ROMANS 14:20

“Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the person who eats and causes offense.”

I can still remember when I was probably about 10 or 11 years old helping my dad and some other men demolish and tear down part of our school walls to make room for an addition. It was a lot of fun for a young boy to swing that sledgehammer and knock down blocks and boards. The old walls had to come down in order to put up the new walls. That whole school is gone now, having suffered decades of neglect.

Paul uses a word in today’s verse which is translated as “tear down.” It’s the Greek word kataluó which is described in the Topical Lexicon. It says this word “appears seventeen times in the New Testament and ranges from the dismantling of a building, to the invalidation of a principle, to the simple act of finding lodging. Each use retains the central idea of something being taken down, undone, or laid to rest.” This is in direct contrast to verse 19 which told us to build up each other. The context infers that you are either building up or tearing down.

APPLICATION

In Matthew 5:17 this word is used when Jesus says, “‘“Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.’” Jesus did not utterly destroy the Law or the Prophets. He tore them down in order to put up something greater – Himself. He built a kingdom through the sacrificial death on the cross.

I love the use of this word in 2 Corinthians 5:1. “For we know that if our earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made by hands, eternal in the heavens.” God does not destroy us completely at death. There are some who believe when we die, we simply cease to exist. I got some news for them – that just ain’t so. You will exist eternally, only in a different form. For us who follow Christ we have been promised a glorified body one day.

Paul is speaking to us today in verse 20. We should make sure our words and actions do nothing to tear down God’s work here on earth. He has chosen to use us to advance His kingdom. He could have raised up anything to do that, but He chose us. Therefore, as we do our part to build each other up, let’s make sure we are not doing anything to tear down any part of God’s work. We still have work to do. Let’s get busy!

Father, forgive me when I say or do anything that could do harm to Your work here on earth.

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