Much to Do About What to Do

How do we live in the tension between Christian liberty and Christian responsibility? Paul addressed the controversial question of whether believers could eat meat sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 8, and while that specific question may not come up in our daily lives, the underlying issue of how we use our freedom in Christ is one every believer must wrestle with. The first of four principles Paul lays out across chapters 8 through 10 is this: knowledge must be balanced by love. Mature believers are called not simply to exercise their freedoms, but to consider how their choices affect those who are still growing in their faith.