How can we make another stumble by what we eat?

The original Greek of Romans 14:20 does not refer to making someone else stumble, but by the eater himself taking offence. Paul here once again confirms that while believers are, through faith, at liberty to eat all foods, believers ought not to use this liberty as a stumbling block for the weak. That which is good for believers in general is not yet necessarily good for those of weak faith, and in Romans 14:20b, Paul therefore writes: All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence (KJV). Here the person who is eating constitutes the weak in faith and for him even the food that has been declared clean remains a stumbling block. Modern translations often render this differently, translating this passage not as if the eating weaker person takes offence, but rather as the stronger believer is giving offence by means of his eating. The ESV, for example, translates the text as follows: But it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats (Romans 14:20b) (see also the NIV which effectively does the same). There are, however, several good reasons for rather applying Romans 14:20b to the weak in faith who are themselves repulsed by the idea of eating all things: 1. The opening clause, everything is indeed clean, requires a following clause that also speaks about the food: all is clean, but it is bad (not good) for some people. 2. Paul is not here speaking about a person who eats something, but rather about the person who eats with offence. This is not someone who eats something repulsive to the neighbour, but rather someone who eats the clean food with repulsion. 3. The expression with offence (KJV), the translation of the Greek dia proskommatos, indicates something about the way in which the food is consumed: the eater does not do so easily, but with repulsion. This does not mean that the eater gives offence to another person, but rather that the eater himself is repulsed by what he eats. In consequence he is conscience-stricken and begins to lose the joy of faith. In Romans 14:20b Paul therefore begins by briefly saying something about the normal rule for believers, i.e. everything is clean, yet immediately thereafter notes that this rule does not apply when it leads to another's detriment. Those who are repulsed by the consumption of meat and wine and lose their joy and become anxious, should not be doing so.¹