In the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15, the prodigal said, "How many of my father's hired servants abound in bread, but I am perishing here in famine!" Perishing here does not refer to the perishing of the soul. Hence, this word does not refer only to eternal death, but to the killing of the body and to starvation. One can be considered as perishing when he is killed. He can also be considered as perishing when he is starving to death.

In Luke 21 the Lord says that the hair of our head shall by no means perish. Even our hair can perish. Now this cannot possibly mean eternal death anymore. From these three places, one can immediately get an idea of what Paul referred to here. He was referring to something that would cause the conscience of a weak brother to perish. In the meeting he would not be able to pray anymore. He would think that he was through, that he had worshipped idols again and had eaten of the food offered to idols in the idol temple again. He would think that he had left the living God again, and his conscience would be destroyed because of you.

If we read this portion of the Scripture in 1 Corinthians 8 carefully from verse 7 on, we will see why Paul said what he did. "But this knowledge is not in all men; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat the food as an idol sacrifice, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled." Please note that this refers to those whose conscience, being weak, is defiled. "But food will not commend us to God; neither if we do not eat are we lacking, nor if we eat do we abound." This is absolutely our standard: If we eat there is no merit, and if we do not eat, there is no loss. But those without the knowledge have a problem here. "But beware lest somehow this right of yours become a stumbling block to the weak ones." The weakness here does not refer to a moral weakness or a doctrinal weakness. Rather, it refers to weakness in the conscience. If it meant weakness in one's moral condition or doctrine, the verse would lose its meaning. It refers rather to the weakness in the conscience. "For if anyone sees you who have knowledge reclining at table in an idol temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat the things sacrificed to the idols?" Those with a weak conscience think that since others can eat it, so can they. But if such a one eats it, his conscience will be defiled. "And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?" (KJV). Hence, the perishing here does not refer to eternal perdition of a saved brother. The perishing here refers to the spiritual stumbling of a brother due to weakness.

If what 1 Corinthians 8 says is that a brother's knowledge can cause another to eternally perish, then I can say that a person's being saved or perishing depends on another's knowledge. If that were the case, I could send every one of you to hell by my knowledge. If that were the case, man's perishing would not be determined by himself, but by some others. We know that there can be no such thing. The Bible says that all who believe in the Lord Jesus will have eternal life. Whether or not a man will perish before God depends on whether he believes in the Lord Jesus. How could others bring me to hell? This is absolutely unscriptural. Concerning the use of the word perishing, we can say that perishing here does not refer to the matter of eternal life and death. Rather, it refers to the damaging of the conscience and the bringing of a person under.

Let us go on. Verse 12 says, "And sinning in this way against the brothers and wounding their weak conscience, you sin against Christ." The sinning against the brothers here refers to the causing of the weak brother to perish through knowledge in verse 11. The sinning in verse 12 refers to the causing to perish in verse 11. Verse 12 says that when you cause your brother to perish because of your knowledge, you are wounding his weak conscience. Hence, the perishing mentioned in the previous verse refers to the wounding of the conscience. This does not refer to eternal life or eternal death and perdition.

Verse 13 goes on to tell us what it is to wound their conscience. "Therefore if food stumbles my brother, I shall by no means eat meat forever, that I may not stumble my brother." If you put the three verses together, you will see what perishing here means. To perish is to have the brother's weak conscience wounded, and to wound the weak conscience of the brother is to cause the brother to stumble. Therefore, verses 11, 12, and 13 are three rings that are linked together. They show us what perishing is. What is covered here is absolutely not the perishing in relation to salvation. If you insist on explaining it this way, saying that a saved person will perish, you will find this argument hard to support. You will have a hard time explaining it that way.