Bible Reading Plan – Day 316

₁Everyone must obey the state authorities, because no authority exists without God's permission, and the existing authorities have been put there by God. ₂Whoever opposes the existing authority opposes what God has ordered; and anyone who does so will bring judgement on himself. ₃For rulers are not to be feared by those who do good, but by those who do evil. Would you like to be unafraid of those in authority? Then do what is good, and they will praise you, ₄because they are God's servants working for your own good. But if you do evil, then be afraid of them, because their power to punish is real. They are God's servants and carry out God's punishment on those who do evil. ₅For this reason you must obey the authorities — not just because of God's punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.

₆That is also why you pay taxes, because the authorities are working for God when they fulfil their duties. ₇Pay, then, what you owe them; pay them your personal and property taxes, and show respect and honour for them all.

₈Be under obligation to no one — the only obligation you have is to love one another. Whoever does this has obeyed the Law. ₉The commandments, “Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not desire what belongs to someone else” — all these, and any others besides, are summed up in the one command, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” ₁₀If you love someone, you will never do them wrong; to love, then, is to obey the whole Law.

₁₁You must do this, because you know that the time has come for you to wake up from your sleep. For the moment when we will be saved is closer now than it was when we first believed. ₁₂The night is nearly over, day is almost here. Let us stop doing the things that belong to the dark, and let us take up weapons for fighting in the light. ₁₃Let us conduct ourselves properly, as people who live in the light of day — no orgies or drunkenness, no immorality or indecency, no fighting or jealousy. ₁₄But take up the weapons of the Lord Jesus Christ, and stop paying attention to your sinful nature and satisfying its desires.

₁Welcome those who are weak in faith, but do not argue with them about their personal opinions. ₂Some people's faith allows them to eat anything, but the person who is weak in the faith eats only vegetables. ₃Those who will eat anything are not to despise those who don't; while those who eat only vegetables are not to pass judgement on those who will eat anything; for God has accepted them. ₄Who are you to judge someone else's servants? It is their own Master who will decide whether they succeed or fail. And they will succeed, because the Lord is able to make them succeed.

₅Some people think that a certain day is more important than other days, while others think that all days are the same. We should each firmly make up our own minds. ₆Those who think highly of a certain day do so in honour of the Lord; those who will eat anything do so in honour of the Lord, because they give thanks to God for the food. Those who refuse to eat certain things do so in honour of the Lord, and they give thanks to God. ₇None of us lives for himself only, none of us dies for himself only. ₈If we live, it is for the Lord that we live, and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ₉For Christ died and rose to life in order to be the Lord of the living and of the dead. ₁₀You then, who eat only vegetables — why do you pass judgement on others? And you who eat anything — why do you despise other believers? All of us will stand before God to be judged by him. ₁₁For the scripture says:

₁₃So then, let us stop judging one another. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make another stumble or fall into sin. ₁₄My union with the Lord Jesus makes me certain that no food is of itself ritually unclean; but if a person believes that some food is unclean, then it becomes unclean for that person. ₁₅If you hurt your brother or sister because of something you eat, then you are no longer acting from love. Do not let the food that you eat ruin the person for whom Christ died! ₁₆Do not let what you regard as good get a bad name. ₁₇For God's Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness, peace, and joy which the Holy Spirit gives. ₁₈And when people serve Christ in this way, they please God and are approved by others.

₁₉So then, we must always aim at those things that bring peace and that help to strengthen one another. ₂₀Do not, because of food, destroy what God has done. All foods may be eaten, but it is wrong to eat anything that will cause someone else to fall into sin. ₂₁The right thing to do is to keep from eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that will make your brother or sister fall. ₂₂Keep what you believe about this matter, then, between yourself and God. Happy are those who do not feel guilty when they do something they judge is right! ₂₃But if they have doubts about what they eat, God condemns them when they eat it, because their action is not based on faith. And anything that is not based on faith is sin.

₁We who are strong in the faith ought to help the weak to carry their burdens. We should not please ourselves. ₂Instead, we should all please our brothers and sisters for their own good, in order to build them up in the faith. ₃For Christ did not please himself. Instead, as the scripture says, “The insults which are hurled at you have fallen on me.” ₄Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have hope through the patience and encouragement which the Scriptures give us. ₅And may God, the source of patience and encouragement, enable you to have the same point of view among yourselves by following the example of Christ Jesus, ₆so that all of you together may praise with one voice the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

₇Accept one another, then, for the glory of God, as Christ has accepted you. ₈For I tell you that Christ's life of service was on behalf of the Jews, to show that God is faithful, to make his promises to their ancestors come true, ₉and to enable even the Gentiles to praise God for his mercy. As the scripture says:

₁₃May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.

