The Law of Liberty

Paul opens by welcoming the one with a weaker faith without dragging them into opinion-trials, and places the mutual judging on hold: a servant answers to their own master, and God will hold them up.

A¹ccept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on his opinions. ²For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables. ³The one who eats everything must not belittle the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted him. ⁴Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Paul turns to days and food, and treats both as matters where each conscience is settled before the Lord. Living or dying, the believer belongs to Christ, who is Lord of both.

⁵One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷For none of us lives to himself alone, and none of us dies to himself alone. ⁸If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

Paul confronts the judging brother directly and points every believer ahead to God’s judgment seat, where each will give their own account.

¹⁰Why, then, do you judge your brother? Or why do you belittle your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. ¹¹It is written: ¹²So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.