Can an action be sinful for you, but not for me? Or is a sin a sin, regardless of the context? I'd love to hear a discussion on this in the comment section!
Here's my view: Paul seems to be saying that you sin if you do something innocent - but believe in your heart that it is wrong. Violating your conscience is itself a sin.
The case in point is food sacrificed to idols. Paul is saying that those who are knowledgeable about such things knows that there really are no "gods" and therefore the offering is just food - it isn't anything tainted spiritually. It can be eaten with a clear conscience. BUT - some people, perhaps still under superstition, believe that the food really has been sacrificed to an idol and that they are engaging in idol-worship by eating it. For one person, eating the food is no big deal and certainly not a sin because they know it is merely food. But for another person, who eats the same food, only against his conscience and feeling guilty about it, is actually sinning through his action.
And here comes the really important point that Paul wants to make to the Corinthians: the first person who wasn't sinning against his conscience when he ate freely could still be guilty of a sin against a weaker brother because he has injured that brother's conscience. In other words, that action of eating idol-meat can become sinful again, not because the food is somehow spiritually tainted but because the action is. You're dragging a brother into sin against his conscience because of what you are doing.
A modern-day example may be alcohol. Some well-meaning Christians are sincerely convinced that all alcohol is bad and a sin to drink a drop. Yet it would be difficult to argue that absolute position biblically. In my opinion, a Christian can drink alcohol in moderation and not sin. However, to do so in front of a weaker brother, or to cajole someone into drinking also because "it's not a sin" (when it really is to them) may itself be a sin like that described above, where we are wounding their conscience.
The moral of the chapter is to not lead anyone to sin against their conscience, even if the action is, by itself, non-sinful.
The debate really gets interesting when you start considering what specific actions may be permissible and which are truly sinful - and which ones are sinful only because of weak consciences!
I posted a comment and it did not show up. This is just a test post to see if it was a one time occurrence or if something else is wrong.
ReplyDeleteOk, looks like I will have to retype this.
ReplyDeleteI think it comes down to the heart of the person who is doing the act. If they are engaging in an action and feel a sense of conviction that this may be something that would cause an onlooking believer to stumble, they should cease to do that activity no matter how right or justified they think they are. I may feel no conviction whatsoever when I (hypothetically speaking) drink a second beer after I finish mowing the grass. I know that I have the Christian liberty to do that. But if I know that my drinking in front of a new or weaker believer would cause them to stumble, I should not engage in that act in their presence.
This is a question I get a lot from my seminary friends. They know I do not drink for personal reasons. And when we have lunch out together, they ask if it would be a problem for me if they had a beer while we ate. If I were to say that I did have a problem with it, and that it may take me to a bad place, and they still decided to drink one in my presence, I feel like that would be a sin. Their actions could have caused me to have thoughts that I know are not edifying or pleasing to God.
I feel like when Paul refers to those who are puffed up with knowledge, he is referring to those who know what the book says and how much they can get away with. They know where the line is, and while they may tip-toe it, they do not cross it. I think what Paul is getting at here is that our model to other Christians should not be how to tip-toe the line, but how to live in a way that models love, and that puts others ahead of self.