Take Heed Lest Your Liberty Become a Stumbling Block (1 Corinthians 8:7–13)

1 Cor. 8:7. Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol to this hour eat it as a thing offered to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.

If the preceding words the Apostle spoke from himself, then in concluding them it would be appropriate to put into his mouth such words: this is how one should think about idols, and accordingly about food offered to idols; but not all have yet risen to such conceptions. But if one takes it that he is reading these words from the Corinthians’ letter, then such: you reason well, but not all have such convictions regarding idols—not ‘all have’ such understanding. Others consider idols to be something, and think that the sacrifices offered to them obtain from them a corresponding consecration, so that to eat these sacrifices, in their thinking, means to enter into communion with idols or the powers hidden in them. Before they thought so; and as they had recently still been turned away from idolatry, they had not yet managed to unlearn such convictions regarding idols and food offered to idols. This is what the Apostle called ‘conscience affected by idolatry.’—But of themselves they do not think to touch anything idolatrous. They rejected all of this upon accepting the Christian faith, and with accepting it they received a Christian conscience. This conscience recoils from them touching food offered to idols, because, in their thinking, this means to become a partaker of idolatry. Meanwhile, encountering examples of those strong in reasoning who, looking at food offered to idols as at any other food, pure, eat of it with a quiet conscience, they are led astray by them and eat the same food offered to idols, not having that reasoning which the strong have, holding the thought that to eat food offered to idols means to commune with idolatry, and despite the fact that the Christian conscience recoils from them doing this. Thus they act against their Christian conscience and defile themselves, stain their conscience.—“And conscience, being weak, is defiled.” ‘Eating does not defile, but conscience is defiled, not having received perfect knowledge, and still being held by idolatrous deception’ (Theodoret). ‘Some, he says, have not yet realized that “an idol is nothing in the world,” and therefore continue to fear idols. Do not point me to the present state in which you find yourself, having received piety from your ancestors, but turn your mind back to those times when preaching had only just begun, when impiety still prevailed, when altars smoked, when sacrifices and libations were being made, when there were still very many Gentiles—and imagine what those must have felt who had inherited impiety from their ancestors, descended from such fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers, and had only just turned to Christianity—how they must have feared and trembled! These are whom the Apostle has in mind when he says: “conscience affected by idolatry, eating food offered to idols,” that is, with those same thoughts with which they ate before. “And conscience, being weak, is defiled,” because it still cannot count these sacrifices as nothing and despise them utterly, but remains in doubt. As if someone, following the Jewish way of thinking, considering contact with a dead body to be defilement for himself, refrained from it—but then, seeing that others with a clean conscience touch it, began to touch it himself, only not with the same thoughts—so it was then with the Corinthians.—And their conscience was defiled’ (holy Chrysostom).

1 Cor. 8:8. But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.

In the preceding verse the Apostle expressed a general thought, how some can have their conscience defiled if they eat food offered to idols without the proper convictions. It was then proper to make an application and say: there you are, strong in mind, eating food offered to idols and not becoming defiled, because you are convinced that through this you have no communion with idolatry. But your example can lead the weak astray, who do not have such convictions; but not having them, they, in eating food offered to idols, will offend their Christian conscience and defile themselves; and the defilement of conscience is the destruction of the soul. Thus by your wisdom you destroy a brother, and in destroying him you sin against Christ. Therefore, abstain.—But they might have said: what concern is it of ours? Let them clarify their conceptions!—And this would have led to stubbornness and hardening of heart. Preventing this, the Apostle speaks beforehand: eating or not eating—the matter is not great before God. From which it directly follows: therefore, there is nothing to quarrel about. This thought cut off every objection before it was even born and paved the way for the full effect of the Apostle’s corrective exhortations.

