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But in fact, concerning everything whatsoever, it is worthy to be observed. But again he brings the discussion back to the subject at hand: but he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin. But he says "he who doubts" not in regard to the food, but in regard to his fellow believer. For the one, he says, because of faith, simply 168 and indifferently partaking of the things set out for food eats most excellently, but he who is at odds with his brother on account of this and eats with contention toward him is harmed, rather making the food an occasion for contention with his neighbor. For it seems he does this not indifferently because of faith, but rather out of a love of contention toward him. But that which is done not with simplicity along with faith, but with contention toward one's neighbor, is an acknowledged sin.Ro+m 15,1 This he says again to those from the Gentiles, who were despising those from the Jews on account of the legal observance. You therefore, he says, who are strong, would be right to endure the weakness of those and to bear with them who are unable to depart from their old way of thinking. Do not, however, look out for your own interests only; for this is to please yourselves, but it is better also to look out for your fellow believer, so that he too might be improved. And persuading them to do this with examples, he added what follows. Ro+m 15,5 He says that God will grant you all endurance and encouragement, so that, being of one mind with one another, you may hold to the faith in Christ, and thus render harmonious hymnody to God the Father. And this too is an exhortation in the form of a prayer; for he prayed for them to be such as he wants them to be. Therefore, not departing from his own purpose, he adds again.

Ro+m 15,7 So that, he says, it is right for you rather to draw to yourselves the weaker ones, considering that Christ also made you his own, though you were strangers to piety, so that you might obtain the future glory from God. And since he made a long argument to those from the Gentiles, calling them strong and naming their opinion about foods "faith," so that he might not seem to be disparaging the Jewish matters themselves as though they were worthy of no account, he added what follows. Ro+m 15,8 The things previously said, he says, were said by me to rebuke the untimeliness of those who, after the coming of Christ, wish to hold fast to the observance of the legal matters, since I have also considered it very absurd to run back to those things after the perfection of the things concerning Christ. But I have said nothing to slander the things according to the law; for on the contrary I have considered all those things 169 to be wonderful and great, knowing them to be through the ordinances of God, who, having chosen Abraham, made promises to him that he would take care of those from him, and would also cause all the nations, through their kinship with him and his seed, to obtain his blessings, so that all might come to know God as the cause of all things and might in turn claim Abraham as their own, holding in high regard their kinship with his seed. It was necessary, therefore, for the promises to Abraham to reach their fulfillment concerning all the nations obtaining the blessings from God through him and his seed. But since most of the Jews did nothing worthy of God's care, nor could the promises of God find fulfillment on account of their wickedness, Christ, therefore, tracing his lineage from there according to the flesh, endured to receive circumcision, although having no necessity like the rest of the Jews, who on account of their own ignorance necessarily bear the proof of their way of life in their flesh. For what external thing did Christ need, who by his own will both confirmed the promises and fulfilled the intent of the law? But he also chose this, so that he might have the symbol of the promise to the forefather, so that when all believe in Christ, who traces his lineage from Abraham, bringing with him by nature

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ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐπὶ παντὸς οὗτινος οὖν φυλάττεσθαι ἀξίου. πάλιν δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἀνάγει τὸν λόγον· ὁ δὲ διακρινόμενος ἐὰν φάγῃ κατακέκριται, ὅτι οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως· πᾶν δὲ ὃ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως ἁμαρτία ἐστίν. ὁ δὲ διακρινόμενος οὐκ ἐπὶ τῇ βρώσει λέγει , ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῷ ὁμοπίστῳ· ὁ μὲν γὰρ διὰ πίστιν, φησίν, ἁπλῶς 168 καὶ ἀδιαφόρως μεταλαμβάνων τῶν εἰς βρῶσιν κειμένων ἐσθίει κάλλιστα, ὁ δέ γε πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν διαφερόμενος διὰ τοῦτο καὶ μετὰ τῆς πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἔριδος ἐσθίων βλάπτεται, μᾶλλον ἀφορμὴν τῆς πρὸς τὸν πλησίον ἔριδος τὸ βρῶμα ποιούμενος· ἔοικεν γὰρ οὐ διὰ πίστιν αὐτὸ ποιεῖν ἀδιαφόρως, ἀλλὰ φιλονεικίᾳ μᾶλλον τῇ πρὸς ἐκεῖνον· τὸ δὲ μὴ ἁπλότητι γινόμενον μετὰ πίστεως, ἀλλ' ἔριδι τῇ πρὸς τὸν πλησίον, ὡμολογημένον ἁμάρτημα.Ro+m 15,1 Τοῦτο πάλιν πρὸς τοὺς ἀπ' ἐθνῶν λέγει, οἳ διέπτυον τοὺς ἀπὸ Ἰουδαίων τῆς νομικῆς παρατηρήσεως ἕνεκεν. ὑμεῖς τοίνυν, φησίν, οἱ δυνατοί, δίκαιοι ἂν εἴητε ἀνέχεσθαι τῆς ἀσθενείας ἐκείνων καὶ φέρειν αὐτοὺς ἀποστῆναι τῆς παλαιᾶς οὐ δυναμένους γνώμης. μὴ μὴν τὸ ἑαυτῶν περισκοπεῖτε μόνον· τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ ἑαυτοῖς ἀρέσκειν, ἄμεινον δὲ καὶ τὸ τοῦ ὁμοπίστου περισκοπεῖν, ὅπως ἂν βελτιωθείη κἀκεῖνος. καὶ παραδείγματα πείθων αὐτοὺς τοῦτο ποιεῖν ἐπήγαγεν τὸ ἑξῆς. Ro+m 15,5 Λέγει μὲν ὅτι χαρίσεται ὑμῖν ὁ θεὸς πᾶσαν ὑπομονὴν καὶ παράκλη σιν, ὥστε ὁμονοοῦντας πρὸς ἀλλήλους τῆς ἐπὶ τὸν Χριστὸν ἔχεσθαι πίστεως, οὕτω τε σύμφωνον τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ τὴν ὑμνῳδίαν ἀποδι δόναι. ἐστι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο παραίνεσις ἐν σχήματι προσευχῆς· οἵους γὰρ αὐτοὺς εἶναι βούλεται, τοιούτους εἶναι ηὔξατο. ὅθεν οὐκ ἐξιστάμενος τοῦ οἰκείου σκοποῦ πάλιν ἐπάγει.

