The Aquila Report

Your independent source for news and commentary from and about conservative, orthodox evangelicals in the Reformed and Presbyterian family of churches

Coram Deo Conference - click for details
  • Biblical
    and Theological
  • Churches
    and Ministries
  • People
    in the News
  • World
    and Life News
  • Lifestyle
    and Reviews
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Opinion
    and Commentary
  • General Assembly
    and Synod Reports
    • ARP General Synod
    • EPC General Assembly
    • OPC General Assembly
    • PCA General Assembly
    • PCUSA General Assembly
    • RPCNA Synod
    • URCNA Synod
  • Subscribe
    to Weekly Email
  • Biblical
    and Theological
  • Churches
    and Ministries
  • People
    in the News
  • World
    and Life News
  • Lifestyle
    and Reviews
    • Books
    • Movies
    • Music
  • Opinion
    and Commentary
  • General Assembly
    and Synod Reports
    • ARP General Synod
    • EPC General Assembly
    • OPC General Assembly
    • PCA General Assembly
    • PCUSA General Assembly
    • RPCNA Synod
    • URCNA Synod
  • Subscribe
    to Weekly Email
  • Search
Home/Biblical and Theological/Don’t Do Anything!

Don’t Do Anything!

Figuring out what makes my brother stumble (Romans 14:21).

Written by David Huffstutler | Sunday, March 9, 2025

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.

Read More

Related Posts:

  • Don’t Confuse Fellowship with Salvation
  • For the Glory of God
  • Private Worship
  • Disagreeing, with Grace (Part 2)
  • The Conviction & Comfort of Inner Conflict

Subscribe to Free “Top 10 Stories” Email

Get the top 10 stories from The Aquila Report in your inbox every Tuesday morning.

Name(Required)

Archives

Subscribe, Follow, Listen

  • email-alt
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • apple-podcasts
  • anchor
Belhaven University
Coram Deo Conference - click for details

Books

Tool Small by Craig Biehl - Why Atheists Can't Know What They Say They Know
Plumbing the Depths of Darkness - click for details
Tim Keller on the Christian Life - by Matt Smethurst
  • About
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
  • Donate
  • Email Alerts
  • Leadership
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Principles and Practices
  • Privacy Policy

Free Subscription

Aquila Report Email Alerts

Books

The Letter of Jude - book from Tulip Publishing
  • About
  • Advertise Here
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Principles and Practices
  • RSS Feed
  • Subscribe to Weekly Email Alerts

DISCLAIMER: The Aquila Report is a news and information resource. We welcome commentary from readers; for more information visit our Letters to the Editor link. All our content, including commentary and opinion, is intended to be information for our readers and does not necessarily indicate an endorsement by The Aquila Report or its governing board. In order to provide this website free of charge to our readers,  Aquila Report uses a combination of donations, advertisements and affiliate marketing links to  pay its operating costs.

Return to top of page

Website design by Five More Talents · Copyright © 2026 The Aquila Report · Log in