1 Corinthians 8:1
December 12, 2010 · Pastor Miles DeBenedictis
In this teaching
Teaching on 1 Corinthians 8, Pastor Miles explains how Paul addresses the Corinthian question of meat sacrificed to idols, arguing that knowledge puffs up but love edifies. The believer's liberty in Christ must be willingly laid down for the sake of weaker brothers and the evangelistic and discipleship witness of the church.
- In Corinth, idolatry was rampant and most available meat had been sacrificed to idols, creating a real dilemma for the church, especially after the Jerusalem letter (Acts 15) urged abstaining.
- Knowledge alone makes a man arrogant; love is the more excellent way, and we can wound people with our knowledge.
- It is better to be known and loved of God than merely to claim we know and love Him.
- Idols are nothing—there is only one God—so food sacrificed to them is inconsequential in itself.
- Christians walk a narrow path between carnal licentiousness and Pharisaic legalism; the way of love esteems others higher than self.
- Causing a weaker brother to stumble is to sin against Christ, so liberty should be set aside when it hinders evangelism or discipleship.
Readable is a lightly edited reading copy; Verbatim stays close to the spoken words. The audio and video are the record of what was said.
Now, as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies... But take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those that are weak... Wherefore, if meat makes my brother to stumble or to be offended, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. ()
When liberty and love collide, Christ-like love is always the more excellent way.
A New Question from a Troubled Church
The church at Corinth had many problems. They struggled with immorality within that hindered their witness without, they were filled with divisions, and they had many questions. Several weeks ago we looked at their first question, concerning those married and single in the church. Now, continuing the questions they had written to Paul, we come to chapter 8, where Paul addresses something that may seem odd to us but was an everyday matter for those in Corinth: "Now concerning those things that are offered unto idols."
In ancient Corinth, as in most Greco-Roman cities of the first century, idolatry was the rampant norm. In nearby Athens, just 55 miles away, Paul came upon an altar inscribed "to the unknown God" (). Corinth was filled with places of worship. On nearly every corner stood another altar to a different god. They had temples to Apollo, Diana, and Zeus, but also many minor deities the people bowed before.
A Polydemonistic Culture and the Marketplace of Idol Meat
Aside from being polytheistic, the Greeks and Romans were also polydemonistic—they believed the air was filled with evil spirits of every kind. These spirits were thought to constantly try to invade and possess human beings, and the easiest way they did so was by attaching themselves to food. When a person ate that food, they would be invaded by the demon. What a fearful society to live in!
To deal with this, they believed these spirits could be removed if the food was first sacrificed to an idol. So after buying a beast to feed your family, you would go to a temple, offer a portion to the god, give a portion to the priest, and take the rest home. The priests received so many sacrifices that they could not eat it all, so the surplus was sold cheaply outside the temples or in the open marketplace. If you wanted a good deal—and who doesn't?—you bought meat sacrificed to an idol. Not only was it cheaper, but the "problem" of demons had already been handled.
This seems foolish to us. We don't really encounter food sacrificed to idols in 21st-century Southern California, though in some parts of the world such practices still exist. But while we don't share Corinth's traditions, we have things not far off from this, as we'll see.
The Dilemma and the Jerusalem Letter
It was practically impossible to find meat in Corinth that had not been sacrificed to an idol. If you interacted at all with unbelievers—at weddings, festivals, social occasions, many of which involved pagan worship—you were likely to be served idol food. This caused a genuine dilemma for some in the church.
The dilemma was amplified by the letter from Jerusalem after . There, Paul, Silas, Barnabas, and the leaders gathered in council over the new Gentile believers, and the letter they drafted instructed them to abstain from meats sacrificed to idols. In a city where such meat was commonplace, this provoked the question: what's the issue? And in a divided church, it became another opportunity for division. So Paul has to address it.
The Narrow Path Between Two Pits
We are not faced with idol meat today, but there are dozens, if not hundreds, of things believers hold as wrong, bad, or unholy that are not actually written in Scripture. So Paul's teaching here applies to us. You won't find a section at the store labeled "clean meats sacrificed to Apollo," but there are other issues.
There is a narrow path between two deep pits in the Christian life. One pit we might call carnal licentiousness—saying, "I have liberty in Christ, I can do whatever I want," as the Corinthians did when they claimed "all things are lawful to me" (). The other pit is Pharisaic legalism—where we accumulate so many rules in our own lives that we apply them to everyone and declare them unrighteous for not doing as we do. Between these two pits is the way of love that we are to walk. The way of love is traveled with care and circumspection by the one who, with Christ-like character, esteems others higher than himself.
Two Cultures in One Church
When that letter from Jerusalem reached Corinth, likely brought by a Jewish believer, the Jewish Christians would have said amen, for the Old Testament law clearly forbade meat sacrificed to idols. But the Gentile Christians had grown up under Greco-Roman culture where this was simply normal; it didn't even cause them concern.
