{"id":16928,"date":"2021-08-13T22:00:23","date_gmt":"2021-08-14T05:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1corinthians-7_32-40-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-07-28T22:07:31","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T05:07:31","slug":"1corinthians-8_1-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1corinthians-8_1-13\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Do about Disputable Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Corinthians 8:1-13.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 (NIV)<\/em><\/strong>
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
\n2\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
\n3\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But the man who loves God is known by God.
\n4\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.
\n5\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”),
\n6\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
\n7\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
\n8\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
\n9\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
\n10\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 1-13:\u00a0\u00a0In\u00a01\u00a0Corinthians\u00a08, Paul addresses a question that many Christians in his church had conflicting opinions about: is it okay to eat food sacrificed to idols or not (v1-4)? \u00a0 \u00a0From Paul’s answer, we can learn\u00a03 questions to ask when determining whether you should engage in what seems like a questionable activity<\/strong>\u00a0(whether it’s eating food sacrificed to idols, playing Pokemon Go, going trick or treating, or something else):<\/p>\n

Question\u00a0<\/strong>1<\/strong>: Ask\u00a0<\/strong>“Does God’s Word clearly and directly prohibit this activity?<\/strong>” \u00a0If yes, then the answer’s clear: don’t engage in this activity (or at least don’t engage in that part of the activity which is clearly prohibited by Scripture).\u00a0 If God’s Word does not clearly and directly prohibit this activity, go to question 2.<\/p>\n

Application:\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0In the case of eating food sacrificed to idols, Scripture does not clearly or directly prohibit it.\u00a0 That’s why it was such a contentious issue.<\/p>\n

Question 2: \u00a0Ask\u00a0<\/strong>“What fruit is born in my life when I engage in this activity?<\/strong>” \u00a0Just because Scripture does not prohibit it doesn’t mean it’s okay to engage in it.\u00a0 As Paul says, “Everything is permissible, but not everything is\u00a0beneficial<\/em>.\u00a0 Everything is permissible, but I will not be\u00a0mastered<\/em>\u00a0by anything.” (1\u00a0Corinthians\u00a06:12)<\/p>\n

So ask yourself:<\/p>\n

– Does this activity help me fulfill God’s purposes for my life or does it pull me away from God’s purposes?
\n– Does it promote the character of Christ in my life, or does it realistically open the door for Satan to work in my life?
\n– Does it set me free or does it enslave me?
\n– Does it renew me (mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually) or does it corrupt me?
\n– Does it benefit my relationships with God and with people, or does it hurt them?
\n– In short, does this activity bring more harm or more good to my life?<\/p>\n

Application:\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0Sometimes the answer to this question will vary depending on the person.\u00a0 For example, Paul himself had no problem eating food sacrificed to idols.\u00a0 In Paul’s mind, there is only one God (v6), idols are not real “gods” (v4-5), and food is just food — “we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do” (v8).\u00a0 For Paul, eating food that was sacrificed to idols was no different from eating normal food, so Paul personally had no problems engaging in this activity.\u00a0 Other Christians, however, had a different perspective.\u00a0 They couldn’t get over the fact that the food had been prepared for the purpose of worshiping an idol (v7).\u00a0 Thus they couldn’t eat such food with a clear conscience and were disturbed to see other Christians eating it.\u00a0 For these Christians, eating food sacrificed to idols was not beneficial and thus it was best for them not to engage in this activity.<\/p>\n

Question 3: Ask “What impact does it have on others when I engage in this activity?\u00a0 Are others blessed or discouraged when I do this?\u00a0\u00a0What kind of example am I setting for those around me?\u00a0\u00a0Does me engaging in this activity do more harm or more good to others?<\/strong>” \u00a0You personally may have no problems engaging in an activity, but if others see you engaging in it and are impacted in a negative way, it may be best not to engage in that activity, at least while in their presence.\u00a0 As Paul says, “be careful that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak” (v9).<\/p>\n

Application:\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0Since eating meat sacrificed to idols was becoming a stumbling block for other more sensitive Christians with a “weak conscience” (v9-11), Paul resolved that he would not eat food sacrificed to idols, at least not in their presence.\u00a0 In verse 13 he writes, “if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.”<\/p>\n

Praise God.\u00a0 May God give you wisdom to know how to discern God’s will for your life with every disputable activity you encounter.\u00a0 Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in answering these 3 questions, and you’ll have a better idea as to whether God wants you to be engaging in that activity or not.<\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, on disputable and controversial matters, please give me wisdom to discern what is bes for me to do, for Your glory, for others\u2019 benefit, and for my good.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Corinthians 8:1-13.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 (NIV)
\n1\u00a0\u00a0Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
\n2\u00a0\u00a0The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
\n3\u00a0\u00a0But the man who loves God is known by God.
\n4\u00a0\u00a0So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.
\n5\u00a0\u00a0For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”),……<\/p>\n

On verses 1-13:\u00a0\u00a0In\u00a01\u00a0Corinthians\u00a08, Paul addresses a question that many Christians in his church had conflicting opinions about: is it okay to eat food sacrificed to idols or not (v1-4)? \u00a0 \u00a0From Paul’s answer, we can learn\u00a03 questions to ask when determining whether you should engage in what seems like a questionable activity\u00a0(whether it’s eating food sacrificed to idols, playing Pokemon Go, going trick or treating, or something else):<\/p>\n

Question\u00a01: Ask\u00a0“Does God’s Word clearly and directly prohibit this activity?” \u00a0If yes, then the answer’s clear: don’t engage in this activity (or at least don’t engage in that part of the activity which is clearly prohibited by Scripture).\u00a0 If God’s Word does not clearly and directly prohibit this activity, go to question 2.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16930,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16928"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16929,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16928\/revisions\/16929"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}