July 20, 2016: Day 52 – I Corinthians 8

A whole chapter on food offered to idols.  So is it a chapter we can skip?  Let me tell you a story.  We once had a small group in a church and at this small group a couple offered wine and beer as part of the meal.  A couple that attended was mortified and remarked how in the world could a church offer alcohol at a small group.  Out of the 15 couples that were part of this group they were the only couple that was mortified.  But as a group we decided that we would not serve alcohol again because it was offensive to that one couple.  

Now, Paul, unfortunately, calls those who are scandalized by the eating of meat offered to idols as being weak.  He states that they are weak believers and three times calls them weak.  Not a real comfortable position.  But it must be applied to those who are legalistic and who need a set of rules in order to understand whether they are doing the will of God or not.  Hear me out.  I am not in any way making a judgment call that any Christian might be weak.  That is absolutely not my call.  But Paul does it in these verses.  If we follow a legalistic faith, then we are not free in Christ.  That I do firmly believe.  

Interesting how Paul says that there is not more than one God.  Today many would see a variety of ways to God.  Some believe that all religions are just another path along the journey.  Some say that there are many ways to God, after all, who are we to say that as Christians we have the truth which is absolute?  Paul says that there is only one God, so the god which other people worship or follow, Paul’s words, simply does not exist.  That sounds rough.  That sounds pretty exclusive.  That sounds as if we are, in Paul’s words, puffing ourselves up.  But we have to end with vs.6 “yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”