While some Gentile believers were so steeped in idolatry that they too had qualms, I'd suggest the larger problem came from the Jewish side. As believers matured and gained knowledge, they came to see that idols are nothing and the food was inconsequential. In , Jesus taught the very same thing to the Pharisees who were upset that His disciples ate without the prescribed ritual hand-washing: it is not what goes into a man's mouth that defiles him, but what comes out of his heart.
Knowledge Puffs Up, but Love Edifies
Some in the church were holding their superior knowledge over others—"Don't you get it? Idols aren't a big deal; there's something wrong with you." Paul answers: "We know that all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies."
A little bit of knowledge is a very dangerous thing. How many of you have tried to show someone how superior your knowledge was, only to discover you weren't as knowledgeable as you thought? We can wound people with our knowledge, and since we are to be Christ-like, we must be very careful with it. Liberty was a big thing to the Corinthians, and liberty is a huge thing to Americans. We are focused on our rights—"I'm an American, I can do what I want." But somewhere along the line, in Corinth and in American churches, liberty and license have been exalted over love.
As Paul will say in , "Though I have all knowledge and understand all mysteries, if I have not love, I am nothing." J.B. Phillips translates this passage: "While knowledge makes a man look big, it is only love that can make him grow to his full stature."
An Evangelistic and Discipleship Issue
We are called by the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations, so we must consider the evangelistic and discipleship implications of emphasizing our rights over our love. If we always emphasize our liberty, we hinder people coming to the knowledge of the truth and growing in it. Often it is more loving to bear with the infirmities of the weak than to exalt our liberty.
Paul says in , "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his edification." It falls upon the strong believer to come down and disciple the weaker one, not to say, "Listen, you weakling, figure it out." None of us would call ourselves the weak one—we all like to think we're strong. But if we're the strong ones, that means we must sometimes walk more in humility than in liberty.
True Knowledge Knows How Little It Knows
Knowledge is to be sought after; it is impossible to obey what is not known. God said His people were "destroyed for lack of knowledge" (), and He is the one who gives man knowledge (). There is no premium placed on ignorance in Scripture. Yet knowledge is essential but not sufficient; by itself it makes man arrogant and must be mixed with love.
True knowledge helps individuals see how little they know. Someone defined knowledge as "the process of passing from an unconscious state of ignorance to a conscious state of ignorance." How many of you, as teenagers, knew everything? How many of you have since recognized you didn't? He who knows not that he knows not is a fool; he who knows not, and knows that he knows not, is wise.
So Paul says, "If any man thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of God." You might expect Paul to say that if a man loves God, he knows God—but that's not what he says. Which is better: to love and know God, or to be loved and known of God? Many say "I love God" and "I know God," but at the end of the day it is far more important to be loved and known of Him. John called himself "the disciple whom Jesus loved." We might have written "the disciple who loved Jesus," but John gloried in being loved by Christ. Let us rejoice not in superior knowledge, but in being known and loved of God.
An Idol Is Nothing
Paul returns to the issue in verse 4: "As concerning the eating of those things offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one... For to us there is but one God, the Father... and one Lord Jesus Christ."
Though many things in our culture and others are reverenced as gods, the theology of Paul and of the whole Bible is that there is one God, and every other small-g god is nothing—some, as we'll see in , are actually demonic entities, but they are not God. The psalmist says the idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands: "They have mouths but they speak not, eyes but they see not... and those that make them are like unto them" (). Isaiah describes the foolishness of a man cutting down a tree, burning part to warm himself and bake bread, then carving the rest into a god and bowing to it, saying, "Thank you for feeding me." That god can do nothing.
Take Heed Lest Your Liberty Become a Stumbling Block
So the one with knowledge says, "Idols are nothing, the food is nothing—case closed." Not so fast. Verse 7: "However, there is not in every man this knowledge. For some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol, and their conscience being weak is defiled."
You may understand the idol is nothing, but others with a weaker conscience are troubled, perhaps because of some past association. So Paul says, "Meat commends us not to God: neither if we eat are we the better, neither if we eat not are we the worse. But take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those that are weak." Yes, you have liberty in Christ. But is that liberty laying a stumbling block for the weaker one? If so, we—like Christ—prove our strength not by high-minded liberty but by humble love.
Application: Our Modern "Idol Meat"
You may wonder what application this has for us. It's 13 days till Christmas—shouldn't we be talking about Jesus in the manger? We don't have idol meat, but we do have Christmas, which is an issue in our culture. Some believers ask, "Why would you celebrate Christmas? Don't you know it was based on a pagan holiday, that Jesus wasn't born on December 25th, that speaks of cutting down a tree and decorating it with silver and gold and calls it an abomination?" Some people are genuinely stumbled by it.
