Chapters like 1 Cor 8 are not at all irrelevant to modern life, even if the practices they discuss are not of paramount importance to us today (having said that, to Jews and Muslims, how animals are butchered is of paramount significance, with kosher and halal meat sold to people of those faiths.) Such chapters show us that principles determine practices; in other words, whatever we do will reflect what we believe.

Paul was essentially practical and pragmatic in how he addressed situations, but he had reasons for what he did. He was firmly convinced that it wasn’t necessary to be circumcised in order to become a Christian (see 1 Cor 7:18-19, Gal 5:6), but he had no qualms about having Timothy circumcised before taking him with him on a missionary journey (Acts 16:3); in his view, the ceremony itself had no moral or spiritual value; it was simply good missionary strategy to have it done. He wasn’t troubled about eating meat which had been sacrificed to idols (1 Cor 8:8, Rom 14:14), but if he thought that eating might compromise the preaching of Christ crucified and cause a believer to sin, that was enough to hold him back from eating that meat (1 Cor 8:13). Mark Thompson writes ‘an issue in one context may be a matter of indifference, but, in another, it may be transformed into a matter of principle. An insistence that I am free to do as I wish on such matters must not be allowed to compromise either the sufficiency of Jesus’ death or a commitment to build others’ faith in Christ.’[1]

The Bible teaches us firm principles which are worked out in flexible practices. Gospel truth is not ‘a smorgasbord from which you can choose your perspective and I can choose mine. God has made his mind known, and it is our delight to have our minds transformed so that we think his thoughts after him (Rom 12:1-2)’ (ibid.) In matters which are neither commanded nor prohibited, however, the practices we choose can be flexible without compromising biblical truth. Human personality, creativity and the circumstances of life produce an extraordinary variety of expression, preference and style; there is diversity in the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor 12:4-7) which prevents life from ever being monochrome! Mark Thompson concludes, ‘There is plenty of room for flexibility in practice, while ensuring that we do nothing to compromise the principles that arise from the teaching of Scripture itself.’

This is worked out in two ways, firstly by looking at the topics which Scripture does address and secondly, by considering principles which can apply to where the Bible is silent. Where Scripture addresses a topic, we have a duty to study, understand and be transformed by its teaching. As Mark Thompson says, we must be ‘committed to hearing, believing and heeding the word of God to us.’

In all those other ‘grey areas’, there is indeed Christian freedom. The extremes of licence (‘anything goes’) and legalism (‘you must do X’) must be avoided. We must be careful that we do not insist on more uniformity than God himself has in his word. Mark Thompson concludes, ‘Unity in the truth and appropriate principled diversity amongst Christians are both part of God’s wonderful provision for us as his people. The ultimate foundation of both is found in God’s own being as the eternal one who is eternally three. Unity and diversity can be mutually reinforcing. We need to delight in both more than we do, and seek to preserve both in our lives as Christ’s disciples.’

[1] http://matthiasmedia.com/briefing/2008/02/matters-of-indifference/

1 Cor 8 and Rom 14 deal with specific ‘grey areas’ of 1^st century life. Eating meat sacrificed to idols and celebrating certain days more than others were areas of concern for Christians getting to grips with how their faith related to their everyday living. The ‘grey areas’ of 21^st century life might look very different. Is it OK for Christians to drink alcohol? What kind of music should Christians listen to? What about shift work or Sunday work for Christians? Should a Christian ever watch an 18-rated film? And so on. Grey areas would also include things like the format of church services (using liturgy, choice of songs and hymns, timings of services and so on) and many other aspects of everyday life (what colour socks to wear, for example!) – things where we cannot say the Bible gives us a hard-and-fast answer, however much we wish it did!

Adiaphora (the technical word for these ‘grey areas’, areas which are neither specifically prohibited nor endorsed by the Bible) cause us to wrestle with scriptural principles. Some argue that if the Bible does not specifically prohibit something and it goes against no clear biblical commands, then it can be done for the glory of God. A more extreme position would be that unless the Bible specifically gives us the go-ahead on something, we should not do it. Since the Bible was written before computers, cars, aeroplanes and other aspects of 21^st century life which we take for granted, however, this last view leads us to live a very narrow life!

The Bible is a guide book to life, but it’s not a rule book in the sense that many of us would prefer. By that, I mean a book that controls us, giving us directions for every possible situation, restricting our freedom of choice and forcing us into an ABC of life which is perhaps easier but not more mature. It’s a book that tells us we have free will which should be harnessed to godly obedience. Paul says our guiding principle should be ‘whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.’ (Colossians 3:17).

We have great freedom in Christ (Gal 5:1, 1 Cor 10:31). Paul reminds us of this in Col 2:16 ‘Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day’. But we also have a duty not to be mastered by anything other than God (see 1 Cor 6:12, 1 Cor 10:23). We also have a duty as Christians to live in consideration of other believers, not causing them to stumble or fall into sin (1 Cor 8:13, 1 Cor 10:31-32) and to do all that we can to build other people up, not tear them down.

