in Corinth. But it wasn't about the food or the dedication
of the food to false gods. It was about sanctification and
growth in Christ. "But," said Paul, "take care that this
right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to
the weak." (1 Corinthians 8:9). What right was Paul talking
about? The right to ignore everything about idols and false
worship. The right to participate in Christ's freedom, the
right to participate in the holidays and festivals of false
gods (the popular culture of the day) because those gods
had no real power.
Paul would later tell the Corinthians, "But when one turns
to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the
Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom" (2 Corinthians 3:16-17). One of the freedoms
granted in Christ was freedom from the Old Testament food
laws. The risen Christ instructed Peter, "What God has made
clean, do not call common" (Acts 11:9). Later Paul would
write to the Romans, "Do not, for the sake of food, destroy
the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is
wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats"
(Romans 14:20).
In Christ we are free indeed. Yet, our freedom is not a
license to confuse those who are not as mature in the faith
as we are. Our individual freedom in Christ is bound by our
love of and service to the body of Christ. We are free from
our bondage to sin in order to become willing servants --
slaves -- to Christ, and through Christ, to His people, the
church, the body of Christ. The mature in Christ are
obligated and bound to assist in the sanctification of the
immature in Christ, and at the very least, not to become
stumbling blocks to them.
To the mature Paul said, "Food will not commend us to God.
We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if
we do. But take care that this right of yours does not
somehow become a stumbling block to the weak." (1
Corinthians 8:8). There are no moral or spiritual
consequences related to the consumption of food. The point
is that the rights of some can lead others astray because
the less mature do not discern their own weaknesses.
Immature Christians often overestimate their own spiritual
development. The ESV translates the Greek word (exousia) as
rights, whereas the word also means authority,
jurisdiction, liberty, power and strength. Exousia is a
freedom, an ability, an authority, a power. And it can be
abused. The freedom of one person can become a means of sin
and abuse to another.
The strong in Christ, the mature in Christ are not to live
for themselves, not to overlook the special concerns of
their weaker brothers and sisters. Rather, they are to
protect and nurture them in Christ. The weaker brothers and
sisters in Christ are just that -- weak. The Greek word is
astheneo. "In all things," said Paul, "I have shown you
that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and
remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said,
'It is more blessed to give than to receive'" (Acts 20:35).
To the Romans Paul wrote, "Do not, for the sake of food,
destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it
is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he
eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do
anything that causes your brother to stumble" (Romans
14:20). "The faith that you have, keep between yourself and
God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment
on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is
condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith.
For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin" (Romans
14:20-23).
It is not simply that insensitive and undiscerning freedom
in Christ can offend those who are weak, those who are
immature in Christ, but note that the prideful exercise of
freedom in Christ can cause other Christians to become even
weaker, even more immature, and fall into sin. How can we
understand this? Perhaps the analogy of alcoholism will
help.
Alcohol is a food. We consume it. And it is clean. It is
not forbidden. It is even a blessing and a joy in Christ.
However, it can be abused. We are free to consume it, but
we must be cautious not to abuse it. In addition, we must
take special care not to use it in such a way that it
becomes a stumbling block to others.
Recovering alcoholics are not free to consume alcohol. They
must avoid it because they have established habits of
abuse. Their habit is to abuse it. So, to use it at all is
to set the old habit into motion. Their weakness is their
lack of control of that old habit.
Similarly recovering pagans had established patterns of
beliefs and behaviors that were destructive to themselves
and to the kingdom of God. Many, perhaps most of the
Corinthian Christians were recovering pagans. Their
weakness was the strength and tenacity of their old habits,
their old patterns of belief and behavior. Like recovering
alcoholics, recovering pagans found it difficult to engage
their old habits without falling prey to them.
So, the problem was that if such a recovering pagan, a new
Christian, saw some other respected Christian participating
in pagan rituals and holiday celebrations, he might be
tempted to participate as well, to engage in his old
habits, his pagan worldview, before he has matured to the
point that he could control those habits. He could easily
get caught up in his old habits and ways of thinking, often
without realizing it until it was too late. The truth is
that we can all slip back into our own old habits of sin
and immaturity all to easily. We are all creatures of habit
and habits are hard to change.
While it is true that false gods have no power, idolatry
and false belief are very strong human habits that have
very deep roots in the human psyche. The false gods
themselves have no real existence or power, but the habits
of false belief and the behaviors they engender are very
alluring and destructive. While alcohol consumption is not
always a sin, a life of excessive drinking is deadly. It
will interfere with and obstruct one's sanctification. So,
even though it is not always a sin, said Paul, avoid it for
the sake of your weaker brother. Don't let your knowledge
of the truth, or your strength to not succumb to old
habits, become the undoing of others. "And so by your
knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for
whom Christ died" (1 Corinthians 8:11).
Paul makes this point later, "'All things are lawful,' but
not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful,' but
not all things build up" (1 Corinthians 10:23). Just
because we can, doesn't mean that we should. So, Paul
counseled the Corinthians not to participate in the holiday
celebrations or eat the food that had been dedicated to
idols, not because it was a sin, nor because it would in
any way harm them, but rather for the sake of the
sanctification of those who were less mature, less stable
in the faith, those who could still be drawn back into
their old habits of false belief and destructive behavior.
----------------------------------------------------
For over 25 years Phillip A. Ross has been leading churches
and writing many Christian books. Ross founded
http://www.Pilgrim-Platform.org in 1998. His exposition of
First Corinthians in 2008 demonstrates the Apostle Paul's
fierce opposition to worldly Christianity. Ross recounts
how Paul turned the world upside down in his book, Arsy
Varsy -- Reclaiming the Gospel in First Corinthians.
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