Studies On The Conscience #6

Q: What does the Bible say about the weak conscience?

The Bible describes a weak conscience as being defiled by a lack of knowledge, causing individuals to see sin where there is none (1 Corinthians 8:7). A weak conscience, as described in Scripture, is often found among believers who lack proper knowledge of God and His truth. In 1 Corinthians 8:7, Paul notes that 'their conscience being weak is defiled.' This implies that a weak conscience can misinterpret actions and beliefs, leading someone to view non-sinful actions as sinful. The individual who struggles with a weak conscience may hold to scruples that misrepresent the freedom found in Christ, thus making them prone to legalism and distress over matters that are actually indifferent in the sight of God.

Q: How do we know that eating meat offered to idols is not a sin?

Eating meat offered to idols is not sinful because idols are nothing, and there is one true God (1 Corinthians 8:4-6). According to 1 Corinthians 8:4-6, Paul teaches that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is only one true God. This knowledge strengthens the believer's conscience, allowing them to partake of meat offered to idols without committing sin because they understand that the idol has no real power. However, one must also consider the weaker brother's conscience, which might view such actions as sinful. Thus, while the act itself isn't sinful, causing a weaker brother to stumble is a serious matter that Paul warns against in this context (1 Corinthians 8:10-12).

Q: Why is it important for Christians to respect the weak conscience of others?

Respecting the weak conscience of others is crucial to maintain unity and love within the Christian community (1 Corinthians 8:12). Paul emphasizes the significance of considering the weak conscience in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8. When we sin against our brethren and wound their weak conscience, we ultimately sin against Christ (1 Corinthians 8:12). The act of respecting and accommodating the consciences of weaker believers fosters charity and unity within the church. It shows love and humility when we forgo our liberty for the sake of others' spiritual well-being, helping to prevent legalism and enabling a more understanding and compassionate fellowship among believers.

Q: What does the Bible teach about knowledge and conscience?

The Bible teaches that knowledge enlightens the conscience, enabling it to function properly (1 Corinthians 8:1). In 1 Corinthians 8:1, Paul notes that 'knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.' This highlights the importance of knowledge in the Christian faith as it relates to conscience. A well-informed conscience, grounded in the truth of God's Word, is better equipped to discern right from wrong without falling into the trap of legalism or false peace. Ignorance can lead to a weak conscience, which may result in unnecessary scruples and hinder an individual's freedom in Christ. Thus, it is vital for Christians to pursue knowledge, allowing their consciences to be informed and strengthened by the truth of Scripture.

Q: Why does a weak conscience defile a believer's actions?

A weak conscience defiles a believer's actions because it misinterprets liberty and equates it to sin (1 Corinthians 8:7). A weak conscience is characterized by a lack of understanding regarding God's truth, particularly in matters of Christian liberty. In 1 Corinthians 8:7, Paul mentions that certain believers, due to their weak conscience, view meat offered to idols as defiled. This misunderstanding leads them to perceive their actions as sinful when they are not. The conscience, therefore, acts as a guide, but when it is not fully informed by the truth of Scripture, it can create feelings of guilt and condemnation over actions that are actually permissible. As such, the believer must strive to educate their conscience with the truth of God's Word to avoid being misled into legalism and guilt over matters that should not be a stumbling block.

