What other Scriptures emphasize the importance of not causing others to stumble? 1 Corinthians 8:10 – The Launching Point “For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, who are well informed, eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?” This verse introduces the timeless call to measure our freedom by its effect on another believer’s conscience. Scripture returns to that call again and again. Romans 14 – Love Limits Liberty • Romans 14:13 – “Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.” • Romans 14:15 – “If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love.” • Romans 14:20-21 – “All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a cause of stumbling. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything to cause your brother to stumble.” • Romans 15:1-3 – The strong are to “bear with the shortcomings of the weak” and follow Christ’s pattern of self-denial. Key connections – Same issues of food, drink, and personal convictions. – Same solution: voluntarily surrender a right rather than wound a brother or sister. Jesus’ Direct Warning • Matthew 18:6 – “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” • Mark 9:42 and Luke 17:1-2 echo the same sober imagery. Christ Himself sets the bar: better to lose life and limb than to trip up a believer. 1 Corinthians 10 – Freedom Shaped by the Gospel • 10:23-24 – “Everything is permissible,” but “not everything is beneficial…no one should seek his own good, but the good of others.” • 10:31-33 – Whether eating or drinking, “do all to the glory of God…just as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that they may be saved.” Paul applies the same principle from chapter 8 to every arena of life. Additional New Testament Echoes • 2 Corinthians 6:3 – “We put no obstacle in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.” • 1 John 2:10 – “Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no cause of stumbling in him.” • Philippians 1:10 – Pursue what is “excellent, so that you will be pure and blameless” for Christ’s return. • 1 Thessalonians 5:14 – “Encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone.” Each text anchors the same heartbeat: my choices must protect, not endanger, another’s walk. Putting It All Together – Scripture treats the conscience of a fellow believer as sacred ground. – Liberty is real, yet love gladly puts limits on that liberty. – The consistent pattern—from Jesus to Paul to John—is to defer, encourage, and guard the weaker conscience so that no one’s faith journey is derailed. |
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