1 Corinthians 8:9 –
But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.
This chapter goes into details about sin and how we perform with others. The definition of sin is very different as you move across the various churches and denominations. Sure you have the “Thou shalt not’s” but then after that it becomes grey. In this chapter Paul is talking about meat sacrificed to an idol and if one could eat it. Technically yes because it’s not really a sin, unless another believes in their heart it IS a sin. Then we should not partake so not to allow the other to stumble elsewhere.
It’s like the old saying “when in Rome” we need to conform to others beliefs and not force ours on them. In the south it’s drinking that has a wide range of beliefs on it and sin. One church will say it’s a sin to drink any alcohol, while another has no problem with it. Is it a sin? Well the disciples drank often WITH Jesus, so no I don’t believe so. But one could argue as many churches do that for an alcoholic any drink is a sin, and therefore if I do so in front of them I am sinning also. So drinking is a sin.
You see where interpretation of scripture becomes very difficult to clearly define. The key Paul wants us to understand is that when we are with God and connected our conscious guides us. The key is being connected and do we do that with knowledge or love? Paul is clear by saying “knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church.” Talking about this gets me excited about what’s to come, as in chapter 13!! You want to know what love is, then jump ahead and dwell on that for the next few days!!
Love would want others to remain strong in their beliefs. In this case if they honestly believed with their hearts that eating pork was truly a sin, they we should not eat that before them to ensure they do not stumble on other aspects of their walk. Think about when you were young and we let you get away with something you knew was wrong. Suddenly everything gets questioned as if it is right or wrong. You quickly think “well if that’s ok, then how about this?” And that then loosens ones standards to the point of allowing actual sin to enter and destroy that relationship with Christ. So it’s not ours to convince others that our drinking is ok and it’s not really a sin, our duty is to stop drinking for them.