Romans 14:7 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.

NIV: For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.

NASB: For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;

CSB: For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself.

NLT: For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves.

KJV: For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

NKJV: For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.

This verse must be read and understood in the context of the verse that follows. Paul has insisted that whatever side someone is on in one of the disputed matters in the early church, each person should be fully convinced of his or her position and participate (or not) to honor the Lord. Strictly speaking, those who associate sin with things God has not explicitly condemned are considered those "weak in faith" (Romans 14:1). However, those who embrace their Christian freedom in that are not to look down on those who are more convicted. And, those with more restrictive opinions should not judge those who don't share their view (Romans 14:3). Christians ultimately answer to God, not to each other (Romans 14:4; Colossians 2:16–23).

Now Paul writes that no one lives or dies to themselves. Christians are not meant to exist in a vacuum. In fact, we cannot wall ourselves off from the Lord or other believers. Whatever we do, we belong the Lord. That's what Paul will declare in the following verse.

In other words, we should not think that our decision about whether to participate in disputed issues is only about us. The Lord is always involved because we are His. That means that only God has the right to judge those issues, but it also means nobody has the right to make decisions on those topics without considering the will of God.

Romans 14:1–12 describes how Christians with opposing views on matters of freedom and sin should treat each other. First, strong-faith Christians who understand that all things are clean for those in Christ should welcome and not try to change weaker-faith Christians who believe some things, like eating certain meats, to be sinful. Each should act on their convictions and honor the Lord in doing so. Neither should judge the other, for the real day of judgment is coming when we will all stand before Christ and give an account of our lives.

In Romans 14, Paul tackles the question of how Christians with different convictions about disputable matters should treat each other in the church. Strong-faith Christians who feel free to eat and drink what was formerly forbidden under the law of Moses should not flaunt their freedoms in front of weaker-faith Christians who are not convinced it is right to participate in those things. Neither group should judge the other. Those strong in their faith should rather yield than lead those weaker in faith to violate their conscience, which is a sin.

Paul turns from the black-and-white instructions about light and darkness in Romans 13 to the issue of disputable matters with the potential to divide the church. Paul instructs those who feel free to participate in activities formally forbidden under the law not to flaunt their freedom in front of those who, by conscience, still believe those actions to be wrong. Those strong-faith Christians should be willing to set aside their freedom to keep from leading their weaker brothers and sisters into sin by violating their convictions. Paul addresses this topic with additional comments in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.