Reflections on 1 Corinthians 10:28
“But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake.” (1 Corinthians 10:28, KJV)
Paul has just told the believers in Corinth that they are free to eat what is set before them without asking questions. Then he adds this: if someone at the table tells you the meal was offered to an idol, don’t eat it. The Remedy puts it plainly: not because there is actually anything wrong with the food, but to avoid confusion.
Our choices matter. Someone is always watching. We need to be aware of the effect our actions have on the babies in the truth, those just learning about the freedom they will find in a relationship with Christ.
We know in our own hearts that demons have no power to change the value of our food. The only effect Satan has is on our mind and heart, and the only power he has in our life is the power our belief gives him. But the person just coming out of that belief doesn’t know this yet. For him, the meal is still tangled up with the lie.
The way out of that lie is to know the real God, and that is exactly why Christ came. He lived as a human, right among us, eating what we eat, confined to the same body we live in, all to reveal one thing: who God truly is. Christ Himself said, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). If we do not know the god we worship, we do not have life eternal. This is huge. And it tells us that today, two thousand years later, we can actually know the God revealed in the life Christ lived.
As we become more aware of this actual Person who is with us every day, right beside us where He has always been, we become more aware of who we actually are. His acknowledged presence in a life is uplifting and ennobling. We become more caring of others, more useful, more loving to those in our charge. We become servants, as Christ was a servant. This is our happy duty.
So when the child in the faith speaks up and tells us the food was offered to an idol, everything about the meal changes. The food is no longer something we are free to consume. The man is now our focus.
So we walk away from the food, sit down with the man, and tell him about the freedom he truly has in Christ, slowly and with wisdom, as he is able to take it in. His warning told us a great deal about him. He was seeking truth. He wanted to know if we understood it too. He was asking for our understanding. These are questions he is ready to hear the answers to; they have been asked.
The Lord has brought you your work for the evening.
