Don’t Do Anything! Figuring Out What Makes My Brother Stumble (Romans 14:21)

What kinds of things should I not do because it would cause my fellow Christian to violate his conscience and sin if he did them, too?

Paul gives many commands to the “strong” in Romans 14:1–15:13 (cf. Rom 15:1), telling the strong in various ways not to cause the “weak” to stumble (Rom 14:13, 15, 16, 20, 21; 15:1, 2). The strong, in good conscience, could (1) eat meat, (2) drink wine (watered down and not equivalent to wine today, I believe), and (3) not observe days (e.g., the Sabbath and other significant days Israel was to observe). In contrast, “the one who is weak in faith” (Rom 14:1) abstained from meat and wine and observed the Sabbath and other days. In spite of these differences, both groups were to glorify the Lord together (cf. Rom 15:6–7).

My question for the moment is this—besides meat, drink, and days, what else might we include in the word “anything” when Paul says, “It is good not to… do anything that causes your brother to stumble” (Rom 14:21)?

That’s a hard question to answer. Perhaps it is best to gather some principles from the context in order to identify whatever “anything” might be:

1. It is something that the strong person does and the weak person does not, or vice versa.

Again, the examples are meat, wine, and days. The strong person ate, drank, and did not observe the days. The weak person abstained and observed the days.

2. It is something that, whether done or not, is unnecessary for salvation and sanctification.

Both parties were to glorify God together, whether they ate or drank or observed the days or not. Their personal practices were to be kept to themselves (Rom 14:5b, 22a), but whatever each chose to do, it was not to affect their fellowship and worship together.

3. It is something that, whether done or not, can be explicitly defended from Scripture either way. (However, the strong will have a stronger case, though the weak might not believe so.)

Jesus declared all things clean (Mark 7:19). Peter saw a vision to that effect (Acts 10). Paul was among the strong who believed the same (Rom 14:14; 15:1). For the weak, if they thought the meat or wine tainted by idolatry, perhaps they abstained by following Daniel’s example (Dan 1:8). Whatever the case, the apostle Paul clearly put himself among the strong, doing what the weak would not. The strong had a stronger case, and the weak’s case was weaker.

So, while I’ve not given a list of some people’s “do’s” that are other people’s “don’t’s,” I’ve tried to give some guidance for what those things might be. Whatever “anything” includes, may God help us to obey the greater commands in Romans 14–15: don’t be unnecessarily judgmental; don’t push someone to violate his conscience; be willing to forego what you are free to do; and strive for peace and joy in order to glorify God together.

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David Huffstutler is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Rockford, IL. He blogs here, where this article first appeared. It is republished here by permission.

Image by Adriano Gadini from Pixabay