Clear the Way

“Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” -Romans 14:13

Early in my studies, I was introduced to a saying that whenever you see a “wherefore” or a “therefore” you must go back and see what it’s there for. In other words, Paul’s “therefore” means what he is now exhorting conclusively is based on what he has been arguing all along. This is the culmination, the resulting praxis, of what a right view of our relationship to judgment and to one another should look like in the body of Christ.

We are not to expend our energy passing judgment on others; but rather, we are to judge ourselves in whether or not we are putting a stumbling block or hindrance before the path of our brother or sister in Christ.

The two words Paul uses here are instructive: πρόσκομμα (proskomma) and σκάνδαλον (skandalon). Proskomma is a word that means a loosely laid stone, something for someone to get their foot tangled on where they may twist their ankle and stumble and fall. The word skandalon is the Greek word from which we derive our English word, scandal. It means an action that entices another to sin. Another way to say it is to lay a “temptation trap” for another.

Our work as Christians is not that of judge but of hospitality (Romans 14:1). We are to clear the way of obstacles for others to fellowship and grow in Christ. And, above all things, it should never be said of us that we caused our brother or sister in Christ to stumble and sin; we should never be responsible for a scandal in their lives.