Romans 14:13-23--Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

Romans 14:13-23
English Standard Version

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

​20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

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Last time, we talked about not judging one another...especially the one who believed he was "stronger" in the faith judging the one who was "weaker" in the faith.  Now, Paul is going to instead tell these Christians that they are not to be so infatuated with their "Christian liberties" that they do anything that would cause their brother or sister to stumble (force them to violate their conscience and in so doing commit sin).  We are not to put additional obstacles or stumbling blocks or hurdles in front of our brothers or sisters.

Paul goes back to the example of food again as he is convinced is his own mind that nothing is any longer "clean" or "unclean" in the sense of if he eats it that it would defile him.  "It is not what goes into a man that defiles Him, but what comes out of a man.

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” (Matthew 15:10-20).

Jesus says here that it is our words which come out of our mouth which is evidence of what is in our heart that shows that we are unclean because evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander already reside there and these words prove it.  The sin in our hearts is what makes us unclean.

Not everyone was as convinced as Paul though, and Paul said that he would never grieve his brothers and sisters by eating something they deemed unclean.  In other words, Paul is not going to bring pork barbeque to the fellowship meal where he knows that there are brothers and sisters who still follow the Kosher rules to try to make them eat it or to eat it in front of them to try make a point and show how he can eat whatever he wants because of his "rights" and "liberties."  In a similar passage, but on a slightly different topic (that of meat sacrificed to idols), we'll see Paul say that he would rather not eat meat if it would keep his brother or sister from stumbling.  (see 1 Corinthians 8)  This is the complete opposite of the way that most of us think and talk today in America where we are so concerned with our rights and no one is going to take it away from us.  We are not saying that anyone takes these rights away from us, but that we lay down our rights freely, just as Jesus laid down all of His rights when He left heaven to come to earth as a man and furthermore took on the role of a slave being fully obedient to the will of His Master (God the Father) and serving His brothers, even to the point of washing their feet.

We should not be out to destroy the one whom Jesus has made a new creation.  If he loved them enough to die for them, we can love them enough to not intentionally violate their conscience and try to cause them to sin.  This is not just an issue of food, but any issue which is not clearly commanded one way or another in the Scripture, but for which you have a very strong opinion.  On this particular issue it seems that the apostles all came to an agreement though:

​"19 Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, 20 but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. 21 For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.” (Acts 15:19-21).

Paul's personal feelings here didn't really matter because he agreed with this judgment of the apostles and this is the message they gave to the Gentile believers.  Paul is not backing away from that here, but instead using himself as an example to say "Even though I believe I can eat anything I want to, I will give up that right in order to not violate the conscience of another."  Paul summarizes this portion this way, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."  He also adds that it is our service to Christ that makes us acceptable to God, not our adherence to the Law and our own works of righteousness--those are usually for the approval of men.  Therefore we are to pursue that which will bring about peace and mutual edification (building each other up, not tearing each other down).

​Again, Paul repeats that we should never for the sake of food tear a brother or sister down or cause them to stumble.  It would be better to not eat meat and not to drink wine than to cause a brother or sister to stumble (I think this is specifically back to the food sacrificed to idols issue now, since the wine would not be unclean for any other reason unless Paul is talking about people that know they can't consume wine without drinking too much and getting drunk).  Paul adds that your personal faith and convictions are an issue for you and God and are not something you are meant to brag about or impose on others.  You should only pass judgment on yourself in these areas of personal liberty and Paul says that you are blessed if you have a clean conscience in these areas--many people cannot say that as they struggle with these issues.  It is not for us to make this struggle harder than it needs to be.

Paul finishes by saying that anyone who violated their conscience is sinning and is condemned because their actions do not proceed from faith, and that which does not proceed from faith is sin.  So then, how can you better make room in the body of Christ for all your brothers and sisters who have different opinions than you? My personal recommendation is that where it comes to interactions with other believers, stick to the biblical text that is clear as much as possible.  This may still lead to some areas of disagreement for instance if someone points to a commandment in the Old Testament that another believes no longer applies to New Testament believers.  Well-meaning Christians disagree on such things all the time, and even the apostles struggled with these issues as they took the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.  Have some humility and look for what the text clearly teaches--in this case that we are to think of others more highly than we think of ourselves and to always be watching out for one another in love, because Jesus loved that person so much that He gave the ultimate sacrifice for them.  Is it then too much to ask that we too be willing to sacrifice something small in order to show our love for the ones He has loved first?