Romans 14:13–23 – Do Not Cause Your Brother to Stumble
📖 Passage
Romans 14:13–23
Read Romans 14:13–23 (NKJV)
🧠 Context & Background
Paul continues addressing divisions in the Roman church over food and sacred days. Having shown that each believer stands before the Lord (14:1–12), he now emphasizes love in the exercise of liberty. The strong know that all food is clean in Christ, but using this freedom without regard for the weak risks destroying fellowship and harming consciences.
The priority is clear: love for a brother or sister outweighs personal liberty. The kingdom of God is not defined by external observances but by righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Thus, believers must pursue what builds others up and ensure their actions are done in faith, not merely preference.
🌿 Key Themes
- Love over liberty — freedom must yield to love when others are at risk.
- Do not stumble others — avoid actions that could damage another’s faith.
- God’s kingdom — centered on righteousness, peace, and joy, not food and drink.
- Pursue peace — Christians are called to build one another up.
- Faith and conscience — everything not done from faith is sin.
📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
Romans 14:13–15 – Do Not Put a Stumbling Block
“Resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.”
- Judgment replaced by resolve — instead of judging, decide to protect others’ faith.
- Clean foods — Paul knows all food is clean in Christ, but that knowledge must be tempered by love.
- Love limits liberty — if food grieves or destroys a brother, it is no longer walking in love.
Romans 14:16–18 – The True Nature of the Kingdom
“The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
- Secondary issues — external practices do not define God’s kingdom.
- Positive priorities — righteousness, peace, and joy are the Spirit’s work in believers.
- Pleasing God — those who serve Christ in these things gain God’s approval and human respect.
Romans 14:19–21 – Pursuing Peace and Edification
“Let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.”
- Active pursuit — peace and edification require intentional effort.
- Danger of liberty — exercising freedom at the expense of others can tear down God’s work.
- Better to abstain — willingly forgoing legitimate freedoms (food, drink) may be the most loving choice.
Romans 14:22–23 – Faith and Conscience
“Whatever is not from faith is sin.”
- Personal conviction — faith allows freedom, but that freedom must remain before God.
- Blessing of liberty — the strong can enjoy freedom with a clear conscience when it does not harm others.
- Sin against conscience — acting without conviction or against conscience is sin, even if the thing itself is not inherently wrong.
🔍 Trusted Insight
Paul elevates conscience and faith as guiding principles for Christian liberty. Freedom is not a license for self-indulgence but an opportunity to serve others in love. True maturity is shown not in flaunting liberty but in laying it down for the sake of a weaker brother or sister.
🧩 Review Questions
- Why does Paul say love must limit liberty in the church?
- How does the kingdom of God contrast with disputes about food and drink?
- What does it mean to “pursue peace and edification” in your community?
- How can Christians discern when to exercise freedom and when to restrain it?
- Why does Paul insist that “whatever is not from faith is sin”? 💡 Tip: Use the **Ask a Question Bot** to explore these questions more deeply and gain additional biblical insights. ---
⚔️ Common Objections
- “If all food is clean, why should I limit my freedom?”
Paul agrees all food is clean in Christ (v. 14), but insists love takes priority over liberty. Freedom exercised without love can wound a weaker brother and tear down God’s work (v. 20). True maturity is seen in willingly laying down freedom for another’s good. - “Isn’t it legalistic to avoid something just because it offends others?”
Legalism adds rules where God has not, but Paul’s teaching is different: it is voluntary restraint for love’s sake. The issue is not about earning righteousness but about protecting fellowship and building up the church (v. 19). - “If everyone follows their conscience, won’t that lead to chaos?”
Paul doesn’t advocate moral relativism. He teaches that conscience must be informed by faith and submitted to Christ. The principle is not “anything goes,” but “whatever is not from faith is sin” (v. 23). This keeps conscience tethered to God’s Word. - “Won’t weaker believers stay weak if we always adjust for them?”
Paul’s concern is not to keep believers weak but to keep them from stumbling into sin. As they grow, their conscience may strengthen. In the meantime, love calls the strong to bear with the weak (cf. Romans 15:1).
🙋 Application Questions
- What freedoms do you enjoy in Christ that might tempt you to overlook the conscience of others?
- How can you more intentionally “pursue peace and edification” in your church?
- Are there areas where you need to lay down a freedom for the sake of weaker believers?
- How does this passage reshape your view of what really defines the kingdom of God?
- When faced with gray areas, how can you ensure your choices are “from faith”?
🔤 Greek Keywords
- προσκόμμα (proskomma) — stumbling block, obstacle that causes someone to fall (v. 13).
- λύπη (lypē) — grief, distress; harm caused to a weaker brother (v. 15).
- δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē) — righteousness, right conduct before God (v. 17).
- οἰκοδομή (oikodomē) — building up, edification (v. 19).
- πίστις (pistis) — faith, conviction, trust in God (v. 22–23).
📚 Cross References
- 1 Corinthians 8:9–13 — Do not let liberty become a stumbling block.
- Galatians 5:13 — Use freedom to serve one another through love.
- Philippians 2:3–4 — Look to the interests of others.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:11 — Encourage and build one another up.
- Hebrews 13:18 — Act honorably in all things with a clear conscience.
📦 Next Study
Next Study → Romans 15:1–13