Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to let his eating be a stumbling block.
Parallel translations
- WEB Don’t overthrow God’s work for food’s sake. All things indeed are clean, however it is evil for that man who creates a stumbling block by eating.
- KJV For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
- NKJV Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil for the man who eats with offense.
- NASB Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the person who eats and causes offense.
- NLT Don’t tear apart the work of God over what you eat. Remember, all foods are acceptable, but it is wrong to eat something if it makes another person stumble.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Do not tear down God's work for the sake of food; all foods are clean, but it is wrong to eat in a way that makes a brother stumble. People matter infinitely more than the freedom to eat.
Overview
God's 'work' is the believer or the church He is building, which must not be wrecked over something as trivial as food. Paul reaffirms that all foods are clean, yet insists that exercising that liberty so as to cause a brother to sin is evil. The principle is consistent: objective freedom yields to the higher law of love and the preservation of God's people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Rom 14:14–15I am convinced and fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
- Matt 18:6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
- Titus 1:15To the pure, all things are pure; but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure. Indeed, both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
- Acts 10:15The voice spoke to him a second time: “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
- 1 Cor 10:31–33So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.
- 1 Cor 6:12–13“Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.
- Rom 14:21It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble.
- 1 Tim 4:3–5They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
- Matt 15:11A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”
- Eph 2:10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.
- 1 Cor 8:8–13But food does not bring us closer to God: We are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
- Phil 1:6being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 14:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.