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The Bible doesn't talk directly about this, but I refer you to 1 Corinthians 8, below. Please read the entire passage and then read my comments below that.
| 1 Now as to things which have been sacrificed to idols.
This is a subject which we already understand--because we
all have knowledge of it. Knowledge, however, tends to make
people conceited; it is love that builds us up. 2 If any one imagines that he already possesses any true knowledge, he has as yet attained to no knowledge of the kind to which he ought to have attained; 3 but if any one loves God, that man is known by God. 4 As to eating things which have been sacrificed to idols, we are fully aware that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no God but One. 5 For if so-called gods do exist, either in Heaven or on earth--and in fact there are many such gods and many such lords-- 6 yet *we* have but one God, the Father, who is the source of all things and for whose service we exist, and but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom we and all things exist. 7 But all believers do not recognize these facts. Some, from force of habit in relation to the idol, even now eat idol sacrifices as such, and their consciences, being but weak, are polluted. 8 It is true that a particular kind of food will not bring us into God's presence; we are neither inferior to others if we abstain from it, nor superior to them if we eat it. 9 But take care lest this liberty of yours should prove a hindrance to the progress of weak believers. 10 For if any one were to see you, who know the real truth of this matter, reclining at table in an idol's temple, would not his conscience (supposing him to be a weak believer) be emboldened to eat the food which has been sacrificed to the idol? 11 Why, your knowledge becomes the ruin of the weak believer--your brother, for whom Christ died! 12 Moreover when you thus sin against the brethren and wound their weak consciences, you are, in reality, sinning against Christ. 13 Therefore if what I eat causes my brother to fall, never again to the end of my days will I touch any kind of animal food, for fear I should cause my brother to fall. (WNT) |
Now in this passage, Paul is writing to the Corinthians most likely in response to a question asked of him. I believe the question is directed more towards the "enlightened" Christians of the time--who knew that what you eat will not bring you closer or farther from God, and that though they may have been eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols, it didn't matter because the idols were just images of gods that did not exist in the first place. No problem, right?
Wrong. There were also other Christians there, basically "baby Christians" who, if they saw a fellow Christian eating in an idol's temple, would be tempted to do something that would be a sin to them because they would think they'd be worshipping the idol by eating the food sacrificed to it. They knew not to worship idols, but they haven't yet come to the realization that the eating of the food amounts to nothing. Therefore, for them to eat the food would be a sin for them because they would believe that they were worshipping the idol. And where did this all start? It started by them seeing the "enlightened" believers exercising their liberty in Christ.
So the next question then is, what does this have to do with your boyfriend coming to visit? First of all, I believe that when you're together, you probably aren't doing anything wrong--physically. That's great, but have you considered how it may look to somebody who doesn't know all of the details? And even if you were to tell them, why should they believe you? And what about somebody that's just come to the Lord?
Let me give you and example. That person would know that sex before marriage is wrong, and that staying overnight together most likely would lead to temptation; but they figure they can do it because they see you doing it.
Okay, now that new person in Christ has her boyfriend stay overnight because there must not be anything wrong with it--because you do--and she winds up having sex. Now she feels just awful about it, but none the less, it happened. And why did it happen? Because you led her to have her boyfriend stay over. How? By example.
Here's where it gets tricky. By doing this, even though you didn't even have one lustful thought(for sake of argument), you sinned against Christ because you sinned against her. You sinned against her because you led her to do something she knew to be wrong. So who is responsible for her sin? You are because she wouldn't have let her boyfriend stay overnight if she hadn't first seen you do it.
Now, I have to let you know some things or telling you this wouldn't sit right on my own conscience because I'd be hypocrite if I didn't tell you. I am guilty of the same thing I just wrote about. In writing it, I condemn myself because Kristen and I have had regular sleep-overs for quite some time now. She lives with her parents and we sleep on the living room floor so there's really not a whole lot we can do anyway. BUT, what about her younger sister that's going away to college in the fall? What kind of an example are we giving her? A really good one? Huh-huh--no, I don't think so. What you decide to do is up to you. Consider any kind of alternatives you may have.
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