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“But judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way” (Romans 14:13).
“Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another” (Romans 14:19).
What is a stumbling block? It is something that someone trips over, and falls. If we deliberately do things that we know are going to upset other Christians, then we can become a stumbling block. In Romans 14, this consisted of eating things that others felt it was wrong to eat. Many Jews who became Christians still felt it was wrong to eat certain things that were forbidden by the law of Moses, and they needed time to understand full Christian liberty. Those believers who understood Christian liberty were not to provoke those who needed time to realize this liberty.
The word “edify” means to build up, and it is the opposite of what a stumbling block does. Let us ask ourselves, In our relationship with other Christians, are we a stumbling block or a building block?
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