5For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
6But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
7Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
8But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.
9But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.
10For 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;
11And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
12But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
13Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
Now when we read 1 Corinthinas 8:4-13, it is clear, plain as day tht Paul is addressing meat offered unto idols. We know that idol worship is sin in both the old and new testaments because we should only be worshipping one God...Jesus Christ. In summary, Paul is so concerned about the spiritual welfare of new saints in Christ that he committed himself to not eat meat at all, if eating meat would cause his weaker brother in Christ to stumble or fall into sin or feel condemned through conscience sake. In other words, Paul would abstain from eating any kind of meat, not just meat offered unto idols, if by him eating meat, it caused weaker saints to fall into the sin of eating meat that was offered to idols. This chapter in a nutshell is very wise and shows genuine love for the brethren and their souls. However, many things that is called "offense" in the body of Christ today can be traced back to wrong interpretations of scriptures and scriptures taken out of context to mean what the reader wants it to say to validate their own opinion and views. Just to provide some history, years ago almost everything and I mean almost EVERYTHING was pretty much considered a sin. There was a time when saints would not dare step into a movie theater or go to a football game but NOW saints are signing their children up to play sports and other such like things. I'm reminded of a pastor who shared his story of how his grandfather, which was also his pastor, forbade all his grandsons from shooting marbles because of the scripture John 3:7 "MARVEL not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again". Clearly this scripture was taken out of context because of a lack of understanding of what the scripture meant. The definition of Marvel means to be filled with astonishment or wonder. The word marble is a small ball of colored glass or similar material used as a toy. Jesus told Nicodemus not to Marvel or not to be amazed and wonder but to know that he must be born again. He did not tell Nicodemus not to Marble or not to play with marbles because shooting marbles was a sin. That is only one occasion where scripture got misread, minterpreted, and misunderstood and thereby, heavy restrictions and rules were placed on people as a result. Now back to the sports and movies things that used to be sinful or worldly back in the day. The question is why are saints not only going to these types of things and even encouraging and paying for their children to participate in them? Because many people have discovered that a lot of things they were taught back then by older spiritual leaders were not necessarily wrong or sinful in and of itself and they have found ways to enjoy life and have fun and allow their kids to do so without such heavy burdens and still maintain their walk with Christ. This is not to say that everything playing at the movie theater is God-approved, but there are some good shows that play that even Christians can take to heart, such as the movie War Room. We did not go to the theater to see the movie but we rented it from RedBox and it was a tearjerker. One of the older saints in our church testified that her children offered to take her to see the movie War Room but they had never offered to take her to see anything else at the movies. The reason they chose War Room for their mother is because it was a show for Christian audiences and even those who don't know the Lord but just need to learn how to pray. Suppose she would have turned them down for holding on to a teaching that she would have backslidden by going to see that movie? No, she went with her adult kids and enjoyed it and came to church and testified about it and that is what made me and my husband go and rent the movie and I must say it was worth watching!! I'm getting closer to the Offense thing in the body of Christ. The scriptures lay out what is truly sin but Paul went a step further to say that we should not cause another person to stumble or fall in sin with the way we use our liberty. So with the movie theater example, if someone else who heard the older mother saying that she went to the movies and they decide to go see an R-rated movie with Martin Lawrence and Kevin Hart, for example, based on the fact that they heard the older mother say she went to the movies, then they have clearly over stepped their conscience of what they know is right and wrong and if the older mother is aware that they did this because of her testimony of going to the movies liberally, then she would be guilty of causing a weaker saint to offend. Now where the guilt would not be laid upon her is if the weaker saint knew that she did not go to see an R-rated movie but went to see a PG and was in an atmosphere where lust, profanity, and other sins were not in action. However, she explained in her testimony that she did not make a regular habit of going to theaters but went that one time to see War Room. What I'm saying here is we can magnify things to be something that they are not and accuse people of being in sin and causing others to stumble when that is totally not the case. Some people get offended over things that they were "taught" was sinful (such as going to sports and shooting marbles) and they believe that others are in sin when they see them doing these things. As a result, many Christians made commitments and even vows not to do this, not to do that, not to wear this, and not to wear that for the simple fact that it might offend a brother or sister in Christ. And if you make a vow then you are bound to keep it. So that is why many of them still do not change from their original stance because they promised to remain a certain way in the beginning of their walk with Christ even after discovering that they had been taught wrong. The type of offend that many people use today has little if any thing to do with the type of offense that Paul talked about in 1 Cor. 8. Many people get offended, which jealous is the more appropriate word, because some Christians have more liberty to do certain things than they do because for #1 they did not make a vow from the get-go and #2 their spiritual leaders have more wisdom and better interpretation of the scriptures and permit his congregation to do/wear certain things with balance and moderation. God does not expect us to hold others accountable for our own