13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. 14As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. 15If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. 16Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. 17For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
19Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. 21It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
22So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. (NIV)
Main Points
1. Those Christians who have strong convictions about what their faith allows them to do should still - out of love - limit their freedom, lest they encourage "weaker" Christians to fall away from Christ. (vv. 13-16)
- Good parallel passage: 1 Cor 8:9-13
- worthy to note that in vv. 15 and 20, "destroy" means "destroy"! This has lead to three "schools of thought" concerning what is suggested by the "destruction of the weak by the strong":
a) Christians can lose their salvation
b) "Weaker brothers (and sisters)" were never Christians to begin with
c) This is a warning passage that God uses as a means to keep Christians on the right path, by stimulating them to help each other grow
I hold to c) - it is consistent with many other warnings that are given to Christians against falling away, as a means of divine grace that enables them to persevere, and so keeps them from falling away (Jer 32:40; Rom 11:19-22; Col 1:22-23; Heb 6:4-9; 10:26-31)
2. Christians with strong convictions should consider that righteousness, peace and joy among God's people are far greater virtues than their own freedom is. (vv. 17-18)
-"righteousness" here likely means holiness, the moral righteousness of character that all Christians are instructed to grow in (Mt 5:6, 10; Phil 1:9-12; 1 Ti 6:11; 2 Ti 2:22; 3:16)
-"peace" refers to harmony and unity among Christians - this is God's will for His people (Jn 13:35; 17:20-23; Eph 4:1-16)
3. Christians with strong convictions must therefore do all that they can to bring about these virtues, by a) keeping their convictions to themselves; and b) refusing to exercise their freedom in the presence of "weaker" Christians. To do otherwise is possibly to bring about the downfall of others. (vv. 19-23)
Discussion Question: How many examples of modern disputable matters can you think of, over which Christians disagree - issues that weaker Christians must take care not to condemn stronger Christians over, and issues that stronger Christians must take care to limit the practice of for the sake of love?
