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First Corinthians 8:7-13

Paul is addressing another question that the Corinthians have posed to him, concerning eating foods offered
to idols. The libertines in the assembly miss the camaraderie of the temple feasts - the social hub of pagan
society - and view their continued participation in those feasts as part of their freedom in Christ, since they
know an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.
But Paul has informed them that knowledge alone is an insufficient basis for determining what one is free
to do. Knowledge must be tempered by the love of God - the love that gives others what is best for them.
It is this love that hones knowledge into our true freedom in Christ - the freedom to do, not whatever we
please, but whatever pleases God - that is, what is right.
In order for the Corinthians to see their need for love, Paul will begin by showing them how their freedom,
which theyve based solely on what they know, is impacting others in their assembly.
Well start back in verse 4.
[First Corinthians 8:4-13]
So first we see that Paul concurs with what the Corinthians know (v. 4), although there are certain things
they havent considered, which Paul will bring out later. He expands the thought to point to the true God,
through whom those who believe are born again as children; children of His love.
Then, as Paul continues in verse 7, he says that there is not in everyone this knowledge. What knowledge?
This goes back to verse 4: We know that an idol is nothing in this world, and that there is no other God
but one. Thats what these Corinthians know - and Paul agrees with that. But theres not in everyone that
knowledge; and as Paul goes on, he says that some are still conscious of the idol.
Who is Paul talking about? The balance of the passage shows that Paul is referring to some other brethren;
that is, other members of the Body of Christ. So Paul is referring to other believers, in the assembly in
Corinth.
They too heard the gospel of Christ, and genuinely believed into the Lord, and received His life. They too
received the Holy Spirit, who is guiding them into all truth. But they dont know it all, yet; maybe not even
very much. In verse 11, Paul uses the term weak brother. They know the fundamentals, but are not yet
well established in the faith. It is probable that many of them were new converts.
What were they converted from? In this case, paganism; these were Gentile converts, who had previously
worshipped the pagan pantheon. Like the libertines who were asking the question here, they too had
participated in the pagan feasts in Corinth - and they had likely done so all of their lives.
Remember that many of their social gatherings and their religious ceremonies were at the temple. At the
feasts, they routinely ate the food that was offered there in sacrifice to the idols - the so-called lords, the
statues that represented the gods worshipped in Corinth. Eating was part of the worship of those gods - socalled.
So-called, by these same pagan Gentiles; for up until that time, these were the gods that they had
worshipped.

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But when they heard about Jesus, they put their full trust in Him as their Lord, to save them; and so He did.
They had turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God (1 Th 1:10); the only one there truly is.
So if they now believed into the one true God, doesnt that mean that they knew an idol was nothing in this
world? After all, they turned to God from those idols.
Yes, they did turn from them; they made a real, life-changing decision. But it didnt mean their former
manner of life - all of what they thought before, all of what they did before - just suddenly disappeared.
Idolatry was deeply ingrained, in their minds. It was their culture; it was their upbringing; they were
saturated in it. Routines of living. Rituals of worship. Memories that return to the mind, tied to family and
friends - to their existence - before. Before Christ.
That takes time to fade from the mind - longer for some, than for others. And especially for new converts,
it is ever so fresh in the mind.
Therefore, for some, Paul says, there is still consciousness of the idol. What does he mean by that? They
still have that image in their minds, of that imaginary god. Its no god to them anymore, but the fact that it
was a god to them - and all that it meant before - remains, in their memories.
As they become more and more established in the faith, as their minds are transformed with the thinking of
Christ, all of those memories will be laid to rest; they will no longer be a disturbance, to the mind. But
until that time, such strong memories can be vivid; they can still seem like part of real life.
Paul says that in such believers, the conscience is weak. The conscience is the part of the inner man which
judges his thoughts and actions. Paul described how the conscience works in his letter to the Romans.
Turn to Romans chapter 2. Paul had just cataloged the unrighteousness of both Gentile and Jew, showing
that both were storing up for themselves wrath in the day of wrath, when the righteous judgment of God
will be revealed, at the Great White Throne judgment.
The Gentile would quickly recognize himself to be a sinner; but not so the self-righteous Jew. So in chapter
2, Paul presents a convincing proof to the Jew that he will indeed be judged, by God. Paul brought out that
instead of being justified by the Law of Moses, the Jew would be condemned by it.
Then Paul came back to the case of the Gentile - since the Gentile didnt possess the Law of Moses, it
would not be fair of God to judge him by it. So on what basis would the Gentile be judged? Paul explains
this.
[Romans 2:11-16]
v. 11-13 Who would be those who sinned without the law? The Gentiles. And those who sinned in the
law? The Jews. So both the Jew and the Gentile will be judged. The Jew will be judged by the Law of
Moses - that which they heard - and they knew - but they didnt do. Then as Paul proceeds, he shows the
basis for the Gentiles judgment.
v. 14-16 So Paul shows the basis for Gods judgment of the Gentiles, which will also be by Jesus Christ the judge of all men. God is fair - He has given the Gentiles as well as the Jews a sure knowledge of their
sin.

