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Venerdi, 29 marzo 2024 - Santi Simplicio e Costantino ( Letture di oggi)

Romans 14


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1Give a welcome to anyone whose faith is not strong, but do not get into arguments about doubtfulpoints.2One person may have faith enough to eat any kind of food; another, less strong, wil eat onlyvegetables.3Those who feel free to eat freely are not to condemn those who are unwil ing to eat freely; nor mustthe person who does not eat freely pass judgement on the one who does -- because God has welcomed him.4And who are you, to sit in judgement over somebody else's servant? Whether he deserves to beupheld or to fall is for his own master to decide; and he shal be upheld, for the Lord has power to uphold him.5One person thinks that some days are holier than others, and another thinks them al equal. Let eachof them be ful y convinced in his own mind.6The one who makes special observance of a particular day observes it in honour of the Lord. So theone who eats freely, eats in honour of the Lord, making his thanksgiving to God; and the one who does not,abstains from eating in honour of the Lord and makes his thanksgiving to God.7For none of us lives for himself and none of us dies for himself;8while we are alive, we are living for the Lord, and when we die, we die for the Lord: and so, alive ordead, we belong to the Lord.9It was for this purpose that Christ both died and came to life again: so that he might be Lord of boththe dead and the living.10Why, then, does one of you make himself judge over his brother, and why does another among youdespise his brother? Al of us wil have to stand in front of the judgement-seat of God:11as scripture says: By my own life says the Lord, every knee shal bow before me, every tongue shalgive glory to God.12It is to God, then, that each of us will have to give an account of himself.13Let us each stop passing judgement, therefore, on one another and decide instead that none of uswil place obstacles in any brother's way, or anything that can bring him down.14I am sure, and quite convinced in the Lord Jesus, that no food is unclean in itself; it is only ifsomeone classifies any kind of food as unclean, then for him it is unclean.15And indeed, if through any kind of food you are causing offence to a brother, then you are no longerbeing guided by love. You are not to let the food that you eat cause the ruin of anyone for whom Christ died.16A privilege of yours must not be allowed to give rise to harmful talk;17for it is not eating and drinking that make the kingdom of God, but the saving justice, the peace andthe joy brought by the Holy Spirit.18It is the person who serves Christ in these things that wil be approved by God and respected byeveryone.19So then, let us be always seeking the ways which lead to peace and the ways in which we cansupport one another.20Do not wreck God's work for the sake of food. Certainly al foods are clean; but al the same, anykind can be evil for someone to whom it is an offence to eat it.21It is best to abstain from eating any meat, or drinking any wine, or from any other activity whichmight cause a brother to fall away, or to be scandalised, or to weaken.22Within yourself, before God, hold on to what you already believe. Blessed is the person whoseprinciples do not condemn his practice.23But anyone who eats with qualms of conscience is condemned, because this eating does not spring from faith -- and every action which does not spring from faith is sin.