If you are seeking to witness to a Jehovah's Witness, it's probably not wise to invite them to your Christmas party or send them a Christmas card. "That doesn't seem very nice," you might say. But if it stumbles them and hinders your witness, perhaps you shouldn't. The way of love is more difficult than simply walking in licentiousness or legalism. It's easier to check out; it's harder to yield your liberty so another might be built up in Christ. We could break out the Bible and prove our liberty to that person, or we could simply walk in love and not offend them—not because we never offend anyone (the gospel itself offends those who perish), but because there are things we can lay aside that diminish needless offense.
The Story of Mr. Mohammed
This is an evangelistic and discipleship issue. If you're ministering to a Muslim, it's probably not wise to share your great pulled-pork recipe. Dr. Henry Ironside tells of a Muslim man, Mr. Mohammed, who came to faith and became a strong believer. At a church gathering, a young girl offered him a sandwich and he asked what kind it was. When told it was pork and ham, he asked for beef, lamb, or fish; there was none, so he politely declined.
The girl laughed and said, "Mr. Mohammed, you surprise me. Are you so under the law that you can't eat pork? Don't you know Christians are at liberty to eat any kind of meat?" He answered, "I am at liberty, my dear young lady, to eat it—but I am also at liberty to let it alone. I was brought up a strict Muslim. My father is nearly 80 and still a Muslim. Every three years I return to India to render account of the business and visit. When I arrive, my father asks, 'Mohammed, have those infidels taught you to eat the filthy hog meat yet?' and I answer, 'No, father, pork has never passed my lips.' Then I have opportunity to preach Christ to him. If I took one of your sandwiches, I could not preach Christ to my father the next time I am home."
To Sin Against a Brother Is to Sin Against Christ
"For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him that is weak be emboldened... and through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?" Some in Corinth had strong attachments to the old life or to the Hebrew law that made these things a real problem. But perhaps some were unbelievers watching the Christians—and if they saw believers were no different, going to the temples and eating there, they might be hindered from coming to faith.
We do have liberty in Christ, but at times it must be set aside in favor of love. The issue is not holiness—it doesn't make us more holy—it's our witness, our ability to evangelize and disciple. The stronger bears with the weak not for his own pleasure but for the other's edification. The strong one does not say, "Suck it up, princess." The strong one yields and humbles himself, just as Christ in "made himself of no reputation, took the form of a servant, and humbled himself to the point of death." The way of love is the way of Christ.
Willing to Lay It Down
Paul shows the seriousness of this in verse 12: "When you sin so against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ." Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount that to cause one of the least of these to stumble, it would be better to have a millstone hung around your neck and be cast into the depths of the sea. So Paul concludes in verse 13: "If meat makes my brother to stumble, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend."
How willing are we to lay down our rights? If something in our lives is inconsequential—Scripture says nothing about it—yet it offends or stumbles someone, are we willing to lay it down for the sake of love and Christ's kingdom? The person's concern may be foolish, but you'll never minister to them by saying, "That's stupid." If a certain movie or genre causes someone to stumble in their faith because you exercise liberty, would you give it up? Yes, we have great liberty in Christ, but for the sake of the kingdom of God we sometimes lay those things down that others might be lifted up to the Lord.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank You for Your word, although at times it is convicting. I pray that at this very moment, when the enemy would love nothing more than to snatch this away and have us instantly think about what we'll do this afternoon, You by Your Spirit would plant Your word deep in our hearts. You desire that we be conformed into Your image, that we walk in a way that is Christ-like. You did not leave us comfortless when You ascended, but gave us the Spirit of truth who guides us in all truth and teaches us all things. So Holy Spirit, cause Your word to bring forth fruit in this area. Help us to see as You see, to be mindful of those around us—not striving to be inoffensive, for the gospel is an offense to those who perish, but if we are being offensive for the sake of our own desire and not for the sake of Your word, that we would be willing to lay it down so people might see You and not us. We thank You that You saved us not by works of righteousness, but by grace through faith, and have given us liberty in Christ to do many great things—and also liberty, as we saw in the story of Mohammed, not to do something when that gives us opportunity to share the gospel with someone who doesn't live or see the way we do. May it be so, we pray, for we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Now, as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. If any man thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if any man loves God, the same is known of God.
As concerning, therefore, the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing. An idol is nothing in the world, and there is no other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be gods many and lords many, to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.
However, there isn't in every man this knowledge. For some, with conscience of the idol, eat it as a thing offered unto an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. But meat commends us not to God. For neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we eat not are we the worse.
But take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those that are weak. For if any man sees you, which hast knowledge, sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him that is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols? And through your knowledge shall the weaker brother perish for whom Christ died.
But when you sin so against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat makes my brother to stumble or to be offended, I will eat no flesh while the world stands, lest I make my brother to offend.
Father, open our hearts as we look into Your word now. We ask that You would give us teachable hearts to receive from You. We thank You, Father, that You have sent Your Son and that Jesus, You did not leave us orphans.
