1 Corinthians 8:1–3, 9–13; 9:19–23; 10:23–24, 31–11:1

Explore the Bible
Assistant Professor, School of Christian Studies, University of Mobile

What Can I Do?
1 Corinthians 8:1–3, 9–13; 9:19–23; 10:23–24, 31–11:1

Is It Based on Love? (8:1–3)
Corinth was a city filled with temples and idol worship, making it virtually impossible to escape the presence of idols in the city. Since the various religious sects required sacrifice, food sold in the market often was the product of such a sacrifice. For some Christians, this meat was tainted since it had been sacrificed to an idol, and therefore they resisted eating it. For others, eating this meat was not a problem since they knew that there is only one true God and meat sacrificed to an idol was not tainted, giving them the freedom to eat it. Because of this division among Christians, Paul appealed to love. The Christians who ate the meat ought to desist in order not to offend those who avoided the meat. Even though idol worship is not prevalent in America today, Paul’s principles still apply. We always ought to address issues in the church with love, putting other people first. We are to base our behavior on our love for God, and we can do anything that grows out of this love.

Will It Harm Others? (8:9–13; 10:23–24)
Paul advised the Christians in Corinth to not eat meat sacrificed to idols since this would cause some of the believers to stumble and be led astray. Those who believed it to be wrong to eat meat sacrificed to idols would be tempted to violate their consciences by eating this food, which would hinder their spiritual growth. To those who believed eating meat sacrificed to idols was a sin, eating the meat was a sin. Thus the strong believer, the one to whom eating the meat was nothing at all, was actually causing the weaker brother to sin, and in doing so, the stronger brother actually sinned as well. Therefore, out of concern for the weaker brother, it was better to avoid eating the meat. Just because we are free to eat whatever we want (since all food is clean), this does not mean that we should do so if it is going to create a stumbling block for other Christians.

There are issues in our churches that mirror this scenario. For example, if you attend a church that believes wearing shorts to worship is sinful, then don’t wear shorts. We need to be more concerned with loving our brothers and sisters than with expressing our freedom in Christ. We are to base our behavior on how it will affect others spiritually and do nothing to harm them.

Is It Evangelistic? (9:19–23)
In acting in love, Paul demonstrated how he tried to accommodate his behavior to reach different groups for the gospel. To Jews, he became like a Jew; to Gentiles, he became like a Gentile. Paul set a standard for us in our evangelism. We are to do what we can to win others to Christ. This does not mean that we change the gospel; we must always preach the entire gospel. However, we should try to remove every stumbling block we can that might hinder the gospel. For example, forcing other cultures to try to “do” church the way Americans do church is not necessarily the best way to go about winning other people to Christ. We need to get to the core of the gospel and acknowledge the areas that are preferential or cultural and not force these areas on other people but stick with the gospel: the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice on our behalf. This is the core of the gospel — not how to dress, what type of building to meet in or what style of worship to have; these are side issues to the gospel. Therefore we are to base our behavior on what will lead others to Christ.

Will It Glorify God? (10:31–11:1)
The main point behind Paul’s teaching is that Christians need to seek to glorify God in everything they do and point others to Him. Our example in fulfilling this is Christ. Just as Paul emulated Christ, so are all Christians to do the same. We must put others ahead of ourselves and do our best not to place stumbling blocks in their paths. When we base our behavior on what will glorify God, we will do all that helps others know more about Him and not do anything to offend them.