The Law of Liberty
(Matthew 7:1–6; Luke 6:37–42)

1But accept those who are weak in faith, without disputing about ideas. 2For one person believes that he may eat all things, but if another is weak, let him eat plants. 3He who eats should not despise him who does not eat. And he who does not eat should not judge him who eats. For God has accepted him. 4Who are you to judge the servant of another? He stands or falls by his own Lord. But he shall stand. For God is able to make him stand.

5For one person discerns one age from the next. But another discerns unto every age. Let each one increase according to his own mind. 6He who understands the age, understands for the Lord. And he who eats, eats for the Lord; for he gives thanks to God. And he who does not eat, does not eat for the Lord, and he gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives for himself, and none of us dies for himself. 8For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9For Christ died and rose again for this purpose: that he might be the ruler of both the dead and the living.

10So then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

11For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”

12And so, each one of us shall offer an explanation of himself to God.

The Law of Love
(Ezekiel 14:1–11; 1 Corinthians 8:1–13)

13Therefore, we should no longer judge one another. Instead, judge this to a greater extent: that you should not place an obstacle before your brother, nor lead him astray. 14I know, with confidence in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in and of itself. But to him who considers anything to be unclean, it is unclean to him. 15For if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are not now walking according to love. Do not allow your food to destroy him for whom Christ died. 16Therefore, what is good for us should not be a cause of blasphemy. 17For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but rather justice and peace and joy, in the Holy Spirit. 18For he who serves Christ in this, pleases God and is proven before men. 19And so, let us pursue the things that are of peace, and let us keep to the things that are for the edification of one another. 20Do not be willing to destroy the work of God because of food. Certainly, all things are clean. But there is harm for a man who offends by eating. 21It is good to refrain from eating meat and from drinking wine, and from anything by which your brother is offended, or led astray, or weakened. 22Do you have faith? It belongs to you, so hold it before God. Blessed is he who does not judge himself in that by which he is tested. 23But he who discerns, if he eats, is condemned, because it is not of faith. For all that is not of faith is sin.