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Not everyone knows

Not everyone knows

Words of Faith 6-14-17

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2017

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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1 Corinthians 8

   [7] But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. [8] But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. [9] Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.

 

       Yes! We are free from the power of idols and idolatry. In Christ we are a new creation! The old has passed away and the new had come. Paganism has no power over us! There is only one true and living God! But not all believers really know this.

     In fact, if all Corinthian Christians could have just agreed that an idol was nothing and that there was only one God, then they might have eaten the idol meat without any problems. But this was not the case.

         Everyone is not at the same place in the process of sanctification. In other words, the Spirit is at work in all of us to get rid of the baggage of the past but that may take some time. All did not possess this knowledge as a deep matter of the heart.

       The conscience of some Christians was not strengthened on this point by the truth. Some were still ignorant and had not come to the point where they could accept eating this kind of meat as a matter of indifference. For them it was wrong, and so to eat it was sin.

       Paul wrote to the church at Rome-- "But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23). When knowledge that is uninformed by love dictates one's behavior, spiritual harm will likely result.

       The exercise of freedom by the knowledgeable could in certain circumstances become an obstacle, a stumbling block in the weak Christian's walk with God. This is not a walk of love.

         There are many ways that this begins to be significant to us as believers. We live in a world full of vice and addiction. We live with believers who have been set free or are being set free form all sorts of bad stuff. We may know that we have freedom in many areas of life but these can become a stumbling block to fellow believers who are just trying to make their way.

       So be careful. Be careful. Be a "you first" believer rather than a "me first" believer.

 

       Heavenly Father, open my eyes to the possible dangers I might cause for others. Help me to see the places where my freedom could become a stumbling block to other believers. In Jesus' Name.

 

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2007, 2017

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)      

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.