Romans 14:1
Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
We were just commanded to put on the Lord Jesus Christ in the last verse of chapter 13 and not to make any outlet for the lusts of the flesh to manifest itself. Right after that, we have this command, and the church, which is the Body of Christ, would do well to heed it. Should we encounter someone weak in the faith, that is, not sure or unlearned of what it means to be in the Body of Christ, then we should not eagerly receive them to the point of thoroughly judging their reasonings. In other words, don't just decide that someone who is weak in the faith is hopelessly lost in heresy. Also, don't decide that just because they are different on some things that don't ultimately matter, that the one who is strong in faith looks down on them and decides they are wrong. That wouldn't be fair to the one who is weak in faith and it would do God a disservice. One thing I would add to this is don't put a label on them. Once a label is placed, all one does is associate that person with the label and won't hear anything they have to say. It's one of the worst things anyone can do. Instead of generic labels, learn the person's name and who they are.
I've already encountered being labeled plenty of times, being called a dispensationalist or fundamentalist. Some were quite negative and even sneering when they said that. They thought that I threw out portions of the bible because they knew that a dispensationalist "divided" the word of truth. Even though I told them that every verse is the direct word from God and to be studied to understand the truth, they weren't listening. I was just part of "that group" and the walls wouldn't come down. Want to know the worst thing? This was dialogue between brothers in the same faith. They trusted in the finished work of Christ as the only thing to save them from sin and death, yet were sneering at me, who believes the same thing. There should be no schism within the Body of Christ, nor the putting down of a brother or sister. God commands us not to thoroughly judge one another in our reasonings. What we should do is be open to always change our theology so that it lines up with scripture. That is our one source of truth. We should always strive to edify one another toward the truth (Eph 4:15, 25,29-30).
It would do us well to look deeper at the Greek for the words receive, to, doubtful, and disputations to understand what God is saying. The word receive is the compound word proslambano, a combination of pros (toward, interactively with) and lambano (receive, lay hold of). The prefix intensifies this word to make the idea of aggressively receiving with strong personal interest [1]. The word "to" here is "eis" in the Greek, which has the idea of "to the point of." Let's look more at what we are commanded not to aggressively receive to the point of.
The Greek word for doubtful is diakrisis, a compound word of dia (through, on account of) and krisis (judgment). It has the idea of thorough judgment, or that a decision has been made and won't be changed. Finally, the word for disputations is dialogismos (English dialogue), a compound word of dia and logizomai (reckon or add up). This word has the idea of bringing differing reasonings together, thoroughly going through all of them. We will get a bigger picture of what this verse says throughout the rest of the chapter.
Romans 14:2
For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
First we come to the example of food. Remember, this letter is addressed to saints in the gospel of the grace of God. God just told those strong in the faith to not bombard those weak in the faith with lifestyle rules that don't have an impact on salvation. We are talking of dialogue between believers. Food and diet is something that can bring contention among believers today.
One believer has no qualms about eating anything edible. Another, and we're told this is the one weak in faith, doesn't think they can eat anything but herbs or vegetables. Is there anything wrong with that? No. Should the strong in faith bludgeon and condescend to the weak in faith about their diet? According to verse 1, in no way should they do that. Interestingly enough, I went through a season of this myself.
Due to health issues, my family and I chose to have a vegan diet, which I gave the pet name of the Genesis 1:29 diet because it was all herbs with seeds and fruit with seeds that we ate. I got a lot of backlash from believers who didn't understand my situation, and quite honestly, that hurt. Please, for the sake of the word of God, don't do this to your brothers or sisters. Besides, I felt more alive and strong during that time being vegan than I do today where my diet is only mostly vegan, but includes meat and cheese on occasion. There's something to be said of God's original diet plan, isn't there? To that end, God did allow meat to be eaten after the flood, though the blood was not to be eaten. He also put the fear of man into animals to make it a challenge because of man's sin (Gen 9:2-6). Then God gave the special diet plan to Israel in Leviticus 11. But now in the age of God's grace, anything goes (1 Tim 4:3-5). However, if there is the possibility of contention, then we should abstain from that food as we will see later on in the chapter.
