Having said that Paul deals frequently in principles, it’s worth asking ‘What are the guiding principles he gives us in 1 Corinthians?’ As the Message version puts it, just because something is ‘technically legal’ doesn’t make it ‘spiritually appropriate.’ All things may be lawful, but here are some questions we should ask ourselves before we do anything:

• Will this lead me to freedom or slavery? (1 Cor 6:12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.) That extra glass of wine or biscuit might not be sin, but it may well be reinforcing a habit that needs to be broken. Sin very easily has mastery over us, but this should not be the case, for Christ has broken the chains of sin and given us the power to say no!
• Will this make me a stumbling-block or a stepping stone? (1 Cor 8:13 ‘Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.’) Paul constantly wants us to build each other up, not tear each other down. We can inspire others and urge them on to greater things in God, or we can, through discouragement, cynicism and lack of faith, cause them to trip up or, worse still, lead them into sin (as the ten spies did when returning from their scouting trip.)
• Will this build me up or tear me down? (1 Cor 10:23-24 “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.) We need to consider others, but we also need to do that which is beneficial all round.
• Will this please only me or will it glorify Christ? (1 Cor 10:31 ‘So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.‘) There’s great freedom in living not to earn God’s favour but from the position of knowing we are loved and cherished by Him. Living to please God is a delight, not a duty.
• Will this help me to win the lost to Christ or turn them away? (1 Cor 10:33 ‘For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.’) Other people are reading us, whether we’re aware of it or not. (2 Cor 3:1-3) Let’s let our whole life sing for Christ.

‘May the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You.’ (‘Life Song’, Casting Crowns)

A stumbling-block is ‘a circumstance which causes hesitation or difficulty’, something which causes a person to trip up or fall. There are many natural stumbling-blocks which cause us to trip or fall: an uneven kerb, for example, or a flagstone that is not evenly laid. This kind of stumbling-block is usually not intended to hurt, but these ‘trip hazards’, as they are known in Health & Safety parlance, can often be avoided with a little bit of forethought (eg moving trailing cables out of the way or warning people when a floor has been cleaned to avoid slipping.)

Health & Safety issues means we have to consider not only our own safety but the safety of others. General Health and Safety Legislations covers all employers and workplaces and is intended to include obligations to protect employees and the public from risks associated with slips, trips and falls (in addition to the ‘moral duty’ of protection upon employers.) Paul is, in essence, enforcing a spiritual ‘Health and Safety’ measure in his exposition of whether to eat meat sacrificed to idols or not. Consideration of others is the key factor.

The Greek word for ‘stumbling-block’ (‘skandalon’, from which we get the word ‘scandal’ and which can also be translated ‘offence’) gives us a picture not only of tripping up, falling or stumbling, but being the thing that actually causes someone to fall (and from this, metaphorically, to sin.) Jesus used this word when Peter tried to stop him talking of his death and resurrection: ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’ (Matt 16:23) Peter had no desire, I am sure, to trip Jesus up, but Jesus knew that the cross could not be avoided and that any hint of another way other than that of the cross would not bring about the salvation humanity so desperately needed.

Throughout the Bible, we are urged not to do anything which causes people to stumble. Perhaps the most vivid example of this is in Matt 18:6, when Jesus says ‘If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.’ Paul is concerned that we do not use our Christian freedom in such a way that causes others to fall, saying, ‘Be careful that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling-block to the weak.’ (1 Cor 8:9) Here, the word for ‘stumbling-block’ is ‘proskomma’, which can also be translated as ‘stub’: ‘an obstacle in the way which if one strikes his foot against he stumbles or falls.’ (Thayer) Garry once walked into the skirting-board on our landing at night and stubbed his toe: in so doing, he actually broke the toe and was in agony, but that at least was not caused by anyone else. When in 1 Cor 10:32, Paul urges the Corinthians ‘do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God’, he is urging them not to put any kind of obstacle in the path of another Christian which could cause them to trip up, stub their toe or fall. The Message version says ‘don’t be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren’t as free as you are.’ We are called to be considerate and put other people first when deciding how we should act so that we do not cause anyone to stumble into sin. Paul wants us to ‘carry each other’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.’ (Gal 6:2) That way, others will see Christ in us.

