When can you do something that you know is oky, even if others don’t agree? Paul has the answer:
I love the way the New Living Translation phrases verse 2 “anyone who thinks they have all the answers really doesn’t know very much”. He goes on to say that God is interested in the reasons for our actions (our motives) just as much as He is interested in the actions themselves. If you are operating from the motivation of sacrificial (agape) love, then even if you make a mistake, I think God will take that into consideration.
The question of the day was “can we eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols”? This meat was probably plentiful, and available at a lower cost than the meat that hadn’t been handled already. The believers likely had an economic reason for wanting permission to eat it. On the other hand, there were believers that still considered these other gods to be real.
That’s a whole thought in an of itself… Paul is saying that there are believers who are so young in their faith that they haven’t adopted the idea that Jesus is the one and only real God. They must have recognized that He is the one necessary for salvation, or they couldn’t be saved, but they haven’t grown up in their faith yet to realize that there really aren’t any other gods. I think this says something to the church. We have (or should have) very young believers who haven’t processed all the basic tenets of Christianity at the time they convert. That’s okay, as long as they keep growing.
And how do we make sure that these folks don’t get sidetracked? We take special care not to place large theological hurdles in their way. Allow the Holy Spirit some time to establish Himself by way of experience and imparting wisdom and insight before challenging their entire worldview.
Paul says “I know the meat really hasn’t been tainted in any way….they offered it to a chunk of stone, or a block of wood…for Pete’s sake. But don’t eat it, because you have some fairly fragile new Christians among you who could be shaken by your actions.”
Let me add one more thought here: Young believers get “a pass” on some of the stickier theological stuff. But that doesn’t mean you can stay “young” forever. There comes a time when you should have grown enough that you can handle these challenging issues, and not be swayed by them. If a person who should be mature insists on living in a way that doesn’t testify to the power of the whole Gospel, it might be an attempt to control the actions of other believers by claiming that they themselves are “weak”. For instance “you can’t wear blue jeans to church, because I feel that dishonors God”.
This is called “the tyranny of the weak” and sometimes it’s employed unintentionally. Other times…well, not so much. We should examine all situations to make sure that our actions are genuine and motivated by love for others, not by fear or reluctance to make a strong statement about who we believe God is. Paul chastised Peter for not eating “unclean” foods, or hanging out with the Gentiles once the Jews came to town. That’s because Peter doesn’t get the benefit of the “weaker brother”. He is a mature believer and is challenged in the way he should be. That’s the only way we grow.
Celebrating challenges, even when they are difficult,
PR