Romans 14:3
Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
In the case of diet, we see the conclusion in this verse but more detail to come later. Whoever has a diet of anything is commanded not to despise, or more literally in the Greek, to cast out as nothing. Similarly, the one who is only eating vegetables should not think ill of the one who eats anything. Why? Because they are of the same faith! They are in the Body of Christ! Your conduct hangs on your understanding of who you are in Christ Jesus. If you are in Christ, then put on Christ and share His agape love with all that are around you, ESPECIALLY those of the faith, and those of your family (Gal 6:10, 1 Tim 5:8).
It makes me sad to see how believers in the Body of Christ treat one another at times. I would encourage everyone, including myself, to truly study and learn the extent of the cost Jesus Christ paid for you because He loved you so dearly. When we do that, then the love of Christ will compel us walk worthy of our calling, and to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph 4:1-3). God reconciled the world to Himself in love. He wasn't selective, and neither should we be.
Romans 14:4
Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
The next example we have is one who serves another. I have to jump into the Greek right away since there is more than one Greek word for servant. This one is oiketes, which implies a household servant. This would be a nanny, governess, landscaper, or something of the like. So in this example, we should ask ourselves why would I say that the one who serves another family is doing a poor job? Just because it doesn't fit my taste doesn't mean they should be let go. What does my opinion matter if that person serves someone else who may enjoy the work being done? It is the responsibility of that head of house to determine what is right and either continue employing their servant or fire them. If I bring judgment to cast down that servant and I am out of place, God is surely able to help that one out to keep that job.
Another thing to point out in the Greek is the definite article at the beginning. More importantly, though, is that word for "another." It is allos, which is the word for another of the same kind. Remember this epistle is written to saints, so this "another" is another saint. We are dealing with relations between believers in this chapter as shown clearly in verse 1. With that in mind, we could have this translation, "Who are the you judging another saint's servant?"
Romans 14:5
One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
The next example of keeping relations between believers is of special days. One believer may enjoy a particular day, like birthdays or anniversaries, and make a big celebration of it. Another believer may not care to make such a celebration and treat those days like any other day. Regardless of which category a believer falls in, God commands us to carry out fully what we believe about special days in our own minds. This is another example of not coming down on each for something that ultimately doesn't matter. Why hate a brother or sister if they enjoy make a big celebration of a birthday when another doesn't want so much attention? They aren't wrong to make the celebration, and neither is the one for not making a big deal of it. We see why clearly in the next verse.
It may not be clear in the English, but there is a distinct command at the end. The "let" may imply that this is something we ought to do, but God is actually commanding it. It may be clearer to translate it this way, "Each one carry out to the full in the own mind." The definite article looks a bit funny, but that's what the Greek has. A more aesthetically pleasing translation could be, "Each one carry out to the full in each of your minds."
Romans 14:6
He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
All the relationships we just addressed were dealing with believers. No matter what we do, it should be done to the Lord (Col 3:17). To those who like certain days over others, they give praise to the Lord for the special days. To those who do not, they praise the Lord for the days they have. To those who eat whatever is in front of them, they praise the Lord and thank Him. To those who eat a strict diet, they praise the Lord and thank Him. We do these things because we are of the same Body and Christ is the Head. All good things come from Him, and He is where our life is hid (Col 3:3). Therefore, we should strive not to contend with one another within the Body, but to edify one another (Eph 4:29).
The only thing in the Greek to point out is the definite article for the God both times.
Romans 14:7
For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
These next three verses pertain to our identity in Christ. We were bought with a price (1 Cor 6:20, 7:23), and that price was the precious blood of Jesus Christ. When anyone trusts in that work on the cross as the only atoning sacrifice sufficient to cover our sins, then that person is baptized in the Holy Spirit to the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13). Believers were redeemed and now belong to God. As believers, we don't live and die to the self, but rather to Him that gave us life from death. We should all have the mindset of the apostle Paul that in this life, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Phil 1:20-21). God reiterates this here in the next two verses.