‘So come and empty me,

So that it’s You I breathe.

I want my life to be only Christ in me,

So I will fix my eyes,

’Cos You’re my source of life.

I need the world to see that

It’s Christ in me.’ (‘Christ In Me’, Jeremy Camp)

Paul’s letters speak to us today because they teach spiritual principles, even if the specific issues they raise do not always seem particularly relevant to us. We still participate in the ‘cup of thanksgiving’ and break bread together (a theme he will develop further in 1 Cor 11.) The diversity of people united in Christ is a key theme developed elsewhere (1 Cor 12:12-31, Rom 12:4-8). Our total surrender to God is a requirement that cannot be negotiated; our total service for others is the proof that we are living for the glory of our king.

Divided loyalties are at the heart of much of the reasoning behind Paul’s thinking in 1 Cor 10:14-11:1. The question of ‘to eat or not to eat’ is as nothing compared to the bigger question of idolatry (a theme found in many pages of the Bible.) God’s displeasure at the majority of Israelites whose grumbling and lack of faith led to their failure to enter the Promised Land (1 Cor 10:1-11) and His jealousy at unfaithful hearts (1 Cor 10:22, see also Ezek 16:1-45, Deut 32:15-18, Ezek 8:3) are the real issues we must consider daily.

God’s jealousy is not fuelled by insecurity, meanness or anger, as human jealousy often is. His love for us is pure, fierce, unconditional and everlasting. He knows that only He can satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart and therefore in demanding our undivided loyalty to Him, He is actually seeking our good (just as C. S. Lewis reached the conclusion that God’s exhortations to us to praise Him were not the result of a narcissistic neurosis but that the command to praise is not just so that God can receive something, but is bound up the very giving of God himself, see ‘Reflections on the Psalms’, P 91-97).

Anything which takes our hearts from God is idolatry and Paul’s command regarding that is unequivocal: ‘Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.’ (1 Cor 10:14) Just as we are to flee from sexual immorality (1 Cor 6:18) and covetousness (1 Tim 6:11) and the evil desires of youth (2 Tim 2:22), we are to keep ourselves from idols (1 Jn 5:1), living wholly for God. ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’ (1 Pet 1:15)

Having undivided loyalties is an essential part of inner wholeness and strength. Eugene Peterson calls this ‘congruence’, saying that there has to be congruence between what we believe and what we do (‘the Christian life is the lifelong practice of attending to the details of congruence – congruence between ends and means, congruence between what we do and the way we do it’) for ‘only when we do the Jesus truth in the Jesus way do we get the Jesus life.’ (‘Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places’, P333) Paul’s key principle is that ‘what is believed in the heart has demonstrable consequences in daily life.’ (Eugene Peterson, Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work, P25) We do well to remember this. Any kind of divided loyalty will lead to some inner fracturing that isn’t good for our mental or physical health. Paul shows us, in this key passage, that it will also have spiritual consequences which are harmful to us. By far the best way is to avoid divided loyalties by surrendering whole-heartedly to God.

(Having mentioned 16^th century poet John Donne in the previous post, we’re now misquoting William Shakespeare! Apologies to the bard…)

Some have said that Paul’s views on eating meat sold in the meat market are contradictory, apparently encouraging this practice in 1 Cor 10:27 and then warning against it in 1 Cor 10:20-22, 28-29.

It is easy to want ‘one size fits all’ rules which can somehow stretch to fit every scenario and every possible permutation to guide us through the mazes of life. Such a path will lead to legalism, however, adding countless rules and regulations to legislate for every possible variant. Paul speaks to ‘sensible people’ who can ‘judge for yourselves what I say.’ (1 Cor 10:15) He gives them principles to think through, not cast-iron rules which are unyielding, and it’s because of this approach to principles (not laws) that we ultimately can reach maturity.