But you've sent the comfort of the Holy Spirit to guide us in all truth and to teach us all things. We pray that you would, by your word, teach us today. That we would walk in a manner that is worthy of the calling with which we have been called. We pray that we would walk in a way that is glorifying to you, that is Christ-like. We ask that you continue to sanctify us by the washing of the water of your word. As we know that our minds, in many ways, have been affected by the world in which we live, we pray that you transform us, Lord. For we ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.
The church at Corinth, as we have seen, had many problems. They were a church that had immorality within, which hindered their witness without. They had many great divisions and many questions. Several weeks ago, we looked at the first question that they brought to Paul concerning those who were married and those who were single in the church. Now, continuing with the questions they had for the Apostle Paul, they had written a letter to him outlining some of these inquiries.
We come to chapter 8, where he begins to talk about something that might seem rather odd to us, but it was a common, everyday issue for those living in the city of Corinth. He says, "Now concerning those things that are offered unto idols." In ancient Corinth, as in most Greco-Roman cities of the first century, idolatry was the rampant norm. In the neighboring city of Athens, Paul, when he ministered there, which was just about 55 miles away from Corinth, encountered an altar to an unknown God. The inscription read, "To the unknown God."
The city of Corinth was filled with all kinds of different places of worship, as was the city of Athens. It seemed that on every single corner, there was another altar to a different God. They had temples to Apollos, Diana, Zeus, and the various gods of the day, but there were also many minor deities to whom the people bowed down. Aside from being a polytheistic people, having many gods, the Greeks and the Romans were also polydemonistic, meaning that they believed in many different evil spirits. They believed that the air was filled with evil spirits, which were all around them of every different kind and sort.
They believed that these evil spirits were constantly trying to invade human beings, to possess them, to take them over. These evil spirits found the easiest way to invade a human being was to attach themselves to the food that they would eat. When they consumed that food, they would be invaded by the demon. What a fearful society to live in! People were constantly concerned that they might be overtaken by some demonic entity if they ate the wrong kind of food, or food that had not been blessed, or food that had not been consecrated to one of the many gods.
To deal with the problem of all these demons constantly trying to get into them, they thought they could remove these gods from the food if it was sacrificed to an idol. It was a common practice in Corinth. After buying some sort of beast to feed their families, they would go to one of the temples first and offer a portion of that to the god. The second portion would be given to the priest of that temple, and the third portion would be taken home for the family to consume.
Of course, the priests received so many sacrifices that they had an overwhelming amount of extra food. They couldn't eat it all, so it would be sold either outside those specific temples or in the open marketplace of Corinth at a lower rate than buying the original beast. If you wanted a good deal—and who doesn't like a good deal?—you might go and find some meat that was sacrificed to an idol. Not only were you getting a good deal, but the problem of the demons being attached to it had already been taken care of. It was just the perfect situation.
Just like today, most of the Christians in the first century were deal seekers. They were looking for a good deal and would buy this meat that was sacrificed to idols. Now, sure, this seems foolish to us. It's not something that we've encountered probably in the last week. We don't really see food sacrificed to idols. I know that I've been to a couple of Asian restaurants where I wondered about it, but for the most part, we don't. It's not something that we encounter in 21st-century Southern California. While it seems rather foolish to us, it was very real to the Corinthians, and in some parts of the world today, it still is.
There are still such practices in different parts of the world, and while we don't have the same traditions that they had in Corinth 2,000 years ago, we have other things that are not far off from this, as we'll see as we continue on.
Because of this, it was practically impossible to find meat in the city of Corinth in those days that was not sacrificed to an idol. If you were going to interact in any way with people in the city of Corinth who were not followers of Jesus Christ, who were not disciples of the church, then you were likely to be served meat that had been sacrificed to an idol. Most of the social occasions, including weddings, involved some form of pagan worship. A great many of the festivals in the city took place at the temples, and idol food was always served in those places. This caused a dilemma for some within the church at Corinth. There were people who were greatly concerned about this.
Remember also that this dilemma was amplified by a letter that came from Jerusalem after . You may recall that in , Paul, Silas, Barnabas, and a number of others gathered together with the leaders of the church in Jerusalem to have a council about the new Gentiles who were coming to faith in Christ. At the end of that council, they drafted a letter to be taken to the Gentile churches. One of the things that the letter said was to abstain from meats sacrificed to idols.
In a city like Corinth, where meats sacrificed to idols were commonplace, this probably caused them to wonder what the issue was with meats sacrificed to idols. Additionally, in a city like Corinth, where the church was so divided, you can imagine that this was another opportunity for division. Paul had to address it.
We may not be faced with food sacrificed to idols today, but there are dozens, if not hundreds, of things that we come across in churches today that many believers hold as wrong, bad, or unholy, even though they are not written in the Scriptures. What Paul teaches here in this passage in is applicable to you and me, even though you're probably not going to find...
