Study Desk

For the one who is weak—the brother for whom Christ died—is destroyed by your knowledge.

If to others I am not an apostle, yet indeed I am to you, for you are my seal of apostleship in the Lord.

For in the law of Moses it is written, "You must not muzzle an ox while it is threshing." It is not about oxen God is concerned, is it?

Or doubtless does he speak for our sake? For it is written for our sake, because the one who plows ought to plow in hope and the one who threshes ought to do so in hope of a share.

But I have not made use of any of these rights. And I am not writing these things in order that it may be thus with me. For it would be better to me rather to die than for anyone to deprive me of my reason for boasting.

For if I proclaim the gospel, it is not to me a reason for boasting, for necessity is imposed on me. For woe is to me if I do not proclaim the gospel.

For if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward, but if I do so unwillingly, I have been entrusted with a stewardship.

For although I am free from all people, I have enslaved myself to all, in order that I may gain more.

I do all this for the sake of the gospel, in order that I may become a participant with it.

For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all went through the sea,

and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.

But God was not pleased with the majority of them, for they were struck down in the desert.

Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we should not be desirers of evil things, just as those also desired them,

Now these things happened to those people as an example, but are written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come.

Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all share from the one bread.

Eat everything that is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for the sake of the conscience,

for "the earth is the Lord's, and its fullness."

If any of the unbelievers invites you, and you want to go, eat everything that is set before you, asking no questions for the sake of the conscience.

But if someone says to you, "This is offered to idols," do not eat it, for the sake of that one who informed you and the conscience.

Now I am not speaking about your own conscience, but the conscience of the other person. For why is my freedom judged by another's conscience?