Commentary on Romans, Biblical exegesis 2 · Chapter 14 · Section 3 · Subsection 23
23. Quest. Of scandals and offences, the occasion and diuers kinds thereof, v. 13.
1. Chrysostome thinketh that the Apostle, saying, let no man put a stumbling blocke, or occasion of falling before his brother, doth admonish hereby both the strong and the weake, for as the one might be offended with an others eating, so the other with his not eating: but the weake properly are said to be offended, not the strong.
2. Some take these for both one, offence, foreign, and scandale, foreign: as Origen thinketh it is so called, when any thing is found in the way, whereat pedes offenduntur, &c. the feete of the walkers doe stumble or are offended: so the Syrian interpreter vseth here but one word to expresse both: some take the first to be the greater; as an offence they will hauehave to be the occasion culpae mortalis, of a mortall, or deadly sinne, the scandall venialis, of a lesse or veniall sinne, Gorrhan. M. Beza inclineth to this opinion, taking the first to be the worst: so the Geneva translation interpreteth the first, an occasion to fall, the latter, a stumbling blocke: but this difference rather may be made, that an offence is, as when one impiugit sed non corruit, stumbleth, but falleth not: a scandall is, cum impingit cum ruina, when one stumbleth and falleth: so the lesse offence is, when one is grieued and troubled, but not altogether discouraged: the greater, called a scandall, when one is so offended, that he falleth away quite from the faith, Pareus, Tolet: but yet this difference is not perpetuall: these words are for the most part confounded in vse, and one taken for an other.
3. A scandall or offence is seene in things good, or euill, or indifferent: in good things none are offended but the wicked, as Tertullian saith. res bonae neminem scandalizant nisi malam mentem, good things doe scandalize none but such minds as are euill; as the Pharisies were offended at Christs works; such a scandall is to be contemned; neither are good things to be omitted because of such scandals: in euill things men are offended, when as they are encouraged by the euill examples of others to doe the like; and these offences are in any wise to be auoided; in things indifferent, if any be offended of ignorance and infirmitie, as in the eating of meates, we must forbeare, and not giuegive offence, as the Apostle saith here, but if of malice and wilfulnes they are offended, such offences are not to be regarded.
4. And there are three kind of persons, that may be offended, the good and faithfull, the euill, and the weake betweene both; the good are offended and grieued when they see euill committed, the euill are offended at good things, the weake at the vse of things indifferent; the first and the third offences we must shunne, as S. Paul saith, GiueGive none offence, neither to the Iew, nor the Grecian, nor to the Church of God, 1. Cor. 10.32. that is, neither to the weake nor to the strong.
5. There are two kind of scandals, there is datum vel acceptum, giuen, or taken and not giuen; offence is giuen, when either a word or deede, good or euill, or a thing indifferent, but vnseasonably vsed, is so committed and done, that an other is thereby made worse; of such offences it is saide, Woe vntounto him by whome offences commeth: an offence taken, and not giuen, is when any thing in it selfe good, or indifferent beeing vsed tempestively and in season, turneth to the euill of him, which by his owne fault is thereby made worse; these kind of offences neede not trouble vsus; the first is called scandalum activum, an active scandall, the other passivum, passive.
6. Here Lyranus putteth the question, how farre spirituall things and temporall are to be left and dismissed for feare of scandall; and thus he determineth; things spirituall, are either such as are simply necessarie to saluation, which to omit were deadly sinne, and such things must not in any case be omitted; as to preach the Gospel, to exercise our faith by good works: some spirituall things are not so necessarie of themselues, but are vsed as helps; which may be omitted to auoide offence, if it be ex ignorantia, of ignorance, not of malice; as Augustine putteth the case, of forbearing to vse Ecclesiasticall discipline, when tenait in periculum schismatis, it tendeth to danger of a schisme: so temporall things, are either our owne, and so they must giuegive place to scandall and offence, if it be of ignorance; or they are not our owne, but committed to our trust, which trust we must not deceiue, though it be with the scandall and offence of others.
7. Pererius knitteth together these three distinctions before seuerally handled. 1. of the thing wherein offence is giuen, which is either good, and therein we are to contemne all scandall and offence: or euill in deede, or in shew and appearance, as in the vndiscreete vse of things indifferent, and in these we must be carefull not to offend. 2. of the persons, to whome offence is giuen, who are either men separated and diuided from the Church, as heretikes, to whome we must giuegive no way at all, in the vse of things indifferent, or they are the weake, who for a time are tolerated and borne with in the Church, and these must not be offended. 3. of the manner of offence, or scandall: which is either ex malicia, of malice, when one will not be perswaded, but continueth wilfull and obstinate, or it is ex ignorantia, of ignorance, and it is called scandalum pusillorum, the scandall of the little ones: and they must not be contemned, as our blessed Sauiour saith, Matth. 18.10. See that ye despise not one of these little ones.