Romans 14:8
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
No matter what may happen, we will glorify the Lord as believers. If we live, it is for God's glory as we serve Him as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). If we die, it still glorifies God because we will be in Heaven with our Savior. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Cor 5:8). Regardless of whether this body is alive or it dies, we are the Lord's and nothing will change that. We couldn't separate ourselves from Christ even if we somehow wanted to (Rom 8:38-39).
All of the times "whether" occurs here is the Greek "ean," which is the conditional if statement.
Romans 14:9
For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
Jesus Christ went through His passion in order to be Lord of all. He did that so that whether we live or die, we are His as we saw in the previous verse. No matter who we are or what we say and do after placing our faith in what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross of Calvary, we are His. All His saints belong to Him, bought with the price of His blood, for all eternity.
The Greek reads a bit different, though the idea is the same. The phrase "and rose" doesn't occur. Both the verbs "died" and "revived" are in the Aorist tense, indicating Christ did these at some point in the past. Here is a literal translation:
To the point of (eis) this, indeed Christ died and lived in order that He might be Lord of both the dead and living.
Romans 14:10
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Circling back to the argument that began in verse 1, God comes to us with these questions. Since we're dealing with relations between believers, why do we judge each other like this? Why do we despise each other? Why do we look down upon one another? We are all Christ's and we will all be judged of God. He talked about that in chapter 8 and verses 33-34. God held back nothing but gave up His Son Jesus Christ that He may give us all things (Rom 8:32). Who does the "us" include there? Only some of the saints or just the saints at Rome? Of course not! What does Rom 8:32 say? Jesus was delivered up for us all. No one excluded.
The Greek has stronger language than the English here. The word "but" at the beginning is the Greek "de." The phrase "set at nought" is the same Greek word we encountered in verse 3 where it was translated "despise." It does have the idea to set at naught or to treat with utter contempt [1]. The phrase "stand before" really should be "stand alongside" or "stand beside" because the compound Greek paristemi (para = beside, histemi = to stand) is used. Now interestingly enough, the Greek says it is the judgment seat of God (Theos), not Christ (Christos). Jesus Christ is God, both fully man and fully God, and all judgment belongs to Him. God says that vengeance is His to repay (Deut 32:35, Rom 12:19). We shouldn't try to take God's place on that, should we? We will all stand before His judgment seat. It's not our judgment seat.
Romans 14:11
For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
What better way to finalize a point than for God to quote Himself. This verse is found in Isaiah 45:23. All of us will stand before the judgement seat of God and confess to God. What will we confess? It's found in the next verse.
This verse is spot on with the Greek other than the missing article to denote the God.
Romans 14:12
So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
Each of us will give our account to God. Each of us will tell of what we did while in the flesh. What do you think God would like to hear? I would remind us of Colossians 3:17:
And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
See those two things to do in the name or authority of Jesus Christ? Word and deed. It's easy to think about the things we do. However, what we say is a big deal to God, maybe even bigger since it's listed first, so choose words carefully. Whoever thought of that well-known rhyme "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" was living in denial. Words can hurt far more than sticks or stones and that hurt can last for a long time. Therefore we, the Body of Christ, would do well to put on Christ, and not let any corrupt thing come out of our mouth except that which is good to the use of edifying (Eph 4:29).
Romans 14:13
Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
Instead of wasting our time on frivolous issues, we should focus on much more important things; things that can inhibit or impair the spiritual growth of a brother or sister of faith. Our words and deeds have an impact on all lives around us, not just unbelievers. We tend to focus a lot on the unbelievers, desiring them to be saved, but we shouldn't lose focus on our brothers and sisters in the faith. In no way should we act to hurt our relationship, or worse, cause them to not want to partake in the things of the true church and live like the world. There are examples of those who chose to walk away from being zealous of the good works God puts before us, like Demas in 2 Tim 4:10. We don't know why he chose to walk away, but we know from his example it's possible to put the good works aside and blend in again with the ways of the world. Do your diligence in not acting or speaking in such a way to cause a brother or sister to consider following in Demas' footsteps.
