What is 'causing others to stumble'?

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TL;DR:

Causing others to stumble is doing something that causes another to engage in something they consider to be sinful. Believers are called to forsake their right to do something even if they do not consider it sinful for the sake of loving others and pursuing what makes for peace and mutual edification.

from the old testament

  • The issue of causing others to stumble is found in the New Testament.

from the new testament

  • Paul addresses the issue of causing others to stumble in 1 Corinthians 8 and Romans 14.
  • In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul writes about eating food that had been offered to idols. Some of the Corinthian believers realized that idols were, in fact, nothing and that food offered to idols was no more contaminated than any other food. Therefore, they had no problem eating food that had been offered to idols. However, other believers who had been saved out of idol worship considered eating food offered to idols as an act of worship of the idols. To them, eating food that had been offered to idols was wrong because it was worship of someone other than Christ. Therefore, if they ate food that had been offered to idols, their consciences condemned them. So Paul commanded those who could eat food offered to idols not to cause those whose consciences did not allow them to eat food offered to idols to eat that food and thus be condemned in their own minds.
  • In Romans 14:13–23, Paul also tells the believers “never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother” and instead to choose to love them and pursue righteousness together. While Paul agrees that all food is clean, he warns: “if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love” (verse 15).
  • Galatians 5:13–14 calls us not to use our freedom to indulge the flesh but to serve one another in love: “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
  • Jesus commanded us to love each other (John 13:34), and a showing of that love will be a desire not to cause another Christian to do what he/she considers sin, even if we are convinced the particular action is not sin. Love will cause us to want to build each other up, not pull each other down.

implications for today

In the western world, we generally do not have the problem of food offered to idols. So to use a different example, let's look at drinking alcoholic beverages. There are many Christians who are convinced that it is wrong for them to drink alcoholic beverages. However, Scripture does not speak against drinking alcoholic beverages; it speaks against drunkenness (Ephesians 5:18). So if a Christian looks at the Scripture, realizes that drinking alcoholic beverages is allowed, and therefore enjoys a beer or a glass of wine occasionally, he/she is all right with God to do so. However, suppose that Christian, who is free to drink alcoholic beverages in moderation, invites another Christian who is not free to enjoy alcoholic beverages for dinner. If the first Christian, knowing of his/her invitee's lack of freedom, then has a beer with dinner and gives one to his/her guest, he/she is encouraging the invitee to do something he/she considers to be wrong. If the invitee takes and drinks the beer, he/she has then gone against his/her conscience, and the host has caused the invitee to stumble. A much better approach for the host would be to forego the pleasure of the beer and have no alcoholic drinks available at dinner. For the host to cause the invitee to do what he/she considers sin is for the host to sin.

understand

  • Causing others to stumble means leading someone to act against their conscience.
  • Believers should prioritize love over personal freedom.
  • Believers are called to pursue love, peace, and what is edifying while holding onto convictions.

reflect

  • How have your choices caused someone else to struggle in their faith, and how are we called to respond to situations like this?
  • How do you balance your personal freedoms and convictions with a commitment to love and build up other believers around you?
  • How does your understanding of "causing others to stumble" influence or challenge your everyday decisions and interactions with other believers?

engage

  • How can we support each other as believers in making choices that prioritize love and unity over personal freedom?
  • In what situations might we be called to limit our freedom for the sake of someone else's conscience, and how do we decide when that’s necessary?
  • How can we encourage mutual growth so that those who are weak grow in their convictions instead of being stumbled?