1 Corinthians 8:9

New Living Translation

But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.

For Encouragement

He suffered from alcohol addiction. His National Service assignment to the Volta Region of Ghana became a trap for this young college graduate. We took him into our home as a son and led him to Christ. One Sunday after church, Jonnie (not his real name) shared a story about his dad always getting drunk from his rich liquor collection after church. Boys imitate their dads, so he also sneaks to satisfy his desire. An unhealthy habit developed now swept him into the gutter of unrestrained indulgence. And why not? He could afford it as an adult. Parents should know how selfish they become when they use their freedoms without concern for their children. That is Paul’s point in the next section of our discussion on eating sacrificed meat.

Our conduct could become an unhealthy influence on the weak and vulnerable around us.

Paul had argued that idols are not gods, but God Almighty alone (1 Corinthians (8:4-6). He now falls back on verse one to stress the diverse levels of knowledge we share. To foster a healthy Christian fellowship, we must be sensitive to others in this matter. It prevents the weak from going against their conscience by our indulgence (7-8).

Many believers are clueless about the uselessness of idols and why they are not actual gods (7). They have grown to believe in idols as reality. So when they eat sacrificed food, it defies their conscience. They suppose they have lost the approval of God.

To put it honestly. No one can win the approval of God by what they eat. We lose nothing by abstaining. Neither do we gain anything by indulging. Neither of the two situations brings us near God. What we do with the knowledge we gain from Him is what matters to Him.

Let us, therefore, have helpful knowledge about this subject and free ourselves from an unnecessary guilty conscience. However, we do not take this knowledge as a license for careless indulgence. None of us lives for ourselves. We live for Christ and one another as members of His body.

It is foolhardy to challenge ourselves to show off our spiritual superiority. If you cultivate a proper knowledge about indulgence, you can discourage the weak from sinning against God with your abstinence.

The real deal about these things is not our indulgence or abstinence. The focus is our love and concern for a weaker brother or sister whose faith we could destroy by our selfish indulgence (9).

The careless use of our rights could weaken or lead someone to fall away (10). Your right could trigger a false sense of freedom, which might ruin a brother or sister for whom Christ died (11).

Jesus calls us into His rest so that we may enjoy freedom from weariness and burdens (Matthew 11:28-30). Keeping this in mind, we should cautiously exercise our freedoms lest we wound our weaker brethren. We can do that by imitating Christ’s humility and love for us that sent him to the cross for our sake.

May His Spirit give us love and courage to live this way for the Father’s glory, amen.