Ro+m 15,7 Ὥστε, φησί, δίκαιον ὑμᾶς μᾶλλον ἐφέλκεσθαι τοὺς ἀσθενεστέρους, λογιζομένους ὅτι δὴ καὶ ὑμᾶς ἀλλοτρίους ὄντας τῆς εὐσεβείας ὁ Χριστὸς οἰκειώσατο ἐπὶ τῷ τῆς μελλούσης παρὰ θεοῦ δόξης τυχεῖν. καὶ ἐπειδὴ πολὺν ἐποιήσατο πρὸς τοὺς ἄπ' ἐθνῶν τὸν λόγον, δυνατοὺς αὐτοὺς καλῶν καὶ πίστιν ὀνομάζων τὴν περὶ τῶν βρωμάτων γνώμην αὐτῶν, ἵνα μὴ δόξῃ τὰ Ἰουδαίων αὐτὰ ὡς ἂν οὐδενὸς ἄξια λόγου διασύρειν, ἐπήγαγεν τὸ ἑξῆς. Ro+m 15,8 Τὰ μὲν οὖν προειρημένα, φησίν, εἴρητοί μοι τὸ ἄκαιρον ἐλέγχοντι τῶν μετὰ τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίαν βουλομένων ἀντέχεσθαι τῆς τῶν νομικῶν παρατηρήσεως, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἄγαν ἄτοπον εἶναι νενόμικα μετὰ τὴν τελειότητα τῶν κατὰ Χριστὸν ἐπ' ἐκεῖνα πάλιν δρομεῖν. ἐπὶ διαβολῇ δὲ τῶν κατὰ τὸν νόμον ἔφην οὐδέν· τοὐναντίον γὰρ ἅπαντα ἐκεῖνα 169 θαυμαστὰ καὶ μεγάλα εἶναι νενόμικα, εἰδὼς αὐτὰ διὰ τάξεις ὄντα θεοῦ, ὃς τὸν Ἀβραὰμ ἐκλεξάμενος ἐπαγγελίας πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐποιήσατο τοῦ ἐπιμελήσεσθαι μὲν τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ, ποιήσειν δὲ καὶ τὰ ἔθνη πάντα διὰ τῆς πρὸς αὐτόν τε καὶ τὸ αὐτοῦ σπέρμα οἰκειώσεως τῶν παρ' αὐτοῦ τυχεῖν εὐλογιῶν, ὥστε ἅπαντας θεόν τε τῶν ἁπάντων αἴτιον ἐπι γιγνώσκειν καὶ ποτέρα οἰκεῖον ἐπιγράφεσθαι τὸν Ἀβραὰμ περὶ πολλοῦ τὴν πρὸς τὸ σπέρμα αὐτοῦ τιθεμένους οἰκείωσιν. ἔδει μὲν οὖν τὰς πρὸς Ἀβραὰμ ἐπαγγελίας πέρας λαβεῖν περὶ τοῦ ἅπαντα τὰ ἔθνη δι' αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τοῦ σπέρματος αὐτοῦ τυχεῖν τῶν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ εὐλογιῶν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ οἱ πλεῖστοι τῶν Ἰουδαίων οὐδὲν τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ κηδεμονίας ἄξιον διεπράττοντο, οὐδὲ ἔκβασιν αἱ τοῦ θεοῦ λαβεῖν ὑποσχέσεις διὰ τὴν ἐκείνων ἐδύναντο κακίαν, ὁ τοίνυν Χριστὸς ἐκεῖθεν κατὰ σάρκα τὸ γένος κατάγων, ἠνέσχετο δέξασθαι τὴν περιτομήν, καίτοιγε οὐδεμίαν ἔχων ἀνάγκην κατὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς Ἰουδαίους, οἳ διὰ τὴν οἰκείαν ἀγνω μοσύνην ἀναγκαίως ἐπὶ τῆς σαρκὸς τοῦ τρόπου τὸν ἔλεγχον φέρουσιν. τίνος γὰρ καὶ ἔδει τῶν ἔξωθεν τῷ Χριστῷ ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκείας γνώμης τάς τε ὑποσχέσεις βεβαιοῦντι καὶ τοῦ νόμου πληροῦντι τὸ βούλημα; ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο εἵλετο ὥστε ἔχειν τῆς πρὸς τὸν προπάτορα ἐπαγγελίας τὸ σύμβολον, ἵνα ὅταν ἅπαντες ἐπὶ Χριστὸν πιστεύσωσι, τὸν ἐκ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ τὸ γένος κατάγοντα ἐπαγόμενον μετὰ τῆς κατὰ τὴν φύσιν