Do Not Cause Another to Stumble
Let not then your good be evil spoken of: Rom 14:16
The stronger brother might destroy his testimony. The stronger brother says his liberty comes from God, but the weaker brother says it comes from Satan. True spirituality is not shown in the manifestation of liberty, but in the manifestation of the Spirit.
Let not then... True liberty may be shown by refraining from the exercise of one’s liberty. The stronger brother might disrupt the peace of the body, so he should forego his liberty in the interest of peace in the assembly.
How should a Christian whose convictions allow him to eat everything respond to one with scruples against certain foods? In Christian love he ought to forgo his liberty in Christ to avoid being a spiritual hindrance to his spiritual brother. If he persists in exercising his liberty so that his brother is distressed (lypeitai, “grieved, hurt”), Paul concluded, then the Christian exercising his liberty is no longer acting (lit., “walking”) in love. Such persistence could cause the spiritual destruction of a brother for whom Christ died. Destroy renders the word apollye, which often means eternal ruin. Here it may mean temporal ruin; a Christian forced to act contrary to his scruples, even though more strict than necessary, may find himself ruined by his wounded conscience (cf. 1Cor. 8:10-12). Persisting in one’s freedom could also result in his Christian liberty (what you consider good) being blasphemed (spoken of as evil, blasphēmeisthō).
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