A section in Vons says "clean meats sacrificed to Apollos." But there are other issues, other problems. When confronted with forbidden things— and I say "forbidden" lightly— in our culture today, especially for those of us who are part of a Calvary Chapel, we are tempted to argue that we have liberty in Christ and license to partake in certain practices. However, we need to consider what the Scriptures have to say.
There are others in the body of Christ who may call us legalists because we have set aside certain things in our lives. We say, "We are not going to partake of this. This is not something we are to do." Consequently, there are people who look at us and ask, "Why are you so strict? Oy vey, what's wrong with you?"
There is a narrow path between two deep pits in the Christian life. One pit we might call carnal licentiousness, and the other pit we might call Pharisaic legalism. Between these two pits is the way of love that you and I are to walk on. We can easily be sucked into carnal licentiousness, where we say, "I have liberty in Christ," much like the church at Corinth was guilty of. We saw that back in , verse 12, where they were saying, "All things are lawful to me."
We can easily fall into this pit of carnal licentiousness, claiming, "Hey man, I have liberty in Christ. I can do whatever I want." However, we can also find ourselves drifting into the pit of Pharisaic legalism, where we establish many different standards and rules in our own lives. We begin to apply those standards to everyone else, saying, "Because you don't do as I do, you're unrighteous."
Thus, we must walk this way of love. The way of love is traveled with care and circumspection by the individual who, with Christ-like character, esteems others higher than himself. I believe this is the principle that Paul begins to bring out in this passage, not only in chapter 8 but continuing from there. God desires us to come to a place where we are walking in a Christ-like manner, esteeming others higher than ourselves, loving God, and loving those around us.
No doubt, at some point along the way, that letter from Jerusalem came to the church at Corinth.
And very likely, it came from a Jewish believer. This Jewish believer was sharing with the Christians at Corinth that the church in Jerusalem was saying they were to abstain from meats sacrificed to idols. All the Jews in that gathering, who were now Christians, would probably say, "Yes and amen," because back in the Old Testament, this was clearly outlined in the Jewish law: to abstain from meats sacrificed to idols.
However, there were Christians in the church at Corinth who had grown up under a Greco-Roman culture where it was just normal. It was not that big a deal for them. They had seen it in their lives and in their community from the time they were children, and it didn't even cause concern. But for those coming in with a different culture, there was significant concern about these practices.
No doubt, there were some Gentile Corinthian Christians who were so steeped in idolatry that they too had concerns about meats sacrificed to idols. However, I would suggest that the larger problem came from the Jewish side of the Christian church in the city of Corinth, rather than the Gentile side. For the Gentiles, it was a normal everyday practice to see meats sacrificed to idols, and it was not a big deal.
After becoming followers of Christ, people would begin to understand as they matured in their faith. They would gain knowledge and see that idols are nothing, and therefore, foods sacrificed to these idols are really inconsequential. They would say that which goes into a man is not what defiles him. In , Jesus said the very same thing.
The Pharisees, the legalists of Jesus' day, saw Jesus' disciples eating a meal without having washed their hands. We also have a problem with that, but not in the way the Pharisees did in that day. It was not that they didn't wash their hands; it was that they did not wash their hands in the prescribed ritualistic way. There was a special method they were to follow, and they had not adhered to the law in doing that, which upset the Pharisees.
In , Jesus gives a great teaching. In verse 15, he clearly tells them that it is not what goes into a man's mouth that defiles him, but that which comes out of his heart, because out of the heart come evil thoughts and evil actions. However, it would be the tendency of some, when confronted...
With that letter from Jerusalem, the question arose: what is the problem with meat sacrificed to idols? They just couldn't grasp why this was a big deal because, in their culture, it wasn't significant. However, for some who had a different perspective or for those who were perhaps weaker in their faith or not as mature in the Lord, they did not share the same understanding.
Paul quickly addresses this issue of knowledge in Chapter 8. He states in verse 1, "Now as touching those things offered to idols, we know that all have knowledge." Apparently, some in the church were saying, "Well, don't you get it? Don't you know? Idols are not that big a deal." They were holding their superior knowledge over others, implying that there was something wrong with those who did not understand.
Paul responds by saying that while we know all have knowledge, the problem with knowledge is that "knowledge puffs up, but love edifies." It has been said that a little bit of knowledge is very dangerous. How many of you have experienced that in your own life? You want to demonstrate just how superior your knowledge is in a particular area, only to find out that you are not as knowledgeable as you thought. A little bit of knowledge can indeed be a very dangerous thing, and we can wound people with our knowledge.
Since we are to be Christ-like in our conduct, we need to be very careful regarding knowledge. The church at Corinth had this understanding that all things are lawful for them, and because of that, they were causing serious problems. Liberty was a significant issue for the Corinthians of the first century, just as it is a huge concern for Americans in the 21st century. We are a people focused on our rights. "I have rights. I have liberty. I can do whatever I want to do. I'm an American," right?