We may wish the Bible had more to say on modern issues because it’s hard to wrestle with principles and come to our own conclusion on these grey areas. It’s even harder when other believers disagree with our conclusions, often causing us heartache and confusion. But we cannot avoid the conclusion that there are many things on which Scripture is silent and it is unwise to be dogmatic and arrogant about those things. Nor can we avoid the need to wrestle if we are to grow up.

Children have little choice initially in this world: they have to eat what they are given by parents (or starve); they wear the clothes put on them because they don’t know how to dress themselves; they go to the places they are taken because they cannot get from A to B under their own steam. With loving parents, this is not a bad thing, but it would still be very odd if a ten-year-old could not dress himself or a fifteen-year-old could not go somewhere on foot without a parent to guide her. As children grow, they have to learn to make choices and to take responsibility for their own actions. This is all part of maturing.

Similarly, a baby Christian latches on to the commands of God and drinks from this milk. There are plenty of commands in Scripture and we spend a lifetime learning these and seeking to obey them. But as we grow, we also discover there are whole topics on which Scripture is silent and apparently indifferent (the root meaning of the word ‘adiaphora’) and we have to learn to chew on meat, interpreting difficult passages and working through principles that we can apply to those ‘grey areas’ of life. It is not a cop-out to admit ignorance, but it is a cop-out to refuse to chew on these matters and to act blindly and thoughtlessly. We have a duty to have our thinking transformed by God (Rom 12:1-2) and to ponder how He wants us to use our time and energies, since we are not our own; we have been bought at a price. (1 Cor 6:19-20)

Paul has already dealt with the subject of strength and weakness in the early chapters of 1 Corinthians, reminding us in 1 Cor 1:18-25 that God’s weakness is stronger than our strength and His foolishness wiser than our wisdom. In 1 Cor 8 he talks about a ‘weak conscience’ (1 Cor 8:10, 12) and gives instruction on how those who are ‘strong’ should behave in relation to those with weaker consciences.

‘Conscience is that internal court where our actions are judged and are either approved or condemned.’ (Warren Wiersbe) It is God-given (see Rom 2:14-15), but is not necessarily aligned with God; we have to learn to train our consciences in godly ways and godly thinking and must be careful not to ignore it, since it can be defiled and even seared (1 Tim 4:2). The weak Christians in Corinth felt it was a sin to eat meat sacrificed to idols. Because of their upbringing, earlier habits, or former lifestyle, the weak still believed that they were participating in idol worship by eating the meat. The Bible suggests that some in Corinth could not shake their past. As believers in Jesus Christ, we must be sensitive to our spiritual brothers and sisters. We must learn to defer to them when it is appropriate. For, in the end, what difference does it really make whether we eat or not? Paul argued that if weaker believers felt in some way that a connection to an idol was offensive, that view should be respected, without making them feel foolish. It is not right to encourage someone to do something bad that his conscience tells him he shouldn’t do. The conscience should be respected. There is a danger that ignoring one’s conscience could lead to doing other things that are wrong, things that are not indifferent but are sin.

The issue of eating meat sacrificed to idols is one that is not essential to salvation. It’s a ‘grey area’ in many respects. Paul’s advice was that those who knew that the issue was not really about food should do nothing to harm those whose consciences would become easily defiled (1 Cor 8:7), wounded (1 Cor 8:12) or offended (1 Cor 8:13); in other words, the strong should defer to the weak.

This is not the way of the world. In the world, the strong trample over the weak, but this is not the kingdom way (see Matt 20:24-28). In the kingdom, what counts is faith expressing itself through love (Gal 5:6), love which puts the needs of others before one’s own needs (see Phil 2:1-11). Love builds up (1 Cor 8:1). Rom 14 deals with similar topics, saying ‘Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarrelling over disputable matters.’ (Rom 14:1) When it comes to grey areas (the technical term for which is ‘adiaphora’), Paul’s advice is simple: ‘make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.’ (Rom 14:13) He was fully persuaded that no food in itself was unclean (Rom 14:14), but was more concerned about how he treated fellow believers than about standing on his high horse and proclaiming his strength and liberty: ‘ If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.’ (Rom 14:15)

Love is always the yardstick by which we are measured (see 1 Cor 13:1-13). We can be technically right but still in the wrong if love is not our motivation. Paul knew that the problems in the Corinthian church were not simply a question of what meat was eaten. He knew that ‘Corinthian Gnosticism had an essentially self-regarding element which was incompatible with Christian love.’ (C. K. Barrett, Commentary on 1 Corinthians, P 189) Paul reminded the ‘strong’ Corinthians that if they did not act out of love, then their strength (knowledge) was irrelevant. ‘The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. (Rom 14:17-18) ‘Knowing it all’ isn’t the goal. We can know doctrine and still not grow in grace or in our personal relationship with God. Instead, we must combine knowledge and love, ‘speaking the truth in love’ (Eph 4:15), having a love that ‘abounds more and more in knowledge and depth of insight’ (Phil 1:9) and which cares about avoiding leading anyone else into sin. It takes a strong man to say ‘no’ not only to sin but even to other non-sinful practices out of consideration for others. Paul reminds us that knowledge must be balanced by love and experience must be balanced by caution; freedom must also be balanced by responsibility: ‘“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.’ (1 Cor 10:23-24) As always, we must remember we’re part of a community; no man is an island and each man is his brother’s keeper…

