For if your brother is grieved because of what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.
Truth to Learn
We should all build up other members of the body of Christ.
Behind the Words
The word translated “grieved” is the Greek word lupeō. This is the verb form of the noun lupē, meaning “sorrow.” Thus, lupeō, means “to make sad or sorrowful or to cause someone to grieve.” It is expressed here in the passive voice.
“Food” is from the Greek noun brōma, which refers to “food which is chewed such as meat or vegetables as opposed to a drink which is not chewed.”
Meaning Explained
Paul now turns to the Gentile converts in the Christian church in Rome. He previously warned the Jewish converts not to judge others for eating food that the Jewish converts still believed was forbidden. Now he tells those who believe all foods are permissible not to intentionally eat food that they know will grieve their brothers who think certain foods are still forbidden.
Apparently, there were those former Gentiles in the church at Rome who still held the Jewish converts in distain. Knowing that the former Jews in the church would be grieved to see them eating supposedly “forbidden” food, they intentionally ate those foods and made it known to the Jewish converts. Paul admonishes them that this is not behaving in a loving manner. In fact, the Jewish converts were behaving in a more loving manner when they were grieving for those who ate this supposed forbidden food, for it was out of love for their brothers that they were grieved. There is a roughly parallel passage to this in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians:
Food will not commend us to God; for neither if we eat are we better, nor if we do not eat are we worse. But be careful lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? And because of your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against the brothers, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if meat makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. (1 Corinthians 8:8-13)
If you have a conviction from God about something, don’t force that conviction on your brother or sister; instead, let God deal with them in His own manner and time. And if you know that your brother has a conviction from God about something, don’t flaunt your lack of conviction in that area in your brother’s presence. That’s just downright mean. We should be an example to our brothers and sisters to strengthen them. We should not do anything to make them weaker!
Application
No one in their right mind will cause harm to part of his or her own body; that would cause the whole body to suffer. Likewise, a Christian should never do anything which will cause the body of Christ to suffer. If we truly love one another, we will do all we can to build up the body of Christ.
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved