John Calvin Commentary 1 Corinthians 8:11

"For through thy knowledge he that is weak perisheth, the brother for whose sake Christ died." — 1 Corinthians 8:11 (ASV)

And your brother perish. Notice how serious an evil it is—one that humankind commonly thinks so little of—that of venturing upon anything with a doubtful or opposing conscience. For the goal to which our whole life ought to be directed is the will of the Lord. This, therefore, is the one thing that corrupts all our actions when we disregard it. We do this not merely by an outward action, but even by a thought of the mind, when we allow ourselves anything in opposition to conscience, even though the thing may not be evil in itself. Let us bear in mind, therefore, that whenever we take a step in opposition to conscience, we are on the high road to ruin.

I read the sentence interrogatively, however, like this: Shall he perish through your knowledge? It is as though he had said, “Is it reasonable that your knowledge should give occasion for your brother’s ruin? Is it for this reason that you know what is right, that you may cause another’s ruin?” He uses the term brother to expose their pride as unfeeling, in this way: “It is true that the person whom you despise is weak, but still he is your brother, for God has adopted him. You therefore act cruelly in having no concern for your brother.”

There is, however, still greater force in what follows—namely, that even those who are ignorant or weak have been redeemed with the blood of Christ. For nothing would be more unseemly than this: that while Christ did not hesitate to die so that the weak might not perish, we, on the other hand, value as nothing the salvation of those who have been redeemed at so great a price. This is a memorable saying, teaching us how precious the salvation of our brothers and sisters ought to be to us—not merely of all, but of each individual in particular, since the blood of Christ was poured out for each one!