Romans 14:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.

NIV: Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a person to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.

NASB: Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the person who eats and causes offense.

CSB: Do not tear down God's work because of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong to make someone fall by what he eats.

NLT: Don’t tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble.

KJV: For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.

NKJV: Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense.

Paul begins to say in a more straightforward way what he has already alluded to. In the previous verse, he put it positively. He urged those Christians who are strong in their faith to pursue what leads to peace and the building up of each other.

Now he says it negatively, telling these free Christians not to tear down or destroy the work of God for the sake of food. Put most plainly: Paul is telling these Christians with stronger faith to be willing to give up eating the meat they are free to eat if that will build up and unify the church instead of dividing it and tearing it down.

Again, though, Paul is clear: The problem is not with the meat or drink itself. Everything is clean for those who are in Christ (1 Timothy 4:4). Believers have been released from any obligation to the restrictions of the law of Moses. The wrong comes when what a Christian eats and drinks has the potential to cause another Christian to stumble by violating his or her conscience before God.

As with other verses, context prevents this statement from being abused in legalism (1 Timothy 4:4; Colossians 2:16–23). Paul's teaching is not meant to imply that those with restricted convictions get to "make the rules" for other believers (1 Corinthians 10:29–30). Rather, his point is that there is a difference between using our freedom in Christ, versus abusing it at the expense of the spiritually weak.

Romans 14:13–23 instructs strong-faith Christians who understand that all food and drink is clean for those who are in Christ to be willing to set aside indulging their freedom for the sake of weaker-faith Christians. Those who cannot partake in good conscience—even though they are free in Christ to do so—should not do so. To violate their conviction is sin. It is also wrong for strong-faith Christians to tempt weaker-faith brothers and sisters into sin by insisting on exercising their own right to eat and drink those things.

In Romans 14, Paul tackles the question of how Christians with different convictions about disputable matters should treat each other in the church. Strong-faith Christians who feel free to eat and drink what was formerly forbidden under the law of Moses should not flaunt their freedoms in front of weaker-faith Christians who are not convinced it is right to participate in those things. Neither group should judge the other. Those strong in their faith should rather yield than lead those weaker in faith to violate their conscience, which is a sin.

Paul turns from the black-and-white instructions about light and darkness in Romans 13 to the issue of disputable matters with the potential to divide the church. Paul instructs those who feel free to participate in activities formally forbidden under the law not to flaunt their freedom in front of those who, by conscience, still believe those actions to be wrong. Those strong-faith Christians should be willing to set aside their freedom to keep from leading their weaker brothers and sisters into sin by violating their convictions. Paul addresses this topic with additional comments in 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.