Our commentators understand the flow of the Apostle’s speech thus. Holy Chrysostom says: ‘Until now the Apostle has not yet spoken about the essence of the matter, but only drawn attention to the conscience of the one eating, fearing that in correcting the weak, he would not offend the strong and make him weak as well; he spares both. Therefore he says: “meat commendeth us not to God,” preventing them from saying: what is it to us that not all have such knowledge?—And why does such a one lack knowledge?—Why is he weak?—He does not immediately conclude that one must abstain (from these foods) in order not to harm one’s neighbor, but first only pointing this out, he suggests something more important. What is it?—That, although abstinence from these foods might not cause anyone harm and would not scandalize the neighbor, and in such a case one should still abstain, because it is a useless thing. Whoever knows that a certain deed harms another but brings benefit to himself, will not easily abandon it, but more readily abandons it when he is convinced that he himself will not gain any benefit from it either. Therefore he says first: “meat commendeth us not to God.” Do you see how he represents as insignificant that which apparently arises from perfect knowledge?—“For if we eat, are we the better,” that is, do we not deserve the favor of God, as if we had done something good and great; “neither, if we eat not, are we the worse,” that is, we lose nothing. Thus he has proved that eating food offered to idols is superfluous and insignificant, for what brings no benefit when eaten and no harm when not eaten is superfluous.’ By ‘meat’ here is meant precisely food offered to idols. The Apostle’s thought is this: you, boasting of high wisdom and clear understanding of the matter, do not think that you are accomplishing something valuable before the eyes of God when you eat the remains of sacrifices to idols. No addition to your pleasing God, gained through other deeds, comes from this. Do not think either that those who do not eat such foods are diminished thereby in the eyes of God. No, their pleasing God, gained through another path, suffers no harm or loss through this.—From this it is clear how unfounded it is to apply the Apostle’s words to fasts!

1 Cor. 8:9. But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.

Some commentators consider the preceding words about food to be the words of the Corinthians. According to their opinion, the Apostle’s speech proceeds in this order: he took from the letter the words: “we know that an idol is nothing in the world” and so on; and made a remark upon them: this is true, but not all have such understanding. Then again he reads from the Corinthians’ letter: ‘meat, etc.,’ that is, the Corinthians write: idols are nothing, consequently, food offered to them receives from them neither holiness nor sinfulness; it is like any other food. Food in itself does not put us before God: whether you eat, nothing is added in this regard, and whether you do not eat, nothing is diminished. There, we eat.—On this the Apostle now makes a remark: it is true that this is a matter of indifference, but one must see that this does not cause a stumbling-block to the brother. The particle ‘de’ at the beginning, placed in ‘meat de,’ and here repeated: ‘take heed de,’ and especially the words: ‘this liberty of yours,’—stand for this supposition. And the flow of speech comes out more orderly. But there is no need to insist on this. The flow of speech loses nothing even in the understanding set forth above. One can, however, leave this to the choice of one’s will.—Taking the thought set forth before, we continue: The Apostle says as it were: that what you in such an understanding of the matter eat from the remains of sacrifices will not defile you; but this adds nothing to you even in pleasing God—the main thing for you. Meanwhile, see what danger! From such freedom in your relation to sacrificial foods a brother can stumble. And this is no small matter. Therefore, be on your guard!

‘Take heed.’—He did not say: your power serves as a stumbling-block,—he did not express this positively, so that they would not become even more shameless, but how?—‘take heed,’ he says, arousing in them fear, shame, and resolve not to do this. He did not say: your understanding or your perfection, which would mean more praise, but: ‘power,’ by which he expressed more their shamelessness, audacity, and pride. He did not say: to the brothers, but: ‘to the weak’—from the brothers, increasing their guilt by the fact that they do not spare even the weak, and moreover brothers. You do not correct and do not lift up the brother—so be it; but why do you put an obstacle before him and bring him to fall, when you should extend a helping hand? You do not want to help him; at least do not hurl him down. If he is vicious, he has need of correction; and if he is weak, he needs healing’ (holy Chrysostom).

1 Cor. 8:10. For if any man see you which have knowledge sit at meat 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?

