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1 Corinthians 8:2 – Challenging the Conscience
Jesus makes people uncomfortable. Ironically, this is especially true for the religious because Jesus challenges the normal, the expected, and the religious traditions of both the sanctimonious and soft-hearted. Jesus confronts the conscience of others and we must be brave enough to question our own. Learning from Him, who always knew right and wrong regardless of religious tradition, is our goal. How does Jesus challenge the conscience of others? And equally important, how does He not do it? Learning these lessons will help us not only follow in His doctrinal footsteps but His loving footsteps too.
With a bit of irony, we might say that Jesus traditionally breaks tradition. If he set up a new tradition to follow it would be His iconoclasm. The regulatory rules of the Sabbath that rule in His time solely by tradition receive special attention (Matthew 12:1-8; 9-14). How does Jesus challenge the conscience of the Pharisees? The Master teaches, citing scripture, making common comparisons, and by demonstrating with actions. Never, though, does Jesus act upon someone’s conscience or ask someone to violate their conscience. Never does He force someone into a situation where their conscience might be conflicted. And in the end, He willingly dies for those still too blind to see. That’s love.
Paul follows in the steps of Jesus challenging the conscience. With Paul, the taboo topics are the eating of meats and circumcision. Paul teaches that eating meat sacrificed to idols is scriptural (1 Corinthians 8:1-5), and eating all meats has been made clean (Romans 14). Just like Jesus, he teaches and acts upon his freedom. And just like Jesus, never does he force someone into a situation violating their conscience to prove a point. “Therefore, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never again eat meat, so that I won’t cause my brother to fall” (1 Corinthians 8:13). That’s love.
So if we want to be like Jesus and Paul, we must challenge with teaching, but never force someone to violate their conscience. That’s not love. Before they act, they must believe they are right; they must be comfortable within their conscience. “Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up (1 Corinthians 8:2). Challenging while not violating the conscience, now that’s love.
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