However, somewhere along the line in the city of Corinth, and I would argue somewhere along the line in American churches, liberty and license have been exalted over love.
As we press on through 1st Corinthians, love is the more excellent way. At the end of 1st Corinthians chapter 12, Paul says, "I'm going to show you a better way." Then, in 1st Corinthians chapter 13, he states that though he has all knowledge and understands all mysteries, if he does not have love, he is nothing. We can think and be puffed up with great knowledge; we can believe we know everything, and yet, without love, we are incomplete.
J.B. Phillips, in his translation of this passage in 1st Corinthians chapter 8, says we should remember that while knowledge makes a man look big, it is only love that can make him grow to his full stature. It is our call by God, from the Great Commission, to make disciples of all nations. Therefore, we must consider the evangelistic and discipleship implications of emphasizing our rights and our liberty over our practice of love.
What do I mean by that? We have to recognize that in this world in which we live, we are seeking to evangelize people who do not know God and disciple those who have come to know God. If we are always emphasizing our liberty and our rights, we will hinder people from coming to the knowledge of the truth and growing in that truth. Love is clearly the more excellent way.
Sure, we may have knowledge greater than others in certain areas of our lives about things that are acceptable or unacceptable as Christians. However, oftentimes, it is more loving for us to bear with the infirmities of those who are weak than to exalt our liberty. Let me read to you from . Paul says in , verse 1, "We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his edification."
It bears upon the strong individual in Christ to come down so that they might be able to disciple that person, helping them to also become strong. It is not the position of the strong believer in Christ to say, "Listen, you weakling, you have to figure this out," but we are tempted to do that. Now, I don't think there is a single person here this morning who would say, "Well, I'm one of the weak ones." We all...
I would like to think we're the strong ones. Amen. I mean, I don't think there's anything wrong with that. However, if we're the strong ones, that means we need to sometimes walk more in humility than in our liberty. Paul says that if any man thinks he knows, there are times when we believe we have knowledge of something and try to show just how great our knowledge is, only to prove how ignorant we truly are.
Knowledge is something to be sought after. It is impossible to believe and obey that which is not known. God told His people, the children of Israel, that they had been destroyed for lack of knowledge in . In , we see that God is the one who gives man knowledge. There is no premium placed upon ignorance in the Scriptures; God desires that His people would know. That's why God has revealed Himself to His people.
Knowledge is essential, but it is not sufficient. Often, by itself, it makes man arrogant, so it needs to be mixed with love. The reality is that true knowledge helps individuals see that they know very little. Someone has defined knowledge as the process of passing from an unconscious state of ignorance to a conscious state of ignorance.
How many of you here today, when you were teenagers or in your early twenties, thought you knew everything? How many of you today have recognized that maybe you didn't quite know everything? True knowledge is indeed the process of passing from an unconscious state of ignorance to a conscious state of ignorance. He who does not know that he does not know is a fool. He who does not know and knows that he does not know is wise. We could just keep going with these; I'll just keep throwing them out.
Paul says that if any man thinks he knows, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. However, he states that if any man loves God, the same is known of God. If you read through , verses 1 through 3, you might expect Paul to say that if any man loves God, he knows God. While that may be true, it is not what Paul says. He emphasizes that if any man loves God, the same is known of God.
At the end of the day, it is far more important to be loved and known of God than to simply love and know God. There are many people who claim to love God and many who say they know God, but what truly matters is being loved and known by Him. This is what we should be seeking after.
I love that the Apostle John, in the Gospel of John, refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. If we had been writing that Gospel, we might have said the disciple who loved Jesus, identifying ourselves. Instead, John gloried in the fact that he was the disciple whom Christ loved. It is for us to rejoice in the fact that we are known and loved by God, not that we possess superior knowledge over anyone else, but that we are known and loved by Him.
Paul continues and returns to the original issue in verse 4, concerning the eating of things offered in sacrifice to idols. He states that we know, through our knowledge, that an idol is nothing, that it is nothing in the world, and that there is none other but one God. Though there are those who are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods and many lords, to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.
Paul comes back to the issue of food sacrificed to idols and asserts that an idol, or a god with a small "g," is nothing, even though there are many of them in this world. You can observe this in our own culture and in other cultures as well.
You'll see that there are many things that people bow down to, many things that people reverence as being God or God-like. However, the theology of the Apostle Paul, and really the theology of the Bible as a whole, is that there is one God, and every other small "g" god in this world is not really a god at all; it's nothing. Some of them, as we'll see in First Corinthians chapter 10, are actually demonic entities, but they are not God; they are nothing.
