1 Corinthians 8, Reading Through the NT 2015

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.

Luke 11:29-52 Reading Through the NT 2015

Read Luke 11:29-52 today.

Today we find Jesus pronouncing the wickedness of the current generation. They demanded signs that God was working and real, and He told them all they needed was the sign of Jonah. This might seem like a strange example, because we think of Jonah only in terms of His miraculous survival in the belly of a great fish. The most important aspect of Jonah’s story wasn’t His rescue from the sea, but His message of repentance to the Ninevites and their response to that message. They took Jonah’s warnings seriously, and repented from their sinful ways. Jesus’ message to this crowd, and to us today is one of turning away from sin and turning in faith to God. This was the only sign needed – the evidence of changed lives and devotion to God.

To illustrate His point, Jesus talked about shining light into dark places and elevating that light so that others could more easily see God working in their lives.. Our eyes are the lamp to our body, and we need to watch what we look at and not allow God’s light to be covered by the darkness around us.  Jesus wanted these people to see how important it was to live in relationship with the source of light. The same is true for us today. We can depend on God to show us what to do, as He gives light to our souls through His Holy Spirit. We can show His love and grace to others, sharing the gospel and helping people understand who He is by the way we live and the light that comes from His work in our hearts.

Jesus was invited to eat at the home of a Pharisee, and he accepted the invitation and went home with him. The tradition of hand-washing before eating was skipped by Jesus, and He knew the Pharisee was surprised by this lack of following protocol. Jesus knew what he was thinking, and took this opportunity to point out some things that bothered Him about the religious leaders. These Pharisees were strict about adhering to the rules they imposed on people, but their motives and hearts were wicked and selfish. Jesus pointed out their shortcomings, mentioning their fastidiousness in cleansing things on the outside but neglecting the inner self, and giving tithes, even from the smallest garden herbs, but neglecting the bigger issues of justice and love. He spoke of their love for important seats in the synagogue and the need to be specially honored in public, along with imposing rigid laws that were a burden to people with no help from them. If that was not enough, He pointed out that they built tombs for the prophets which they killed instead of believed, and they would be held responsible for that in the end. They had become a hindrance to people actually knowing and believing God, and they would someday suffer the consequences for their behavior.

Hypocrisy and false pride were common in these Scribes and Pharisees. These men were supposed to be the religious leaders who taught people about God. Instead, their agenda was vastly different and their concern was only to guilt people into keeping to the letter of the law. They were quick to point fingers and slow to lend a helping hand. Self-righteousness is not a pretty picture. The focus is wrong, and God is left out of it entirely. These religious leaders claimed to know the way to God, but they mislead people and put up barriers to any relationship they might have had with God. Are we pointing people to God with His light and with love? Or do people only see us as pointing fingers and being judgmental when their behavior doesn’t follow our rules? Jesus did not condemn people, He loved them. He wants all to come to Him in faith and He freely offers forgiveness and salvation to anyone who humbly comes to Him and asks. May we shine His light for all to see, and spread His love and kindness to all we meet each day. Our job is not to point fingers. Our job is to be the hands and feet of Jesus’s love and mercy to a lost and broken generation.