The passage
Romans 14:21 says, “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.” We use this verse because wine appears explicitly in a stumbling context.
Romans 14:21
The verse does not present wine as a required Christian good. It presents abstaining from it as good when a brother may stumble.
Why we give this verse real weight
Some readers mention Romans 14 only to say that mature believers may drink in private as long as they avoid obvious offense. We read the verse more seriously than that. Wine is named as one of the things that can be laid down for the sake of a brother, which fits our larger cautionary pattern.
How this page connects to the larger argument
Romans 14:21 does not by itself prove our entire thesis. It does show that even where a person wants to talk about liberty, Scripture can still place wine on the side of restraint, charity, and the avoidance of harm. That keeps the burden on the person defending drink, not on the person refusing it.
Read next
Related passage
Habakkuk 2:15
See the prophetic woe passage we pair with stumbling concerns.
Answer page
Is drinking alcohol biblical?
Return to the direct biblical-answer page with this stumbling text in view.
Study page
Sober-minded verses
Read the New Testament sobriety cluster next.
Frequently asked questions
Is Romans 14 only about weak consciences?
We agree that the chapter discusses consciences, but it also stresses that wine is explicitly named in the stumbling warning. That keeps the topic morally live rather than trivial.
Why is this important if someone drinks privately?
Because the verse teaches a posture of charity and restraint, and we argue that alcohol is not a necessity that must be defended at all costs.
Key answers connected to this page
- Is drinking a sin? — Read the direct Bible answer on whether drinking alcohol is sin.
- Wine in the Bible — Read the broad overview of wine in the Bible, Bible wine, and biblical wine language.