Wednesday, July 30, 2014

The Ultimate Expresssion of Liberty

1 Corinthians 8:10 KJV
For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;

The two men eat the same meat, from the same table at the same time but they do have the same heart.
The one eats the meat knowing that there is but one true and living God. He knows that idols are
  • Empty
  • Powerless before God and
  • Nothing
He eats the meat to nourish his body and thanks the living God for providing it.

The other eats the meat believing it to be a sacrifice to other gods. The context tells me that he is either a believer or else he is interested in the truth but not yet come to the truth. He sees the more mature Christian at the table and makes assumptions that, though false, hinder him in knowing the truth. He believes the more mature Christian also eats in honor of the idol.

The lesson of the passage for the Christian is that, as unfair as it may seem, our place is to go the extra mile to prevent these false assumptions to be made of us. If it means setting aside our liberty, not doing for a time what we know we may do, we set liberty down for the good of someone else.


This may be the ultimate expression of liberty; to take upon ourselves a yoke that is not necessary for ourselves but is helpful to another.

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