1 Corinthians 8:7-13
Ps Paul Cheng
Dear Bethelites,
In the church, there would be some believers who have been Christians for many years, while other believers may have just come to know the Lord. There are some believers who have grown in their spiritual maturity tremendously because they are diligent in the study of God’s Word, while others may be less enthusiastic and zealous in spiritual things. One cannot expect everyone to be on the same level of spiritual understanding, for that would be impossible!
Therefore, in dealing with the issue of eating meat offered to idols, the Apostle Paul said, Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: (1 Corinthians 8:7a). In other words, not everyone has the same understanding when it comes to knowledge.
IV. Understanding the conscience
Paul went on to say, for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled (v.7b).
Although all the believers might know and believe in the one living and true God who created all things, and idols were nothing, for some this knowledge had not yet been internalized in their hearts and applied into their lives. One spiritually strong believer might go out there and eat the food, but another believer might take a bite of the food and say, “Oh, this food has been offered to the false idol,” and he was going to feel so guilty in his conscience that it was affecting him greatly.
The word conscience is something that God has given to man. It is the moral consciousness or sense of right and wrong. Every man has a conscience, but only the believer has the indwelling Holy Spirit working on his conscience. This conscience that every man has, can be misguided. When a person has been taught in the wrong way, he may think he has a clear conscience, but actually he is wrong. One extreme example is the terrorists who went around and bombed up different places, killing many people. They may think they have a clear conscience, but their conscience has been misguided.
Man’s conscience can be seared with a hot iron (1Timothy 4:2). For example, a man who initially committed adultery might come home feeling guilty when he faced his family, but subsequently as he continued with the adulterous relationship, his conscience would be seared with a hot iron. In other words, his conscience would be so numbed as if they were burnt with a hot iron, and there would be no feeling of guilt anymore.
Some of the believers in Corinth had this conscience of the idol; this understanding which might come from a lifetime of devotion to the idol. Most likely, there were new believers and they could not shake away this feeling bothering their conscience. When they ate the food that had been offered to idols, they were going to defile their conscience. The conscience, that little voice inside them, would be telling them, “Do not eat it. It is wrong. It is part of pagan worship. Do not touch it.” But when they saw the mature believers eating the food, and they followed likewise, what would happen? Immediately, their conscience was defiled! Their conscience began to beat on them, make them feel guilty and condemned, make them blame themselves, and it would push them further and further away from God.
So, Paul was saying, “You may have knowledge, but do you have love? Knowledge says, “You can eat,” but love says, “Think about how it is going to affect someone else.” Knowledge says, “An idol is nothing,” but love says, “I know an idol is nothing, but I choose not to eat because my brother believes it is wrong, and I do not want to stumble him, and I will wait until he matures to understand.”
Dear friend, you may have love, but do you really have love? Do you care if your brother is stumbled?
But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse (v.8).
There is no spiritual consequence to eating or not eating. It does not mean God does not care about gluttony, or over-indulgence. But what it means is that the food one eats cannot draw him closer or further away from God. It does not matter whether one eats chicken rice, fried noodles, hamburgers, pizza or hotdogs.
In Acts 10:13, Peter saw the vision, and God said, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat, declaring there were no more dietary laws. Jesus said in Mark 7:15, There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. In other words, it is not what you eat that will defile you spiritually, but it is what comes out from your heart!
So why not just eat? No doubt food cannot defile the believer spiritually, but it can defile the conscience of the weak believer. But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak (v.9). God does not care what we eat, but God does care about His other children, because they care about what they eat. Just because one understands and feels that he has the liberty or freedom to eat what he wants, he must remember not to be a stumbling block to those who are weak.
Do not cause a person to violate his conscience! We must remember that the believer has the indwelling Holy Spirit; and He is patiently working on his conscience, teaching him lovingly through the Word of God, and slowly, as the person grows in maturity, his conscience will also begin to grow.
One theologian gave this illustration which I think is most helpful, “Conscience is like God’s doorkeeper to keep us out of places where we could be harmed. Like a small child is not allowed to play with sharp tools, to go into the street, or to go where there are dangerous machines or electrical appliances. The restrictions are gradually removed as he grows older and learns for himself what is dangerous and what is not. Similarly, God confines His spiritual children by conscience. As they grow in knowledge and maturity, the limits of conscience are expanded. We should never try to expand our actions and habits before our conscience permits it. And we should never encourage, either directly or indirectly, anyone else to do that.”
But those so-called “spiritual ones,” or “knowledgeable ones,” in the church at Corinth, by their actions, were doing exactly what God would not want them to do.
For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; (v.10)
In those days, some of the weddings and social functions were held in the idol’s temple. Perhaps, there was this believer attending one of those events, and then came the believer whose conscience was weak, and he would be thinking, “Well, so-and-so is a mature believer. He was the one who had brought me to the Lord, taught me the Word of God. If he is sitting there eating those foods offered to idols, then it must be alright.” Surely, he would be encouraged to do likewise!
Do you realize that our knowledge can help a person to grow, but at the same time, it can stumble a person? And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? (v.11) Knowledge was good, but your knowledge had caused the brother to stumble. The word perish does not mean to die and go to hell, but to bring the brother down by crushing, destroying and causing him to sin.
But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ (v.12)
When you disregard your brother and cause him to stumble, you not only sin against him, but ultimately against Christ because he is someone for whom Jesus has died.
What should our attitude be? Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh whle the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend (v.13)
We should love our brother, and desire not to stumble him, even if it means giving up the freedom to eat. Even if the whole world agrees that we have the right to do it.
There was a true story about a man who fell from a seven-story building while he was working, and another man caught him just before he hit the ground, and saved his life. But that man who saved his life, was killed. Somehow the father of the man who was killed, spent the rest of his life, giving money and everything to the man whom his son had saved. People were puzzled, and they said to the father, “Your son died to save his life, and yet you are still giving him everything. It should be the other way around.” The father explained, “If that man meant so much for my son to give his life, then I ought to honour my son’s love by giving him everything I have.”
If we apply the moral of the above story in the spiritual realm, “If this brother means so much to my Lord that He died on the cross to save him, then I ought to treat him with love, and help him to grow. I will never want to stumble him.”
This is the biblical lesson about love and Christian liberty!
With love in Christ,
Pastor Paul Cheng
1 CORINTHIANS 8Knowledge Alone is Not Enough (Part 1)Knowledge Alone is Not Enough (Part 1)1 Corinthians 8:1-4, 8
Knowledge Alone is Not Enough (Part 2)Knowledge Alone is Not Enough (Part 2)1 Corinthians 8:2
Knowledge Alone is Not Enough (Part 3)Knowledge Alone is Not Enough (Part 3)1 Corinthians 8:3
Love and Christian Liberty (Part 1)Love and Christian Liberty (Part 1)1 Corinthians 8:4-6
Love and Christian Liberty (Part 2)Love and Christian Liberty (Part 2)1 Corinthians 8:7-13