No Man Put a Stumblingblock

Romans 14:12-13, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.”

We know that one day we will stand before God to give account for what we have done. One thing that we ought never to do is to be a stumblingblock to a fellow brother or sister in Christ. Being a stumblingblock does not mean that we are doing something sinful, but we are doing something that causes them to stumble in their walk. For example, Romans 14:21 says, “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.” The verse explains that if it offends a brother to eat meat, then don’t do it with them. Now, it isn’t wrong to eat meat, but if it causes them to stumble, we should avoid doing it with them. That is the example the Bible uses.

I will give a more modern day example. There are some pastors out there that do not like guitars in their church? Now, are guitars wrong? No, but I would not play a guitar in his church. He has his reasons, and he has the right to have his reasons. Maybe, he comes from a background of country music, and guitars take him back to his pre-salvation day.s Even though the things that would be applied under the “meat principle” are not wrong in and of themselves, it is better to err on the side of caution. If it will cause a brother to stumble, it is not worth the fight. Let’s not cause other Christians to stumble. Our job is strengthen the body of Christ, not to hinder it. Let us strive not to be a stumblingblock to someone today.