It was Halloween, and as a normal college student, I intended to live it up and make the most out of this holiday! As I walked down the street dressed as Frankenstein, trying to freak out as many people as possible along the way, a car stopped beside me. The driver began shouting at me, “Did you know that Jesus hates Halloween? You shouldn’t have anything to do with this evil holiday!”

I was appalled! I loved Jesus with all my heart! How could he object to my having a little fun? However, as time went by, and I had done some research on the origins of Halloween, I could no longer in good conscience participate. I would not allow my children to have anything to do with it either as they grew up. On trick-or-treat night, we always hung out at the library or the church so we wouldn’t have to explain to anyone why we didn’t pass out candy.

But then, just a few years later, my pendulum began to swing the other way. I realized that most of the people who celebrate Halloween really have nothing to do with the occult or any of the origins of the holiday. For most, they are merely dressing up and getting candy. It is nothing else to them. Perhaps they are playing gags on each other, but it is all in good fun. When my boys were teenagers, and my daughter was around 3^rd or 4^th grade, I let them go trick-or-treating for the first time. I then hung out at the neighbor’s house, and we passed out candy together and had a blast! I felt no guilt!

From then until now, I really have no idea how I feel about Halloween any more. I hate what the holiday is about, and I hate all the scary and gory decorations. However, I understand what the day means for the great majority of people. I can see the valid points on both sides, and there are people who love Jesus with all their hearts on both sides. I have also seen much debate, and even arguing back and forth about this topic. I have therefore decided not to take any position, and I won’t try to talk anyone out of their opinion. It is a matter of conscience, or personal conviction between that person and God.

Paul talked about God’s permissive will and matters of conscience in this week’s study of 1 Corinthians. He gave examples of giving different recommendations for different people, showing that not every directive in Scripture was for every person. For example, marrying or staying single were not commands, but they were his suggestions depending on each person’s individual situation.

Another major area of contention for the Corinthians was the matter of eating meat offered to idols. For some, they understood that idols were fictitious entities, and that eating meat offered to them was of no consequence. Therefore, they felt total freedom in partaking. However, there were many who came out of a background of idol worship, and some were even temple prostitutes. Because of their weaker consciences and their unique backgrounds, they were unable to eat this meat. Paul explained that for them, because it went against their consciences, it would be wrong for them to partake. Hence, another example of something being wrong for one person but acceptable for someone else.

We can think of many other examples in our modern culture, and we must be careful to not allow these things to propel us into a pit of judging, condemnation, or division among our brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to accept the fact that others may see things differently than we do, and we need to allow the Holy Spirit to convict their hearts rather than feeling the mandate to point fingers at them ourselves.

Some of these issues where God gives us a gray area to navigate include things like being a working mom or a stay-at-home mom; homeschooling, Christian school, or public school; allowing your children to read certain books or watch particular TV shows; to drink or not drink alcohol; listening to secular music; saying substitutionary words like Gosh or Dang it; eating sweets or consuming caffeine, or not; getting tattoos; to dance or not to dance; wearing jeans or dresses to church, etc. There is much more too!

Paul instructed the Corinthians to be considerate of each other in issues of conscience, and to not allow our freedom in Christ to cause another person to stumble.

It is possible that something that is right for one person may be wrong for another. For example, someone who has overcome alcoholism may need to refrain from alcohol completely while someone else feels the freedom to drink a glass of wine on occasion. Or, one person who came from a rebellious past may need to stay away from all secular music that reminds him of his past while someone else may feel free to enjoy music of all genres. These are areas that would fall under the category of “non-essentials” or opinions.

We need to understand that we have freedom in these areas. However, that freedom is not a license to indulge the flesh or to become enslaved to a sinful lifestyle. Christ came to set us free so we could freely live for Him! That is what it is all about! Instead of seeing how far we can get before crossing over the line, we need to strive to please the Lord with every fiber of our being just because we love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

And to achieve the unity Christ wants for His church, we need to refuse to allow these matters of conscience to be a source of division for us. We must, as individuals, work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and with holy reverence to God! Then, we need to give others the freedom to do the very same thing for themselves.

Discussion Questions

Here is a sneak peek of the questions we will be discussing this week in our small groups.

Welcome to our Week 3 discussion of 1 Corinthians, “Everybody’s Doing It.” This week we have focused on issues of conscience, sexual immorality, lawsuits, and the difference between God’s perfect and permissive will. These are areas that can often be the most divisive among believers, but if we want to achieve the unity that Christ desires for His church, we need to carefully study what Scripture says about these things and choose grace with each other.

