14. What does it mean to cause a brother to ‘stumble’? Give an example.

¹⁴ To cause another to stumble would be to incite him to sin, for sin is represented in the Bible as a fall. (1 Cor. 10:12; 1 Tim. 6:9; compare Matthew 5:27-30.) A Christian could make a brother stumble in this way: He might do something that he has the Christian freedom to do, without first ascertaining whether this might hurt the conscience of the brother. For example, this brother may have qualms of conscience with regard to alcoholic beverages. Yet the Christian may drink before the brother, or offer him a drink. The brother may think, ‘Well, he is a mature Christian, so maybe I can follow his pattern.’ So he is emboldened, and goes ahead. But at the same time his conscience is telling him that it is not right. It is condemning him. He is not acting out of faith, or as unto God. Therefore, he has been made to stumble. His conscience is wounded and he is dejected because he feels that he has sinned. It may be hard for him to recover.​—1 Cor. 8:12, 13; Rom. 14:23.

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A Christian should not stumble another by offering him drink or food that his conscience rejects