1 Corinthians 10:30

30. For In enforcement of this view of the rights of his own conscience.

By grace And, therefore, rightfully.

Give thanks In a devout and conscientious spirit.

Why… evil spoken of For I act in accordance with my own moral and religious nature.

We have given what we think to be clearly the sense of 1 Corinthians 10:28-30. But there are several other interpretations, of which we need notice but two.

1. That maintained by Stanley and others, which makes the two verses to be the objection of others, perhaps contained in the Corinthian letter, to Paul’s doctrine of compliance with the weak brother’s scruples on the ground that it is consenting to be judged by another’s conscience. The view is plausible, but it is not easy to see that the following verse (1 Corinthians 10:31) aims to be any reply to such an objection. On the contrary, the therefore seems to imply a conclusion drawn in accordance with 1 Corinthians 10:29-30.

2. The view of Alford, after Meyer, which makes 1 Corinthians 10:29 mean: For why incur by my license a condemnation from my fellow-Christian’s conscience? It makes 1 Corinthians 10:30 also say that I must not induce my good procedure to be evil spoken of. Such an interpretation accords well with the train of thought. But it cannot easily be forced upon 1 Corinthians 10:30, for that verse is clearly the utterance of one who is sure he is right, and therein ought not to be maligned by another.