Handling Doubtful Things;
1Corinthians 8:8
1 Corinthians 8:8 NASB
“But food will not commend us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not
eat, nor the better if we do eat.”
This really has to do with decision
making, how to make the kinds of decisions that we should make about
participating in different things in life that are not specifically addressed
by the Scripture. In the minds of many people in Corinthian culture the meat,
eating at the restaurant, and then all of the mystical ritual activities,
including the ritual prostitution, were all considered to be part and parcel of
the same package. In the minds of many people they couldn’t separate the meat,
or even eating in the restaurant on the temple precincts, from what else went
on on the temple precincts. So there were, on the one
hand, those who felt that if you ate meat that had been sacrificed to idols
that somehow you were validating the entire idolatrous system and participating
in it. And then there were those who had been saved out of this background and
had because of their sin nature and lust of the flesh and their particular
weaknesses in the sin nature the tendency to see someone who went down to the
temple and ate at the restaurant, perhaps a more mature believer who went on
home and never engaged in any of the ritual prostitution or drunkenness or any
of the other things that went on, and just couldn’t look at it from the
standpoint of just going down and enjoying a good steak. If he went down and
had a good steak he would be so tempted by what was going on in the next room
he just couldn’t eat his steak and go home, he would have to go on and
participate in everything else. So there were some problems there and the
problem being addressed was how the believer could address those who had this
area of weakness, as well as a problem that isn’t so evident in the text of 1
Corinthians chapter eight itself, and that is, what do you do with the believer
who thinks that participation of any part somehow validates the whole?
Four laws that are at the core of any
kinds of decision making in the area of doubtful things
1)
The law of
liberty. This law is really directed toward one’s own self. It has to do with
one’s own position in Christ. Galatians 5:1 NASB “It was for freedom
that Christ set us free…” This law is a spiritual ordinance directed towards one’s self that emphasizes the believer’s freedom to glorify
the Lord. This law confers on every believer the right to enter into or
participate in any activity that is not stated to be sinful in the Scriptures
and will not cause personal failure in the spiritual life. In 1 Corinthians
9:4-6 NASB “Do we not have a right to eat and drink? … Do we not
have a right to take along a believing wife…? … Or do only Barnabas and I not
have a right to refrain from working?” It is a right. Furthermore, it is
lawful. [10:23] “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All
things are lawful, but not all things edify.” It is lawful, i.e. it does not violate
any of the mandates of God. [29] “I mean not your own conscience, but the other
{man’s;} for why is my freedom judged by another’s
conscience?” Paul clearly states the principle that every believer has liberty,
freedom, certain rights, and it is lawful. But that doesn’t mean that just
because it is our liberty and it is lawful that believers should always do
certain things in every situation. The question is that in that in many areas
of life the issue of participation or non-participation in an activity is not
related to morality, not to spirituality per se, it is not a
behaviour, a practice or custom that is prohibited in Scripture, but it
has to do with something that is simply a cultural norm.
2)
The law of love.
The law of love is directed toward other believers. This is a spiritual law
based on consideration for immature believers. 1 Corinthians
3)
The law of
expediency. This is directed toward unbelievers. In the law of expediency this
is a spiritual ordinance that is based on consideration for the unbeliever,
that the believer is going to refrain from certain activities, not because they
are sinful but because they may mislead or offend an unbeliever and prevent him
from recognizing the true issue of the gospel.
4)
The law of
personal sacrifice. This is a spiritual principle directed toward God that
involves the abandonment of a completely legitimate function in life in order
to more intensely serve the Lord in a specialized capacity. This is the idea
that for the time being I am going to give up something that I may have a
legitimate right to in order to serve the Lord in a more specialized
capacity. It may involve someone who has the gift of celibacy, who could get
married but chooses not to get married in order to serve the Lord in a more
specialized capacity. The motive underlying this sacrifice is always evangelism
and spiritual growth of the individual believer.