Who Are The Weak Brothers?

One of the best series I have written are on the "weak" versus the "strong" in Corinthians and Romans. In this series I showed where the common interpretation is wrong, a case where the majority opinion is wrong. I wrote this many years ago in The Baptist Gadfly blog. The following citations are from "Weak Brethren V" (here). I would encourage all to read that series if they want the truth on this subject. They will certainly not get it from the majority of commentaries. In that series I showed how the term "the weak" was a label for lost Pagans and that "the strong" was a term for the believer, for the Christian.

"For some with conscience of the idol..."

Who are these "some"? Some in the church, or some in the world? This is a most important question in properly identifying whether the weak are saved or lost, Christian or non-Christian. No one disputes that the "some" mentioned by the apostle are "the weak brothers." The dispute concerns whether they are Christians, converts to the creed given by the apostle, and whether these "some" are weak members of the church at Corinth. Does Paul mean "some born again Christians"? Is he contrasting two kinds of saved Christians or two kinds of people, saved and lost, Christian and non-Christian?

Clearly, these "some" are the same as that group who do not possess "that knowledge," that Christian or salvation knowledge, and are therefore unsaved, ungained, unconverted. Here is precisely where the majority view begins to err in interpretation. It identifies these "some" as "some in the church at Corinth," rather than "some in the world." They teach this, without any contextual reason, and rather, against the context, and they are then stuck with the repugnant conclusion that affirms that one can be Christian without possessing "that knowledge." But, how can one be a Christian, or convert, and yet still have what are called "scruples" about paganism and idolatry? Just how "weak" is such a "Christian"? Is he a "convert" who, nevertheless, is in serious doubt about his monotheism and about the person of Christ? Full conviction of the creed of verses 4-6 is not necessary for membership in the church of Christ? Apparently not, if the majority view is correct. The work of commentators dealing with the logical consequences of their interpretation draws attention.

"Some with conscience of the idol eat it (religious food) as a thing sacrificed to idols..." Is this not a clear description of a polytheist and an idol worshipper? How can anyone think that Paul is describing a Christian in these words? Paul is surely describing the pagan worshipper in Corinth.

Paul does not speak in the second person when speaking of those who offer sacrifices to idols from having a conscience of the idol, but in the third person. If Paul thought the weak ones were members of the church of Corinth, he would speak to them in the second person. Paul did not say "but some of you, with conscience of the idol, eat it unto this day with an awareness of the idols."

The other postings in the series can be found in the other entries in the same time period as the posting cited above.