Römer 14:15

Lutherbibel

So aber dein Bruder um deiner Speise willen betrübt wird, so wandelst du schon nicht nach der Liebe. Verderbe den nicht mit deiner Speise, um welches willen Christus gestorben ist.

Parallel Translations

Schlachter Bibel (1951)
Wenn aber dein Bruder um einer Speise willen betrübt wird, so wandelst du schon nicht nach der Liebe. Verdirb mit deiner Speise nicht den, für welchen Christus gestorben ist!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

thy brother: Ezekiel 13:22, 1 Corinthians 8:12

now: Romans 13:10, Romans 15:2, 1 Corinthians 8:1, 1 Corinthians 13:1, 1 Corinthians 13:4, 1 Corinthians 13:5, Galatians 5:13, Philippians 2:2-4

charitably: Gr. according to charity

Destroy: 1 Corinthians 8:11, 2 Peter 2:1, 1 John 2:2

Reciprocal: Leviticus 11:2 - General Numbers 32:15 - ye shall 1 Samuel 26:19 - they have driven 1 Kings 15:26 - in his sin Nehemiah 5:8 - shall they Psalms 73:15 - offend Ezekiel 13:19 - to slay Daniel 1:8 - defile Mark 9:41 - because Acts 15:29 - ye abstain Romans 14:3 - despise Romans 14:20 - For 1 Corinthians 6:12 - are not 1 Corinthians 9:18 - that I 1 Corinthians 10:23 - things are lawful 1 Corinthians 10:28 - eat 1 Corinthians 10:29 - not 1 Corinthians 16:14 - General Galatians 2:18 - General Philippians 2:5 - General 1 Timothy 1:5 - charity

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat,.... The apostle proceeds to give reasons why, though he was so fully persuaded that nothing was unclean of itself, and so he, and any other of the same persuasion, might lawfully eat anything; yet they should forbear, and not make use of this liberty; because if a brother should be grieved by it, that is, either should be concerned and troubled at it inwardly, both because the person that eats is thought by him to have transgressed a command of God, and because he himself is not only despised as a weak brother, but as if he was a "judaizing" Christian, and walked not uprightly, according to the truth of the Gospel; or else should be emboldened thereby to eat, and so wound and defile his weak conscience; or be so galled and offended at it, as to stumble and fall off from his profession of Christianity, and withdraw his communion, as judging there is nothing in it, no regard being had to the law of God:

now walkest thou not charitably; this is a breach of the rule of charity or brotherly love; such an one is a brother, and though a weak one, yet he is to be loved as a brother, and to be charitably walked with: true charity, or love, vaunts not itself over, nor is it puffed up against a weak brother; nor is it unconcerned for his peace, but bears with his weaknesses, and forbears the use of things grieving to him:

destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. This is to be understood, not of eternal destruction, that can never be thought to be either in the will or power of any man; such a degree of malice can never arise in the heart of any, to wish for, desire, or take any step towards the eternal damnation of another; and could any thing of this kind be among the men of the world, yet surely not among brethren of the same faith, and in the same church state; and were there any so wicked as to desire this, yet it is not in their power to compass it, for none can destroy eternally but God; see

Matthew 10:28; besides, it is not reasonable to suppose, that eternal damnation should follow upon eating things indifferent, or be caused by an offence either given or taken through them; moreover, though such as only think themselves, or profess themselves, or are only thought by others to be such, for whom Christ died, may be eternally destroyed, yet none of those can, for whom Christ really died; for they are his special people, his peculiar friends, his own sheep, his body the church, which can never perish; and he, by dying, has procured such blessings for them, such as a justifying righteousness, pardon of sin, peace with God, and eternal life, which will for ever secure them from destruction: besides, should anyone of them be destroyed, the death of Christ would be so far in vain, nor would it appear to be a sufficient security from condemnation, nor a full satisfaction to the justice of God; or God must be unjust, to punish twice for the same fault: but this is to be understood of the destruction of such a man's peace and comfort, which is signified by grieving, stumbling, offending, and making him weak; and the words are a fresh reason, why they that are strong in the faith of Christian liberty, should nevertheless forbear the use of it, to preserve the peace of a weak brother; which is a matter of importance, and the rather to be attended to, since it is the peace of one that belongs to Christ, whom he has so loved as to die for, and therefore should be the object of the regard and affections of such as believe in Christ and love him.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But if thy brother ... - This address is to the “Gentile” convert. In the previous verse, Paul admitted. that the prejudice of the Jew was not well-founded. But admitting that still the question was, “how” he should be treated while he had that prejudice. The apostle here shows the Gentile that “he” ought not so to act as unnecessarily to wound his feelings, or to grieve him.

