Freedom and Conscience

Read 1 Corinthians 8:1-8.

First Corinthians 8 is not about an issue plainly forbidden in Scripture. It’s not about matters that had already been settled in the Word of God long ago. Rather, it’s about the individual believer making a wise decision under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Paul was dealing particularly with an issue that was left up to individual believers to decide for themselves: meat sacrificed to idols.

You see, in first-century Corinth, much of the meat being sold or served had been previously offered to an idol. But it was just meat—good meat. The mature believers recognized this, and they ate the meat with a clean conscience. But the weaker Christians in the church would not even think of eating meat that had been placed before an idol. It was a reminder of their previous way of life, and their consciences would not permit it. One group operated under the freedom we have in Christ; the other was not ready to exercise such freedom. Neither group was sinning in their response to the issue.

In our culture, the issues are different, but the same principle should apply. Sadly, we have little balance between legalism and license today. The legalist, on the one hand, thinks they’ll not make it to heaven unless they keep certain rules. On the other extreme is the blatant flaunting of freedom into promiscuousness. Now, liberty and freedom are at the very core of the Christian faith (see John 8:31-32, 2 Corinthians 3:17, and Galatians 5:1). But freedom and liberty do not mean that we have an unbridled license to sin. Freedom in Christ never means freedom to sin.

Gray areas of the Christian life should not divide us. When God takes hold of our lives, we will live to serve, humbling ourselves rather than sowing strife among God’s people. Therefore those who exercise their freedom in Christ (not to sin, but to live unbound by man-made rules) should not flaunt their freedom before fellow believers. At the same time, weaker Christians must never imagine these secondary issues are matters of salvation. No one’s spiritual temperature should be measured by their ability to keep man-made rules. God has given us a Spirit-filled life, not a rule-bound life.

Prayer: Lord, I rejoice in the freedom I have in You. Help me pursue righteousness toward my brothers and sisters in Christ through humility and love. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.