Christian freedom, conscience and disagreements

15 Then some people from the Farisaios’ party and some religious teachers from Yerushalem (Jerusalem) arrived and asked Yeshua (Jesus; Grk. Yesus), 2 “Why do your apprentices break the traditions handed down by our elders? They don’t do the hand-washing ceremony before eating.”

3 “Well why do you break God’s command because of your tradition?” Yeshua responded. 4 “God told us to honour our fathers and mothers,[ref] and also that anyone who speaks evil about their father or mother deserves the death penalty.[ref] 5 But if someone tells their father or mother that whatever help they may have expected from them is now given away as a gift, then you people say 6 that they’re not actually dishonouring their parents. So by saying that, you’re overriding God’s message with your own tradition. 7 You hypocrites! The prophet Yeshayah (Isaiah) was right about you people when he wrote:

8 ‘These people honour me with their lips,

But their hearts are far away from me.

9 Their worship of me is useless,

They teach human ideas as if they’re commands.’ ”[ref]

10 Then Yeshua (Jesus; Grk. Yesus) called out to the crowd, “Listen carefully so you can understand this: 11 It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you, but rather, it’s what comes out of your mouth.”

12 His apprentices then came up to him and told him, “You know that the Farisaios were offended by what you just said?”

13 “Every plant,” Yeshua answered, “that wasn’t planted by my heavenly father will get pulled out. 14 Just ignore them. They’re blind guides, and if a blind person’s leading another blind person, both of them will stumble into a pit.”[ref]

15 But Kefa (Peter; Grk. Petros) asked him, “So explain your saying to us.”

16 “Can’t you figure it out yet?” Yeshua replied. 17 “Can’t you apprentices see that everything that goes into your mouth then goes down into your stomach, and eventually ends up in the toilet? 18 But the things that come out of your mouth are coming from your mind, and that’s what defiles a person.[ref] 19 ⇔After all, lust, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, stealing, falsely accusing, and slander, these all come out of the mind. 20 It’s those things that defile a person, not eating without ceremonially washing your hands.”

14 Accept others who are faltering in their faith, without highlighting their wrong ideas.[ref] 2 Some people think it’s ok to eat anything, while others who are faltering will only eat vegetables. 3 The one who eats anything shouldn’t despise the other, and the one who doesn’t eat meat shouldn’t condemn the other, because both are accepted by God. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s house servants? Their own master will judge if they stand or fall, and they’ll stand because the master is able to help them.

5 Similarly, some people consider one day to be more important than some other day, yet others consider every day to be alike. Each person should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Anyone who considers a certain day to be special is thinking about Yahweh. Likewise, anyone who’s eating meat is eating to serve Yahweh, and gives thanks to God. The person who doesn’t eat meat is declining it in order to serve Yahweh, and gives thanks to God. 7 After all, we don’t live for ourselves, and we don’t die for ourselves. 8 If we keep living, then we’re living for the master, and if we die, then we’re dying for the master, so whether we live or die, we belong to the master, 9 because Messiah died and came back to life in order to be master of both the dead and the living. 10 So why are you judging fellow believers? And why are you also scorning them? After all, we’ll all end up standing in God’s court of judgement.[ref] 11 As it’s been written:

“Yahweh is telling me, ‘I am alive

and every person will bow to me,

and each one will confess to God.’ ”[ref]

12 So consequently, each of us will need to give an account of ourselves to God.

13 So we shouldn’t be judging each other, but instead we should be judging ourselves—that we’re not causing another believer to stumble or fall into temptation. 14 I know (and I’m totally persuaded) that in master Yeshua (Jesus; Grk. Yesus) there’s no object that’s ‘immoral’[fn] in itself, but it only becomes ‘immoral’ to the person who evaluates it as such. 15 If a fellow believer is upset because of the food you eat, then you’re no longer acting in love. Don’t destroy the faith of someone that Messiah died for, just for the sake of food. 16 Don’t let anyone slander the good that you do. 17 God’s kingdom doesn’t consist of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and happiness in the holy spirit, 18 so anyone serving the messiah in those ways pleases God and is approved by the people.

19 So then, we should be pursuing actions that lead to peace and things that build each other up—20 don’t tear down God’s work just on account of food. Indeed, all foods are ‘clean,’[fn] but it’s wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21 It’s good to avoid eating meat or drinking wine or doing anything else that might cause your fellow believer to stumble or be offended or fall. 22 That way, you keep your faith privately, between yourself and God. God will bless anyone who doesn’t bring guilt on themselves by doing something that they’ve determined to be right. 23 But for anyone who doubts that it’s ok, if they eat it, then they’ve condemned themselves, because they’re not acting in faith, and everything that’s not done in faith is sin.

8 Now, concerning food that’s been sacrificed to idols: We know that we all have ‘knowledge’—knowledge breeds conceit but love gives inner strength. 2 Anyone who thinks they know something usually doesn’t know what they don’t know, 3 but anyone who loves God is known by God.

4 Now back to eating food that’s been offered to idols, we know that there’s only one God and so worldly idols are really nothing at all. 5 Even though there are many so-called ‘gods’ and ‘masters’ said to live in the heavens or earth, 6 we know there’s only one God, who is the Father who created everything and we exist to honour him. And we only have one master, Yeshua (Jesus; Grk. Yesus) Messiah who created everything and is also the source of our existence.

7 But not everyone knows this. Some people have been so used to trusting idols that even now as believers when they eat food that’s been sacrificed to idols, they still think it’s wrong and so their weak consciences become defiled. 8 But food doesn’t bring us closer to God—what we eat makes us no better or worse off spiritually.

9 However, be careful in case your freedom becomes a reason that weaker believers might get confused and stumble in their spiritual walk. 10 Yes, if someone with a weaker conscience sees you eating at a place with an idol, they might be encouraged to eat food that’s offered to idols against their conscience, 11 thus this weaker believer who the messiah also died for, might end up being destroyed. 12 If you end up sinning against other believers and wounding their weak consciences, you sin against Messiah. 13 Therefore, if food might cause a fellow believer to stumble, I’ll certainly never eat meat, so that I won’t cause them to stumble.

5 The messiah has freed us so we can have freedom, so stand firm and don’t get entangled again in the burden of slavery.

2 What’s more, I, Paulos would add that if you men got circumcised, then the messiah wouldn’t be of any benefit. 3 I’ll say it again clearly: every man who gets himself circumcised has put himself in debt to obeying all of the law. 4 You were released from the messiah when you moved to trusting in the law in order to be right with God—you fell away from grace at that point. 5 We who are in the spirit are eagerly waiting for the righteousness that we’re expecting to receive by faith, 6 because in the messiah Yeshua (Jesus; Grk. Yesus), it’s not circumcision that achieves anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith worked out through love.

20 If you’ve died to worldly principles, then why are you letting yourselves be indoctrinated with worldly living: 21 ‘Don’t hold this. Don’t taste that. Don’t touch this.’ 22 No, All those rules lead to corruption when they’re used as the commands and teaching of humans. 23 They seem to be wise and make you more religious or humble as you strictly obey them, but don’t honour the realities of our worldly desires.