Today's passage: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Helpful thoughts:
- Verses 1-3 give us a filter through which to read much of 1 Corinthians.
- If you read this book looking for what you can and can not get away with, if you get frustrated that all your questions aren't answered, you could very well be reading this book for the sake of “knowledge.”
- If you read this book and it changes your perspective…to think less of yourself and the rules you have to follow and to think more of how you can be freed to love God and love other people to Christ…then you are getting the big picture.
- Our consciences are shaped by what we know (What we think). Our consciences can be wrong and weak.
- The way to help your brother or sister get a stronger conscience is not by coaxing them into violating their weak conscience.
- If our consciences are shaped by our thinking, then what people with a weak conscience need is the Word of God and a patient selfless friend.
- All things are from God and for God. We exist for Him. Christ is Lord.
- If my greatest desire is to please God, then my decision to withhold from “eating meat” for the sake of my brother will give me more joy than if I had “eaten the meat.”
Question to consider:
- So…is it ok to “eat meat?” Without any personal relationships involved, what was the answer? When would the answer change and why?
- What are the things that are more important than tasting that meat? What matters more than whether or not I get to taste my favorite dish?
- What did Christ give up for us?