Now as touching things offered
unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth
up, but charity or love edifieth. And if any man think that he
knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the
same is known of him. As concerning, therefore, the
eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols,
we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there
is none other God but one. For though there be that are
called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be gods
many and lords many, but to us there is but one God, the Father,
of whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom are all things, and we by him. Howbeit there is not
in every man that knowledge. For some with conscience of the
idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol,
and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. But meek commendeth
not to God, for neither if we eat are we the better, neither
if we eat not are we the worse. But take heed, lest by means
this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that
are weak. For if any man see thee which
hath knowledge, sit it meet in the idol's temple. Shall not
the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those
things? which are offered to idols, and
through thy knowledge shall thy weak brother perish, for whom
Christ died. But when ye sow sin against the
brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Can I read that again? But when
ye sow sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience,
ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother
to offend, I will eat no meat while the world standeth, lest
I make my brother to offend." Now, we're considering today
the weak conscience and how it operates and how it works and
the consequences thereof. During the course of our study,
in the five previous studies, we have noted the several faults
that lie in the conscience of men and women because of depravity,
such as being depraved. It is not only defiled, Titus
115, but it is woefully partial in the performance of its duties
that God has assigned unto it. And it can be bribed, it can
be manipulated, it can be trained to act and react in a certain
way, and it can even be seared over so that it scarcely is bothered
by sin. And as we saw, one of the faults
of the natural conscience, that is of the unregenerate person,
is that it often makes peace falsely. in their life. When there is no just ground
or no reason for the peace, often it will speak unto them a piece.
Now the conscience is sold by depravity, if I may use this
expression, that it can be short-circuited or it can be wired around so
that it gives a reading of peace, but a reading, a false reading
of peace in that instant. Now this can result in the person
thinking that all is well with them and their soul and with
God, when indeed it is not all well, and this false peace that
we talked about more often than not comes from or through religion. But now, we come to consider
the false in a regenerate person. We come to consider the false
in a renewed conscience. One in one that has believed
upon the Lord, and professes the Lord, and professes to know
and to follow Him. One that trusts the Lord and
believes in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the leading
fault of such a conscience as that is being weak. Now as with a natural conscience,
it is usually in religious circles that a weak conscience is developed
in a particular individual. And it can be very disturbing
to that person personally as we look into the case of these
1 Corinthians 8 and 1 Corinthians 10. We see how grieved and disturbed
they were by the weak conscience that dwelled in them with regard
to certain circumstances that they were placed in. It can be
a very disruptive thing between that person with a weak conscience
and others who have a more advanced knowledge of the things of God
And for them to try to hold fellowship together, the weak conscience
drives a wedge between them so often so that there is a disturbance
between the fellowship of they with greater knowledge and they
with lesser knowledge, which Paul called those with a weak
conscience. So here is the comparison. As
the natural conscience is capable of making peace when there is
none, So the weak conscience, 1 Corinthians 8 and 10, is capable
of making sin where there is no sin. And this is the problem
with the weak conscience in this particular case. And this can,
in turn, lead to legalism. When the weak conscience makes
sin where there is no sin, it in turn leads unto legalism. Because, you see, the weak conscience
is that one loaded with all manner of scruples and a heavy load
of conviction which are not in accordance with the truth as
it is in Jesus Christ or in the gospel. And a weak conscience
will do something else. It will insist on the forfeiture
of a large measure of Christian liberty for the sake of peace
or the ease of the conscience. Now both in themselves and in
others, the weak conscience will tear away at a large part of
Christian liberty. Now this is one of the most vital
areas of Christian fellowship and communication and is a very
difficult one to resolve. Our study today begins the most
