1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Last year, my Women's Bible Study group studied the book of Titus on Right Now Media by Chip Ingram. Chip opens the study with these words on the first video, “My excuse for not becoming a Christian was… Christians. They said ‘this’ but lived a different way. Our beliefs and behaviors need to tell the same story.” Whether we like it or not, people are watching us! When you identify yourself as a Christian, the world likes to put you under a microscope, just waiting to see when you’ll slip up! People are just waiting to call us hypocrites! We definitely aren’t perfect, and we WILL slip up. We still live in a fallen world, prone to sin. We are sinners, but the difference is that we are sinners saved by grace.
Paul thought it was important to warn the church at Corinth about food sacrificed to idols and how to handle it. To give a clearer context, people in the church and outside the church were eating food sacrificed to idols and then feeling guilty about it. This could be because some of them used to be idol worshippers, but left that lifestyle behind. Paul is telling them in a nutshell, food is food! Idols aren’t real! We are no longer under the Old Testament laws and traditions that warned of clean and unclean foods. We can now eat what we’d like. However, he points out the perspective of a weaker brother seeing you eat food to idols. When you are new to the faith, you are more vulnerable, and you’re still learning! That was true then, and it’s still true today. Baby Christians (new Christians) will often look to us for how to read their Bible, how to pray, and questions they have about God, etc. We are their role models. We may not always know the answer or do the right thing, but they look up to us! I think of Paul when he said, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ”. Paul was saying to the Corinthians that even though the food really doesn’t matter, maybe you should withhold eating it in front of someone who doesn’t know Christ or is new to the faith. This was because one may feel ashamed and guilty for eating food that was once sacrificed to idols, while another may not.
I will give an example. I know Christians who gamble and Christians who don’t. It’s one of those things that we don’t really have a clear answer on in the Bible. We see time and time again that they cast lots in the Bible, and we also read that money is the root of all evil. It comes down to a personal decision and conviction. Say you have a friend with a gambling problem, and they recently accepted Christ. You gamble here and there, but you definitely don’t have a problem with it, and definitely don't gamble more than you can afford to lose. Should you go gambling with them? No. Some things aren’t bad in and of themselves, but could cause someone to stumble if they see us participating in it. There are a variety of topics in the church circle that this could pertain to. There are some things we should just abstain from because they can create too much controversy. We should care more about our brothers' or sisters' growth in the Lord or reaching someone with the gospel than partaking in something that is going to cause them to be confused or backslidden. That is just what Paul was getting at when it came to eating food sacrificed to idols. So I challenge you to take a look at your life and the things you do on a weekly basis. Is there something you should stop doing that could cause confusion for someone who doesn’t know Jesus? Or that could cause a new believer to ditch Jesus completely? Let's remember it's not about us. Your life is a living testimony of God! What are people around you learning about God through your behavior?
Last year, my Women's Bible Study group studied the book of Titus on Right Now Media by Chip Ingram. Chip opens the study with these words on the first video, “My excuse for not becoming a Christian was… Christians. They said ‘this’ but lived a different way. Our beliefs and behaviors need to tell the same story.” Whether we like it or not, people are watching us! When you identify yourself as a Christian, the world likes to put you under a microscope, just waiting to see when you’ll slip up! People are just waiting to call us hypocrites! We definitely aren’t perfect, and we WILL slip up. We still live in a fallen world, prone to sin. We are sinners, but the difference is that we are sinners saved by grace.
Paul thought it was important to warn the church at Corinth about food sacrificed to idols and how to handle it. To give a clearer context, people in the church and outside the church were eating food sacrificed to idols and then feeling guilty about it. This could be because some of them used to be idol worshippers, but left that lifestyle behind. Paul is telling them in a nutshell, food is food! Idols aren’t real! We are no longer under the Old Testament laws and traditions that warned of clean and unclean foods. We can now eat what we’d like. However, he points out the perspective of a weaker brother seeing you eat food to idols. When you are new to the faith, you are more vulnerable, and you’re still learning! That was true then, and it’s still true today. Baby Christians (new Christians) will often look to us for how to read their Bible, how to pray, and questions they have about God, etc. We are their role models. We may not always know the answer or do the right thing, but they look up to us! I think of Paul when he said, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ”. Paul was saying to the Corinthians that even though the food really doesn’t matter, maybe you should withhold eating it in front of someone who doesn’t know Christ or is new to the faith. This was because one may feel ashamed and guilty for eating food that was once sacrificed to idols, while another may not.
I will give an example. I know Christians who gamble and Christians who don’t. It’s one of those things that we don’t really have a clear answer on in the Bible. We see time and time again that they cast lots in the Bible, and we also read that money is the root of all evil. It comes down to a personal decision and conviction. Say you have a friend with a gambling problem, and they recently accepted Christ. You gamble here and there, but you definitely don’t have a problem with it, and definitely don't gamble more than you can afford to lose. Should you go gambling with them? No. Some things aren’t bad in and of themselves, but could cause someone to stumble if they see us participating in it. There are a variety of topics in the church circle that this could pertain to. There are some things we should just abstain from because they can create too much controversy. We should care more about our brothers' or sisters' growth in the Lord or reaching someone with the gospel than partaking in something that is going to cause them to be confused or backslidden. That is just what Paul was getting at when it came to eating food sacrificed to idols. So I challenge you to take a look at your life and the things you do on a weekly basis. Is there something you should stop doing that could cause confusion for someone who doesn’t know Jesus? Or that could cause a new believer to ditch Jesus completely? Let's remember it's not about us. Your life is a living testimony of God! What are people around you learning about God through your behavior?
Posted in Devotional