Paul warns the church at Corinth that they understood this truth: an idol is nothing. Therefore, something sacrificed to an idol is nothing. If you can get a good deal on that meat which was sacrificed to an idol, you might as well buy the cheaper meat. This seemed to be the mindset of those who had knowledge, and Paul agrees with them. He says an idol is nothing, and that's an important truth that we need to recognize. The things of this world that people bow down to or submit themselves under as Lord or as God are nothing; they have no power.
God is one; there is only one God. The psalmist said in , verse 4, "The idols of this world are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; they have noses, but they do not smell; they have hands, but they do not handle; feet they have, but they do not walk; neither do they speak through their throats." Those who make them are like unto them, and so is everyone who trusts in them. The gods of this world are foolish; they are nothing.
Isaiah, I believe in , puts it like this: how foolish it is to go out into the woods, find yourself a nice sturdy tree, cut it down, and use part of it to build a fire so that you can warm yourself because you're cold. With those coals, you make bread to eat. You take the rest of that wood home, carve it into a god, bow down to it, and say, "Thank you for feeding me and making me warm." How foolish is that?
That individual has submitted themselves under that thing; therefore, they look to it as Lord, but it can do nothing. The place that they set it from there it goes not forth; it is nothing. Paul hits on this truth here.
The idols of this world are nothing; there is no God but one God. Although people bow down to vanity, the one who has knowledge in the church at Corinth at that time may say, "We have knowledge; we have understanding that these gods are nothing. Therefore, food sacrificed to them is nothing." That settles it, right? Not so fast.
Look at verse 7: "Howbeit, there is not in every man that knowledge." Not everybody has this understanding. For some, with conscience of the idol unto this hour, eat it as a thing offered unto an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. Now, you or I may understand by knowledge that the idol is nothing and the food offered to it is perfectly fine. However, others with a weaker conscience find themselves troubled by the whole issue. Their conscience is polluted; they have a hard time with it because of some association in the past, or they are weakened by the whole situation.
As a result, what does Paul say? "Well, meat commends us not to God" (verse 8). "Neither if we eat are we the better; neither if we eat not are we the worse." But take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those that are weak.
The issue rises to the surface again: the idol is nothing, and food sacrificed to that idol is nothing. So, eating the thing doesn't matter; not eating it doesn't matter. Paul, what's the big deal? I have liberty in this area, don't I? Yes, you do. But take heed.
Take heed, lest by any means your liberty becomes a stumbling block. Yes, you have liberty in Christ; we have great liberty in Christ. But is our liberty laying a stumbling block for the weaker one, the one who maybe doesn't have the same knowledge or understanding? If it is, then we, like Christ, ought to prove our strength not by our high-minded liberty, but by our humble love walk, as Christ walked.
Now, of course, at this point, you might be wondering what application this has.
For me, in 21st century Southern California, we don't have meats sacrificed to idols. It's 13 days until Christmas; shouldn't we be talking about Jesus in the manger?
Somebody agrees. Well, you're right, we don't have meat sacrificed to idols; it's a non-issue in our culture. But we do have Christmas, and that is an issue in our culture. How so? Well, there are some believers who say, "Why in the world would you celebrate Christmas? Don't you realize it was based on a pagan holiday? Don't you know and understand that Jesus wasn't born on December 25th? Don't you recognize that talks about those who cut down a tree and bring it into their house and decorate it with silver and gold? It says it's an abomination. Don't you recognize that's a Christmas tree?"
There are some people in the church who say, "Why in the world? Hello, what are you doing?" There are also some people who are stumbled by it, especially if you are seeking to witness to a Jehovah's Witness in your area. If you are trying to evangelize that person who does not yet know the Lord, it may not be a good idea to invite them to your Christmas party. Maybe you shouldn't send them a Christmas card. You might think, "Well, that doesn't seem very nice. I should send them a Christmas card." But if it stumbles them and hinders you from being able to witness to them, maybe you shouldn't.
You see, this is not just some easy sort of thing where you write down a list of do's and don'ts. The way of love is more difficult than just walking in licentiousness or legalism. It's easier to check out and say, "I can do whatever I want." It's a lot more difficult to walk in love toward those who don't know the Lord or those who are weaker in the faith and say, "You know what? I'm going to yield my liberty that they might be built up in Christ."
We could break out the Bible and try to explain the liberty that we have in Christ to that person who says, "Hey, Christmas? You shouldn't celebrate that." We can tell them how they have taken verses out of context.
We can choose to walk in love towards individuals and not offend them with our liberty. Seeking not to offend does not mean we do everything possible to avoid offending anyone; that would be impossible and foolish. However, there are certain things we can do when trying to minister to people that can diminish that offense. Remember, this is an evangelistic and discipleship issue.
For example, if you're seeking to minister to a Jehovah's Witness and you know that a certain thing will be an offense to them, perhaps you set it aside for a time to more effectively minister to them. Similarly, if you're trying to reach out to a Muslim, it is probably not a good idea to share your great pulled pork recipe, even if it is really good.