complicated and the most difficult of all of our studies on the
conscience, probably for this reason, that the one with the
weak conscience what Paul calls in Romans 14 and 1, weak in the
faith, and refers to in 1 Corinthians 8 and verse 10, the conscience
of him that is weak. Now the problem is that such
people as that are the ones that consider themselves the strong
ones in the Lord. Those with a weak conscience
are they who view themselves as strong having scruples and
convictions and that sort of thing. About those things that
are called, however, indifferent, or Calvin called them things
in between. Indifferent things that are set
forth in the Scripture. Now their conscience is so opposed
to certain things that Paul here puts them in the category of
Christian liberty, the things that they are opposed to, the
things that trouble and disturb them, Paul puts them in the category
of Christian liberty, that they find and make sin where there
is no sin, in fact, both for themselves and for their brethren,
and that they are wounded in their weak conscience, and that
Paul urges the strong and the knowledgeable to be considerate
of their weaker brethren and condescend unto them in things
pertaining and regarding Christian liberty. He exhorts us here to
humor those that have the weak conscience and to humor the weak
conscience of those who are making sin where there is no sin in
the hope that we might enlighten them in the knowledge of the
things of God, and their conscience be strengthened by the knowledge
of the truth. Let us, if we might, survey the
textual passages that we have chosen today to see how conscience
and weak are mentioned together. How the conscience and weak are
several times in these passages joined together, as it were,
in the very same breath. Look at 1 Corinthians 8 and verse
7 again. And their conscience being weak
is defiled. Conscience being weak. Now look
down to verse 10. shall not the conscience of him
which is weak." 1 Corinthians 8 and verse 12. But when ye sow
sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience,
ye sin also against Christ. Now in addition to these three
texts, where the two things are joined together, there are other
mentions of the weak brother, such as verse 9, to them that
are weak. Verse 11, the weak brother is
mentioned again. Romans 14 and 1, him that is
weak in the faith receive, but not to doubtful disputation. Now let us take time here to
make this point, so that we know where our area of study is to
be confined. There are three major passages
of Scripture in the New Testament that deal with the subject of
the weak conscience, this relationship of Christian liberty one unto
another. Now there are three passages
that treat with it and give us a full view of it so that we
have a good understanding. They are 1 Corinthians chapter
8, the entire chapter as we read this morning. The second one
is 1 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 16 through verse 23. or
the last half of the chapter, as Paul there returns again to
the subject of chapter 8 and discusses it in a little bit
different light or angle, as we shall see later in our study. And the third passage is Romans
chapter 14, again the entire chapter. Now please remember
that a study of the weak conscience will inevitably lead us into
the area of Christian liberty, and that will lead us into the
exercise of brotherly charity, that out of love we are considerate
for the brethren who might be weak on a point and are wounded
by our wrong use of Christian liberty. And from 1 Corinthians
chapter 8 and chapter 10, let us understand 3.14. Number one,
The defect of the conscience is a weakness. Not that it is
overcharged, but that it is weak. And secondly, we see in these
texts that the state of the conscience, which is weak, is also the state
of the person who is weak in some things toward the Lord.
And the third thing that we want to note, Therefore, to womb this
weak conscience is also to womb the person, the brother, our
fellow worshipper in the Lord, the one whose conscience is weak,
and Paul reins us in from doing that. Now carefully observe what
Paul declares, that this weakness of conscience that we read about
is owing to a lack of proper knowledge in the particular area
to be dealt with, and it is owing to a lack of the truth about
the thing that is in question, in this case, idols. Now they
are lacking in knowledge and truth about the true nature of
idols. And ignorance affects the conscious
and truth corrects its bias. And these are the two things
to remember. Ignorance affects the conscious and makes it weak
and truth corrects its bias so that it can function properly.
Now look at chapter 8 verse 1. We know that we have knowledge. And the knowledge that he is
referring to is the knowledge about the true God and the non-existence
of false deity. He said an idol is nothing in
the world. And he sets that forth in verses
4 to 6, 1 Corinthians. chapter 8. But now, look at 1
Corinthians 8, verse 7. Having said we have knowledge,
we know that there is but one God, that an idol is just a dumb
dead object, and false deities are actually non-entities, he
