This lesson must begin with a clear understanding. It does NOT focus on everyone's conscience as a general statement. If focuses on the person who is a Christian and his/her reaction to his/her conscience.
Make it quite clear that this lesson is about a Christian's conscience in his/her relationship with God through Christ. The core of this lesson is not about the unbeliever and his/her conscience.
The Christian, as everyone who is responsive to his/her conscience, recognizes the conscience as the voice of right and wrong or good and bad. The Christian continually should be in the process to changing his/her standards and values to match God's standards and values. The Christian's conscience should function as his/her response to his/her Christian concepts of right and wrong. Since the Christian knowingly and deliberately puts the definitions of right and wrong in God's hands, the Christian recognizes his/her conscience as God's voice in his/her life. For a Christian to affirm his/her conscience by behaving in a manner consistent with his/her conscience is to affirm responsible relationship with God. For the Christian to rebel against his/her conscience by behaving in a manner inconsistent with his/her conscience is to rebel against God. Thus a Christian can offend his/her conscience and sin if his/her behavior violates his/her understanding of God's will.
The key understanding: the Christian allows God to define his/her concept of right and wrong or good and bad. Because that is the deliberate intention of the Christian, his/her conscience becomes God's voice in his/her life. Thus, for a Christian to rebel against his/her conscience is to rebel against his/her understanding of God's definition of right and wrong or good and bad.
That fact places every Christian in a difficult situation. The difficult situation can be resolved in a godly manner only through (a) profound respect for other Christians and (b) a deep awareness/appreciation of God's devotion to the salvation of every person.
As a Christian's understanding of God's priorities and teaching becomes more mature and thereby more correct, his/her conscience will become more mature and thereby more correct. That is why each Christian's salvation is constantly dependent on God's mercy and grace, not on "no tolerance" perfection or absolute correctness. The power of salvation is in God's accomplishments in the death and resurrection of Jesus, not in "perfect human conduct."
As an example, consider 1 Corinthians 8. The problem: idolatrous behavior among Christians at Corinth. The question: "What is idolatrous behavior?" How was "idolatrous behavior" to be defined? Paul began his answer to their question about "idolatrous behavior" by affirming that knowledge is the avenue to arrogance.
This addressed a critical, real problem in the first century world. Primarily, that world was idolatrous. Israel was a minority. Christians, early, were an even greater minority. The definition of "idolatrous behavior" was a critical definition.
Sacrificial worship both in Israel and in idolatry commonly involved a meal. As an act of worship, the person who gave the sacrifice ate part of that sacrifice (see 1 Samuel 1:4,5; 2:12-17). The question: if a Christian ate part of something sacrificed to an idol, had the Christian worshipped the idol?
It is essential to understand 1 Corinthians 8 is about a common worship concept. While it seems strange to most of us, meals were a common part of sacrificial worship.
While this may seem to be an insignificant worship issue today, it was a powerful worship issue among Christians in the first century church. The matter had special significance to the gentile Christian who lived in idolatry prior to conversion to Christ and to Jewish converts who commonly look upon any idolatrous practice with enormous distaste.
Commonly, if a person at that time ate part of a sacrifice, did eating part of the sacrifice make him/her a worshipper of the god to whom the sacrifice was offered? Was eating from the sacrifice an act of worship? Could a person act as a Christian should act while eating part of a sacrifice given to an idol?
Paul said the knowledgeable Christian understands there is but one living God. Idols do not represent any god. While the world acknowledges many "so-called" gods, the Christian understands there is but one God. This one God is the Creator God, the Father. All things, including people, exist for this Creator God to honor and praise Him. Jesus Christ is the only Lord. He alone was the creative agent through whom God worked. "We" Christians exist through Jesus Christ.
To the highly emotional question, "Can a Christian eat part of a sacrifice to an idol without worshipping the idol?" Paul said the technical answer is, "Yes!" Why? Technically, because there is only one God, and He created everything. The Christian who understood this fact could eat of a sacrifice to an idol and not worship the idol.
That is correct knowledge. Idols do not represent a god. There is only one God. When people engage in any idolatrous act of worship, they are not honoring an existing god.