In our motto for this study, In essentials – UNITY; In opinions (Non-essentials) – LIBERTY; In all things – LOVE, we will be diving head first into the opinions category. As Melissa says, “We all face decisions of conscience where we must decide God’s leading for us personally while realizing He may lead others differently. When we start to think we have all the answers, we need to remember that we really don’t know very much.” “What is right for us might be wrong for another believer.”

QUESTION 1: In 1 Corinthians 6:1-8, Paul reprimands those in the church who are quick to sue each other over “trivial matters,” or “ordinary things,” and “right in front of unbelievers.” They were cheating each other and being a bad witness to those outside the church. (In criminal matters, it may be necessary and is permissible to allow governing authorities to determine and administer justice.) In this “litigation happy” culture, what are some better ways for believers to resolve our differences?

QUESTION 2: In 1 Corinthians 6:12-13, Paul addresses the excuses the Corinthians were using to justify their immoral behavior. Since they had freedom in Christ, some felt they could do whatever they felt like doing. But Paul explains that Christ didn’t set us free so that we could indulge our flesh and then become enslaved to a sinful lifestyle. Rather, we have been set free to live for Christ, and we are to honor God with our bodies. (Also Galatians 5:13 and Romans 6:1-4).

We are all in the process of growing to become more Christ-like. Describe some changes God has made in your life since you have been born again.

QUESTION 3: In chapter 7 of 1 Corinthians, we see Paul addressing issues that are not necessarily commands for everyone, but are issues of wisdom for specific situations, such as for those who are married and those who are single.

Melissa explains on Day 3 the difference between God’s prescriptive will, which is God’s will for everyone everywhere, and His permissive will, which includes different instructions for different people. It is possible that when God gives someone a directive, such as to homeschool their children or downsize their homes, He isn’t necessarily leading everyone to do the same. On the other hand, we are all commanded to love our neighbors and to forgive each other.

Can you think of other examples of God’s prescriptive will and His permissive will?

QUESTION 4: In chapter 8, Paul talks about matters of conscience that are not specifically spelled out in Scripture, such as eating meat that had been offered to idols. Some felt free to eat it since they knew that idols were fictitious. However, there were others who could not eat the meat because of their past experience with idol worship, and it went against their consciences. This is an example of something being a sin for one group but not for another, based on conscience.

Paul instructed the Corinthians to be considerate of each other in issues of conscience, and to not allow our freedom in Christ to cause another person to stumble.

It is possible that something that is right for one person may be wrong for another. For example, someone who has overcome alcoholism may need to refrain from alcohol completely while someone else feels the freedom to drink a glass of wine on occasion. Or, one person who came from a rebellious past may need to stay away from all secular music that reminds him of his past while someone else may feel free to enjoy music of all genres. These are areas that would fall under the category of “non-essentials” or opinions.

How can we as believers disagree on such matters without being prideful or judgmental?  How should we treat other believers with different opinions then ours?

“But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble.” 1 Corinthians 8:9

QUESTION 5: How might an area of freedom for us become a stumbling block for someone else? How can we show consideration for someone with a weaker conscience?

Here was Paul’s take on this: “And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you sin against Christ. So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live – for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble (1 Cor. 8:13).” In other words, love is more important than freedom.

QUESTION 6: I have seen Christians divided over things like allowing their kids to read certain books or watch particular movies, whether women should work outside of the home or be stay-at-home moms, what we should eat or wear, or whether or not to dress up for Halloween. Can you think of some other examples of issues of conscience and how we can keep from allowing these things to divide us?

This Week’s Assignments

1. Read 1 Corinthians, chapters 9-11 (Read commentary in addition if you wish.)
2. Read Week 4, “Beyond Ourselves” pp. 109-139
3. Attend a small group
4. Watch this week’s video on Heart to Heart
5. Work on memorizing this week’s Bible verse:

When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. ²³ I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. 1 Corinthians 9:22-23 NLT

1. Weekly Wrap-Up, pp. 139-140
2. Digging Deeper article, Week 4: “Loving Boundaries”
3. Blog or journal your insights.
4. Choose one “Practical Application” idea to implement this week.

See here for Reading Schedule, Practical Applications, and additional information.

I am praying that you have an awesome week of Bible study! I hope to see you in one of our small groups!

God bless!