comes now to the case of the weak and he said, how be it,
verse 7, there is not in every man that knowledge, that is,
There is not in every man the knowledge or the persuasion that
an idol or a false deity is absolutely nothing. Now, let us make the
point and then consider the text historically as well as contextually. And that is that the principles
of this struggle are the same today, but the issues change
and are different. The issues might vary from age
to age and place to place, but the principle stays one and the
same. Thus the effect upon conscience
is the same. And a conscience, even in a church
today, may be weak for lack of truth, and it might, because
of that, hold scruples that it would not if truth were more
fully embraced to free them from the bondage of their scruples
on that particular matter. And thus Paul tells us that the
way to correct a weak conscience is not by forcing it to do what
it would consider to be a sin. You never correct the conscience
by forcing it to go against its conviction, by forcing it to
do that thing that it feels is a sin. How do you correct it?
Well, Paul said, the means is by enlightening it with truth. And the truth received and known
will make the proper adjustments in that weak conscience so that
it may operate. And by that truth it will be
strengthened, but wounded worse if forced to go against those
things that are conviction. Go against those things that
it disapproves of will simply do more damage and wounding to
the conscience because it reckons the thing of sin, it can never
partake of it in peace. And we need to remember that.
Because these people reckoned this thing a sin, they could
never partake of it in peace, and they could never watch their
brethren partake of it with peace. Now, let's ask ourselves the
question, identify it and move closer. What was the issue in
the first century? What are we reading about here
in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and 1 Corinthians chapter 10? What
is it that so disturbed the churches that they wrote to Paul and asked
his counsel and advice upon the matter. Well, 1 Corinthians 8
and 1. Now, as touching things offered
unto idols. Now, if you count up in Corinthians,
this is the sixth major problem that Paul has dealt with in the
church there. That they had sought guidance
from Paul upon the subject because this matter repeatedly came up
among them and they could not come to a consensus about it. It was a source of dissension
and it set brother against brother and accusation one against the
other. It was a source of great dissension
in the church and so they asked Paul to enlighten them upon the
matter. Now the matter in question concerned
whether the eating of meat that had been sacrificed or slain
and sacrificed under the heathen idols and under the heathen deities,
that meat that was devoted unto an idol, their question is whether
or not eating such meat made them a partaker of idolatry and
was a sin in their life. Now some found eating such meat
a very, very painful thing to their conscience and they could
not take of it in peace and seeing their brethren do the same wounded
them as well. So they write to Paul and they
say, what do you say? What about this? Now the Greeks
and the Romans were rank idolaters, as we learn from history. They
made their pagan religious services a part of almost every aspect
of their public life. They entered in this religious
service, these pagan rites and services that they participated
in, and heathen priests would make animal sacrifices to heathen
deities on heathen altars. in heathen temples, and there
they would conduct their feasts in such a play. And these feasts
of the Greeks and the Romans, the pagans of that day, included
all kinds of reveling, and prostitution, and immorality of every kind
was associated with these pagan feasts. Now, very often it was
that portions of the meat of these heathen sacrifices would
find their way to various places. Number one, to the private tables
of the worshipping idolater. For they received a portion of
the meat, and they would retain the portion, take it home, and
there they might invite a Christian to share their table. Secondly,
the priest portion was often sold in the marketplace. The
priest received a portion of the meat, or of the sacrifice.
It was more than he could ever use, and so it was sold at what
Paul calls the shambles, in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, in the market place,
and there it was mixed with the common meats of the butchery.
It was sold for private home consumption, and might eventually
be set upon a private table before a believing Christian for them
to partake of it. Now, there were some that considered
this a sinful thing, that this meat originally offered unto
idols was put upon a table, even a private table, and they could
not eat of it without a sense of guilt and a conviction in
their conscience, and so they wrote Paul to ask him about it. They felt that they were engaging
directly in idolatry. When they ate of such meat, it
made them in their conscience a partaker of idolatry. Now since
the thing died as a sacrifice to an idol, a heathen idol, a