He explains how the stumbling-block can occur.—A brother will see, he says, you in the temple—you, whom he knows as a man of great learning, honored by all, whose word and deed always carry weight among the brothers—and will be led astray by your example to also sit at the table of food offered to idols, while in his conscience he considers this deed not sinless for a Christian. Acting thus, he will offend his conscience and sin before God, for one must never act against conscience. This is how the stumbling and fall of the weak brother can be accomplished!—‘And this scandal arises not only from his weakness, but also from your lack of wisdom; you make him even weaker’ (holy Chrysostom).

1 Cor. 8:11. And through your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died.

‘And perish’; for, acting against conscience, he sins; and perhaps moreover, having become a partaker of the demonic meal, he will fall away entirely from the faith and again turn to idolatry. He fell—he has perished, until he repents; and fell away—he has perished altogether. And the reason—your wisdom; you view things wisely, but act unwisely in your wise views. And the brother has perished—the brother for whom Christ died. A striking reminder! He has already received the cleansing and sanctifying action of Christ’s death: drops of the Lord’s blood are upon him for his salvation. And you hurl him back into former uncleanness and together with him trample this life-giving, priceless blood. Does this not terrify you?! ‘The harm you inflict is unforgivable for two reasons: because your neighbor is weak, and because he is your brother; but there is yet a third reason, the most terrible. What is it?—That Christ did not refuse to die for him, but you do not wish even to show him forbearance. He does not say: for whom it was proper for you to die, but far more powerfully: “for whom Christ died.” Your Master did not refuse to die for him, but you pay no attention to him, do not wish to abstain from an unclean table even for him, but allow him to perish after salvation has thus been accomplished for him, and, what is most grievous, all because of food!’ (holy Chrysostom).

1 Cor. 8:12. Thus also those who sin against the brethren and strike their conscience when it is weak, sin against Christ.

Those who act this way sin “against the brethren,” that is, against the brethren. They received the gift of understanding and knowledge in order to build up the brethren, but acting without wisdom, they destroy them. They strike the conscience—a merciless deed! As we sometimes say: you strike me to the heart. They strike the conscience not only by leading into temptation, but by turning them away from the path and plunging them into deeds contrary to conscience. Their conscience is struck through you; and being struck, it strikes them: they suffer. — “They sin against Christ,” that is, against Christ, and all the more because the Lord commanded: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones”, the least of those “who believe in me” (Matt. 18:10), yet they pay no attention to this; and especially because they lead a brother into sin. “Do you see how gradually and little by little he has proved that their guilt is the gravest transgression? They sin against Christ: first, because what concerns his servants he ascribes to himself; second, those who are struck down constitute his body and his members; third, those who strike the conscience of the weak, through their pride, destroy the work which he accomplished through his death” (St. Chrysostom).

1 Cor. 8:13. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will not eat meat forever, so that I may not cause my brother to stumble.

The Apostle says: judging by such destructiveness of causing offense, here are the resolutions I have—that if food causes my brother to stumble, I will not eat it forever, so as not to cause my brother to stumble. He sets forth his own will, decisions, rules, and dispositions; but his intent is to give the Corinthians a lesson in how exactly they ought to act. He presents his own example so that they will be more readily inclined to act likewise. “He conducts himself as an excellent teacher, showing in himself an example of what he teaches. He does not say: whether this is just or unjust, but however it may be. I say nothing more, as if he were urging, about the offerings to idols, which are forbidden for another reason as well; but if something causes my brother to stumble, something that depends on my power and is permitted, I will abstain from it, not for one or two days, but for the whole of my life. — ‘I will not eat meat forever’. He did not say further: so that I may not destroy him, but even only: ‘so that I may not cause my brother to stumble’. Truly, it is extremely foolish to regard those about whom Christ is so concerned that he was pleased to die for them as so contemptible that we should not even refrain from food for their sake. This concerns not only the Corinthians, but, we may say, us as well, who neglect the salvation of our neighbors and utter such satanic words. For to say: what is it to me if such a one is caused to stumble and such a one perishes? — this is truly satanic cruelty and inhumanity. — At that time offense arose at least from the weakness of those who were offended, but with us it is not so; we commit such sins that they cause offense even to the strong” (St. Chrysostom).