1 Corinthians Week 17

Day 1 

READ 

1 Corinthians 8:2-3 

² Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. ³ But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes. 

This is a sobering reminder for those who think they have all the answers. Knowledge is important because there are many things one needs to know about God from the Scriptures. Knowledge without love, however, will harm more people than it will help. The context, remember, has to do with eating meat that has been offered to idols. Those with knowledge should not put stumbling blocks in front of new believers in Jesus.  

REFLECT 

Are you concerned about those who have recently trusted in Jesus as Savior? Do you have a burden to help them along in the Christian life? 

RESPOND 

Talk with a fellow believer about the importance of being involved in a local church fellowship. Read Hebrews 10:24-25 in this regard. Sadly there are those who want to be a part of the family of God by believing in Jesus but do not want to have anything to do with the family. This is not what God intended. 

Day 2 

READ 

1 Corinthians 8:4-5 

⁴ So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. ⁵ There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. 

By the mature believer’s knowledge, he knows that an idol does not really represent a true God. The unbeliever or even a new believer in Jesus may not know this. Because of this, Paul was writing to help more mature believers know how to act around those immature ones without this knowledge.  

REFLECT 

Have you had the privilege of being a spiritual mentor to a new believer? If so, God is enabling you to be a spiritual parent to that person. 

RESPOND 

Join with a Christian friend to ask God to enable you to be a spiritual mentor to a new believer. Some have said that every Paul needs a Timothy and every Timothy needs a Paul. Read 1 Timothy 1:2 to see how Paul referred to Timothy. It is likely that Timothy’s believing mother led him to the Lord (see Acts 16:1-2), but Paul mentored him like a son.  

Day 3 

READ 

1 Corinthians 8:6-7 

⁶ But for us, there is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live. ⁷ However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. 

Paul contrasted what knowledgeable believers know in contrast to what other believers do not know. Some young believers are ignorant; that is, they are unaware of what the Scriptures teach about the true God and false gods. They are also unaware of the liberty they have in Jesus. Because of this, they think that more mature believers eating meat offered to idols are guilty of worshiping a false god.  

REFLECT 

The Bible is the only book God has inspired. Are you engaged in it by listening to it or reading it at least four times a week? This will make a significant difference in your life. 

RESPOND 

Back to the Bible’s research has shown that those engaged in the Bible at least four times a week have a decrease in bad habits and an increase in godly habits. Talk with a friend about being engaged in the Bible by reading or listening to it at least four times a week. 

Day 4 

READ 

1 Corinthians 8:8-9 

⁸ It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do. ⁹ But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. 

Paul minimized the importance of the meat problem the Corinthians were struggling with. He wanted the mature believers to know that it was better for them to bypass getting some good meat at perhaps a better price if doing so would be a problem to a less mature and less knowledgeable believer. 

RESPECT 

Are this passage and the comments about it helping you to think about some of the things you are doing? Could a new believer misunderstand some of your actions? 

RESPOND  

Visit about this issue with a friend. Sometimes mature believers who are legalists will act offended like a weaker Christian. It may be the case that even the mature believer has not been properly taught the Scriptures on such matters. If a knowledgeable believer realizes an action could be misunderstood by a new believer, love for the brother in Christ should cause him not to do it.  

Day 5 

READ 

1 Corinthians 8:10-11 

¹⁰ For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? ¹¹ So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. 

Apparently families could gather in an area of the temple for a meal or activities such as weddings. If a new believer saw a mature believer eating in the temple of an idol, the new believer might think the mature one was guilty of idol worship. The new believer might be “destroyed” in the sense that this would arrest his spiritual growth.  

REFLECT 

Have you found today that some believers are still living as if they were under the Old Testament law? 

RESPOND 

Visit with a friend about the apostle Paul. Before his salvation he was a Jewish Pharisee and kept the Old Testament law. After he became a believer in Jesus he wrote Colossians 2:16-17 about not judging anyone based on diet or holy days. Are you following Paul’s instructions? Believers need to be taught such passages.