heathen deity, their conscience condemned them for eating. Not only would their conscience
condemn them, but their conscience was wounded to see or to know
that a brother would partake of such a thing themselves. They
neither approved of it, nor allowed of it for themselves, nor did
they approve or allow of it in the case of a brother. In either
case, they reckoned it, to be a sin and sought the guidance
of the apostle. Now before we go ahead, let us
stop and admit something, that if we throw ourselves, if we're
able to imaginarily throw ourselves into the first century controversy
atmosphere and consider it historically, then we are soon aware that most
of the questions troubling the early church had to do with the
mixture of Jew and Gentile in the same body or assembly. That
these kinds of problems basically arose out of the mixture of the
Jew and the Gentile together in the assembly. I believe for
one of the major reasons that they had such a different background
with religion. Now, if you don't believe that,
you look at the background of people and you'll find that what
we were deeply involved in stays with us a long, long time, even
after we are converted to the truth of Christianity. And these
things that we once held, and our consciences were once bound
to and by, stay with us a long, long time. and only the truth
over period adjusts and corrects and chases out these things that
are there that ought not to be. Therefore, this mixture gave
rise to much dissension in the early church, not the least of
which was the eating of food. Do you realize? that it was a
difficult thing for a Jewish brother and a Gentile brother
to do so simple a thing as to go to one another's house and
to sit down at a table and to eat. Because of their diverse
backgrounds and such like, it brought their consciences to
this play. Now it wasn't just a matter of the Gentile eating
pork and picking his teeth while the Jewish brother looked on
with awe, but it was a matter of eating meat sacrificed unto
idols. And this was such a problem that
it was made a part of the Apostolical Encyclical that you read about
in Acts 15. They even had to address the
problem when they sent out the Apostolical Encyclical about
how the Gentiles, how much of the law they were to keep. Acts
15 verse 29, Acts 21 and verse 25. Now the issue disappeared When the church became predominantly
Gentile, when the Jews were cut off, the Gentiles grafted in,
and the church became predominantly Gentile, this issue disappeared,
that is, of eating and such like. But the principles are with us
yet. The issue has changed, but the
principle is the same. There are those that are weak
in conscience, and are offended by the things that others do.
Thus we deal with the issue as it existed in the first century
churches. And then when issues which raise
the same principle today in a weak conscience that causes a stir
among brethren, one charging the other with a sin. Now there
were two attitudes in the matter of eating meat sacrificed unto
idols that prevailed among the people at Corinth. There were those who ate of such
meat as had been sacrificed unto idols without any hesitation.
They did so without any guilt of conscience or scruples about
it. They bought it, they took it
home, they served it upon their tables, they ate it, and they
thanked the Lord for it. And some of them may, chapter
8 and verse 10, even have gone into the heathen temples to eat
of the meat. Chapter 10, this is a different
problem, and Paul deals with it there. They excused themselves
or justified their actions, saying that they had the knowledge that
there is no such thing as an idol, there's no such thing as
the heathen deities that are worshipped, and that there is
but one God, and they did not reckon the idols to be real deity,
and that it was their liberty and not a sin to eat of such
a thing. Then be there were others that considered it meat sacrificed
unto heathen deity, and they considered it idolatry and a
sin They were wounded in their conscience because they were
not able to separate the meat from the way in which it was
offered for the idols or the deities to whom it had been slain. And they felt that they sinned
in eating such meat sacrificed unto idols. And it wounded their
conscience because... And let's survey the text again.
Look at verse 7. For some with conscience of the
idol eat it unto this hour as a thing offered unto an idol. To them it was an idol sacrifice. To them this portion of meat
set before them was originally an idol sacrifice. This brother
did not sit down at the table and look upon it as a delicious
pot roast smothered in gravy. He did not look upon it as a
round steak or as a ribeye. He looked upon it as a sacrifice
unto a heathen deity or a false god. Now the result was this,
the last phrase of verse 7, and their conscience being weak is
defiled. Now here's quite an issue. How
will Paul resolve this matter so that these Christians might
exist in harmony and fellowship? Now, it is interesting to note
immediately that he sides with the first group in principle.
He sides with the group that said, an idol is nothing, and
we know that. There is but one God, and that