When children are very young, they need the absolute certainty of rules: ‘don’t touch the fire’, ‘eat your greens’ and so on. That’s all they can understand. As they get older, however, reasons and explanations are added to the rules: ‘don’t touch the fire or you will be burned’, ‘eat your greens because they provide essential nutrients and vitamins that will help to keep you healthy.’

Paul gives guidance to the Corinthians which will help them to think through this scenario and reach conclusions which show consistency of principles. Left-over meat from sacrifices has no intrinsic evil in it, since ‘the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.’ (1 Cor 10:26, quoting Ps 24:1). Therefore, it can be eaten with no qualms. But if objections are raised (either by Christians of weaker faith or by unbelievers), it’s better to refrain from eating it so as not to cause others to stumble. Idol-worship is, ultimately, not to be trifled with, since this kind of worship is satanically inspired (1 Cor 10:20). Better to avoid it in that situation so as not to trip anyone else up. Consideration for other people’s consciences remains a key principle.

The real issue is not just what we eat, however (something the Corinthians probably had not realised.) The real issue is having an undivided heart. Paul reminds the Corinthians that now they partake in Christ (symbolised by the bread and wine, referred to in 1 Cor 10:16-17). The one cup and the one loaf of Holy Communion do not only represent the blood and body of Christ, they represent the unity of the church. We must do nothing to damage that unity (see Eph 4:1-2).

Idolatry demands worship that is due to God alone. Paul issues stern warnings to the Corinthians: ‘You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.’ (1 Cor 10:21) If we were not only to eat the meat sacrificed to idols but to actually participate in the temple ceremonies, that would be dangerous indeed – not because the idol is itself anything in comparison to God, but because our allegiance would then be divided. Jesus said a similar thing: ‘no one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.’ (Matt 6:24) Having an undivided heart is ultimately more crucial than what meat we eat. Paul takes the Corinthians further than the surface question and shows them that the answers to their questions are more complex than they perhaps wanted them to be! When we discussed ‘Growing Up In God’, we said that one of the signs of immaturity is the belief that one size fits all; another sign is when we think we know it all and anyone who disagrees with us is wrong! Paul wants us to ‘grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.’ (Eph 4:15) We can only do this as we learn to apply spiritual principles to every situation we face in life.

Paul’s letters are like so many conversations: they don’t always stick to the point in a linear fashion, but tend to ‘meander’ somewhat. He is writing 1 Corinthians to answer questions that have been raised, and from 1 Cor 8 has been talking about the question of what believers are free to do, especially regarding food sacrificed to idols. This has led him to consider also all the means at our disposal for reaching out to others and to reflect on the need to continue faithfully in God’s ways (unlike so many of the Israelites during the wilderness wanderings.) Now he returns to the theme of our behaviour in relation to food, underlining key principles that ‘everything may well be permissible’ (a favourite Corinthian saying, apparently – see 1 Cor 6:12, 1 Cor 10:23), but not everything is beneficial or constructive.

In 1 Cor 8, Paul has shown us that the meat sacrificed to idols can really have no power or authority over us, for God is far greater than idols. He reminds us, however, that a greater concern for him than what we eat is the issue of how we treat people. ‘Be careful that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling-block to the weak.’ (1 Cor 8:9) The Christian should not live as an island, selfishly thinking only of himself.

No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee. (John Donne)

This principle is reiterated in 1 Cor 10:14-11:1. ‘Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others,’ Paul says (1 Cor 10:24) ‘Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God – even as I try to please everybody in every day. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that they may be saved.’ (1 Cor 10:32-33)

This is Paul’s bottom line: ‘Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.’ (1 Cor 10:31) – a view expressed also in Col 3:17 (‘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.’) God wants our whole-hearted devotion and service, hence Paul’s command to ‘flee from idolatry (1 Cor 10:14). Anything less is dishonouring to God and will provoke Him to jealousy (1 Cor 10:22). Our total allegiance is to be given to God first, and from this will come a desire to serve others, following Paul’s example as he follows the example of Christ. (1 Cor 11:1, Phil 2:1-11).

