C&CW Ep. 26 - Terms: Opinion & Stumbling-Block
July 19, 2021•727 words
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Coffee & Christian Worldview
Episode 26
Show Notes:
OPINION
"Personal conviction," or "personal opinion."
Rom. 14:22, The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God.
"Scruple" (noun)
1: an ethical consideration or principle that inhibits action
2: the quality or state of being scrupulous
3: mental reservation
[Merriam-Webster]
A scruple, a reservation, is not right/wrong, good/bad on its own. You can have an opinion that aligns with Scripture or not.
Scruples can be founded on Scripture, or be misplaced scruples.
Rom. 14:1, disputable matter, opinion.
v. 5, be fully convinced
Personal conviction is misleading.
Keeping your conviction between you and God is for the stronger brother.
The weaker brother will think stronger brother's opinion is wrong.
This is the area of wisdom, not sin or not sin.
The Christian should never be careless or thoughtless—he should operate on the general principles of the Word.
The term "personal conviction" has been weaponized. It's a conversation-stopper. When you don't want to discuss or have a Bible study over a disagreement, you shut it down by pleading "personal conviction."
The response: if it's personal, don't make anyone else live by it.
Stronger brothers understand that.
STUMBLING-BLOCK
What does it mean to STUMBLE?
2 Options:
- To give offense, actively stumble another.
- To take offense, when none was given.
Decision Making and the Will of God by Garry Friesen.
The Pharisees stumbled over Jesus—they took offense at him, when none was given. And that's sin. Jesus didn't sin. The Pharisees sinned.
What we (and Paul) are talking about in the area of liberty of conscience is the giving of offense.
Responsibility is placed on the stronger brother: do not cause your brother to stumble, by influencing them to act against their conscience.
Rom. 14:15, For if because of food your brother is grieved, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
Active, from stronger brothers to weaker brothers, in exercising Christian freedom causing the weaker to act against their conscience.
A stumbling-block is not just anything that could possibly offend anyone.
To be stumbled is not just to disagree, be offended, or angry.
"I'm stumbled by that!"
Question: like how the Pharisees were stumbled by Jesus?
Or did I, by my activity, lead you to imitate me by doing what you believed to be wrong?
Like the Pharisees, people who are "stumbled" may be unbelievers.
"STUMBLING BLOCK: an action taken by a stronger brother that, though it would ordinarily qualify as a permissible act of freedom, influences a weaker brother to sin against his conscience."
—Friesen, Garry; Maxson, J. Robin. Decision Making and the Will of God (pp. 401-402). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
The act itself was not sinful. It's the disregard for the weakness of the weaker brother.
When accused of stumbling others, it had better be in this sense. If not, maybe the person just took offense or disagrees.
Have you ever seen a true stumbling-block, according to Paul's definition?
When you don't start with the definition that the Bible teaches, when you don't speak or think according to the principles of God's word—instead you think and behave according to the elemental principles of this world—but we use the Bible, and biblical terms in biblical ways, you're going to get offended.
That's how malnourished you are, biblically. You'll get angry and feel attacked.
Like the Pharisees with Jesus.
You cannot out-argue God.
Next time you post a picture of your bacon, or your alcoholic beverage, or a tiny tattoo, or what you've been listening to, and someone rebukes you—you're stumbling people, you've stumbled me, that's a stumbling-block—you'll ask this:
"Oh, so I caused you to..." eat bacon also, or drink what I drink, or get a tattoo, or listen to what I listen to. "My action influenced you to do the same, against your conscience?"
99% of the time, that's not what they meant. They merely disagree, don't like it, believe what you did was sin. But they were not influenced to do that thing.
So guess what? You did nothing wrong.
They took offense when none was given.
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