EXERCISING DISCERNMENT

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God—even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.

1 Corinthians 10:27-33

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Jesus’ life was defined by self sacrifice.

Perfect self sacrifice.

Self sacrifice that wasn’t just in part but in whole. After all, He willingly chose to completely set aside His own life so that anyone who simply believed in Him would not perish but gain eternal life. His single death has brought salvation to billions of people and He still continues to deliver people today from death into the certainty of everlasting life.

When a person chooses to accept Jesus as Savior, they also commit themselves to be like Him, self sacrificing as He did for the good of others. This means we need to surrender our rights as Christ did.

The Apostle Paul fully understood this Christian principle and sought to show it through His ministry work. As we look across his four missionary journeys, Paul wasn’t on some pleasure seeking vacation. Rather, he set his own personal desires aside and dedicated himself totally to the work Jesus called Him to, sharing the Gospel to the “ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8) while working to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-20).

And so as we look at the closing verses of 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, we know Paul is speaking from experience as he provides guidance to the Corinthian church. His message is clear. Don’t hesitate to sacrifice your rights for the good of another.

If an unbeliever invited a Christian to share a meal it was perfectly fine to partake in whatever food was served, except if the food had been offered in sacrifice to idols in which case the Christian should abstain from it.

Why?

Because the unbeliever would understand that eating such meat had been forbidden by Jewish law and could develop a bad conscience if the Christian ate the prohibited food. They might feel responsible for contributing to the believer’s sinful action. This then could be a stumbling block to the non-Christian’s potential salvation.

While the believer might not see anything wrong with eating the food sacrificed because they were now under the New Covenant, they would abstain for the glory of God and the cause of the Gospel. Ultimately, they would exercise sound discernment and be willing to self sacrifice for the good of another, modeling the precedent Jesus set.

As Christians, we need to be wary of imposing out beliefs so much that we actually negatively impact the conscience of the non-believer. Ultimately, it’s the Lord who will convict through the power of His Holy Spirit. So let’s exercise good judgment and display a wise acumen as we approach our dealings with those who need saved. For in doing so, we won’t be concerned about our good as much as we are the good of the many.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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