1 Cor 8 is one of those chapters in the Bible which on first glance appears to have no relevance to modern day life at all. It’s fodder for those who declare that the Bible is outmoded and outdated and therefore can be quite happily discarded in favour of any other trendy literature which deals with modern thinking. The question Paul addresses in this chapter (should Christians eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols?) might have been relevant to 1^st century Christians in Corinth, but hardly seems to feature on the list of most discussed questions in 2015.

As always, however, specific historical situations can have wider contexts than seem apparent from a cursory glance. People don’t change very much, even if the situations they face do, and how to respond to individual questions will always involve core principles which can apply to a whole variety of situations. Paul’s ‘core principles’ in this chapter have to do with love (which should always be our prime motivator), consideration and care for other believers. He is keen that we learn to build each other up, rather than tearing each other down (see 2 Cor 12:19, 2 Cor 13:10, Eph 4:29, Rom 4:19, 1 Thess 5:11) and keen that we learn how to balance freedom with love and respect.

The historical context of the question involved buying meat. There were two sources of meat in the ancient world: the regular market (where the prices were higher) and the local temples (where meat from the sacrifices was always available.) Some members of the church saved money by purchasing the cheaper meat available from the temples, arguing that idols were not able to contaminate food and therefore they could eat that meat with nothing to disturb their consciences. They also attended meals where sacrificial meat was served. Other Christians (saved out of pagan idolatry) were troubled and offended by this, believing that the meat was contaminated as a result of the sacrifices and that they should therefore avoid this.

Paul effectively agreed that meat sacrificed to idols was not actually contaminated, because idols have no real power of their own; there is only one God: ‘for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.’ (1 Cor 8:6) He knew, however, that the real issue was not about food, because ‘food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.’ (1 Cor 8:8) In essence, he echoed Jesus’s teaching in Mark 7 that washing hands before eating was not the thing that defiled people: ‘Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.’ (Mark 7:15) Paul knew that the real problem lay not so much in what people ate but in how they thought and how they treated others.

Knowledge itself, he comments, is not the be-all and end-all of life: ‘We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.’ (1 Cor 8:1) Instead of the inflated arrogance he has warned against in previous chapters (see 1 Cor 4:6, 18), Paul advocates consideration for other people’s opinions, especially if by acting in a certain way we will lead them into sin. ‘If someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.’ (1 Cor 8:10-11) In such circumstances, Paul reckons it’s worth curbing individual freedom in order to help someone else avoid sin (see Gal 6:2).

Kevin Horseman spoke at church last night, informing us about the work of the Christian charity ‘Mission Aviation Fellowship’, founded 70 years ago by ex-RAF pilots and engineers who wanted to see aircraft used to bring ‘help, hope and healing in Christ’s name.’ Stuart King, Jack Hemmings and Murray Kendon were pioneers who had the vision to see that aircraft could bring the gospel into remote areas, thus fulfilling the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20) in new ways. That first flight from Croydon to Kenya took 27 days; now the charity has 130 aircraft serving in in 38 countries, travelling to more destinations than any other airline (3000!)

Using aircraft such as the Cessna 182 and the Cessna 208 floatplane, MAF runs both a chartered service and acts as a taxi air service, particularly in emergency evacuations following natural disasters such as earthquakes:

The floatplane is especially useful because it can reach areas which have lots of water such as Bangladesh.

MAF works to support aid agencies such as TearFund, Christian Aid and Oxfam and is involved in getting food supplies to areas of famine (flying in ‘Plumpy Nuts’, a nutritional food bar which can help relieve famine):

It is also involved in medical evacuations, helping to get people to hospitals quickly when the journey by road would take days. It flies to Africa, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, South America and Mongolia, acting like the donkey in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, enabling others to work in different areas, bringing hope and healing to areas that are too remote to be reached in any other way.

How Can We Help?

1. Pray. MAF provide a regular magazine called ‘Flying For Life’ which details the work they are doing and includes a prayer diary to help us pray for the organisation.
2. People. MAF needs people to work for them in a range of jobs (pilots, engineers, administrative support staff.) This is a faith-based mission, a calling, not just a job!
3. Postcards. The sale of postcards can be a tremendous fund-raiser, so send any postcards in to MAF’s Folkestone head office.
4. Pounds. Running aircraft is an expensive business, with people on the ground often only able to pay one-third of the actual cost of a flight. Here in the UK, we can give financially to help the charity and can also be involved in fund-raising.