For one sect to say, “Ours is the true church,” and another to say, “No, but ours is the true church,” is as mad as to dispute whether your hall, or kitchen, or parlour, or coal-house is your house; and for one to say, “This is the house,” and another, “No, but it is that”: when a child can tell them, that the best is but a part, and the house contains them all.

PRINCIPLE 13aInference‹✕ Therefore, let us no longer judge one another. ✕›

SENTENCE bSuggestionInstead ‹✓ decide‹→  →› ‹☉ never to put a stumbling block ‹ or pitfall › in the way of your brother or sister. ☉› ✓›

SENTENCE 14aProfession‹ I know

b Profession and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus › that ‹✕ nothing is unclean in itself. ✕›

SUB-POINT cQualificationStill, ‹✓ [LD to someone who considers a thing to be unclean, LD] [T ‹❐ to that one ❐› T] it is unclean. ✓›

SUPPORT 15aReason (14c)[CD For if your brother or sister is hurt by what you eat, CD]

b Implication you are no longer walking according to love.

SENTENCE cCommand (Neg.)Do not destroy

SUB-POINT ,

d Characterization by what you eat, someone for whom Christ died.

PRINCIPLE 16InferenceTherefore, do not let your good be slandered,

SUPPORT 17aReasonfor the kingdom of God is not

BULLET ‹✕ eating and drinking, ✕›

BULLET bEnumerationbut ‹✓ righteousness,

c List-Item peace,

d List-Item and joy in the Holy Spirit. ✓›

SUPPORT 18Reason (17b)[T Whoever serves Christ in this way T] is acceptable to God and receives human approval.

PRINCIPLE 19ConsequenceSo then, let us pursue what promotes peace and what builds up one another.

SENTENCE 20aCommand (Neg.)Do not tear down God’s work because of food

SENTENCE ‹✕ .

b Affirmation [T Everything T] is clean, ✕›

SENTENCE cCorrectionbut ‹✓ it is wrong to make someone fall by what he eats. ✓›

SENTENCE SuppliedIt is

21 a Affirmation a good thing [T not to eat meat,

BULLET bIllustrationor drink wine,

BULLET cIllustrationor do anything that makes [TP your brother or sister TP] stumble T].

SENTENCE 22aCommand[TP Whatever [LD you LD] believe TP] about these things, keep between yourself and God.

SENTENCE bPronouncementBlessed is [T the one who does not condemn himself T] by what he approves.

SENTENCE 23aTopic[TP But whoever doubts TP]

c Pronouncement stands condemned

b Condition (a) [CD if he eats, CD]

d Reason because his eating is not from faith,

SENTENCE eInference[TP and everything that is not from faith TP] is sin.

42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away—it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

Theirs, paradoxically, is the same fault as that of the Pharisees, only in reverse: where the Pharisees insisted on strict adherence to the ritual law at the expense of “justice, mercy, and faith” (Matt. 23:23), the “strong” are insisting on exercising their freedom from the ritual law at the expense of “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

It is the responsibility of those at peace with God to pursue the kind of conduct that will promote peace with people.