Episode Synopsis:

The church in Corinth was plagued by factions. One source of division was ethnicity–the church was made up of Jews, Greeks, Romans, and likely a number of other nationalities. Then there were the factions formed by church members who identified with Paul, Peter, or Apollos, as their favorite teachers. There were also deep cultural divisions between the wealthy and the poor who found it difficult to socialize with one another even within the body of Christ. But in this section of Paul’s Corinthian letter (chapter 8), we encounter yet another kind of division–that between the strong and the weak.

The strong were those who understood that if God created all things, then the idols invented by pagans were nothing but lifeless statues, with assorted trinkets and amulets, and pointless ceremonies and useless sacrifices. There is no occult reality behind these images and the temples which housed them. Therefore, why should Christians not be free to eat the leftover meat and food which the pagans sacrificed to their imaginary gods. The weak, on the other hand, were those who had trouble understanding how any Christian could eat food that had come remotely near a pagan feast or temple–seeing such food as possessing an occult reality.

Paul warns the strong (who are correct about the falsity of pagan religion) not to attempt to coerce the weak to violate their consciences, as that might destroy the faith of those (the weak) who have not yet advanced in their knowledge of the Christian faith sufficiently to leave such concerns behind. Until the weak Corinthian Christians gain sufficient knowledge to dismiss paganism as the mere superstition which it is, Paul challenges the strong to put the weak first and give up the freedom to eat all foods. In light of the harm the strong can bring upon those weak in faith, Paul tells the strong that just because they are free to eat all things, doesn’t mean that they should. This is not about food but about the circumstances in which it is eaten.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

In 1 Corinthians 7:17-40, Paul teaches what I call the “you can’t unscramble eggs” doctrine. What should a new Christian do when they come to faith in Jesus Christ? Do they quit their current “secular” job to devote themselves full-time to Jesus Christ and to the work of ministry? Should they rush into marriage to avoid the lusts of the flesh? Or conversely, should they seek to end an engagement because the time of the end might be drawing near? What about those widowed, single, or divorced? Now that they are Christians, what are they to seek to do? Paul tells them all to “stay put.” What they’ve done, they’ve done. And as he cautions them, when a crisis is at hand, that is not the time to make big changes.

Paul is addressing a congregation in the midst of serious difficulties of some sort–a regional famine or the consequences of the divisions the church was then facing. Paul assumes his readers know to what he is referring, so he offers little clarification. But what he does offer is wise advice for those bought by the blood of Jesus Christ. Slaves ought not seek immediate freedom–in Christ they are free people. Gentiles ought not seek to be circumcised–now in Christ, the old covenant sign has been replaced by baptism. And for the time being, the unmarried ought not seek to get married–at least until the crisis has come to an end.

Paul tells the Corinthians to wait for the crisis in Corinth to be resolved before they make major life changing decisions. Christians would be wise to wait for things to sort themselves out, and then make an informed and not a rash decision about significant events in their lives. Paul’s instructions make plain that he’s not concerned with fixing all those things new converts may have done in the past, but rather with teaching them the traditions passed down so that they learn how to live the Christian life and become better able to move forward in their lives now set free from the guilt and power of sin.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/

Episode Synopsis:

Paul’s Gentile mission was a huge success. A number of new churches were established throughout the eastern Mediterranean world–including fast growing churches in important cities such as Corinth, Thessalonica, and Ephesus. But with the spread of the gospel into a previously unevangelized world dominated by Greco-Roman culture and religion, came a whole set of pastoral problems–problems which were not specifically addressed in the Old Testament or in the teaching of Jesus.

A number of such questions surface in Corinth–as we have seen. But one pressing matter facing the Corinthians is what should happen when one party to a marriage comes to faith in Jesus Christ, while the other spouse does not, creating a so-called “mixed-marriage.” Should the believer leave or divorce the unbeliever if they refuse to convert to Christianity? And what, exactly, is a Christian spouse’s status if their unbelieving spouse divorces them because of their new-found faith in Jesus Christ? Must they remain single and celibate until the deserting spouse dies?

And an even bigger question arises. What about the children of mixed marriages? What is their standing in the church and what is their status before God? Are they members of the covenant of grace, and therefore eligible for all of the benefits thereof, while assuming all the responsibilities of covenant membership? Are they eligible to receive the sign and seal of that gracious covenant, which is baptism?

Paul answers these questions by appealing to the “holy” status of a partner to a mixed marriage and applying that same status to the children of such a union. How can an unbeliever be said to be “holy.” How can Paul affirm that of children who are born in original sin? To make his case, Paul grounds this “holiness” in the Old Testament’s principle of covenant authority–the believing parent’s authority over those in the household and as seen in the five household baptisms found in the New Testament.

For show notes and other recommended materials located at the Riddleblog as mentioned during the Blessed Hope Podcast, click here: https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/