personal convictions. Neither does he want us to do something or not to do something just to please another Christian knowing that it is really not in our hearts to do so because that would be hypocritical. Where Paul said he would not eat meat as long as the world stands, takes the offense to a whole different level where a brother or sister's soul salvation would be at stake if they went back to eating meat offered to idols and eventually ended up in idol worship simply because they were watching Paul as he ate meat. Again, I say, some things are not that serious with people of today but they are just filled with jealousy and try to redirect it as "offense". In this modern age where social media is very popular even among Christians, I've learned that other Christians become so easily offended over little of nothing in other Christians. People get offended over saints posting pictures, videos, or statuses of their new hairstyles, new cars, new promotions in the ministry, new jobs, new homes, or anything that shows the blessings and favor of God on their lives. Now with 1 Cor. 8 extremely taken out of context, then our modern day Christians would have to not get a new hairstyle, not get a new car, not except a promotion in ministry, turn down job offers, and not buy a new home so that they will not become a stumbling block and cause a weaker saint to offend. I hope I sound really absurd because that's exactly what it is. Uniformity is not necessarily unity and keeping everybody on the same level, being the same way, with the same tastes, and never changing, progressing, and becoming better is not what Paul meant when he said I will not eat meat as long as the world stands. Many pastors have failed gravely at trying to keep their congregants all on the same plateau without realizing that people outgrow certain things and people and must move on to perfection. And if somebody cannot take that for what it is worth without going back into a world of sin and shame, then they already had more problems that what just a little offense could bring out. It is this kind of "offense" belief that keep some saints from trying to excel in life because they are afraid that either they will sin and become proud or cause someone else to sin. So they settle for mediocrity and being at the bottom of the barrel. But I'm of this persuasion, that if God blesses one Christian, then they should have enough love to be a blessing to other Christians and help lift them up out of negative thinking and being offended by everything that they either don't understand or don't agree with. Yes, people of the Church have changed. All of the change has not been good but all of it has not been bad either. Most of the good changes have occurred from saints studying the word for themselves, sitting under wise instructors, maintaining a consistent prayer life, and letting the Holy Spirit lead and guide them into all truth. On the flip side, some of the negative changes have occurred because people had been locked up in cages for so long without the privileges to do certain things that once they got a little leeway to get out from under such hard taskmasters, that they took off like a jet in the totally opposite direction of holiness. God is not calling us to go to those extremes either because that will really be offensive to both Christians and non-Christians who once looked up to a brother or sister in Christ. So yes, we do have a standard to hold up for the world to see and whether at a ball game or in a PG-rated movie (I don't recommend any other ratings), then we will shine forth as lights and tell a dying world that Jesus Saves to the utmost!!
Now when we read 1 Corinthinas 8:4-13, it is clear, plain as day tht Paul is addressing meat offered unto idols. We know that idol worship is sin in both the old and new testaments because we should only be worshipping one God...Jesus Christ. In summary, Paul is so concerned about the spiritual welfare of new saints in Christ that he committed himself to not eat meat at all, if eating meat would cause his weaker brother in Christ to stumble or fall into sin or feel condemned through conscience sake. In other words, Paul would abstain from eating any kind of meat, not just meat offered unto idols, if by him eating meat, it caused weaker saints to fall into the sin of eating meat that was offered to idols. This chapter in a nutshell is very wise and shows genuine love for the brethren and their souls. However, many things that is called "offense" in the body of Christ today can be traced back to wrong interpretations of scriptures and scriptures taken out of context to mean what the reader wants it to say to validate their own opinion and views. Just to provide some history, years ago almost everything and I mean almost EVERYTHING was pretty much considered a sin. There was a time when saints would not dare step into a movie theater or go to a football game but NOW saints are signing their children up to play sports and other such like things. I'm reminded of a pastor who shared his story of how his grandfather, which was also his pastor, forbade all his grandsons from shooting marbles because of the scripture John 3:7 "MARVEL not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again". Clearly this scripture was taken out of context because of a lack of understanding of what the scripture meant. The definition of Marvel means to be filled with astonishment or wonder. The word marble is a small ball of colored glass or similar material used as a toy. Jesus told Nicodemus not to Marvel or not to be amazed and wonder but to know that he must be born again. He did not tell Nicodemus not to Marble or not to play with marbles because shooting marbles was a sin. That is only one occasion where scripture got misread, minterpreted, and misunderstood and thereby, heavy restrictions and rules were placed on people as a result. Now back to the sports and movies things that used to be sinful or worldly back in the day. The question is why are saints not only going to these types of things and even encouraging and paying for their children to participate in them? Because many people have discovered that a lot of things they were taught back then by older spiritual leaders were not necessarily wrong or sinful in and of itself and they have found ways to enjoy life and have fun and allow their kids to do so without such heavy burdens and still maintain their walk with Christ. This is not to say that everything playing at the movie theater is God-approved, but there are some good shows that play that even Christians can take to heart, such as the movie War Room. We did not go to the theater to see the movie but we rented it from RedBox and it was a tearjerker. One of the older saints in our church testified that her children offered to take her to see the movie