is the faith of Christ. He sides with them in principle,
but notice, Quickly, he follows that with a rebuke and an exhortation
about them using that Christian liberty to be the hurt of another. Twice he starts the matter. Verse
1, Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we have
knowledge. And then, through the third verse,
he bridles them in with a rebuke and a Christian admonition to
use their Christian liberty in a wise way. And then secondly,
in verse 4, he returns to the subject again, now to treat of
it in depth, as concerning, therefore, the eating of those things that
are offered in sacrifice unto idols. And then in verse 4, the
last part, through verse 6, he agrees in principle again with
the first group. Notice that if we might. He agrees
in principle with the first group. Hear him. We know, verse 4, that
an idol is nothing in the world and that there is none of the
God but one. Verse 5 and 6. For though many
bear the name of God, and there are many such, but to us There
is but one God, of whom are all things, and we by him. And this
is the God of heaven. This is the God of Christianity.
This is the God that is set forth in the gospel. There is one God. And the doctrine of Christianity
is monotheism, that there is one God. Now he admits, what
is an idol? What is an idol? If you were
to go somewhere and see old, fat, big-bellied Buddha sitting
there, you'd look at him, whatever he's made of, and he's made out
of some sort of earthly material of one kind or another. What
is an idol? An idol is a piece of wood. An
idol is a piece of stone. An idol is marble or gold or
silver or ceramic or whatever it is made out of, and the scripture
calls them dumb idols. Habakkuk chapter 2 and verse
18. 1 Corinthians 12 and 2, they
are lifeless, inanimate objects. I'd like to read from Psalms
100 and verse 15, a passage that David has given us that seems
to fit in this light. That's Psalms 100 and 15, beginning
with verse 2, and reading through verse 8, let us read. Wherefore
should the heathen say, Where is now their God? Our God is
in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. Now watch this. Their idols,
that is, those who say to us, Where is your God? Let us see
him. Where is he? Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak
not. Eyes have they, but they see
not. They have ears, but they hear not. Noses have they, but
they smell not. They have hands, but they handle
not. Feet have they, but they walk not. Neither speak they
through their throat, and they that make them are like unto
them. So is every one that trusteth
in them. Now back to I Corinthians chapter
8, as to another class, and what are those who pretend spiritual
deities? Now, an idol made of wood or
stone set in here is one thing, but those who pretend and name
spiritual deities, the God of weather, the gods of fertility,
the gods of life, or whatever they might be, those who pretend
spiritual deities, the gods of harvest and love, these are figments
of man's imaginations. There does not exist somewhere
out in space a god of fertility, or a God of love, or a God of
the harvest, or whatever. These are gods only in the imagination
of men. They have no existence. There is only the one true and
the living God, the God who is spirit and who inhabits heaven
and earth. But now listen to Paul in 1 Corinthians
8 and verse 7. How be it? And we know that an
idol is a dumb object. It can't move, it can't talk,
it can't think, it can't hear, it can't see, and it can't answer
prayers, and it can't help its worshippers. We know that it's
just a dumb idol that sits there. But listen to Paul again in verse
7. How be it there is not in every
man that knowledge. Every person is not fully persuaded
of the extent of that truth, meaning that knowledge expressed
in verse 4. We know that an idol is nothing
in the world, but to those who one time bowed down to them and
one time offered sacrifices to them, they consider them to be
something and there is a wounding of their conscience. So not every
person can say, we know that an idol is nothing in the world. This is a clear connection from
these things. No one is a Christian who admits
the doctrine or the existence of God's or Lord's other than
Jehovah God. We know that to be the truth.
Everyone who denies the existence of one true God and worship idols
is not a Christian. Then we know, be that the next
statement, verse 7, for some with conscience of the idol unto
this hour, that is after all this time, After all this time
professing the gospel in Christ, even up to the present time from
their conversion, what do they do? They eat it, are regarded
as if it were a thing sacrificed unto an idol, and their conscience,
being weak because it lacks the proper knowledge of the idol,
is defiled. Now, such people, though converted,
still cannot view the idol as nothing. They cannot see it as
being just a piece of stone, just a piece of wood or gold
or silver, and they cannot view that meat as simple, ordinary
meat that we might receive at the store. This means that should
they eat such meat, as was sacrificed unto idols and heathen deities,
their conscience would consider it an act of idolatry if they