₁₄My brothers and sisters, I myself feel sure that you are full of goodness, that you have all knowledge, and that you are able to teach one another. ₁₅But in this letter I have been quite bold about certain subjects of which I have reminded you. I have been bold because of the privilege God has given me ₁₆of being a servant of Christ Jesus to work for the Gentiles. I serve like a priest in preaching the Good News from God, in order that the Gentiles may be an offering acceptable to God, dedicated to him by the Holy Spirit. ₁₇In union with Christ Jesus, then, I can be proud of my service for God. ₁₈I will be bold and speak only about what Christ has done through me to lead the Gentiles to obey God. He has done this by means of words and deeds, ₁₉by the power of miracles and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. And so, in travelling all the way from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have proclaimed fully the Good News about Christ. ₂₀My ambition has always been to proclaim the Good News in places where Christ has not been heard of, so as not to build on a foundation laid by someone else. ₂₁As the scripture says:

₂₂And so I have been prevented many times from coming to you. ₂₃But now that I have finished my work in these regions and since I have been wanting for so many years to come to see you, ₂₄I hope to do so now. I would like to see you on my way to Spain, and be helped by you to go there, after I have enjoyed visiting you for a while. ₂₅Just now, however, I am going to Jerusalem in the service of God's people there. ₂₆For the churches in Macedonia and Achaia have freely decided to give an offering to help the poor among God's people in Jerusalem. ₂₇That decision was their own; but, as a matter of fact, they have an obligation to help them. Since the Jews shared their spiritual blessings with the Gentiles, the Gentiles ought to use their material blessings to help the Jews. ₂₈When I have finished this task and have handed over to them all the money that has been raised for them, I shall leave for Spain and visit you on my way there. ₂₉When I come to you, I know that I shall come with a full measure of the blessing of Christ.

₃₀I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love that the Spirit gives: join me in praying fervently to God for me. ₃₁Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to God's people there. ₃₂And so I will come to you full of joy, if it is God's will, and enjoy a refreshing visit to you. ₃₃May God, our source of peace, be with all of you. Amen.

₁I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who serves the church at Cenchreae. ₂Receive her in the Lord's name, as God's people should, and give her any help she may need from you; for she herself has been a good friend to many people and also to me.

₃I send greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow-workers in the service of Christ Jesus; ₄they risked their lives for me. I am grateful to them — not only I, but all the Gentile churches as well. ₅Greetings also to the church that meets in their house.

Greetings to my dear friend Epaenetus, who was the first in the province of Asia to believe in Christ. ₆Greetings to Mary, who has worked so hard for you. ₇Greetings also to Andronicus and Junia, fellow-Jews who were in prison with me; they are well known among the apostles, and they became Christians before I did.

₈My greetings to Ampliatus, my dear friend in the fellowship of the Lord. ₉Greetings also to Urbanus, our fellow-worker in Christ's service, and to Stachys, my dear friend. ₁₀Greetings to Apelles, whose loyalty to Christ has been proved. Greetings to those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. ₁₁Greetings to Herodion, a fellow-Jew, and to the Christians in the family of Narcissus.

₁₂My greetings to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who work in the Lord's service, and to my dear friend Persis, who has done so much work for the Lord. ₁₃I send greetings to Rufus, that outstanding worker in the Lord's service, and to his mother, who has always treated me like a son. ₁₄My greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all the other Christian brothers and sisters with them. ₁₅Greetings to Philologus and Julia, to Nereus and his sister, to Olympas and to all of God's people who are with them.

₁₆Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send you their greetings.

₁₇I urge you, my brothers and sisters: watch out for those who cause divisions and upset people's faith and go against the teaching which you have received. Keep away from them! ₁₈For those who do such things are not serving Christ our Lord, but their own appetites. By their fine words and flattering speech they deceive innocent people. ₁₉Everyone has heard of your loyalty to the gospel, and for this reason I am happy about you. I want you to be wise about what is good, but innocent in what is evil. ₂₀And God, our source of peace, will soon crush Satan under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

₂₁Timothy, my fellow-worker, sends you his greetings; and so do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, fellow-Jews.

₂₂I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, send you Christian greetings.

₂₃My host Gaius, in whose house the church meets, sends you his greetings; Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.

₂₅Let us give glory to God! He is able to make you stand firm in your faith, according to the Good News I preach about Jesus Christ and according to the revelation of the secret truth which was hidden for long ages in the past. ₂₆Now, however, that truth has been brought out into the open through the writings of the prophets; and by the command of the eternal God it is made known to all nations, so that all may believe and obey.

₂₇To the only God, who alone is all-wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever! Amen.