The Christian must understand this truth prior to eating, else he offends his/her conscience and easily can seek to justify his/her act.
While this understanding was [is] accurate, it was not understood by everyone. Idol worshippers and some Christians believed idols represented an existing god. In this conviction, their conscience was weak. If they ate or witnessed another Christian eating something sacrificed to an idol, they believed such eating honored another god and defied the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As a consequence, this person's weak conscience was offended to the point of falling away from the living, Creator God.
The problem created is very real. A Christian who thought there was more than one god observed a Christian who knew there was only one God as he/she ate part of a sacrifice to an idol. Thus the Christian who thought there was more than one god ate part of a sacrifice offered to an idol. After eating, he/she had a conscience attack because he/she had honored multiple gods--which must not to be done by someone who belongs to the Creator God. He/she felt as if he/she had dishonored God by eating something offered to an idol.
Note: this is not about a person getting upset and "going to another congregation who agrees with me." This is about a person abandoning God and Christ because of a conscience violation. He/she had reverted back to a common idolatrous practice--worshipping more than one god. In much idol worship, that was perfectly okay and encouraged. One of the first understandings in coming to Christ was this: worshipping more than one God is not okay!
Paul said eating or not eating food produces no spiritual benefit. Neither eating or not eating brings a person closer to God. That is knowledge. That is correct knowledge. That is the knowledge that frees or liberates the Christian who understands.
Stress that correct knowledge emphasized the truth that there was not spiritual benefit in eating or not eating.
However, this correct knowledge which can liberate was not to be used in a manner that caused a person with a weak conscience to fall away from the living God and the Lord Jesus Christ. If the weak Christian sees the knowledgeable Christian eating something sacrificed to an idol, the weak Christian will be encouraged to violate his conscience. For the knowledgeable Christian, eating the sacrifice was not an act of worshipping the idol. For the weak Christian, his conscience declared eating from an idolatrous sacrifice was an act of worshipping the idol.
Correct knowledge does not justify destroying someone for whom Christ died. God wants to save both the Christian with correct knowledge and understanding and the Christian without correct knowledge and understanding. God's love for both is enormous. The standard for respecting and loving each other must be God's love.
The weak Christian violated his conscience by honoring a god other than the Creator God and by honoring the lordship of another deity rather than honoring the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Thus when the knowledgeable Christian [though correct in his understanding] wounds the conscience of the weak Christian, he sins against the weaker Christian and thereby sins against Christ. He sins against Christ by doing something that is not wrong!
An essential understanding: the destruction of a Christian through correct knowledge is a sin against the person and a sin against Christ. Again, this is not about someone who "changes congregations" but about causing a weak Christian to abandon God. We Christians must be as committed to the salvation of others as is God. It is not about letting the weak be in control. It is about helping each other in our journey to God.
Thus the Christian's conscience must be concerned about two realities, not just one. He/she must be concerned about not defying God in his/her understanding of godly standards and values. He/she must be concerned about not encouraging others to defy God in their understandings and actions. Christians assume both responsibilities because of their growing appreciation of God's enormous investment in the salvation of people.
Stress both responsibilities. A Christian seeks to honor his/her own conscience in appreciation for what God did/does for him/her in Jesus Christ. A Christian seeks to respect another Christian's conscience because he/she understands the depth of God's love for that Christian.
For Thought and Discussion
This lesson is intended for Christians.
The Christian recognizes his/her conscience as the voice of right and wrong or good and bad.
The conscience will be a continually growing reality. As his/her understanding of right and wrong or good and bad matures, his/her conscience also will mature.
Difficult situations can be resolved by (1) respect for the consciences of other Christians and (2) by understanding God's devotion to the salvation of all people.
This discussion should include the fact that eating part of the sacrifice was a common worship practice in sacrificial worship in Israel and in idolatry.
Correct knowledge understood there was only one God, and He is Creator of all things.
A weak Christian's conscience believed there was more than one god.
There was not spiritual benefit in eating or not eating.
This discussion should include (1) disrespect of another Christian's conscience (2) that results in the weak Christian abandoning God is a sin against Christ.
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 5