06/30/19 - What Should A Christian Do? - 1 Corinthians 8

Sometimes it's easy to forget that we Christians live in a broader context than our church community. We live in the world. We are called to be missionaries and ambassadors (good will representatives of some other place - heaven). The Corinthian Christians were asking this question - What is permissible for a Christian and what is not? We often think this way too. We want to know where the lines are so we can step right up to them and yet not feel the guilt of crossing over. Paul changes our perspective. Instead he wants us to think like this: In what ways are we to behave so that we can maximize our evangelistic influence? Paul gives a few timeless principles. What is safe for one Christian may not be for another; true discernment always requires love as well as knowledge; and believers have no right to demand certain freedoms if they in turn prove detrimental to those around them. The mature Christian will ask, "What do those around me need from me right now?" This is love.