knew that the meat was part of the heathen sacrifice. And they
could not do this with a clear conscience. They could not shake
off the convictions of guilt that attached to them when they
ate meat sacrificed unto idols. They could not eat with a conscience
free of accusations with regard to the idol and the meat. For
to eat with conscience of the idol was to defile their conscience
and to wound it seriously and fill it with sin. And this is
the main objection that Paul makes. They still regarded it
as an act of idolatry, therefore their conscience felt unclean
and a partaker with the idol. And the problem with such a conscience,
it believes that the meat is made impure by being sacrificed
unto an idol and they believe that the idol defile the sacrifices
of the meat and thus it is a defilement of their conscience when they
eat or should they eat. You remember an example that
I gave you a few years ago. We were studying Christian liberty
and I thought up this example and I want you this morning to
re-imagine this scenario again. We have The Church of the Satanic
Worship of Astrology or Scientology, whatever you want to call it.
And this church slew a young calf as a sacrifice to the gods
of fertility, pleasure, and sensuality. They worshiped Satan, and the
priest brought a portion of that meat of the young calf, and it
was given unto me. And I brought it home, and I
invited you over and said, we've got some good meat here. I want
to invite you to our table. and partake of it. Now, the question
is, my having told you that, could you eat of it with a clear
conscience? I said to you, this was sacrificed
to the Church of Satan of Scientology and Astrology as a sacrifice
unto their gods. What if I told you this meat
is killed as a sacrifice to a false god? Could you eat? Would you
choke? Would you gag? Would you get
indigestion if I said it before you and told you that? And furthermore,
would you think of me as a compromiser for doing such a thing and even
having a part of it? Now, what if I didn't tell you
where I got the meat, and you set out the table, and man, it
was lapping good, and it was smothered, drowned in gravy,
and you assumed that it came from Randall's or Kroger's or
Sam's or Safeway's. Now in the later case, your conscience
could not possibly take an offense whatsoever. Now the point is,
knowledge is a chief thing for the conscience, for knowledge
is the light that guides the conscience. Knowledge is the
standard by which it judges a thing to be right or a thing to be
wrong. The weakness that Paul attributes
to the conscience is rooted firmly in the lack of knowledge in the
individual. Now, the more knowledge it possesses,
the more active conscience is, and the better it can function
and operate. Thus the way, I say again, to
correct an erring conscience. Listen to this carefully. The
way to correct an erring conscience is not by forcing it to do something,
saying to a brother, eat it, eat it, come on, eat it, don't
be an old fuddy-duddy, eat, come on, let's take of it, there's
nothing wrong with it. That's not the way to do it. It's not
by forcing it against its better judgment. The way to correct
an erring conscience is to supply it with truth. And in this case,
to let them know that an idol is nothing, that there is but
one true and living God. We can't say to a person offended
at sacrificial meat unto idols, eat it or else you can't have
fellowship with me or be my brother in the Lord. Instead we hold
to the truth of monotheism. that God is one and that idols
are an inanimate thing, and when the brother comes to that firm
conviction on both accounts, then his conscience will be freed
of the great shackles. Nor do we strengthen a weak conscience
by forcing it to violate its convictions. But truth strengthens
the weak conscience and truth is that thing that frees the
conscience from those undue restrictions that have been imposed upon it
or forced upon it by tradition or by false teaching or by religious
background or whatever the case might be. Now, the same with
the eye of a camera. The more light that it has, the
better it is able to focus on the outline of the thing and
take the proper and the correct picture. The sharper the picture,
the darker the light, the less sharper is the focus. Well, so
it is with a conscience. But there is another perspective
for us to consider in this matter. And that is in 1 Corinthians
chapter 10, and we'll just mention it now and consider it later
in a study. From verse 14 to verse 22 of
the 10th chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul treats the matter from a
different angle altogether. That of attending the temple
rituals with the pagans. In 1 Corinthians 8 and 10, Paul
shows that such a thing as the heathen do is an act of idolatry,
that there is fellowship between the altar and the partaker. And he goes into this in chapter
10. I may have said chapter 8, but
it's in chapter 10. He illustrates this from the
Christian faith itself, that the Lord's Supper is a worship
and communion with the Lord Jesus Christ. When we take the Lord's
Supper, we are holding communion with our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. Verse 16, verse 17, 1 Corinthians
