In this passage, Paul answers the question,"Is it ever wrong to do that which is not wrong?" The new believers in Corinth lived in a culture permeated by idolatry. As Charles Hodge put it, "The idolatry of the Greeks and Romans pervaded their whole life. Their social intercourse, their feasts, the administration of justice, the public amusements, the offices and honours of the government, were all more or less connected with religious services." So young Christians were faced with a quandary. Should they have nothing to do with idolatry, even to the point of refusing to eat meat that had previously been offered to an idol? Or rather, knowing that idols are merely wood or stone images of non-existent gods, should they eat the meat without qualms. Paul argues that those strong Christians who can eat such meat in good conscience are quite right. Aphrodite or Zeus are no more real than Tinkerbell or Peter Pan. The problem is, by eating meat offered to an idol, you may be causing a weaker brother or sister to stumble. That is, a young believer who may still be struggling with the temptation to idolatry, seeing you, a stronger believer, eating in an idol's temple, or eating food that had once been offered to an idol, can be tempted to sin against his conscience. Paul says it is better to forego your liberty rather than to put a stumblingblock before a brother or sister. Today, there are a number of things that Christians may believe they are free to participate in, which they may, nonetheless, choose to forego, for the sake of a brother or sister, because LOVE takes precedence over LIBERTY. |
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#26 - Top Downloaded Sermon (48-Hours) on 10/7/2009
