Chapter 8 of the book of 1 Corinthians is the passage for today.
Paul continued to write about issues that were of concern to the Corinthian church. On the subject of eating food sacrificed to idols, he wanted to be sure that this church had the right perspective on this pagan practice. The Corinthian believers were somewhat arrogant and prideful about what they thought they knew about God. Paul reminded them that love was the most important thing, and that it was love that built people up, not knowledge. We can show love to our fellow believers by not doing anything that might make them question their faith or stumble and sin. This was the point of Paul’s addressing this topic of sacrificed food.
Paul wanted to help this church understand that even though they knew that idols were nothing to the believer, some young in their faith were still not completely sure what to think about them. He reminded them that there was and is only one God, the Father and one Lord, Jesus Christ through whom all things come and in whom we live. This was a fundamental fact that they needed to comprehend, and idols were not to be included in their lives. Young Christians were trying not to get caught up in their pagan culture, and eating this food caused them to feel guilty. They were not solid in their beliefs, and did not realize that the food was a non-issue here. The issue was their love and devotion to the One True God.
So when a mature believer bought some of the sacrificed food from the local marketplace and ate it, their strong faith kept them from worrying about the source of the food. They were hungry and the food was good, so they ate it. The problem was, the new believers saw them doing this and were not sure how to think about it. Their weak consciences might lead them to divide their loyalties and go back to idol worship because they saw another Christian brother or sister eating sacrificed meat. Paul urged the strong believer to stop putting stumbling blocks in the way of those who were new in their faith, and forgo eating this food so that they would not cause anyone to fall into sin. We all have choices to make, and our witness to others is impacted by our behaviors. When we know something we do could cause a person to stumble or sin, we need to stop doing it. Just because we know something we do might not cause us to stray from our faith, if it impacts another person and pulls them away from God, we need to be sensitive and be willing to give it up for their sake. This is an act of love. Even though we know we are faithfully following Christ in our own lives, we can lovingly support and encourage those younger in the faith by carefully watching what we do so that they will be confident in their beliefs and not be tempted to stray.
Overflowing Hope 