mere vanities (comp. Isa. xliv. 9; Jer. x. 3; Ps. cxv. 4). How melancholy a picture -does this present of the condition of those who know not the true God! Men must worship, and so strong is this impulse that they first create the objects of worship and then bow down before them. It is the blind groping of the human mind after the Most High-a creature, ,vith dreamy recollections of a lost glory, stretching out suppliant hands towards a silent heaven. 2. There is but one living and true God. This is the Christian's simple creed. (1) Instead of "gods many," "to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we unto him." 'l'h!s Supreme Being is the Creator and Primal Source of all things, our Father in heaven, for whose glory we exist. This is the fundamental doctrine on which all true religion rests, and which at once takes the ground from pagan polytheism. It also strikes against all modern idolatries which are practised in Christian lands: hero-worship, mammon-worship, etc. (2) Instead of "lords many," there is" one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, aud we through him." There is but one Governor of the universe, into whose hands all power has been committed, Jesus the Messiah, by whose agency all things were created, and in whom we are made new creatures. This is the second article of our holy faith. Instead of the endless series c,f p:ods and demigods, who were supposed to hold sway over different parts of the universe, "there is one God, one Mediator also between God and men, himself man, Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. ii. 5). 3. From this the inference is plain that eating or not eating of t!tings offered to idols is a matter of indifference. If au idol has 110 real existence, it cannot defile that which is presented to the image in the temple. The flesh which formed part of a sacrifice is neither better nor worse on this account, and may be used without scruple. Thus the enlightened Christian is freed from the entanglement of such petty questions, which belong to the bondage of legalism rather than the liberty that is in Christ. How important is a full acquaintance with Divine truth! How good it is to be free from prejudice, and to receive the whole truth as to our standing in Jesas Christ! But such knowledge is dangerous if it stands alone. III. LIMITATIONS TO LIDERTY ARISING FROM C1mISTIAN LOVE. (Vers. 7-13.) An enlightened view of the nature of heathen divinities delivers the Christian from questions as to the lawfulness of eating what had first done duty as a sacrifice; but all Christians are not thus enlightened. '!'here were at Corinth believers, converts from heathenism, who could not get rid of the idea that the idols they had formerly worshipped had a real existence, and who consequently regarded the flesh used in sacrifice as polluted. A due regard to the case of these weaker brethren will modify the use of their Christian liberty by the stronger. 1. Consider their case. '!'heir conscience was weak, inasmuch as it could not rise to the conviction that an idol is nothing, and was therefore troubled with scruples ll.'l to the lawfulness of partaking of a thing sacrificed to an idol. Hence such persons could not eat without defiling their conscience, i.e. without the feeling that they had done wrong. This carries with it principles that have an important bearing upon Christian ethics. It is wrong for a man to do what his conscience tells him is wrong, or what it does not clearly approve. 'l'he thing in itself may be good, but if you are in doubt about it you are thereby debarred from doing it. The dictates of conscience are al ways imperative, but with this there goes the duty of seeing that conscience is instructed. Comp. Rom. xiv. 23, where Paul is treating of the same subject: "He that doubteth is condemnecl if he eat, because he eateth not of faith ; and whatsoever is not of faith is sin." Apply this to some forms of amusement, doubtful practices in trade, extravagant living, etc. It is not enough to plead the example of others, if you are in doubt regarding Lheir rightness. "Let each man be fully assured in his own mind." Do not disregard the faithful voice within your bosom, even when it speaks in whispers. 2. The eating of such things has no religious significance. Neither the use nor the abstinence from use commends us to God or affects our standing before him. To abstain from eating for the sake of weak brethren is not tc summder any spiritual benefit. It is a matter of ludilfercnce. "The king,lom of God is not eating and drinking" (Rom. xiv. 17). Observe the class of matters to which alone the apostle's reasoning is meant to apply. They must be such !lS involve no religious principle-cases where accommodation to the weakness of others does not imply the sacrifice of truth or duty. In such cases we are free to consider the condition of our brethren, and to regulate our conduct by a regard to them. 3. Tlic strong must not use their libei·ty so as to put a stumbling-block in the path of the weak. 280 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORIN'l'HIANS. [cH. vm. 1-13.
If a weak brother, who had doubts about. the eating of sacrificial flesh, should by the example of another be emboldened to ent also, in that case he would siu and his conscience be defiled. The more enlightened Christian would thus be the occasior, -of stumbling to his brother, bringing him into danger of perishing altogether, and would thereby sin against Christ who died for him. Rather than do anythin" that might lead to this result, the apostle declares, "If meat maketh my brotl~er to stumble," etc. This is the principle of Ch1·istian expediency, of which Paul is the great exponent, and which enters so largely into the believer's practical life. It has its root in loYe, which leads us to" bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" (Gal. vi. 2). It is an outcome of that spirit of self-denial which dwelt in him. "Nmv we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselve~. Let each one of us please his neighbour for that which is good unto ed!fy(ng. For Christ also !:'leased not hi_mscl~" (Rom. xv. 1-3). In applyiu'g this prmc1plc, note: (1) It applies only to thmgs m themselves inditferent. Where true Christian libert) was i~ danger, ~auJ re~nsed to yield (Gal. ii. 3-5). (2) It is not to be confounded with mere tnne-servmg or man-pleasing. (3) Each Christian must judge for himself how this principle requires him to act in special circumstances. Total abstinence from strong drink for the sake of others is a good example of its application.-B.