Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 295

October 22;      I Corinthians 8:12;       141/260(III);        ‘A Weak Conscience’

1 Corinthians 8:12 But when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

Christianity should be summed up in one word, love.  We have the responsibility to speak, share the Word of God and behave towards others in a manner that will draw them to Jesus, not repel them.  In particular, in this chapter, the Lord through Paul is teaching about food offered to idols.  As we mature in the things of the Lord we know that eating food offered to pagan idols have no effect on Christians.  New Christians who have been set free from idol worship may not know this and seeing a mature Christian eating what had been offered to idols or demons could wound them or confuse them.  Knowing the Word of God brings freedom from things others may not know and once we know where a person is coming from, we have the responsibility to kindly begin to explain things biblically.  We are never free to make them feel inferior or foolish.  Until someone who worshiped idols and demons in the past knows that that was wrong and now that they are saved, they no longer have to avoid those foods, we must not ‘nonchalantly’ eat that food in front of the one with the weak conscience.  That is not love and the Lord Jesus would not be pleased with us.  This would be true for anything in the Word.  You may be well taught in the Word and I pray that you have been.  Many have not.  We have the responsibility to lovingly and kindly teach them the full counsel of the Word.  Your teachers were patient and kind with you.  Do the same.