Christian Authenticity – Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

by Mike Ratliff

14 οἶδα καὶ πέπεισμαι ἐν κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ ὅτι οὐδὲν κοινὸν διʼ ἑαυτοῦ, εἰ μὴ τῷ λογιζομένῳ τι κοινὸν εἶναι, ἐκείνῳ κοινόν. 15 εἰ γὰρ διὰ βρῶμα ὁ ἀδελφός σου λυπεῖται, οὐκέτι κατὰ ἀγάπην περιπατεῖς· μὴ τῷ βρώματί σου ἐκεῖνον ἀπόλλυε ὑπὲρ οὗ Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν. 16 μὴ βλασφημείσθω οὖν ὑμῶν τὸ ἀγαθόν. 17 οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ βρῶσις καὶ πόσις ἀλλὰ δικαιοσύνη καὶ εἰρήνη καὶ χαρὰ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ· 18 ὁ γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ δουλεύων τῷ Χριστῷ εὐάρεστος τῷ θεῷ καὶ δόκιμος τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. 19 Ἄρα οὖν τὰ τῆς εἰρήνης διώκωμεν καὶ τὰ τῆς οἰκοδομῆς τῆς εἰς ἀλλήλους. 20 μὴ ἕνεκεν βρώματος κατάλυε τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ. πάντα μὲν καθαρά, ἀλλὰ κακὸν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τῷ διὰ προσκόμματος ἐσθίοντι. 21 καλὸν τὸ μὴ φαγεῖν κρέα μηδὲ πιεῖν οἶνον μηδὲ ἐν ᾧ ὁ ἀδελφός σου προσκόπτει. 22 σὺ πίστιν [ἣν] ἔχεις κατὰ σεαυτὸν ἔχε ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ. μακάριος ὁ μὴ κρίνων ἑαυτὸν ἐν ᾧ δοκιμάζει· 23 ὁ δὲ διακρινόμενος ἐὰν φάγῃ κατακέκριται, ὅτι οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως· πᾶν δὲ ὃ οὐκ ἐκ πίστεως ἁμαρτία ἐστίν. Romans 14:14-23 NA28)

14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. 15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; 17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. 20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. 21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. 22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin. (Romans 14:14-23 NASB)

In Romans 14:1-13 we looked at the Law of Liberty that genuine believers have in Christ. This Law is not license for licentiousness, but, rather, it is freedom to not be bound by ritual or religiosity while denying self in order to not cause strife and disunity in the body of Christ by practicing that liberty in a way that causes those with weak faith to have battles with their conscience. In this lesson we will finish Romans 14 in looking at vv14-23. This passage is actually a continuation of Paul’s teaching on this vital topic for the Church in our day. 

In v14 (above) Paul makes the statement, “I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.” This truth did not originate in Paul’s mind or intellect. It came from divine revelation. (cf. Galatians 1:12) What was the revelation? It was that nothing is unclean in and of itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it is unclean.” What does this mean?

14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:15 there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. (Mark 7:14-15 NASB)

These words by our Lord Jesus tell us that eating pork or some other dietary law exclusion is not what makes a person unclean. However, if a person believes that eating pork is a sin then that warning will be heard loud and clear from their conscience. For them to eat pork would violate their conscience. This will cause them to experience guilt. This would be a negative for them because it may very well drive them into further legalism and away from freedom.

Paul them says, “For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.” The Greek word for “hurt” in this verse refers to causing pain or distress. Believers with weak faith may be hurt when they see another Christian exercising his or her freedom in a way that seems sinful within their standards. The stronger believer, in his or her freedom, may very well cause these weaker Christians to violate their own consciences. (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:8-13) However, it is imperative that the stronger believers, from a motivation of love ἀγάπη or agapē, take care not to put their weaker brethren into this position. From this motivation will flow sensitivity and understanding of the situation. This love is ἀγάπη that is often translated as “charity” or “charitable” in the KJV or Geneva Bibles. Remember, this form of love does what is best for the one loved, not necessarily what the one loved desires. In this case, the stronger believer sees that his or her actions, even though not sinful in themselves, could be harmful to the weaker believers. They understand the following principle, “Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.”

Their love for the brethren is cause for them to deny themselves in order to preserve the spiritual growth of the weaker brethren. They see that it is far more important to the Kingdom to not cause this strife in the body than it is to be “free.” They understand that is also important that the things they do in their freedom not be called evil, “Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil.” That would be sinful as well. Therefore, self-denial will not only help the weaker believers in their struggles with their conscience, it will not give opportunity for that which is good to be called evil. On the other hand, if that does happen then legalism rears its ugly head in the body, however, if a stronger believer goes on in his or her freedom regardless of how it hurts the weaker believers, it can cause unbelievers to blaspheme when they perceive that our faith is filled with unloving people.

17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. (Romans 14:17-19 NASB)

The world sees Christianity as a set of rules tied to religious things and religious actions. However, the Kingdom of God is none of these things. Instead, it is the sphere of salvation where God rules in the hearts of those He has redeemed and saved. Religiosity, dietary rules, et cetera, are non-essentials because they are only external observances. Righteousness and peace are the products of holy, obedient living produced by the Holy Spirit. These things along with joy should mark believers both in their own lives and in their relationships with other believers. Genuine believers have an abiding attitude of praise and thanksgiving that are outside of circumstances. All of this comes supernaturally into genuine believers who have confidence in God’s Sovereignty. This attitude is also bears fruit in self-denial of freedom if that freedom can possibly cause weaker brethren to stumble.

20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. 21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. 22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin. (Romans 14:20-23 NASB)

Paul repeats his exhortation for us in vv20-22, but then adds a phrase that we need to examine more closely. He says, “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin” This statement is another exhortation that tells us that it is a sin to violate ones conscience. That which does not proceed from faith here would be the thoughts and actions that our conscience condemns. Therefore, the act of violating the conscience here would be an act of rebellion, not an act of faith. That would be sin because any act that is not of faith is sin.

Soli Deo Gloria!