sabbath. 17 ^kThese are a shadow of the things to come, but ^lthe substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one ^mdisqualify you, ⁿinsisting on asceticism and worship of angels, ^ogoing on in detail about visions,^{4 p}puffed up without reason by ^qhis sensuous mind, 19 and ^rnot ^sholding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

20 If with Christ ^tyou died to the ^uelemental spirits of the world, ^vwhy, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 ^w“Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (^xreferring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to ^yhuman precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in ^zpromoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are ^aof no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another

1 As for ^mthe one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 ⁿOne person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and ^olet not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 ^pWho are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master¹ that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

5 ^qOne person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. ^rEach one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since ^she gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For ^tnone of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, ^uwhether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ ^vdied and lived again, that he might be Lord both ^wof the dead and of the living.

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For ^wwe will all stand before ^xthe judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,

12 So then ^zeach of us will give an account of himself to God.

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

13 ^aTherefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide ^bnever to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus ^cthat nothing is unclean in itself, ^dbut it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, ^eyou are no longer walking in love. ^fBy what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 ^gSo do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 ^hFor the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but ⁱof righteousness and ^jpeace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is ^kacceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us ^lpursue what makes for peace and for ^mmutual upbuilding.

20 ⁿDo not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. ^oEverything is indeed clean, but ^pit is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 ^qIt is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.³ 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. ^rBlessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.⁴