A Matter of Conscience

Greetings, and God’s grace be upon you this day!

I would like to begin by asking you a question.  What would it be like to be raised in a society which knew nothing of the true God, yet which boasted of how religious it was and which fostered multiple options for religious expression?

When the apostles begin to leave Jerusalem and travel to other regions of the world, they encountered cultures which knew very little, if anything, about Israel’s God.  Those who traveled to Asia found beliefs which dated back centuries, beliefs such as ancestor worship, the worship of the physical elements of this world, such as animals, the wind, earth, sun, and stars.  Then there were the religions which focused on meditation and the goal of connecting spiritually with some higher power.

Those Apostles which traveled into Egypt and Africa found many of the same beliefs which were present when Moses led the people out of slavery.  The deeper they traveled into Africa the more they came into contact with animism.  

Those who went West, into Europe, were faced with the entrenched religions of the ancient Greeks and Romans.  Along with these, the law of the land allowed all religions to coexist together.  Roman society, in particular, seemed fascinated with all its multiple gods and how these gods provide for every aspect of life.  Fertility was a key theme and sexuality played a major role in the worship of the gods.

Into this world the Apostles of Jesus stepped forth with the truth of the one true God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The message they proclaimed brought salvation and hope to millions of people!  The challenge was that “old ways and beliefs die hard.”  It is so easy for a person to fall back into old beliefs and practices when the opportunity presents itself.

Take for example the alcoholic.  We encourage every recovering alcoholic to not only abstain from drinking, but to avoid all situations where alcohol is present.  The temptation is real, and the danger of relapse is ever-present. At the same time, it would be a crass and unloving act to invite a recovering alcoholic to your home and serve alcohol at the dinner table.  We understand the need to avoid all forms of temptation.

This is essentially what Paul is saying about how we approach idol worship in the world around us and how it can affect young Christians who are struggling to disconnect from their former lives.
 
However, not all people have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled.  Now food will not bring us close to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat. 1 Corinthians 8:7-8

Paul is simply stating the obvious.  There are some Christians who have become spiritually mature to the point that they understand that an idol is nothing.  It is not real in any way.  If it is not real, then it is impossible to worship it.  Thus, the meat sold from the temple is not tainted with the worship of an idol, but was simply used in the unfortunate deception propagated upon the people present at the temple.
 
A Christian with this mature understanding can sit and eat a meal comprised of such sacrificed meat and have no trouble of conscience.  An idol is nothing!  They worship the one true God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
 
On the other hand, the young or immature Christian, who has not grown in their faith to the proper understanding of the nature of an idol, could easily believe that eating such meat is in fact worshiping a god other than Jesus.  Paul says, their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

The word Paul uses for “defiled” is the same word used to address the contract between what is clean and what is unclean in the Jewish understanding of purity before God.  To be unclean is to be stained, dirty, and unworthy before God.

Paul is saying that the young or immature believer is made to feel defiled before God because they know the worship of a different god is sinful and thus it makes them unworthy and unacceptable to stand in His presence.  While the mature Christian knows this is not true because an idol is no god at all, the young in faith can bear the guilt of betraying God and turn from Him as one who, in their minds, is unacceptable.  Paul is quick to say that the issue of eating meat is no issue at all.  Food will not bring us close to God or cause us to be distant from God.  What is at stake in the heart of the believer.

We should all stop and reflect on the world in which we live today.  It is not so different than the world of Paul’s day.  There are many religions and belief systems which coexist in harmony, with Christianity standing as the lone beacon calling people to the truth.  Actions of individual Christians and of the Church in general can, at times, become a stumbling block to young believers.  We who are mature must be extremely careful not to be the cause of these stumbling blocks.  The young believers in our midst need us to guide them in their faith and walk with them on the path to maturity.  Each of us needs to remember that disconnecting from the world and it’s beliefs does not happen overnight, but it is a process which can take time.  We would do well to listen to Paul and live out our faith in such a way as to encourage those around us.

Blessings to you,
Pastor Russ