The problem of the Corinthian church is not the multitude of idols, nor the fact that all meat sold is sacrificed to the temples, but the problem of not holding fast to the truth that “an idol is nothing” (8:4). In other words, it was not that they did not know the truth, but their responses to it were overly deviated due to their different levels of faith. As a result, the Church was divided into 2 groups of people: those with a weak conscience & those with a strong conscience. …Read More
As mentioned last week, the cause of a weak conscience is actually unbelief towards the truth. As a result, such people are stumbled & defiled (8:7) because they could not properly embody the knowledge they received. On the other spectrum, people with strong conscience are those who practice knowledge without love. Instead, they are “puffed up” (8:1) and become a “stumbling block” (8:9) to others.
Being a “stumbling block” is not merely offending people, but about causing them to fall into sin – and eventually leave God & commit apostasy (be ‘destroyed’ 8:11). To the general Christian, a little act of stumbling may not be an issue. But as one matures in the faith, the Holy Spirit will lead the person to deep repentance over every little action he thought was right, but ended up stumbling & incurring loss to others. E.g. if you see a piece of paper lying on the floor & do not pick it up, someone might trip on it & fall because of you – even though you are not the one who littered.
The common misconception is that weak-conscience people should be accommodated for as long as possible, without treating their weakness. However, this will cause a power drain on the Church, where the strong may lose heart or even stumble because of the ‘weak’ in the Church. For example, the crippled beggar in Acts 3 – his presence at the Temple gate caused guilt & disillusion to the worshippers, who may doubt God or the apostles for not being ‘able’ to heal. Hence Peter & John had to heal him.
Thus, the desired outcome for the church is that the “spiritually crippled” (i.e. those with weak conscience) must grow in faith, and those with strong conscience must humble themselves & repent of their arrogance. Then, there would be no stumbling of one another.
In 8:8, Paul affirms that “food does not bring us near to God”. Eating or not eating the sacrificial food is not the criteria to approach God; the only criteria is holiness through the blood of Jesus. Thus the Corinthians’ debate is altogether trivial – because the Kingdom of God is not about eating & drinking (Rom 14:17), but about living a life pleasing to God (1 Cor 10:31). Since ultimately all food is clean, whether to eat or not, if one does it for God, that is what counts (Rom 14:6).
The problem of the strong-conscience believers is that they exercised their freedom (rights/authority) without love. A mark of maturity is that one can readily lay down their rights for the sake of others, just as Jesus laid aside His Divinity to become a servant (Phil 2:7). Loving someone is not so much about deeds, but rather living a life of laying down rights for another. The lack of a life of love itself is what stumbles people most. Take for instance the woman with the alabaster jar: though her act could be seen as stumbling to others, she received praise instead because of her life of loving the Lord. On the contrary, Judas who seemed to ‘love’ the poor was filled with greed on the inside.
Similarly, we could be doing many acts of love, but those acts are fruitless & even stumbling, because we lacked the love for Jesus. If one does not love Jesus & love souls, no matter how zealous they can go about evangelising, they will only appear as hypocritical, and could even destroy people (just like the Pharisees, Mt 23:15).
If there is no love, even the kindest, most well-intentioned act can be seen as hurt & a stumbling block. But if there is love, even a big mistake can be overlooked, because people will always bear & forgive all sins. Just like in a marital relationship: if there is no love, though the wife may dutifully submit and the husband dutifully love (cf. Eph 5), there will still be division. However, if there is love, even if the wife is the head or the husband submits, it is no longer an issue, because both can submit to one another (Eph 5:21).
Stumbling a brother or sister by one’s knowledge without love is a serious sin, because it is sinning against not just the individual, but the Church, and even Christ Himself (8:11-12). Hence, any part in us that can cause people to stumble must be swiftly & diligently eradicated (Mt 17:5-10). May we live a life of laying down our rights for our fellow brothers & sisters, so as not to stumble them, as well as for others who may come – as Paul says he “made (himself) a slave to everyone to win as many as possible” (9:19).
