Daily Scripture Reading 1Corinthians 8:11 - 9:18
Some Christians grow up believing it is totally wrong to drink alcohol. Other Christians grow up in a context which acknowledges that while the Bible prohibits drunkenness, it does not actually prohibit drinking alcohol in moderation. Sometimes Christians from those differing backgrounds end up in the same church.
When that happens, some believers are quick to warn those who drink alcohol that they should not offend those who do not drink. They quote today’s passage in which Paul gave up his right to eat meat so as not to offend a weak brother.
However, there is a huge difference between Paul’s situation regarding meat and today’s situations regarding alcohol. Paul abstained from meat because Jesus had changed the divine rules about food just a few decades prior. However, the biblical truth about alcohol has been the rule for 2,000 years.
In chapter 8 Paul addressed whether it is permissible to eat food that has been sacrificed to idols. Since idols are fake and there is only one God, eating food that was sacrificed to idols has no meaning; therefore, it is permissible. However, not all Christians in Corinth knew that. Some had grown up believing in the idols and were not able to eat without believing they were giving allegiance to the idols. This meant the brothers who knew it was meaningless needed to be cautious about causing other brothers to stumble.
1Cor. 8:11 For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died.
1Cor. 8:12 And in that way, by sinning against the brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
1Cor. 8:13 Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again—ever, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.
The context of this teaching is that the Jews in Corinth came from a background in which the Law of Moses declared certain foods unclean. Jesus changed that and declared all foods clean; therefore, the believing Jews were free to eat anything. However, it took time for some of the Jews to catch up with the new morality.
Meanwhile, the Greeks came from a background where people believed in idols and sacrificing food to idols was a way to declare allegiance to the false gods. The gospel message made it clear there was only one God; therefore, eating food sacrificed to idols could not be adherence to those idols because the false gods represented by the idols did not actually exist. Once again, it took some time for some of the believing Greeks to catch up to the new mindset.
Paul expressed a willingness to restrict himself and give up his rights for the sake of not causing a brother to stumble. In other words, he was willing to deny himself and give weak brothers time to catch up to the new reality. This is an example of Christian love, and something all Christians should be willing to do.
One area where this concept may apply today is in drinking alcohol. Some Christians grow up believing Christians should never drink alcohol. The truth of the matter is the Bible prohibits drunkenness, but it does not prohibit drinking alcohol. Some Christians drink alcohol in moderation because they know the Bible does not prohibit alcohol.
Some believers say those who think it is okay to drink alcohol should not drink it in the presence of those who think it is wrong because they will harm a weak brother. There is some truth to that. On the other hand, a difference between alcohol and the situation in Corinth is that eating certain foods was prohibited in the Law of Moses. It had only been a few decades before Paul wrote this letter that Jesus declared all foods clean. It took some time for the believing Jews to change their beliefs.
On the other hand, the truth that the Bible does not prohibit drinking alcohol in moderation has been true for 2,000 years. In the matter of drinking or not drinking alcohol, we are not dealing with a situation where God changed the rules a mere 20 years ago, which is what the Corinthians were dealing with in regards to eating certain meat.
1Cor. 9:1 ¶ Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?
1Cor. 9:2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
1Cor. 9:3 ¶ My defense to those who examine me is this:
1Cor. 9:4 Do we not have authority to eat and drink?
1Cor. 9:5 Do we not have authority to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
1Cor. 9:6 Or do only Barnabas and I not have authority to refrain from working?
1Cor. 9:7 Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not consume the fruit of it? Or who shepherds a flock and does not consume the milk of the flock?
1Cor. 9:8 ¶ Am I speaking these things according to human judgment? Or does not the Law also say these things?
1Cor. 9:9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE IT IS THRESHING.” Is God merely concerned about oxen?
1Cor. 9:10 Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops.
1Cor. 9:11 If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?
1Cor. 9:12 If others share this authority over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this authority, but we endure all things so that we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ.
1Cor. 9:13 Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar?
1Cor. 9:14 So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.
This verse makes a clear statement that Christians should be willing to provide an income to those who make it a full-time job to proclaim the gospel of God.
1Cor. 9:15 ¶ But I have used none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case, for it would be better for me to die than have anyone make my boast an empty one.
1Cor. 9:16 For if I proclaim the gospel, I have nothing to boast, for I am under compulsion. For woe is me if I do not proclaim the gospel.
1Cor. 9:17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have a stewardship entrusted to me.
1Cor. 9:18 What then is my reward? That, when I proclaim the gospel, I may offer the gospel without charge, so as not to make full use of my authority in the gospel.
The believers in Corinth were living in a situation where God had changed the rules regarding food only a few decades prior. Paul wrote that those who were quick to catch up to the new rules should be patient and abstain from their rights so that they didn’t harm those who were taking longer to catch up to the new rules.
How should that concept be applied today?
Should it be applied to the drinking of alcohol even though God’s rules on alcohol have not changed for 2,000 years?
What are some freedoms you have that you should abstain from so that you do not harm a fellow Christian?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”