Be grieved - Be pained; as a conscientious man always is, when he sees another, and especially a Christian brother, do anything which “he” esteems to be wrong. The “pain” would be real, though the “opinion” from which it arose might not be well founded.

With thy meat - Greek, On account of meat, or food; that is, because “you” eat what he regards as unclean.

Now walkest - To “walk,” in the Sacred Scriptures, often denotes to act, or to do a thing; Mark 7:5; Acts 21:21; Romans 6:4; Romans 8:1, Romans 8:4. Here it means that if the Gentile convert persevered in the use of such food, notwithstanding the conscientious scruples of the Jew, he violated the law of love.

Charitably - Greek, According to charity, or love; that is, he would violate that law which required him to sacrifice his own comfort to promote the happiness of his brother; 1Co 13:5; 1 Corinthians 10:24, 1 Corinthians 10:28-29; Philippians 2:4, Philippians 2:21.

Destroy not him - The word “destroy” here refers, doubtless, to the ruin of the soul in hell. It properly denotes ruin or destruction, and is applied to the ruin or “corruption” of various things, in the New Testament. To life Matthew 10:39; to a reward, in the sense of “losing” it Mark 10:41; Luke 15:4; to food John 6:27; to the Israelites represented as lost or wandering Matthew 10:6; to “wisdom” that is rendered “vain” 1 Corinthians 1:9; to “bottles,” rendered “useless” Matthew 9:17, etc. But it is also frequently applied to destruction in hell, to the everlasting ruin of the soul; Matthew 10:28, “Who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell;” Matthew 18:14; John 3:15; Romans 2:12. That “this” is its meaning here is apparent from the parallel place in 1 Corinthians 8:11, “And through thy knowledge shall thy weak brother perish.” If it be asked how the eating of meat by the Gentile convert could be connected with the perdition of the Jew, I reply, that the apostle supposes that in this way an occasion of stumbling would be afforded to him, and he would come into condemnation. He might be led by example to partake against his own conscience, or he might be excited to anger, disgust, and apostasy from the Christian faith. Though the apostle believed that all who were true Christians would be saved, Romans 8:30-39, yet he believed that it would be brought about by the use of means, and that nothing should be done that would tend to hinder or endanger their salvation; Hebrews 6:4-9; Hebrews 2:1. God does not bring his people to heaven without the use of “means adapted to the end,” and one of those means is that employed here to warn professing Christians against such conduct as might jeopard the salvation of their brethren.

For whom Christ died - The apostle speaks here of the possibility of endangering the salvation of those for whom Christ died, just as he does respecting the salvation of those who are in fact Christians. By those for whom Christ died, he undoubtedly refers here to “true Christians,” for the whole discussion relates to them, and them only; compare Romans 14:3-4, Romans 14:7-8. This passage should not be brought, therefore, to prove that Christ died for all people, or for any who shall finally perish. Such a doctrine is undoubtedly true (in this sense; that there is in the death of Christ a “sufficiency for all,” and that the “offer” is to all.) (compare 2 Corinthians 5:14-15; 1 John 2:2; 2 Peter 2:1), but it is not the truth which is taught here. The design is to show the criminality of a course that would tend to the ruin of a brother. For these weak brethren, Christ laid down his precious life. He loved them; and shall we, to gratify our appetites, pursue a course which will tend to defeat the work of Christ, and ruin the souls redeemed by his blood?

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Romans 14:15. If thy brother be grieved — If he think that thou doest wrong, and he is in consequence stumbled at thy conduct.

Now walkest thou not charitably. — κατα αγαπην, According to love; for love worketh no ill to its neighbour; but by thy eating some particular kind of meat, on which neither thy life nor well-being depends, thou workest ill to him by grieving and distressing his mind; and therefore thou breakest the law of God in reference to him, while pretending that thy Christian liberty raises thee above his scruples.

Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died. — This puts the uncharitable conduct of the person in question in the strongest light, because it supposes that the weak brother may be so stumbled as to fall and perish finally; even the man for whom Christ died. To injure a man in his circumstances is bad; to injure him in his person is worse; to injure him in his reputation is still worse; and to injure his soul is worst of all. No wickedness, no malice, can go farther than to injure and destroy the soul: thy uncharitable conduct may proceed thus far; therefore thou art highly criminal before God.

From this verse we learn that a man for whom Christ died may perish, or have his soul destroyed; and destroyed with such a destruction as implies perdition; the original is very emphatic, μη - εκεινον απολλυε, ὑπερ οὑ Χριστος απεθανε. Christ died in his stead; do not destroy his soul. The sacrificial death is as strongly expressed as it can be, and there is no word in the New Testament that more forcibly implies eternal ruin than the verb απολλυω, from which is derived that most significant name of the Devil, ο απολλυων, the DESTROYER, the great universal murderer of souls.