In 1 Corinthians chapter 8 the Apostle Paul counseled the Corinthian believers on eating meat that had been offered as a sacrifice to idols. This was a very touchy subject with great religious and cultural implications. New believers who had been converted from the pagan idol worshipping scene had always thought of those idols as being inhabited by real “gods.” Paul and other mature believers knew that idols were not gods at all. He knew he had the freedom to eat that good, fresh, inexpensive meat that was sold down at the pagan temple. However, young believers who had previously bought their meat their as a part of their worship, hoping to be empowered by the “god” were appalled to see believers they respected going through the same process they had done as worldly unbelievers.
Paul made a point of saying that while it was not necessarily “wrong” or “sinful” for him to eat that meat, it was more important to have an attitude that took the feelings of others into account. So, he was willing to voluntarily give up his “right” to eat meat, so that he would not cause one of these young converts to stumble in their new faith.
“Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.” 1 Corinthians 8:13
So the question came up, what activities do we do that are not necessarily “wrong,” but could cause other believers to stumble in their faith. What are some areas where we need to show religious respect and have cultural sensitivity and extend the love of Christ?
Some areas involve public worship. Some believers like to raise their hands and clap their hands in corporate worship. I love their enthusiasm. Other Christians would rather lose an arm that ever raise it during the worship service. They feel that it would be to “showy” or draw attention to themselves and away from the Lord. Both tend to be cultural thoughts based on the type of church a person was raised in or attended when they were first saved. Neither are essentials for entering heaven or cooperating together in the Great Commission. Yet these areas plague many church fellowships.
Some practical matters of every day living that are often mentioned in some of these “grey area mine fields” are smoking, drinking, and tattoos, etc. Is it OK for a Christian to smoke or is that a “sin?” And we could ask the same of each of these areas and more. Please don’t think I am condoning or encouraging any of these things. Don’t break fellowship with me based on this small article. However, what I am suggesting is that in all of these areas, we actually ask the question: “What does the Bible actually say about it?”
If the Bible is the Christian’s ultimate authority, then we must always go back to our authoritative source for answers to these questions and then be intellectually honest enough to study the subject well and live with the whole truth and any tensions or exceptions that we may discover.
So, what about eating meat, smoking cigarettes, drinking wine, and getting tattoos? I am not ABOUT to try to answer any one of those questions in this brief article. However, I do think that there is room for grace and love among believers on all of them. I think you will appreciate the humorous little story by my friend Mike Cramer in his new book, Fireside Chats to Fire Up Churches.
“When it comes to religious respect; I prefer the guiding principle of: In the essentials unity, in the non-essentials liberty, in all things charity. When it comes to cultural sensitivity; I am reminded of the little humorous story concerning some Christians in France attending a Bible study. It seems their discussion shifted to the subject of Christianity in America. They were appalled to discover that some “so-called Christians” in the United States actually smoked cigarettes. This so enraged these French believers that they jumped up and tripped over their wine glasses!” (Fireside Chats That Fire Up Churches, p. 107 from the chapter titled: “Religious Respect and Cultural Sensitivity,” by Michael Cramer)
The doctrinal essentials are seldom the things that divide us as believers. It is the non-essentials where we have the most controversy. Perhaps we should be more like Paul and have the attitude that loves those who differ with us enough to even give up our rights. Imagine how significantly our arguments would dwindle if we were all willing to love each other like that.
I think Paul loved meat, but he loved his fellow believers more.
Hope this gives you a little something to think about today.
Your fellow pilgrim,
Bro. Kelly
PS Pick up a copy of Michael A. Cramer’s new book, Fireside Chats To Fire Up Churches. And get a copy for your pastor, he will love it. For more information on how to get a copy go to
http://www.nlpositivefaith.com/powerforliving_ministry.html
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