War Room but they had never offered to take her to see anything else at the movies. The reason they chose War Room for their mother is because it was a show for Christian audiences and even those who don't know the Lord but just need to learn how to pray. Suppose she would have turned them down for holding on to a teaching that she would have backslidden by going to see that movie? No, she went with her adult kids and enjoyed it and came to church and testified about it and that is what made me and my husband go and rent the movie and I must say it was worth watching!! I'm getting closer to the Offense thing in the body of Christ. The scriptures lay out what is truly sin but Paul went a step further to say that we should not cause another person to stumble or fall in sin with the way we use our liberty. So with the movie theater example, if someone else who heard the older mother saying that she went to the movies and they decide to go see an R-rated movie with Martin Lawrence and Kevin Hart, for example, based on the fact that they heard the older mother say she went to the movies, then they have clearly over stepped their conscience of what they know is right and wrong and if the older mother is aware that they did this because of her testimony of going to the movies liberally, then she would be guilty of causing a weaker saint to offend. Now where the guilt would not be laid upon her is if the weaker saint knew that she did not go to see an R-rated movie but went to see a PG and was in an atmosphere where lust, profanity, and other sins were not in action. However, she explained in her testimony that she did not make a regular habit of going to theaters but went that one time to see War Room. What I'm saying here is we can magnify things to be something that they are not and accuse people of being in sin and causing others to stumble when that is totally not the case. Some people get offended over things that they were "taught" was sinful (such as going to sports and shooting marbles) and they believe that others are in sin when they see them doing these things. As a result, many Christians made commitments and even vows not to do this, not to do that, not to wear this, and not to wear that for the simple fact that it might offend a brother or sister in Christ. And if you make a vow then you are bound to keep it. So that is why many of them still do not change from their original stance because they promised to remain a certain way in the beginning of their walk with Christ even after discovering that they had been taught wrong. The type of offend that many people use today has little if any thing to do with the type of offense that Paul talked about in 1 Cor. 8. Many people get offended, which jealous is the more appropriate word, because some Christians have more liberty to do certain things than they do because for #1 they did not make a vow from the get-go and #2 their spiritual leaders have more wisdom and better interpretation of the scriptures and permit his congregation to do/wear certain things with balance and moderation. God does not expect us to hold others accountable for our own personal convictions. Neither does he want us to do something or not to do something just to please another Christian knowing that it is really not in our hearts to do so because that would be hypocritical. Where Paul said he would not eat meat as long as the world stands, takes the offense to a whole different level where a brother or sister's soul salvation would be at stake if they went back to eating meat offered to idols and eventually ended up in idol worship simply because they were watching Paul as he ate meat. Again, I say, some things are not that serious with people of today but they are just filled with jealousy and try to redirect it as "offense". In this modern age where social media is very popular even among Christians, I've learned that other Christians become so easily offended over little of nothing in other Christians. People get offended over saints posting pictures, videos, or statuses of their new hairstyles, new cars, new promotions in the ministry, new jobs, new homes, or anything that shows the blessings and favor of God on their lives. Now with 1 Cor. 8 extremely taken out of context, then our modern day Christians would have to not get a new hairstyle, not get a new car, not except a promotion in ministry, turn down job offers, and not buy a new home so that they will not become a stumbling block and cause a weaker saint to offend. I hope I sound really absurd because that's exactly what it is. Uniformity is not necessarily unity and keeping everybody on the same level, being the same way, with the same tastes, and never changing, progressing, and becoming better is not what Paul meant when he said I will not eat meat as long as the world stands. Many pastors have failed gravely at trying to keep their congregants all on the same plateau without realizing that people outgrow certain things and people and must move on to perfection. And if somebody cannot take that for what it is worth without going back into a world of sin and shame, then they already had more problems that what just a little offense could bring out. It is this kind of "offense" belief that keep some saints from trying to excel in life because they are afraid that either they will sin and become proud or cause someone else to sin. So they settle for mediocrity and being at the bottom of the barrel. But I'm of this persuasion, that if God blesses one Christian, then they should have enough love to be a blessing to other Christians and help lift them up out of negative thinking and being offended by everything that they either don't understand or don't agree with. Yes, people of the Church have changed. All of the change has not been good but all of it has not been bad either. Most of the good changes have occurred from saints studying the word for themselves, sitting under wise instructors, maintaining a consistent prayer life, and letting the Holy Spirit lead and guide them into all truth. On the flip side, some of the negative changes have occurred because people had been locked up in cages for so long without the privileges to do certain things that once they got a little leeway to get out from under such hard taskmasters, that they took off like a jet in the totally opposite direction of holiness. God is not calling us to go to those extremes either because that will really be offensive to both Christians and non-Christians who once looked up to a brother or sister in Christ. So yes, we do have a standard to hold up for the world to see and whether at a ball game or in a PG-rated movie (I don't recommend any other ratings), then we will shine forth as lights and tell a dying world that Jesus Saves to the utmost!!
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