Rom 14:13-23 | TNotes | STEP | 14:13 This verse acts as a bridge. Let’s stop condemning each other summarizes 14:1-12 , while the concern about causing another believer to stumble and fall becomes the major emphasis of 14:14-23 . • stumble and fall: This phrase originally applied to obstacles that could trip people as they walked, or to traps into which a person might fall. It is used metaphorically throughout the New Testament for behavior that might bring spiritual harm to another person (see 1 Cor 8:9 , 13 ; 1 Jn 2:10 ; cp. Matt 21:42-44 ; Luke 20:17-18 ; Rom 9:32-33 ; 1 Pet 2:8 ).

14:13 ^a This verse acts as a bridge. Let’s stop condemning each other summarizes 14:1-12 ^b, while the concern about causing another believer to stumble and fall becomes the major emphasis of 14:14-23 ^c.

• stumble and fall: This phrase originally applied to obstacles that could trip people as they walked, or to traps into which a person might fall. It is used metaphorically throughout the New Testament for behavior that might bring spiritual harm to another person (see 1 Cor 8:9 ^d, 13 ^e; 1 Jn 2:10 ^f; cp. Matt 21:42-44 ^g; Luke 20:17-18 ^h; Rom 9:32-33 ⁱ; 1 Pet 2:8 ^j).
14:14 ^k no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat (literally nothing is common in itself): The word common signals that the root concern that Paul was addressing was Jewish purity regulations. Jews described food as common if it was not clean (i.e., not kosher), thereby causing a Jew to become ritually impure (see Lev 11 ^l; cp. Mark 7:2 ^m, 5 ⁿ; Acts 10:14 ^o). Paul again follows the teaching of Jesus that “every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes” (Mark 7:19 ^p).

• for that person it is wrong: The truth that no food is wrong to eat was not easy for pious Jews to accept because they had been raised to honor God by avoiding certain foods. Paul urges those who are strong in faith not to force others to violate their consciences (cp. 1 Cor 8:1-13 ^q).
14:15 ^r The word translated ruin (Greek apollumi, “destroy”) is often applied to eternal damnation (see 2:12 ^s; Matt 10:28 ^t; 18:14 ^u; Luke 9:24 ^v; 13:2-5 ^w; John 3:16 ^x; 10:10 ^y, 28 ^z; 1 Cor 1:18-19 ^aa; Jas 4:12 ^ab; 2 Pet 3:9 ^ac). By insisting on their freedom to eat whatever they want, the strong might cause sensitive Jewish Christians for whom Christ died to turn away from the faith.
14:20 ^ad The work of God refers both to the spiritual life of other Christians (14:15 ^ae) and to the Christian community itself (14:19 ^af). The strong, with their dogged insistence on doing whatever they want, create division and disrupt God’s intention to build a healthy and united community of believers.
14:21 ^ag or drink wine: Jews sometimes abstained from wine to avoid the appearance of ritual contamination, since wine was used in pagan religious celebrations (see Dan 1:3-16 ^ah).
14:22 ^ai keep it between yourself and God: Paul did not contest the freedom of the strong believers, but he instructed them to limit the expression of their freedom out of love for fellow believers so that the whole Christian community could be built up.

• Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty: Guilt could come from harming the faith of the weak believers. Christian freedom is only worthwhile when it can be lived out without bringing such guilt.
14:23 ^aj If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning: God’s word defines sin for us, yet sin also involves violating our conscience. The weak Christians in Rome did not yet believe in their own hearts that they could eat meat, drink wine, or ignore Jewish holy days; their consciences were still weak. They should not violate their consciences on these matters. Nor should the strong, by the power of their example or by their scorn, force weak Christians to do so.