July 22 Click on verses for Full Scripture

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Today's Pathway: I Corinthians 10:28-30 But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof: Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience? For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?

We finished yesterday with Paul's comment in verse 28 that if a believer was invited to an unsaved man's home for a meal and the host made a point of saying that the meat being served at had been offered to idols, then the believer should abstain from eating the meat for the sake of the conscience of the lost man. In verse 29 Paul reminds his readers that this is to be done not because of the believer's conscience, but for the lost man's conscience. The believer knows that he has the liberty to eat, so his conscience is not the issue. The concern is for the unsaved host, who may interpret the believer's eating of the meat as being an endorsement of the false god, or perhaps as hypocrisy since he knows that believers are to abstain from idolatry. If there is a possibility that the Christian eating the meat might push the unbeliever further away from salvation, then the believer must not do it.

The second half of verse 29 sounds like Paul is contradicting what he just said. However, the entire passage must be taken in context. Paul has his liberty to eat meat sacrificed to idols. No one has the right to say that he does not have that freedom, or to criticize him for exercising that freedom. His conscience belongs to God, and if the Scriptures grant him liberty then no one has the right to say that he is in the wrong for exercising it. However, because he loves his brothers in Christ, and because he loves the lost, he is willing to voluntarily surrender his liberty if that is what it takes to bring others into a right relationship with the Lord.

In verse 30 Paul reaffirms his liberty, and asks why he should be criticized for exercising it. He is specifically referring to eating meat at the unsaved man's home. However, he is not talking about being criticized by the unsaved man, but being criticized by his brothers in Christ. In his illustration, according to this verse, he was a partaker in the meal "by grace". God, in His grace, allowed Paul to go to the man's home for dinner. In addition, he gave thanks to the Lord for what he was being given to eat. This has a two-fold application. First, he recognizes that God had provided the meal, and thanks Him for it. We have seen this principle previously in Romans 14:6, where Paul wrote,

"He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks."

"For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving."

"We should give thanks for the food and for our liberty and then express our liberty by choosing not to eat the food that offends the brother. How can we be thankful to the Lord for something a Christian brother or sister, or an unsaved man, is going to stumble over?"

We must understand the liberty that we have in Christ, as well as the liberty that other believers have. But, we must also realize that our personal liberty is not nearly as important as the spiritual needs of others.