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The Gentiles were never given the Law of Moses, as were the Jews, yet Paul points out that they by nature
do the things in the Law. This means they know aspects of the Law inherently; they were born with this
knowledge.
This innate law with which men are born is not as detailed as the Law of Moses, but it is still in perfect
synchrony with it; it reflects the Law of Moses. Where does this innate law come from? From mans
Creator God.
We might call this the divine law, which God writes in mens hearts, as Paul says in verse 15. All men have
this standard in their minds, showing them Gods righteous requirements of them.
Every man is born with this innate knowledge of the divine law, in his mind. We can see this across all
cultures, in all men, in those without any knowledge of the Law of Moses. Their societies reflect it. Their
laws reflect it. Their philosophies reflect it. For example, murdering and stealing are universally
condemned. Justice, honesty and compassion are universally esteemed.
In addition to this innate knowledge that all men have in their minds, God has given all men a conscience.
The conscience is a reflective mechanism in the mind of man, which judges whether the mans thoughts or
conduct are right or wrong.
When the conscience judges something to be in violation of the divine Law, we experience what we call a
guilty conscience. And when our thoughts or actions are in agreement with the divine Law, our conscience
is clear.
The conscience is like a judge. It informs a man when his thoughts are in violation of the divine law,
written in his heart Thats wrong! And then in the responding thoughts of the mans heart, he
acknowledges this what Im doing is sin! Its the mans own reasoning that makes the accusation
against him, bearing witness to what the judge has declared.
But theres also a witness for the defense. In his mind, the man often attempts to defend his thoughts or his
conduct; he excuses himself, rationalizing what he is doing, trying to allay his guilty conscience, and get
that inner judge to back off so he can do what he pleases. We all have had this experience; it is universal.
The conscience provides a reliable witness to the divine Law that God has placed in mens minds. This is
generally true, unless a man has violated his conscience to the point of rendering it insensitive (1 Tim 4:2,
the seared conscience) - which can also be done throughout an entire culture.
In addition to the conscience, the believer has the Holy Spirit who provides additional light, to guide the
conscience in its rulings.
But just as there can be complicated legal cases, in which what the judge should rule is uncertain, there can
be complications from life, which can make the judgment of the conscience uncertain. This is what Paul is
referring to when he speaks of a weak conscience, back in our passage in Corinthians. The conscience is
not sure whether something is right or wrong.
[Return to First Corinthians 8]
Looking again at verse 7, there are some believers in Corinth for whom the memories of their former
patterns of pagan worship are still very near to their conscious thoughts. Such memories would be easily
triggered - particularly if these believers were to repeat a ritual from their former manner of life.

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The memories that rush into their minds rise up to contend with the thinking that the Holy Spirit has been
sharing with them (Gal 5:17). Meanwhile, their conscience can become confused between the old familiar
patterns of thought, and this new thinking from God that is being revealed to them.
What was all right before is wrong now - or maybe it is okay. The conscience is weak, waffling back and
forth, uncertain which way to rule in the matter. This leaves the conscience defiled; its ability to render a
judgment has been violated by overwhelming thoughts, coming from both sides of the issue.
This is not unusual to see in new converts. And of course, it would also be true for those who have not
purposed in their hearts to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. In both cases, such believers are
particularly vulnerable to setbacks, in their walk of faith.
So for these believers, if they were to now eat something that they knew had been offered to an idol, they
would still tend to think of it as eating in honor of the god which the idol represented - which is what they
had believed all of their lives, until now. The former association was still strong, in their minds.
Now, the Corinthians who knew that the idol was nothing knew that the sacrifice was just like any other
meat, to be eaten. And because they saw themselves as enlightened, this would tend to make them think
they were superior to these brethren who were not so sure. So as Paul continues, he is intent on showing
them this is not so.
v. 8 Paul is saying that God does not approve of the libertines in Corinth because they freely eat all foods
everywhere, based on what they know - or at least, what they think they know. Nor does God disapprove
of the weak brothers, who are not eating certain foods, because they think it is wrong. Its not about the
food. And this brings Paul to the heart of the matter - the matter of the heart.
v. 9 Here we see Paul issuing his first warning over this matter of eating in the idols temple: Beware.
Notice that Paul says, this liberty of yours; not liberty that the Lord had given them, but liberty that they
were extending to themselves.
This word for liberty is literally power in the Greek; here, the idea is the right to do something. They
think that what they know gives them the right to do it.
Paul is saying, beware of that thinking; for you never have the right to do something, if it causes someone
else to stumble; that is, if it leads them to sin. And in this case, the one caused to sin by their supposed
right would be a weak brother.
Paul then goes on to explain how the exercise of their liberty can harm the weak brother.
v. 10-12 We need to carefully think through what Paul is saying here. As Paul begins in verse 10, he says,
if anyone sees you. This could describe a hypothetical situation, or an actual situation. But once we
come to verse 12, we recognize that Paul is speaking with certainty: when you thus sin against the
brethren.
The literal translation on the bottom of your word sheet also bears this out: And sinning in this way
against your brothers, and wounding their conscience, being weak, you sin against Christ (8:12,
Interlinear, Jay Green). The verbs sinning and wounding reflect repetitive action.

