1 Corinthians 8 and 10:14-33 - Lessons for Dealing with Church Conflict (Meat Sacrificed to Idols and Opinion Matters)

Part 1 of this lesson tackles chapters 8 and 10, in which Paul discusses the practice of eating food sacrificed to idols, an issue that is causing division in the church. While sacrificing food to idols is not common in the United States, Christians face this issue in many parts of the world. There are also important lessons for us to learn in resolving Church conflict. In Part 2 of this lesson, we look at two other related passages: Acts 15 and Romans 14. In Acts 15 we are given a beautiful example of how the Church addressed a difficult issue that could have caused significant division among sincere believers. Instead, the conflict (and its resolution) brought about great unity blessed by God. In Romans 14, we learn what Paul meant (and did not mean) by "opinion matters". This passage is often invoked by Christians in interpreting Scripture. It is important to understand how Paul defined opinion issues so we can properly apply his instruction to the Church today with the goal of Biblical unity.