Again it may not be as clear in the English the imperatives we find in this verse. The first phrase is subjunctive, that it may happen. The Greek says, "No longer therefore should we judge one another." It implies the choice we have. We shouldn't do it any more. The imperative comes next, but there is an untranslated magnifier there. It is the Greek "mallon" and should be translated, "But much rather, judge this: not to put the stumbling block or snare to your brother."
Ephesians 4:1-6 keeps coming to mind as I study these verses in Romans 14.
Romans 14:14
I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
What God has made is good. We can go all the way back to Gen 1:31 to see that. The sin of man has marred God's creation, but that doesn't make anything inherently evil. Grass and trees aren't out to get us and have a mind that is only evil continually (Gen 6:5). We are in a spiritual battle, not a physical one (Eph 6:12). Things are spiritually neutral, though they now fall apart and decay because of the sin of man. Nothing physical is unclean of itself, it's what a man decides it to be to himself. This is building off of what was just talked about, that one may esteem a day more than another or choose a certain diet over another. We can also reference 1 Tim 4:3-5 for a similar idea on diet.
Don't hear me wrong on this. Mankind can't decide what is sinful or not. That is up to God and He has made that perfectly clear throughout the bible. That would be a spiritual thing. Mankind can decide on what physical things or activities he likes or prefers compared to what he doesn't like or prefer. God didn't create robots. We are all unique with different tastes. What we read here is that the taste of one, as long as it is not sinful, should not be condescended to from another who does not share the same taste.
As we look at the Greek, this verse is quite accurate, but as always we get deeper meaning from the original language. The word for "know" here is eido, which is intuitive knowledge or something understood. The word for "persuaded" comes from the root "peitho", which is also translated as "faith" when it appears as a noun. The word "by" here is more accurate "in" as it comes from the Greek "en." Finally, the word for "esteemeth" is the Greek root "logizomai," which has been looked at at length, but again means to reason or reckon.
Romans 14:15
But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
This is quite the convicting statement, isn't it? If what you are eating is grieving another believer, yet you continue in it anyway, you are not conducting yourself in God's agape love. That's not a good place to be. If you're not there, then you aren't fulfillng the law (Rom 13:8), and are essentially quenching the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19). If you're quenching the Spirit, you're not walking in the good works God has preordained for you and are directly disobeying God. Now, your salvation is not harmed in any way, but is that how you want to behave before the God who did all that work and saved you from sin and death? As if that's not enough, God tacks on the reminder that Christ died for that one you're grieving. That one you're grieving is part of the Body of Christ, and like it or not, you will be spending eternity together in Heaven.
The Greek more literally starts off, "Since indeed on account of food your brother is being grieved, you are no longer walking according to love/charity (agape)." It's a factual statement, but doesn't have to be limited to food. We've had other examples given in this chapter of how to conduct ourselves among believers, and that no matter what the thing may be, if it doesn't pertain to salvation or God's word, don't grieve each other about it. Don't forget we are all part of the Body of Christ.
Romans 14:16
Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
Such a short verse but so much application for today. We are part of the Body of Christ, so let's not have that be slandered. Really, the Greek word here is blaspheme. How would the world view us if we act do disfunctionally? We are representing God here as His ambassadors, as though Christ did beseech the world through us to be reconciled to Him (2 Cor 5:20). How do you think the world will listen if we treat each other within the body scornfully? Probably not so good, right? So God commands us, it is His imperative, to live in such a way that the good of us is not blasphemed (definite article is present).
To blaspheme is to destroy character. This is a good definition of blaspheme: to use abusive or scurrilous language about [1]. Most of us probably aren't familiar with the word scurrilous, but it means making or spreading scandalous claims about someone with the intention of damaging their reputation. Don't act in such a way to make the reputation of the Body of Christ poor and unappealing. It has eternal repercussions to it.
Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
As we strive to please God and live in such a way not to quench the Spirit, but to be zealous for good works, we need to remember that God's overarching kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. He is not nearly so concerned with the physical as with the spiritual (Psalm 147:10-11, Matt 6:19-21, 25-30, 1 Tim 4:8, Heb 10:6, 8-9). Yes, He cares about the physical too, but first and foremost He wants all mankind saved and come to the accurate knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). We should set our minds on things above not on the earth below (Col 3:1-4). This earth will be made new one day, so our primary concern should be on spiritual well-being. God has an amazing way of taking care of all the physical details along the way on this side of Heaven, so don't worry so much about that.
The only thing different in the Greek is the definite article for the God. It may also be necessary to note the the old English word meat really meant all food.
Romans 14:18
For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
Now for the positive affirmation. If we choose to serve Christ in righteousness, peace, and joy, then we are both accepted of God and approved of men. Take a moment and digest that, because it does each of us good to examine ourselves and our conduct. Are we genuinely serving Christ in righteousness, peace, and joy? Are we esteeming others more highly than ourselves (Phil 2:3-4), and bearing one another's burdens (Gal 6:2)? Living out God's agape love is both well-pleasing to God and the world will approve of our identity. They will understand that we are properly living out what a member of the Body of Christ should do.
There are a few things to point out in the Greek. First, there is a definite article missing for the Christ, the God, and the men. Next the word for "acceptable" is the Greek "euarestos," a compound word of eu (well, good) and aresko (to please), so we have the meaning of well-pleasing. The word "approved" is the Greek "dokimos" which has the idea of being received, welcomed, or passing scrutiny [1]. As I alluded to before, this is the idea of fitting the bill. Living in God's righteousness, peace, and joy is what we should look like to the world. Finally, "men" is from the Greek "anthropos" which is the generic mankind. I wouldn't want anyone to think that women would not approve where men would.
Romans 14:19
Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Knowing that God is about righteousness, peace, and joy, then we should follow after those things. God never makes the important things difficult to understand. We were given what His kingdom is about in verse 17. We're told that the ones serving Him in those things would be well pleasing to Him and others would understand our identity as members of the Body of Christ. Logically, then, we ought to pursue those things that are well pleasing to God and fitting to our identity. Doing this would edify other believers and build up the Body of Christ as a whole.
The verb translated "let us follow after" is in the subjunctive case, indicating that this is a choice or something that ought to be done. It is not in the imperative, again, because God didn't make robots. Love is a choice, and here we see free will presented again. It is also the Greek dioko which means to pursue or persecute. There are several missing definite articles in this verse. I'll just give a more literal translation here to note them:
It follows that therefore we should pursue the things of the peace and the things of the building up (edify) of that toward (eis) each other.
Romans 14:20
For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
It may not be clear in the English, but the first part of this verse is another imperative. The KJV translators stuck to a literal interpretation and it makes sense once it is known that the command is "Do not destroy..." Actually, the word for "destroy" here is kataluo, a compound word of kata (against, according to) and luo (loosen). It means to thoroughly loosen or to break up. From a modern stand point, we may understand the first part of this verse this way:
Do not thoroughly loosen the work of God on account of food.
God has told us several times not to let these little things that have nothing to do with salvation get in the way of loving fellowship with believers. He also reminded us that it looks bad to unbelievers when there is strife and discord within the Body of Christ. In case we didn't get the first time in verse 14, all things are pure in themselves. We need to keep in mind what a man likes or dislikes of those pure things is unique to him. We are not to bring down a brother or sister just because we don't share the same likes and dislikes. For those that do bring contention, God calls that act evil. Just because we are in the Body of Christ doesn't mean that we can't make some poor choices. We need to take heed what we say and do (Col 3:17).
The verse is word for word with the Greek. I will point out that "with" is the Greek "dia." Also, the word "offence" is the noun for "stumbling block" which is "proskomma." This is the only time it is translated as "offense." The last pert of the verse may be better understood as, "But indeed it is evil for that man who eats on account of a stumbling block." It is evil for the man or woman who causes that obstacle on purpose.
