Another great week of responses and questions.  Here are two I thought worth going over with everybody.

What would be a current cultural analogy to attending a banquet where idol meat is served?

I think the best way to answer this question and find an analogy is to look at the two key terms that address the issue at a deeper level, which is the relationship between “knowledge” and ‘love”.  While on the surface, the subject was whether to eat or not eat meat sacrificed to idols at banquets, at its core it was what role does knowledge play over love.   

So in that case, there could be multiple analogies.  Anytime we use our knowledge or intelligence to make ourselves feel superior or to pass judgement we are abusing the relationship between knowledge and love.  Love must come before all things, as we’ll see in chapter 12-14. 

No one would go to alcoholics anonymous and crack open a cold one, saying its ok for me to drink, sorry if you struggle with this.  No one would bring cookies over to someone who was struggling with over eating.  While drinking and eating are not sinful in themselves, to put others in harms way destroys the freedom we have, it puts the knowledge of something over the love to others.

One thing I saw that I’ve never forgotten was when a person got up and gave a devotion.  During the devotion the person mistakenly referred to John instead of Peter as the apostle in the story.  Immediately after the person was finished, someone got up and said, well thanks for what you said but it was actually Peter not John.  There’s no need to assert our correctness, our being right, our knowing more over someone.  Rather be encouraging, be supportive, be Love.

How do we best put into practice in our lives and as a church Paul’s admonishments, warnings and instructions to the church in Corinth?

The age-old adage of what type of exercise is the best exercise might help us here.  The answer to which exercise is best, is whatever exercise you do!

For me, I think the best way we can put into practice for ourselves and as a church, what Paul is calling us is to move through a 4-step process that I have found extremely helpful.  Head, Heart, Hands, Habit.  Now the process doesn’t always work in a chronological order … it’s a lot like Romans 10 where Paul switches between heart and head and head and heart. 

The goal is to seek out and understand his word in our minds.  To be transformed by the renewing of our minds.

The goal is to whole heartedly believe, to fully trust what God says.

The goal is to put into action, to get to work doing the good works that God has prepared in advance for us to do.

The goal is to be disciplined.  To always be training, to always be striving to get the prize. 

Remember, God gives wisdom so practice discipline.

When we as individuals, by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, make a change, powerful things happen.  When we as a church, by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, together make a change, well, the gates of hell certainly don’t stand a chance.