“United Through Christ, Bound to Each Other” Lesson Five

Lesson Five: For the Good of the Community

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 8–10

In Chapter 10 of the First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul has some strong words about making wise and faithful choices. “My beloved,” he writes, “flee from the worship of idols.” Clearly, the Corinthian church needed help figuring out what, exactly, constituted idol worship, and so do we.

It’s so easy to recognize idolatry when someone else is doing it. The golden calf that the liberated Israelites created and worshipped in the desert, that we read about in the Book of Exodus, is such an obvious example that the expression “golden calf” is often used as a synonym for any unworthy object of worship.

Today, citizens of the United States might point to the cult of personality around foreign leaders like the ayatollahs in Iran, or Kim Jong-Un of North Korea, and say that their place in their country’s politics and culture is a form of idolatry. Or we might worry about the people our children follow on social media, and the sway these “influencers” might actually have over them. Have smart phones become twenty-first-century idols, or at least, gateways to idolatry?

These are valid questions. But you and I might find, just as Paul’s siblings in Corinth did, that idolatry is harder to detect in our own minds and hearts. Where’s the line between enjoying something good, and valuing it too highly? Between holding a person in high esteem, and worshipping them as no one besides God should be worshipped?

The apostle Paul gives us an answer: when our enjoyment, or our esteem, risks taking our focus away from Jesus, and leading other people astray.

I say “an answer,” but really, what Paul offers is more of an aid to discernment. You and I have to be ready to examine our own hearts and minds, preferably in the company of faithful Christians whom we trust, and make decisions accordingly.

For those times when we’re just not sure—or not sure yet—what the most faithful path might be, Paul gives us a guide: practice self-restraint. In Chapter 8, he acknowledges that Christians are at liberty to make many decisions as we see fit. But, he writes, “take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.”

Remember, the Gospels hadn’t been written yet, in Paul’s day. But the first Christians did memorize and write down Jesus’ words. I wonder, had Paul taught the Corinthians the saying of the Lord, “If any of you cause one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea”?

Whether or not the Corinthians heard Jesus’ warning echoed in Paul’s words, it should have been clear to them that it wasn’t enough for them to protest that they, personally, were behaving ethically. For Christians, the stakes are higher than that. Every member of our Christian communities is connected to each other through our connection to Jesus Christ—we’ll see Paul elaborate on this in a couple of chapters, through his metaphor of the body of Christ. Because we’re connected through Christ, we all bear some responsibility, not only to live faithfully as best we can, but also to help other disciples mature in their faith. And those of us who are more mature, who are leaders in the church, whom others respect and look up to, have a greater duty to err on the side of self-restraint.

Fortunately, God has promised to guide us as we seek a faithful path, and God has given us siblings in faith with whom to discern a way forward.

Together, we can help each other notice our blind spots and hypocrisies—because we all have them! And together, we can find ways to better love God and our neighbors.

***************

This blog is the fifth in a series of nine blogs.

United Through Christ, Bound to Each Other is the Presbyterian Women in the PC(USA), Inc. Bible study for 2026–2027. Go to presbyterianwomen.org/bible-study/united to find more resources and copies for you and your group to study along with us. Call 800/533-4371 or order online.