Love Builds Up

Last Sunday we explored the Corinthian controversy about eating food offered to idols (1 Cor 8).  Here’s the issue:  since Christians knew that Apollo was no real god, was there any harm in continuing in the local custom of feasting in Apollo’s temple?  Or should they withdraw from the culture and say no to sacred meals associated with false gods?

Many believers asserted their freedom:  All foods are clean, it’s just meat, idols are nothing, and we have the right to eat. But others, seeing these bold, liberated Christians dining in pagan temples, were tempted to violate their own consciences by joining in at table.  So Paul warns believers who flaunt their freedom not to destroy their brothers and sisters this way.

Implication:  violating your conscience is neither right nor safe (as Martin Luther said).  Never mind if your conscience is calibrated so it’s excessively strict compared to Scripture (there will be time to train it to more wisely balance restraint and freedom):  right now your conscience is where it is, and to defy it is sin.

Let’s reflect a little more on the question of conscience.  A primary point being made in 1 Corinthians 8 is that your decisions ought not to be driven simply by your own sense of your own rights and freedoms.  To insist that “those strict Christians need to grow up” is to plunge into pride.  It may be that they need to better understand our liberty in Christ.  But right now they’re in danger of being wounded and defiled if they stumble into imitation of the liberated ones!

So it boils down to whether we love our brothers and sisters or not.  Are we making decisions on those many controversial questions (e.g., about alcohol, entertainment, dating, modesty, Sabbath, schooling, political activism, finances) by reasoning, “Here’s what I think, I know it’s okay, fine by me, I have the right, I’m free to enter in…”?

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up (1 Cor 8:1).  Is the way you’re shaping your lifestyle as a follower of Jesus driven by what you know with little regard to the practice of love? Or is our church culture here at Goshen characterized by looking out for the spiritual health of one another?  Don’t get stuck on what you’re “free” to do.  Rather, follow Paul’s lead and let brotherly love rule the day (8:13).