New Living Translation
Romans 14:23
23But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.
Romans 14:23 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
- New International Version (NIV)But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
- English Standard Version (ESV)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.
- New King James Version (NKJV)But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.
Context of Romans 14:23
21It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble. 22You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.
Read all of Romans 14Romans 14:23 word by word
ὁ δὲ διακρινόμενος ἐὰν φάγῃ κατακέκριται, ὅτι οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως· πᾶν δὲ ὃ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως ἁμαρτία ἐστίν.¶Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Andδέde · thenG1161
- he that doubtethδιακρίνωdiakrinō · to judge/doubtG1252
- is damnedκατακρίνωkatakrinō · to condemnG2632
- ifἐάνean · ifG1437
- he eatφαγεῖνphagō · to eatG5315
- becauseὅτιhoti · that/since: sinceG3754
- notοὐou · noG3756
- ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537
- faithπίστιςpistis · faithG4102
- whatsoeverπᾶςpas · allG3956
- ·ὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
- isεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
- sinἁμαρτίαhamartia · sinG266
Cross-references for Romans 14:23
- 1 Corinthians 8:7However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated.
- Romans 13:2So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.
- 1 Corinthians 11:29For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself.
- Hebrews 11:6And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
Commentaries on Romans 14:23
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23And he that doubteth - This verse is a necessary part of the preceding, and should be read thus: But he that doubteth is condemned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith. The meaning is sufficiently plain. He that feeds on any kind of meats prohibited by the Mosaic law, with the persuasion in his mind that he may be wrong in so doing, is condemned by his conscience for doing that which he has reason to think God has forbidden. For whatsoever is not of…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23He that doubteth - He that is not fully satisfied in his mind; who does not do it with a clear conscience. The margin has it rendered correctly, “He that discerneth and putteth a difference between meats.” He that conscientiously believes, as the Jew did, that the Levitical law respecting the difference between meats was binding on Christians. Is damned - We apply this word almost exclusively to the future punishment of the wicked in hell. But it is of…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-23Verses 19-23 Many wish for peace, and talk loudly for it, who do not follow the things that make for peace. Meekness, humility, self-denial, and love, make for peace. We cannot edify one another, while quarrelling and contending. Many, for meat and drink, destroy the work of God in themselves; nothing more destroys the soul than pampering and pleasing the flesh, and fulfilling the lusts of it; so others are hurt, by wilful offence given. Lawful things may…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23everything that is not from faith is sin: God’s word teaches us what sin is. Sin also includes acting against one’s conscience (our inner sense of right and wrong). Some Christians in Rome did not yet believe they could eat meat, drink wine, or ignore Jewish holy days. Their consciences were still weak. They should not act against their consciences in these matters. The strong should also not pressure them to do so, either by their example or by showing…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. And--rather, "But" he that doubteth is damned--On the word "damnation," see on Ro 13:2. if he eat, because he eateth not of faith--On the meaning of "faith" here, see on Ro 14:22. for whatsoever is not of faith is sin--a maxim of unspeakable importance in the Christian life. Note, (1) Some points in Christianity are unessential to Christian fellowship; so that though one may be in error upon them, he is not on that account to be excluded either from…Read the comment
Topics related to Romans 14:23
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Romans 14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Illustrated New Testament
- Burkitt’s Expository Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Family Bible Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- The People’s New Testament
- Robertson’s Word Pictures
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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