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The libertines were not asking Pauls permission to do this; they were already doing it, in fact, repeatedly
so; their questioning of Paul in their letter was their attempt to justify to him what they were in fact already
doing.
But just what were they doing? Well, clearly, they were going back to the temple, and participating once
again in the pagan feasts, eating the sacrificial meat that had been offered to the idol, in honor of the socalled god.
But look again at how Paul begins in verse 10: For if anyone sees you. Who is this anyone that Paul
has in mind, here? The weak brother. In order to see the libertines eating at the temple, the weak brother
must have been there.
What would this weak brother be doing at the temple? A believer that is not well established in the faith
would have taken great pains to steer clear of the temple, which still evoked such vivid memories for him.
So why would he be there?
Would he not be there because the libertines had invited him to join them? That is certainly the most likely
reason. And why would they do that? They think that they can free this brother up, of all his hang-ups
about the idols.
Theyre telling him that the idols are nothing, so its okay to eat things sacrificed to them; its just food;
theyre free to eat it. Theyre saying the temple is nothing, because the gods arent real; its just a building;
theyre free to go in it, like any other building. And they explain to this weak brother that this is what
freedom in Christ is all about.
And no doubt the weak brother looks up to them. He thinks they know; they sound like they know; they
act like they know. They certainly think they know! And this freedom they seem to have looks attractive.
So he goes along with them. And he sees them eating - and he thinks, they must be right; after all, I know
that theres only one God now. So he plucks up his courage, and eats the food that had been sacrificed to
the idol in the temple.
But what happens to the weak brother? All of the old associations come rushing back into his mind, and his
wavering conscience is overwhelmed.
What am I doing? I am eating food in the temple, in honor of the gods, like I used to do; thats
dishonoring to the one true God, who I chose to believe in.
No, no; this is just food like any other; I am learning about my freedom in Christ.
But I dont feel free; I feel guilty. And Im sitting here fellowshipping with a bunch of idol-worshippers!
No Im not; Im fellowshipping with other Christ Ones; we just happen to be doing it in the temple which is just a building.
So why do I feel like Im doing something wrong?
And so his thoughts rage back and forth, assaulting his uncertain conscience until it is powerless to render
any right judgment.

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The word translated perish in verse 11 can also be translated be destroyed or ruined. The word can
be used to mean eternal ruin, or it can mean an occasion of ruin, which is its significance here.
Paul is not saying that when the weak brother participates again in the pagan feasts, he loses his salvation;
he is saying the weak brother loses ground, in his walk with the Lord. Eating at the pagan feasts is an
occasion of ruin for him; a loss of his well-being. Its a terrible setback for him, as a Christ one.
Paul chooses this word for perish deliberately. It stands in contrast to the word emboldened in verse
10. Thats the same word as translated edifies in verse 1 - built up.
The weak brother is built up with a false sense of freedom, based on the puffed-up knowledge of the
libertines. That blows up in his face, and he is left deflated, defeated; his progress hindered, in the life of
the faith. Love would have built him up; but instead, knowledge, misapplied, tore him down.
In verse 11, Paul drives his point home. Christ died for that weak brother. The weak brother was saved by
the Lords love, who loved him unto death to accomplish that salvation. And now, would this brother who
Christ saved be destroyed by the knowledge of these arrogant, insensitive libertines, in the name of their
freedom and right?
And finally, in verse 12, Paul make is clear that what the libertines were doing, which they thought of as
their freedom and right, was nothing less than sin on their part - and sin against Christ, at that, for they had
led a member of His Body to stumble into sin. This renders Christs Body dysfunctional, impeding the
purpose of that Body - to reconcile men to God.
Paul brings this out in his letter to the Romans. Turn to Romans chapter 14.
The issue in Rome did not have to do with former pagan Gentiles participating in the pagan feasts, but just
with believers eating any and all food - including that which was sold in the marketplace, which may or
may not have been offered to idols.
Paul will cover that issue in chapter 10 of our letter, showing the Corinthian assembly that they were free to
eat any food - with a few qualifications.
But for the assembly in Rome, the issue was between Jew and Gentile. The Jewish brethren ate only
vegetables, because they feared that eating meat that may have been offered to idols would dishonor God.
The Gentile brethren ate freely, without such concerns - food is food, God gave it to be eaten.
But Paul cautioned the Gentile brethren not to eat meat if it would cause their Jewish brethren to stumble.
Well begin in verse 14.
[Romans 14:14-23]
v. 14 Here Paul is speaking of eating food. Remember he used to be a Pharisee, who carefully observed
food restrictions, to avoid defilement. But Jesus had shown Paul that there were no unclean foods; God
created all foods to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth (1 Tim 4:3).
However, as we learned in our letter, there was not in everyone that knowledge, right? In this case, some of
the Jewish brethren still believed some foods to be unclean; that eating such foods would defile them. Paul
says, for them, it is unclean, then; so we see what they think about the food matters.