10, the cup and the bread represent the body and the blood of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 18, such was also the case
with the Jewish priest. in the Old Testament as to their
sacrifices. They partook of the altar. They
shared with the altar what was on the altar. They shared themselves,
the Jewish priest. Now to offer and eat a Jewish
sacrifice in a holy place was an act of Jewish worship. It
was a communion with God. It was a profession of worshiping
God, and so is our supper of the Lord. When we have the Lord's
Supper, the altar, and we partake of that and what is upon it.
Now, verse 19, chapter 10, Paul says, what am I saying? Am I
now reversing myself? Am I now saying that an idol
is indeed something or that meat is anything? Have I changed my
mind? Am I contradicting myself? Am I equating the feast of devils
with the feast of the Lord? Nay, he said, but I do say that
the form of Gentile worship is an act of idolatry. Verse 20,
for first they do not sacrifice to God but unto devils. Let me resurrect the illustration
about the Satanic Church of Astrology and Scientology. While you might
eat the sacrificial meat, at a private table or in a private
home, you would never, no, never do so by going in to the pagan
temple and there associating with them in their feast, their
blasphemous worship. You would never, never imitate
them in this, for the meat, and I want you to get this, the meat
changes character when removed from the pagan temple and from
the pagan services and is in the marketplace with the other
meat or on a private table. And Paul reminds them that such
beasts are God's gift and eating and that eating or not eating
makes us neither better or worse. Let me illustrate. A while ago
we said that the Lord's Supper is a communion with our Savior
and it is. We have the bread and we have
the wine. And now, as we are in the service
and doing this in remembrance of the Lord, we are having communion
with our Lord as we take the cup, we remember His blood, we
take the bread, we remember His body bruised and broken. Half
of that bottle of wine is left over. We didn't need all of it
to fill the little cups that we drink. And if that bottle
of wine finds its way somewhere else, to a private table, or
to a restaurant, or to whatever it might be, it has changed its
character, has it not? And the people that might take
it there came out of the same bottle that we had here. But
they would not sit down and say, we're remembering the blood of
Christ. They would sit down and take it as a meat or a common
feast, you see, because it changed its character. Well, the meat,
Paul teaches them, I believe, changes its character when it
goes from the temple and from the sacrifice altar, from the
table where the heathens gather and revel, to a common table
or even in the marketplace. And I think you will admit what
I just gave, the illustration, that so do the elements of the
Lord's Supper, that once removed from this place, once this service
is over and gone, we are from here. If that wine should find
its place in another table, then it certainly does not retain
that character that it had while we were here. And so it is with
this meat, Paul says to them, it loses its character. But,
Paul says, but if you partake of the idols' sacrifices and
services in their temples, it is an act of idolatry, because
they worship and sacrifice devils and not unto God. And this is
key to our understanding, I believe, of this passage of the Scripture.
It is the worship that makes the difference. The altar shares
and is a partaker with those that come before it. So we have
defined the issue and now the principle is to follow that there
are principles of this in other matters as we shall see. Now
eating meat sacrificed to idols is not a problem with you. I
doubt if it has ever crossed your mind or it's never been
a problem in all of my remembrance or knowledge. But there are other
things in principle that do the same thing and have the same
effect. And we want to study them next week, God willing,
from Romans 14 and see what the Scripture teaches us about a
brother who is weak and is wounded by certain things. So we will
suspend our study here and take it up again next Sunday, God
be willing, secondly on the study of the weak conscience.

Studies On The Conscience #6

What does the Bible say about the weak conscience?

How do we know that eating meat offered to idols is not a sin?

Why is it important for Christians to respect the weak conscience of others?

What does the Bible teach about knowledge and conscience?

Why does a weak conscience defile a believer's actions?

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Studies On The Conscience #6

What does the Bible say about the weak conscience?

How do we know that eating meat offered to idols is not a sin?

Why is it important for Christians to respect the weak conscience of others?

What does the Bible teach about knowledge and conscience?

Why does a weak conscience defile a believer's actions?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

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