Understanding Convictions

So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live. However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated.  It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do. But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. I Corinthians 8:4-8 (New Living Translation, NLT)

There are many things in the Bible that are clearly spelled out as being sin. We know that stealing is wrong, lyings is wrong, murder is wrong, and so on. However, there is also the matter of convictions, which are more individualized. In other words, what may be considered as sin by one man may not be considered as sin by another. Keep in mind, those things that are clearly designated as sin in the Word are not open for interpretation, but there are some things that may seem like sin to certain people because they are convicted about them.

In I Corinthians 8, Paul speaks of eating food that was sacrificed to idols. While to him and others, it did not have a negative connotation to eat such things because they were very aware that the gods that the food was sacrificed to were not gods at all- they were false deities. Therefore, they were free in that area. However, someone else may have been very involved in a false religion in the past, and because of their previous experiences, their conscience may not allow them to eat such food, even though they know the food was sacrificed to an idol that was nothing more than a manmade object. Their conscience convicts them that it is wrong, and therefore, it is wrong for them- to them it is sin. That is an example of a personal conviction.

Paul also warned against trying to make someone do something against their convictions or to hinder them in anyway by demonstrating your own freedom in an area where they still have some reservations.

Where do we get our convictions? They are determined by a number of things, such as how we were rasied, our cultural background, our educational background, etc. Even our personality and temperment have some involvement in it. And in addition to these things, our knowledge of the Word has a bearing on our personal convictions. Some people may have more freedom in an area because they have spent more time with the Lord and His Word and have a revelation of their freedom in that area. And being in the Word may also show us that things we thought were okay in the past are actually not good for us, causing us to tighten our convictions about certain subjects.

So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]. Philippians 2:12 (Amplified Bible, AMP)

The bottom line is we are all in various places of maturity and development in the Lord and He deals with each of us uniquely. We are all responsible for our own growth and for working out our own salvation. We must abide by the convictions in our hearts and allow others to do the same. As we walk in love towards one another, each of us will have the liberty to grow in Christlikeness without condemnation.