But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it isn’t of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin.
Parallel translations
- KJV And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
- BSB But the one who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin.
- 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.
- NASB But the one who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
- NLT 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Whoever eats while doubting is condemned, because he is not acting from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin. To act against conscience is itself sinful.
Overview
For the doubting believer, eating becomes sin because it violates his conscience and is not done in the confidence of faith. Paul lays down a sweeping principle: any act not springing from faith is sin. This warns the weak not to be pressured into acting against conviction, and warns all that genuine obedience must flow from trust in God, not from social pressure or mere conformity.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Heb 11:6Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to him, for he who comes to God must believe that he exists, and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him.
- Titus 1:15To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.
- 1 Cor 11:29–31For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy way eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he doesn’t discern the Lord’s body.
- 1 Cor 8:7However, that knowledge isn’t in all men. But some, with consciousness of the idol until now, eat as of a thing sacrificed to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.
- Rom 14:5One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind.
- Rom 13:2Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 14:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.