Posted by 1 Corinthians on Monday, 11 January 2016
1 Corinthians 10:27-30
(27) If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.
(28) But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof:
(29) Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience?
(30) For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?
10:27-30. For a Christian who accepted an invitation to another’s home Paul recommended eating from all the fare without scrupulous reservation. But if another Christian guest piped up (cf. 8:7-13) that the food had been part of a pagan sacrifice, the knowledgeable Christian should defer to the uninformed scruples of the weaker brother. To exercise his rightful freedom to eat might cause the brother with the scrupulous conscience to follow that example and cause him to sin (cf. Rom. 14:14-23).
A knowledgeable Christian did not need to alter his convictions to accord with the conscience of a weaker brother (1 Cor. 10:29b), but he did need to alter his behavior when in the weaker brother’s presence. Otherwise the weak brother might act against his conscience and harm himself (cf. 8:11), which would bring denunciation on the strong brother. What the knowledgeable Christian could enjoy privately with thankfulness be came in the presence of the weaker brother a contemptible act eliciting condemnation (why am I denounced [blasphemoumai] because of something I thank God for? cf. 8:12; Rom. 14:16, 22). An echo of 1 Corinthians 8:13 concluded the matter.
Excerpt from:
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985).
The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures.
Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
