A quick glance around the world about us will lead immediately to a full realisation of the inevitability of offences arising. From the domestic scene, through sports and business, to state administration and international affairs, it is the same. The religious field is no different—not even in the innermost circles of true believers in Christ Jesus. Jesus himself remarked, “Offences must come, but woe . . .”I am not come to bring peace but a sword”, and “All ye shall be offended because of me”. Which rather presents Jesus as one of the arch-offenders of the world. He was a “stone of stumbling and a rock of offence”, but “Blessed is he that will not be offended in him”.
Offences all arise from the same cause of human incompatibility and widely differing standards of conduct. And, as the word is used in scripture, it covers everything from petty annoyance and irritation to transgression and sin, and on to the putting of a stumbling block in the way of another to lead him into wrong doing. The range is wide. With trifling offences we need not unduly concern ourselves unless they are malicious in character, for in this tough world in which we live people must not be too sensitive. In the ecclesial sphere, sins and transgressions are real enough and concern the offender’s relationship to God and to the ecclesia, and these are matters for ecclesial administration. It is when the offence, either deliberately or unintentionally, lays a trap for others to cause them to offend that the greatest difficulty arises, because it is here that opinions and interpretations of right and wrong enter freely, and often without adequate definition as to their real meaning, so that there is obscurity of thought and intention.
Because of this the Apostle Paul raises the rule of conscience-“not thine own, but another’s”.
Conscience in general usage is a word that can be, and is, loosely used to cover many states of mind where true knowledge and conviction are absent, but that is not how scripture uses it. The word has a Latin origin which signifies “with knowledge”” It is therefore concerned with inner thoughts and moral convictions, which must not be allowed to be swayed by unformed opinions, or frivolous dislikes, or face-saving expediencies; it has to be real and well-founded upon the individual’s experiences and learning about the moral issues involved.
Paul illustrates its meaning by citing the case of the believers’ attitude to meats sacrificed to idols. The majority of believers to whom he was writing had recently come out from the darkness of pagan ignorance and superstition, and some of them had been truly enlightened by the acceptance of Christ and were convinced that the idol was nothing and, although much of the meat presented for eating had been sacrificed to idols in accordance with national customs, they were unmoved by the fact, asked no questions, and ate of it as usual; to them the question was elementary, there was nothing to it; but other believers of lesser understanding who had not yet grown out of their superstitions were offended, or made to stumble, by the eating of meat—the idol was to them still a power and the meat was part of the idol’s sanctuary.
He was insecure and his shattered faith was displayed in his irregular conduct. He was therefore to be accorded charitable consideration. In this connection Paul stated, He that doubteth is damned if he eat because he eateth not of faith”, and he vowed that if meat made his brother to offend he would eat no meat at all, for the weak brother entertained a genuine doubt, and it was not proper that the communion of the body and blood of the Lord should be in any way linked with the communion of the devils.
In these far-off days when superstition and ignorance are less and when doctrine and conduct are more firmly established and better informed, cases of offences are liable to be concerned with less important matters and to rest more upon personal opinions and outward appearances, so that all such claims should be weighed with care and then decided with conviction, in order to be sure that they are at least as fundamental as the case Paul cites. If it can happen that Jesus with good intentions could be an offence to his friends, it is equally possible for men to discover spurious causes for offence in their opponents and to have informed consciences. The offence must be genuine and the conscience clear”.
The Parables of Jesus – (Part 6) – The Wedding Banquet