DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Although Paul is answering a question about food sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, what larger issue is he addressing?
Paul says, “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (v. 1). How can even right biblical knowledge make us proud?
If food “will not commend us to God” (v. 8), then what does? How does this verse remind us of the gospel and the basis of our acceptance before God?
What should inform, shape, and govern the way we exercise our freedoms (cf. vs. 6, 8, 11, and Roma 14:15)?
Our freedom in Christ is real, but Paul says we must be careful that our freedom does not become “a stumbling block to the weak” (v. 9). What are some areas today where Christians may be free to make different choices?
What impression does the way you exercise your Christian freedom leave on other believers? How can something that is permissible for you still be harmful to someone else?
Paul describes the weaker believer as someone “for whom Christ died” (v. 11 and Rom 14:15). How does seeing another Christian this way change the way we respond to their weaknesses, sensitivities, or convictions?
Paul says that sinning against another believer in this way is ultimately “sinning against Christ” (v. 12). Why does Jesus take the way we treat one another so personally? What does that teach us about Christian relationships?
Paul is willing to give up something entirely rather than cause a brother or sister to stumble (v. 13). Why is he willing to limit his freedom so drastically for someone else?
How far should we go in giving up our freedoms for the sake of another believer? How do we distinguish between lovingly limiting our freedom and allowing someone else's conscience to govern our own?
Read Philippians 2:3–11. How does the example of Jesus challenge both the “strong” believer who knows he is free and the “weak” believer whose conscience is more restricted? What would it look like for both to “count others more significant” than themselves?
