Conviction or Stumbling Block?

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Romans 14:17-18 (NIV)

Certainly, we’ve all had conversations with others about the appropriateness of watching R-rated movies, playing violent video games, listening to secular music, or drinking alcohol. These are all disputable matters, both within the Christian community and without. Each of us will have differing viewpoints on these and more. These viewpoints, whether right, wrong, or just different, are formed through the individual filters, or “lenses” through which we look. As an individual, you may find that none of these areas cause you to struggle in your walk with God. You might believe that all of them are ok. You may perhaps believe that none of them are. (There is of course middle ground, as well.) Whichever camp you find yourself, keep in mind that these are opinions, not essentials to our faith. Paul teaches the Jewish Christians that our fellowship should not be based on whether or not we agree with one another about what it means to live the Christian life. He says, Give a warm welcome to any brother who wants to join you…Don't criticize him for having different ideas from yours about what is right and wrong. (Romans 14:1, TLB)

Christians will not agree on all matters, the countless denominations ought to prove that point. Nor are we called to agree with one another. Each of us has individual convictions and as we grow in faith, the Holy Spirit continues to develop in us a greater sensitivity to the heart of God and with that grow our ideas of right and wrong.

While Romans 14:1 is clear that we should not allow our convictions to hinder our fellowship with one another, the Bible teaches us that those who are strong have a great responsibility to those who are not as strong in faith. In Romans 14:21-22, Paul says, It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. (NIV) If you say that it is not ok for one to participate in something because they are weak in faith, yet you approve of it for yourself by your own actions because you are strong, you are allowing the devil to make use of what you do to ensnare those to whom you minister. This may not only cause your friend to stumble, but may result in growing scorn to the message of Christ itself when someone believes deeply that what you are doing is wrong. You may believe that it is ok to have a drink on occasion. You may think that movies or video games won’t affect your ability to minister to others…and you may be right. But we must always consider who may be watching us. If a person struggles with something and they witness someone to whom they admire or respect engaging in that with which they struggle, then the strong become a stumbling block to the weak. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be the person that Satan uses to cause another to stumble. Romans 15:1-2 sums up the point best, Even if we believe that it makes no difference to the Lord whether we do these things, still we cannot just go ahead and do them to please ourselves; for we must bear the "burden" of being considerate of the doubts and fears of others-of those who feel these things are wrong. Let's please the other fellow, not ourselves, and do what is for his good and thus build him up in the Lord. (TLB) Isn’t this what we ultimately live for?

© 2009 by Stephanie French.