Creator, Father, King #274

Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.

WHILE BOTH JEWS AND Gentiles were becoming Christians throughout the first-century Roman Empire, early church leaders were faced with a variety of issues as people struggled to break away from old religious habits. Here’s an example:

Group 1: We must honor the Sabbath! We must observe sacred festivals such as the Passover! We must only eat food that the Torah declares clean! We would never dare eat meat from an animal sacrificed to a false idol in a pagan temple!

Group 2: Every day of the week is good for honoring God! You don’t need sacred festivals anymore now that Christ has fulfilled the law! Food doesn’t make us more or less clean before God—even Jesus said so! As long as we reserve our worship for God and not idols, who cares if we eat meat taken from pagan temples? It’s just a dead animal!

Can you see the conundrum? Group 1 represents the mindset of many new Jewish converts. Group 2 reflects that of many Gentile converts (although some former pagan idol worshipers were sensitive to eating meat sacrificed to an idol because it reminded them of their prior heathenism).

So the apostle Paul wisely addressed this issue in Romans 14:1–15:7. Rather than quibble over details, he drove his point home with today’s verse.

What’s It Mean?

Clearly, the specific issues that Paul was addressing in Romans don’t apply to us today, but the principle of today’s verse certainly does: don’t cause another believer to stumble.

There are many black-and-white matters in life that the Bible specifically addresses. But there are also a lot of gray areas where godly wisdom is needed. Your job is to obey Scripture in the black-and-white areas and to have a clear conscience before God as you navigate the gray ones (Romans 14:22-23).

When you’re walking through either of these with another believer who has a more sensitive conscience, be aware of that. Show gentleness and never judge them for their beliefs. Remember: they answer to God, not you (Romans 14:12).

The paradigm here, of course, is Jesus, who left heaven’s glory to die for both of you. Follow his humble example and “accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory” (Romans 15:7).

Now What?

Read Romans 14:1–15:7 and 1 Corinthians 8 (a similar passage).

Did You Know?

Because of Christ’s sacrifice and the advent of the new covenant, Paul took the position represented by Group 2 above (although he said it more tactfully!).