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v. 15 Now Paul takes up the case of the Gentile brother who believes he is free to eat all foods; he believes
that food does not defile a man. But his Jewish brother, who sees him eat, thinks it is defiling, and that the
Gentile brother is now defiled. The Gentile brothers freedom is causing the Jewish brother to stumble.
Paul makes it clear that in this case, the Gentile should limit his freedom, so as not to hinder the walk of his
brother; thats what love would do. And here, as in our letter, Paul puts it into the perspective of the
sacrifice of Christ; dont bring to nothing the one who is of such value to Christ, that He gave His life for
him.
v. 16-18 Now Paul has them consider how this looks to those outside the church. If the Gentile brethren
misuse their freedom, those on the outside will view that freedom as evil - for what will they see?
Theyll see brethren who are arrogant and insensitive, inconsiderate of others; and theyll see brethren who
are offended and angered by the way these brothers are conducting themselves; and brethren who are
confused, vacillating in their minds about the issue; and everywhere, theyll see disputes and disunity. Will
they see love? No.
Paul is saying that their freedom to eat and drink is not what will draw others into the kingdom; instead,
others are drawn to God when they see the exercise of the eternal qualities of Gods kingdom righteousness, peace, and joy, which are manifest in the one who is willing to exercise his freedom in
submission to Christ. This is what men approve, and are drawn to.
v. 19 Paul is saying, be willing to limit your freedom, in order to build up a weaker brother in the faith.
Now Paul looks at that from the negative perspective.
v. 20-21 The work of God is the building up of the Body of Christ - which only God can do. But any
member of Christs Body can effectively ruin Gods work, any time he causes a brother to stumble in his
walk. He can get tripped up either by seeing his brother eating what he considers to be unclean foods, or by
getting persuaded to eat those foods, himself - which, as Paul says in verse 20, is evil to him, since he truly
thinks the food is unclean.
Of course, the issue is not limited to foods. Or to drinks. Any conduct, causing another member of the
Body to sin, is a sin against Christ Himself. But how do we know what conduct of ours might cause a
brother to sin? We trust the Holy Spirit to enlighten us to that, so that we exercise our freedom rightly under the guiding hand of Love.
Paul then concludes the matter with a word to both the Gentile and Jewish brother.
v. 22 To the Gentile brother, Paul is essentially saying, you believe you are free? So you are - but keep it
to yourself! In other words, dont impose your freedom upon others. Then youll have a clear conscience.
v. 23 And this is to the Jewish brother. Paul says if youre not sure that what youre eating is undefiled,
dont eat it. If you believe it is unclean, then its not right in your mind to eat it; so deliberately eating it
would be sin. That which is not of faith is sin. If you cant trust God about doing something, then you
dishonor God, if you do it.
Although the issue is somewhat different in this letter, we can see that in both cases, freedom is always to
operate within the bounds of love; outside of that, freedom does not abound; sin abounds.

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[Return to First Corinthians]

Paul concludes with a powerful statement designed to show how far love should be willing to go.
v. 13 Now, the issue was eating in the temple. But Paul broadens that here, to show that a Christ One
should be willing to be even more restrictive - not eating any meat at all - if it was an issue for a brother.
Notice the use of the first person singular pronoun in this verse. Paul is showing this to be his personal take
on it; this is what Paul himself would do.
Its a matter of truly being willing to put the needs of another member of the Body before our own desires doing whats best for them. And thats no less than love would do!
Reading: 1 Cor 9-10, Acts 26:1-20