It is something that, whether done or not, is unnecessary for salvation and sanctification. Both parties were to glorify God together, whether they ate or drank or observed the days or not. Their personal practices were to be kept to themselves (Rom 14:5b, 22a), but whatever each chose to do, it was not to affect their fellowship and worship together.
What kinds of things should I not do because it would cause my fellow Christian to violate his conscience and sin if he did them, too?
Paul gives many commands to the “strong” in Romans 14:1–15:13 (cf. Rom 15:1), telling the strong in various ways not to cause the “weak” to stumble (Rom 14:13, 15, 16, 20, 21; 15:1, 2). The strong, in good conscience, could (1) eat meat, (2) drink wine (watered down and not equivalent to wine today, I believe), and (3) not observe days (e.g., the Sabbath and other significant days Israel was to observe). In contrast, “the one who is weak in faith” (Rom 14:1) abstained from meat and wine and observed the Sabbath and other days. In spite of these differences, both groups were to glorify the Lord together (cf. Rom 15:6–7).
My question for the moment is this—besides meat, drink, and days, what else might we include in the word “anything” when Paul says, “It is good not to… do anything that causes your brother to stumble” (Rom 14:21)?
That’s a hard question to answer. Perhaps it is best to gather some principles from the context in order to identify whatever “anything” might be.
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