What is 'causing others to stumble'?

what does the bible say?

"Causing others to stumble" means to cause a fellow Christian to do something he/she considers wrong. It does not mean doing something someone else thinks (or is convinced) is wrong. First Corinthians 8 addresses not causing others to stumble regarding the conviction of eating food sacrificed to idols. For some, eating food offered to idols was a sin because they always associated that food with worship of idols. Paul commanded those who could, in good conscience, eat food sacrificed to idols (viewing it merely as food) to refrain from eating it so others would not be stumbled. Romans 14:13–23 also addresses not causing others to stumble based on what they eat. Instead, believers are to love one another, hold onto our convictions, and pursue “what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding” (Romans 14:19).

from the old testament

The issue of causing others to stumble is found in the New Testament.

from the new testament

Paul addresses the issue of causing others to stumble in 1 Corinthians 8 and Romans 14.In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul writes about eating food that had been offered to idols. Some of the Corinthian believers realized that idols were, in fact, nothing and that food offered to idols was no more contaminated than any other food. Therefore, they had no problem eating food that had been offered to idols. However, other believers who had been saved out of idol worship considered eating food offered to idols as an act of worship of the idols. To them, eating food that had been offered to idols was wrong because it was worship of someone other than Christ. Therefore, if they ate food that had been offered to idols, their consciences condemned them. So Paul commanded those who could eat food offered to idols not to cause those whose consciences did not allow them to eat food offered to idols to eat that food and thus be condemned in their own minds.In Romans 14:13–23, Paul also tells the believers “never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother” and instead to choose to love them and pursue righteousness together. While Paul agrees that all food is clean, he warns: “if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love” (verse 15).Galatians 5:13–14 calls us not to use our freedom to indulge the flesh but to serve one another in love: “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”Jesus commanded us to love each other (John 13:34), and a showing of that love will be a desire not to cause another Christian to do what he/she considers sin, even if we are convinced the particular action is not sin. Love will cause us to want to build each other up, not pull each other down.

implications for today

In the western world, we generally do not have the problem of food offered to idols. So to use a different example, let's look at drinking alcoholic beverages. There are many Christians who are convinced that it is wrong for them to drink alcoholic beverages. However, Scripture does not speak against drinking alcoholic beverages; it speaks against drunkenness (Ephesians 5:18). So if a Christian looks at the Scripture, realizes that drinking alcoholic beverages is allowed, and therefore enjoys a beer or a glass of wine occasionally, he/she is all right with God to do so. However, suppose that Christian, who is free to drink alcoholic beverages in moderation, invites another Christian who is not free to enjoy alcoholic beverages for dinner. If the first Christian, knowing of his/her invitee's lack of freedom, then has a beer with dinner and gives one to his/her guest, he/she is encouraging the invitee to do something he/she considers to be wrong. If the invitee takes and drinks the beer, he/she has then gone against his/her conscience, and the host has caused the invitee to stumble. A much better approach for the host would be to forego the pleasure of the beer and have no alcoholic drinks available at dinner. For the host to cause the invitee to do what he/she considers sin is for the host to sin.