How do welcome, conscience and avoiding scandal shape Paul’s instructions?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

Mutual noncontempt/nonjudgment accompanies eating and day practices, while brother-scandal and conscience qualify liberty; printed notes explain meat, days and faith terminology.

Chapter breakdown

The readers should receive someone weak in faith without disputes over thoughts. One believes he may eat everything, while the weak person eats herbs. The annotation explains that the Mosaic distinction of clean and unclean meats is no longer obligatory; some weak converts from Judaism still scruple at meats such as swine, while stronger Christians eat without scruple. The weak should not condemn the stronger person’s liberty, nor the strong despise or scandalize the weak, whether by inducing an act against conscience or causing offence that risks driving someone from Christianity.

The eater should not despise the abstainer, nor the abstainer judge the eater, whom God has received. Another’s servant stands or falls before his own lord, and shall stand because God can make him stand. One distinguishes days while another regards every day alike; each should abound in his own sense. The annotation identifies the law’s sabbaths and festivals. Regard for a day, eating and abstaining are all directed to the Lord with thanks. None lives or dies to himself: in life and death they belong to the Lord, for Christ died and rose to be Lord of dead and living. Why judge or despise a brother? All will stand before Christ’s judgment seat; every knee shall bow and every tongue confess to God, and each will give his own account.

They should instead judge not to put a stumbling block or scandal before a brother. Paul knows and is confident in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean of itself, but something esteemed unclean is so to that person. Grieving a brother through meat fails charity; one should not destroy someone for whom Christ died. Their good should not be spoken of as evil. God’s kingdom is not meat and drink, but justice, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Serving Christ in these things pleases God and is approved by men. They should pursue peace and mutual edification.

They must not destroy God’s work for meat. All things are clean, yet eating with offence is evil. It is good to abstain from flesh, wine or anything that offends, scandalizes or weakens a brother. Faith should be held before God, and blessed is one who does not condemn himself in what he allows. One who discerns and eats is condemned because the act is not from faith; whatever is not from faith is sin. The final annotation explains discernment as distinguishing meats and eating against conscience what one deems unclean, and faith here as judgment and conscience: acting against it is always sin.

The story inside

Retain full dietary annotation including danger of driving weak from religion; stronger Christians are not automatically labeled Gentile and final faith is judgment/conscience here.

Lessons worth keeping

1
Printed dietary note says some weak converts are Jewish.
2
Both inducing conscience violation and driving away are annotation risks.
3
Final faith gloss means judgment and conscience.

Test your recall

What two scandal dangers does the dietary annotation identify?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 128818–128843
14:1. Now him that is weak in faith, take unto you: not in disputes about thoughts. 14:2. For one believeth that he may eat all things: but he that is weak, let him eat herbs. Eat all things.... Viz., without observing the distinction of clean and unclean meats, prescribed by the law of Moses: which was now no longer obligatory. Some weak Christians, converted from among the Jews, as we here gather from the apostle, made a scruple of eating such meats as were deemed unclean by the law; such as swine’s flesh, etc., which the stronger sort of Christians did eat without scruple. Now the apostle, to reconcile them together, exhorts the former not to judge or condemn the latter, using their Christian liberty; and the latter, to take care not to despise or scandalize their weaker brethren, either by bringing them to eat what in their conscience they think they should not, or by giving them such offence, as to endanger the driving them thereby from the Christian religion. 14:3. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not: and he that eateth not, let him not judge him that eateth. For God hath taken him to him. 14:4. Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To his own lord he standeth or falleth. And he shall stand: for God is able to make him stand.
Lines 128824–128835
Eat all things.... Viz., without observing the distinction of clean and unclean meats, prescribed by the law of Moses: which was now no longer obligatory. Some weak Christians, converted from among the Jews, as we here gather from the apostle, made a scruple of eating such meats as were deemed unclean by the law; such as swine’s flesh, etc., which the stronger sort of Christians did eat without scruple. Now the apostle, to reconcile them together, exhorts the former not to judge or condemn the latter, using their Christian liberty; and the latter, to take care not to despise or scandalize their weaker brethren, either by bringing them to eat what in their conscience they think they should not, or by giving them such offence, as to endanger the driving them thereby from the Christian religion.
Lines 128855–128872
14:7. For none of us liveth to himself: and no man dieth to himself. 14:8. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord: or whether we die, we die unto the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 14:9. For to this end Christ died and rose again: that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. 14:10. But thou, why judgest thou thy brother? Or thou, why dost thou despise thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 14:11. For it is written: As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God. 14:12. Therefore every one of us shall render account to God for himself.
Lines 128888–128898
14:17. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink: but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. 14:18. For he that in this serveth Christ pleaseth God and is approved of men. 14:19. Therefore, let us follow after the things that are of peace and keep the things that are of edification, one towards another. 14:20. Destroy not the work of God for meat. All things indeed are clean: but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
Lines 128909–128912
Discerneth.... That is, distinguisheth between meats, and eateth against his conscience, what he deems unclean. Of faith.... By faith is here understood judgment and conscience: to act against which is always a sin.