But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Romans 14:20-23).
It is not simply that insensitive and undiscerning freedom in Christ can offend those who are weak, those who are immature in Christ, but note that the prideful exercise of freedom in Christ can cause other Christians to become even weaker, even more immature, and fall into sin. How can we understand this? Perhaps the analogy of alcoholism will help.
Alcohol is a food. We consume it. And it is clean. It is not forbidden. It is even a blessing and a joy in Christ. However, it can be abused. We are free to consume it, but we must be cautious not to abuse it. In addition, we must take special care not to use it in such a way that it becomes a stumbling block to others.
Recovering alcoholics are not free to consume alcohol. They must avoid it because they have established habits of abuse. Their habit is to abuse it. So, to use it at all is to set the old habit into motion. Their weakness is their lack of control of that old habit.
Similarly recovering pagans had established patterns of beliefs and behaviors that were destructive to themselves and to the kingdom of God. Many, perhaps most of the Corinthian Christians were recovering pagans. Their weakness was the strength and tenacity of their old habits, their old patterns of belief and behavior. Like recovering alcoholics, recovering pagans found it difficult to engage their old habits without falling prey to them.
So, the problem was that if such a recovering pagan, a new Christian, saw some other respected Christian participating in pagan rituals and holiday celebrations, he might be tempted to participate as well, to