respect o_f such ~hat ~be war is waged .. 2. The second and third will generally be open to question. 'Ibe difficulty of proof 1s great. Facts, apparently conflicting, will be adduced, and where knowledge is limited and imperfect, the contest is likely to continue the advantage now seemingly being on one side and then on the other. 3. The firs;, seldom carries conviction, since every man deems it an impossibility for him to fall. Every one else may be weak, but ,ve are certainly strong. The argument a.~ainst often acts a.s a temptation, for when human nature is warned of peril it often deli<Thts to show how brave and steadfast it can be. "' III. THE APOSTOLIO ARGUMENT. 1. The apostle enlarges the view so that others ar~ included as well as ourselves. Abstinence is not for ourselves alone, sometimes not for ourselves at all, but for our fellows. "Look not every man on his own things, but also on the thin)!s of others." Whether we realize it or not, we always decide for moro than one. ,ve are units, but united units. We cannot legislate merely for that little area which we ourselves occupy. 2. The apostle recognizes the influence or example. Mentally, we instantly assent to this; practically, we generally deny it. Our words are a spider's web; our acts are a cable. Men do what we show them, not what we tell them. And we cannot persuade men that we are strong and that they are weak ; they will believe the opposite with ve~y little persuasion. Men are like sheep: though the shepherd calls and the dog barks, 1f one sheep leads the way the others will follow, though it be over a precipice. 3. 'l'he apostle assorts the obligation of self-sacrifice for the welfare of others. That which is "indifferent" becomes anything rnther than indifferent if our indulgence in it is likely to cause injury to ou-r fellows. \Ve arc not only to think of others, but to deny ourselves for others. Our sacrifice will often seem very small indeed compared with their possible loss. Here is an argument which will stand where many others fall. It has special force for Christians. (1) They have a great example of self-sacrifice in their Master. They are to imitate him. "He saved others; himself he cannot save." He "gave himself for us." 'l'he apostle seems to suggest a comparison of Christ's sacrifice with the sacrifice which be desire<l the Corinthians to make. Christ died to save men : you are called npon to ~acrifice what that men may not fall away from salvation: how little compared with how much! And to those not making the required sacrifice : Christ died to save the weak brother; you, to gratify your appetite, are causing him to perish. (2) They havo a more impressive view of the issues involved in the fall of a fellow-creature. (3) 'l'heir non-nbstineuce may be a sin against a fellow-Christian (ver. 11). The fall may be, not of an unbeliever, but of a brother, associated in Christi:l.n fellowship and service. And thus be (4) a sin against the brethren (vcr. 12); against the Church, bringing scandal and disgrace through a brother's fall. And also (5) a sin against Christ (vcr. 1:}). For Christ an<l Christians a.re one-he the Head and they the members. (6) They have in their ears certain suggestive utterances of their Master's; such as, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me" (M:ltt. xxv. 40); and, "Whoso shall offend [' cause to stumble,' as in text] one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matt. xviii. 6).-H.
Vcrs. 1-13.-0n the eating of sac1·ifices offered to idols; liberty and expediency. Another of those questions which troubled the Christian community at Corinth comes up hero for consideration. 'l'o understand the difficulties connected with it we must bear in mind that the religious worship of the pagans entcreJ. largely into their social life. 'l'he victims offered in sacrifice to the gods were not entirely consumed on tho altar. A portion went to the priests, and tho remainder was either given to tho poor or sent to tho public market. 'l'hus not only the feasts in the temples, hut also privato meals, were brought into cl0se connection with idolatrous worship; and tho Christians could never be sure that the meat they purchased had not fonncJ. part of a sacrifice. It is easy to sec how this interweaving of religious with social lifo would occasion com- plications and perplexities as to practical duty. To the Jewish converts the eating of things sacrificed to idols would be an abomination. Among the Gonlilo converts two classes may be discerned. 1. There wero those who had been completely emancipated from their old ideas regarding the heathen divinities. 'l'o their view these divinities were more creatures of the imagination, having no real existence; and accortlingly 2,8 THE FlRST EPISTLE TO THE COlUNTHIANS. [01.1. vm. 1-13.