Authentic Church by Roberts Vaughan;

Author:Roberts, Vaughan; [Roberts, Vaughan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2012-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

1. Love is more important than knowledge (1 Corinthians 8)

Meat sacrificed to idols

Paganism pervaded every aspect of life in the ancient world. Temples to different gods were at the heart of the cultural and social life of each community, so it was very hard for Christians to avoid some contact with idolatry, especially with regard to food. Most of the meat that was consumed had been butchered by priests in the context of pagan rituals. Should Christians buy and eat such meat when it was sold in the marketplace? That is the question Paul deals with at the end of 1 Corinthians 10. The particular issue addressed in chapter 8 seems to be the question of whether or not Christians should eat such meat in an idol temple (8:10). Pagan shrines were the restaurants and nightclubs of the first century and formed an integral part of the social life of the day. Those who were celebrating a birthday or wedding were likely to invite their friends to the local temple to share in a meal. This would have been a mainly social event, although there was a religious element too, as the meat that was eaten would have been sacrificed to an idol. Should Christians ever attend such meals?

Paul begins his response by saying, ‘We know that we all possess knowledge’ (8:1). It is likely he is quoting a slogan of the libertarian group at Corinth. They were proud of their theological understanding and were confident that, because idols had no substance and food was spiritually insignificant, it was fine for them to eat in an idol’s temple. Paul agrees with their presuppositions, acknowledging that ‘an idol is nothing at all in the world’ and that ‘there is no God but one’ (8:4). Idols are just bits of wood and stone, which have no real existence, in contrast to the only true God, the Father, and his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (8:6). Paul also agrees that ‘food does not bring us near to God’ (8:8). It makes no difference to our spiritual life whether we eat chocolate in Lent, fish on Fridays or consume meat that has been previously offered to an idol. However, even if we may be free to eat anything we like, that does not necessarily mean that we should. Paul may agree with the libertarians’ theology, but he certainly disagrees with their selfish application of it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.