Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block.Don’t overthrow God’s work for food’s sake. All things indeed are clean, however it is evil for that man who creates a stumbling block by eating.For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.Overthrow not for meat’s sake the work of God. All things indeed are clean; howbeit it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
3 sermons cite this verse
We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we, through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope. And now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy as it is written, For this reason I will confess to you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name. And again he says, rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people. And again, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. Laud him, all you people. And again Isaiah said, there shall be a root of Jesse, and he who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, in him the Gentiles shall hope. …
dear ones, you have just heard a recitation not of the opinions of an ancient Jewish scholar, but nothing less than the Word of God Himself, which is given to us to reveal to us His character and what He requires of us, and He has by His eternal right as God the right to bind our consciences to obedience to His Word. Let it be so with us. Please be seated. Let us pray. Again, our Father, as we examine this section of the epistle by which the Apostle expounds on what it means concretely to love our neighbor, then the love that is to be manifest between both weak and strong in your body, the church, We pray that we may understand these things and be convicted of the truth of them. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. It's a short passage that I've just read, which Paul continues his instruction that we examined last week about how the stronger brother is to respond to the weaker brethren in the church on matters that are adiophorous, that is, that are matters that in and of themselves do not have ethical bearing. We are not to be longsuffering with gross and heinous evil or disobedience to those laws that God pronounces, but in those areas where God has left us free, we are to be patient one with another with respect to private and individual scruples. Now, Paul continues this instruction in verse 14 where he says, first of all, I know and I am convinced by the Lord …
6. Seeing we are to pray we may not be led into temptation, certainly we ought not to run ourselves into it.—This is one request that Christ directs us to make to God in that form of prayer, which he taught his disciples—“Lead us not into temptation. ” And how inconsistent shall we be with ourselves, if we pray to God, that we should not be led into temptation; and at the same time, we are not careful to avoid temptation; but bring ourselves into it, by doing those things that lead and expose to sin. What self-contradiction is it, for a man to pray to God that he may be kept from that, which he takes no care to avoid! By praying that we may be kept from temptation, we profess to God that being in temptation is a thing to be avoided; but by running into it we show that we choose the contrary, viz. not to avoid it. 7. The apostle directs us to avoid those things that are in themselves lawful, but tend to lead others into sin; surely then we should avoid what tends to lead ourselves into sin.—The apostle directs, 1 Cor. viii. 9. “Take heed lest—this liberty of yours become a stumbling-block to them that are weak.” Rom. xiv. 13. “That no man put a stumbling-block, or an occasion to fall, in his brother’s way.” Ver. 15. “But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat.” Ver. 20, 21. “For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. 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.”—Now if this rule of the apostle be agreeable to the word of Christ, as we must suppose, or expunge what he says out of the canon of the Scripture; then a like rule obliges more strongly in those things that tend to lead ourselves into sin. …