Romans 14:21
It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
Ah, the catch-all verse. God took most of this chapter to explain in thorough detail how we are and are not to conduct ourselves within the Body of Christ. He used examples of food, drink, and special days. Here He says if there is anything your'e doing that would cause harm to another in Body of Christ, then don't do it around them. Don't cause your brother or sister to be disheartened when you know full well your action would do that. Remember, these are in situations that have no regard to salvation or sin.
This verse is quite accurate to the Greek. There is just the missing article at the beginning for the good and whereby is the Greek "en ho" which means "in which." To clarify, the verse starts this way in the Greek: The good is neither to eat...In the previous verse, God did say that doing these things on purpose is evil, so it makes sense that it can't be good, doesn't it?
Romans 14:22
Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
To follow up on the catch-all verse, God gives us more detail. Do you have faith? We should all respond with a yes since this chapter is dealing with believers in the Body of Christ. To whom does it count? In the eyes of God. We don't know the hearts of anyone besides ourselves. Only God can search the hearts of all mankind. It is being reiterated here not to make such a big deal out of frivolous things. Happy or blessed is the one who doesn't judge himself in what he approves. Do I like to make a bid deal about birthdays? I shouldn't be hard on myself for such a thing because I do it for the Lord. Do I make a big deal about eating a vegan diet? I shouldn't get be hard on myself for such a thing because I do it for the Lord. Because of the last verse, if there is anything we are thoroughly set on that falls in the category of "pure things," then let us not judge ourselves and do those things for the Lord.
The word for "comdemneth" is the Greek "krino", meaning to judge or to pick out by separating [2]. There is a definite article for the God. Other than that, the verse is word for word with the Greek.
Romans 14:23
And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
The flip side to verse 22 is to judge oneself in these things. We just read that happy or blessed is the one not judging himself in these things because that person has faith in the eyes of God. He that has thoroughly judged himself in these things, meaning he knows full well his actions, and yet chooses to cause someone to fall, is doing so not in faith in the eyes of God. He is out of the will of God and is in sin. Anything done that is out of the will of God, or that is not of faith, is sin.
Saints can still choose to sin. It is wrong in every way, but it can be done. That's why we have verses like Galatians 6:1. Brothers and sisters in Christ may be overtaken in something and be found in sin. That doesn't mean they have lost their salvation (Eph 1:13-14, etc.), but it does mean they are quenching the Holy Spirit and slandering the name of God and the Body of Christ. When that happens, brothers and sisters need to come alongside each other and lovingly restore the one in sin. Those saints that are engaging in sinful activities need this love to restore them to their proper state. If those that are spiritual do not come alongside them or use harsh, condescending words, the ones in the fault may feel shunned by the local church or so shamed in what they are doing that they will seek fellowship elsewhere. These things are painful, but when one member of the body is hurting it affects the whole body (1 Cor 12:26).
The words for "doubteth" and "damned" both share the same root word, which is "krino". The difference comes in the prefix. For "doubteth" it is dia (through, on account of), giving it the idea of thoroughly judging. The verb also occurs in the middle voice, meaning it refers to the one doing the action. The first part of this verse could be rendered, "Now (de) he that thoroughly judges himself..."
The word for "damned" has the prefix kata (down against, according to) attached to krino. This gives the idea of judging down, exactly condemn, or to judge someone decisively as guilty. God is just laying out a fact here. If one looks inside and thoroughly contemplates an action, coming to the conclusion that a particular action is wrong, and then engages in that activity anyway, they bring condemnation on themselves. They have already judged themselves guilty because they know it is wrong. One last thing to point out is that the preposition "ek" is used both times to have the idea of "out of faith." Doing actions as described in this verse could not be out of faith because it is against God. Faith in God and who He is would only compel His children to love with His agape love. We just had the description of that in chapter 12:9-13, so that is what will come out of faith. We still struggle against the desires of the flesh (Romans 7:13-25), so let's come alongside each other and build each other up in the Body of Christ as we eagerly await our Lord and Savior to call us home to Heaven.
References
HELPS Word-studies [1]
Thayer's Greek Lexicon [2]
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