When Paul came to Athens “his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols” (Acts 17:16). Imagine the impact on a person’s mind, to believe that an almost infinite number of gods, deities, and spirits exist—and that they either make you prosper for appeasing them or pay dearly if you offend. Then imagine, having believed all of those things just yesterday, and then hearing the gospel preached by Paul or Peter or Titus or Barnabas and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Indeed, many people were saved out of rampant idolatry, snatched from the swirling currents of demonic occultism. If we think they came to Christ and instantly became sound in their knowledge of God and truth and life, we should rethink that.
If we had believed in many gods throughout our lives and had seen idol figures almost everywhere we looked, supposedly good ones and notoriously sinister ones, the lingering effects of that would be hard to shake. While our modern culture does not acknowledge a pantheon of deities, it is overrun with superstition of all sorts. My dear grandmother was a precious believer in Jesus, as sincere and earnest as they ever come. But she continued to think of certain things in a superstitious way; on some level many still do. A broken mirror meant ‘seven years bad luck’ and I forget what was supposed to happen if you walked beneath a standing ladder—whatever it was, it wasn’t good. In times long past and even now, many who sincerely and truly come to trust in Jesus may have no easy time shaking free of their past way of thinking, no matter how utterly silly some of it is or how entirely inconsistent with faith in the Almighty God. Their faith is real, yet some of their thinking continues to be very inconsistent with their faith.
Some of the Corinthian Christians were more knowledgeable than others who worshipped with them. Knowledge informs beliefs. Beliefs have consequences. If one believes, is absolutely clear on the fact, that there is one God and only one and that idols are not gods at all—that will instruct a person’s conscience. He will think and live under the influence of what he believes is true. Some of the Corinthian believers were crystal clear on these things. To them Paul wrote:
“…We know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6).
Paul’s next few words may catch us a bit off-guard. Remember, he is not speaking of men in general, but referring to Christians in the Corinthian church. Having just stated beliefs that most of us think of as kindergarten stuff, the ABC’s of the gospel: “there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one;” and, “there is one God, the Father…and one Lord, Jesus Christ,” Paul then says something surprising about some Corinthian church members, Christians:
“However not all men have this knowledge…” (1 Corinthians 8:7a)
What? Does he mean that there are some Christians who do not fully grasp that there is one and only one God and that idols are not actual gods at all? Yes; that is what he was saying. Paul was telling the Corinthian church that some among their number were weak in conscience because they were lacking in true knowledge, not understanding certain truths, even some basic ones. And not understanding those truths and their implications, they could not yet be directed in their consciences by truths they did not understand.
But can anyone be a real Christian, a truly saved person, if he does not know—fully understand—that “there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one;” and, “there is one God, the Father…and one Lord, Jesus Christ”? We might write-off such people as unsaved, as unbelievers. Paul regarded them as weak, not as enemies of the gospel and without Christ. Was he content to leave weak brothers and sisters in ignorance and weakness? Not at all; that is why we have the epistles in our New Testaments. Paul and others wrote to teach and clarify and rebuke and strengthen.
We could adopt this attitude toward those who are weak in knowledge and, therefore, stunted in their spiritual maturity, as well. We could love them as brothers and sisters “for whom Christ died” and seek their advancement in the Way. We could be patient and kind and considerate of them, for Christ’s sake and theirs. What if they are, after all, His precious sheep—bought and paid for? –TSA
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