Continuing the culinary metaphors…

Preparing a Bible study is like preparing a beef casserole. When planning a meal, ingredients have to be bought and assembled. Beef cubes, potatoes, onions, carrots, peppers, courgettes, leeks, mushrooms… whatever vegetables you like can be put into a casserole. When preparing a Bible study, I go ‘shopping’ in different ways: reading different versions of the Bible to get a better understanding of the passage, reading different commentaries, digging out the meaning of words which feature, looking at Bible references outside the passage which help to understand it and so on. At this stage, my shopping may well look disorganised, a pile of ingredients that aren’t necessarily appetising. I try not to worry about the ‘messiness’ of this stage; it’s crucial to have all the ingredients, but they’re not necessarily in any kind of order.

Then I have to start work on the ingredients: peeling potatoes and carrots and onions. Dicing them. Chopping off the fat from the meat. Assembling all I will need: a glass of red wine, perhaps; a jugful of beef stock; a handful of herbs. This stage of the Bible study involves praying as I sift through all the ingredients, looking for themes, overviews, common thoughts, repeated ideas, where the emphasis really lies in this passage, trying to ‘make sense’ of the ingredients I have.

The best casseroles usually involve marinating the meat, allowing the flavours (wine, oil, herbs) to soak in and soften the meat. Time is the one ingredient in preparation which can’t be overlooked. It’s ‘extra’ time that has to be factored in. Not much looks to be happening at this point in preparation, but actually, this ‘mulling’ time, this thinking time, this time for prayer and meditation, is essential. It might appear unproductive to outsiders, but it’s crucial. During this time, you can perhaps be doing other things as well; the study is ‘on hold’ at this stage, allowing God to pull the pieces together, reminding you of things, working things out. You can’t (alas!) dictate how long this stage will take, but in my experience, the longer you have for this marinating, the better the final outcome will be.

When the meat has marinated, all the ingredients are put into a casserole dish and the meal is put into an oven. Again, the best casseroles in my opinion are cooked slowly at a low temperature so that the ingredients soften and are tender. To rush at this stage, giving short bursts of heat at higher temperatures, may well result in the meal being cooked, but the casserole lacks the tenderness and flavour of slow cooking. In the same way, the stage of actually putting the Bible study together should not be rushed. Drawing the ideas and words and themes into a flavoursome meal that will nourish souls is a huge privilege and responsibility and ought not to be rushed.

Then the meal is served. It’s difficult to gauge the ‘effect’ of a meal. A beef casserole obviously has good nutritional value (protein, carbohydrates, vitamins etc.) and therefore helps to nurture our physical health. In the same way, a Bible study needs the nutritional value of God’s Word, Scripture interpreting Scripture so that we are not led astray through contextual misunderstandings, and will, because of the ‘quality’ of the Word, do us good. But when we eat a meal there is more than nutrition going on. Atmosphere, conversation, personal tastes all colour our evaluation, enjoyment and memory of the meal. Do you like salt and pepper with your meal? What about sauces? Do you want a drink as well? All these things influence our appreciation of the meal. The Bible study, because it’s a discussion and isn’t delivered in the same didactic way as a sermon, needs the condiments of other people’s contributions and points of view. Someone else’s perspective helps us to see things differently yet again and can be the difference between something which may do us good on one level and something which has the power to change and transform us; the difference between that functional casserole gobbled down in a rush before moving on to the next job and the same casserole eaten in leisurely fashion with friends or family, chatting, laughing, debating.

This week’s Bible study will be looking at 1 Cor 10:14-11:1. Why not start your casserole shopping today and begin to ponder this passage? God wants to speak to us from His Word; we all need His shafts of light to illuminate our darkness. As we read, pray, ponder, study and prepare, may God give us a feast to savour come Thursday!