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,^{1 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.

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.

Food Offered to Idols

1 Now concerning^{1 m}food offered to idols: we know that ⁿ“all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” ^opuffs up, ^pbut love builds up. 2 ^qIf anyone imagines that he knows something, ^rhe does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, ^she is known by God.²

4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ^t“an idol has no real existence,” and that ^u“there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be ^vso-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet ^wfor us there is one God, the Father, ^xfrom whom are all things and for whom we exist, and ^yone Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and ^zthrough whom we exist.

7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, ^athrough former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and ^btheir conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 ^cFood will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care ^dthat this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block ^eto the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating³ in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged,⁴ if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is ^fdestroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers⁵ and ^gwounding their conscience when it is weak, ^hyou sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, ⁱif food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.