Dr. Henry Ironside tells a story about how, when he was pastoring a church, a Muslim man came to faith and became a very strong believer. One day, during a church gathering, a young girl offered Dr. Ironside a plate of sandwiches, which he gladly accepted. She then offered one to Mr. Mohammed, who was having a conversation with Dr. Ironside. Mr. Mohammed asked her what kind of sandwiches they were, and she replied that they were fresh pork and ham.
Mr. Mohammed then asked if she had any beef. She said no. He asked if she had any lamb, and again she said no. When he inquired about fish, she responded that there was none. Mr. Mohammed politely declined, and the young girl, laughingly, said, "Mr. Mohammed, you surprise me! Are you under the law so much that you can't eat pork? Don't you know that Christians are at liberty to eat any kind of meat?"
Mr. Mohammed responded, "I am at liberty, my dear young lady. I am at liberty to eat it, but I am also at liberty to let it alone. I was brought up as a strict Muslim." He continued, "My old father is nearly 80 years of age now, and he is still a Muslim. Every three years, I go back to India to render an account of the business of which my father is the head. When I visit, my servant announces that I am here, and my father will say to me, 'Muhammad, have those infidels taught you to eat the filthy hog meat yet?' I will respond, 'No, father.'"
Pork has never passed my lips, and I can have an opportunity to preach Christ to them. If I took one of your sandwiches, I could not preach Christ to my father the next time I am home. For if any man sees you, which has knowledge, sit at meat in an idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols? Through your knowledge, shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died?
There may have been some who were weaker brothers and sisters in the Corinthian church. They had such attachments to the old life, to idols, or perhaps to the Hebrew law that these things were a problem. Paul says not to stumble those individuals. However, there were also some people who were not believers but were observing the Christians. The Christians were to be different, set apart. Yet, if they observed the Christians and saw that they were no different than themselves—going to the temples and partaking of the meat—then they might be hindered from coming to faith.
You see, we do have liberty in Christ, but at times our liberty needs to be set aside in favor of love. The issue is not one of holiness; it doesn't make us more holy. It's an issue of our witness, of our ability to evangelize those who don't know the Lord and disciple those who do. The stronger should bear with the infirmities of the weak, not for their own pleasure, but for that individual's edification. The stronger does not say, "Hey, come on, suck it up, princess." The stronger yields and says, "Just as Christ, I am going to humble myself."
That's why Paul, in , said, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and became a servant, humbling himself to the point of death, even the death of the cross." Then he is exalted and given a name.
The way of love is the way of Christ. It is the humble way of submitting oneself to the needs of another. Are we willing to die to ourselves, to lay down our lives so that others might come to faith or grow in their faith? Are we willing to give up our rights so that others might love God and be known by Him? Or are we so consumed with our rights and our liberty that we step on others to please ourselves?
Paul shows us the seriousness of this in his closing verses. In verse 12, he writes, "But when you sin against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ." In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that if you cause one of the least of these to stumble, it would be better for you to have a millstone hung around your neck and to be cast into the depths of the sea. Therefore, Paul continues in verse 13, "If meat makes my brother to stumble, I will eat no flesh while the world stands, lest I make my brother to be offended."
How willing are we to lay down our rights and our liberty? Are we loving of God and loving of others so much that if something in our lives, which is inconsequential and for which the Scriptures say nothing, offends someone, we are willing to lay it down for the sake of love and for the sake of Christ's kingdom? This way, that person might come to faith or grow in their faith.
The issue they have may seem foolish, but you will never be able to minister to that person if you simply dismiss their concerns as stupid. Instead, if we come alongside them and carefully and gently lead them, we can help them grow. If a certain movie or genre of movie causes someone to stumble in their faith in Christ Jesus because you are exercising your liberty, would you be willing to give that up? The issue is not just about the movie itself; it is about the impact it has on others.
The issue of love for God and love for others is paramount, and it is not so much about our liberty. Yes, we do have liberty in Christ, and there is great freedom in that. However, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, there are times when we must lay those liberties down so that others might be lifted up to the Lord. Amen.
Let's stand and pray. Father, we thank You for Your Word. Although at times it is convicting, I pray, Lord, that at this very moment, as the enemy would love nothing more than for this to be snatched away and for us to instantly think about what we are going to do this afternoon, God, I ask that by Your Spirit, You would cause Your Word to be planted deep in our hearts. You desire that we would be conformed into Your image, Lord, that we would walk in a way that is Christlike.
You did not leave us comfortless; You did not leave us without a helper when You ascended into heaven. Instead, You gave us the Spirit of Truth, who would guide us in all truth and teach us all things. So, Holy Spirit, we ask that You would cause Your Word to bring forth fruit in our lives in this area. Help us to see as You see and to be mindful of those who are around us.
We recognize that the gospel is an offense to those who are perishing, but in our lives and conduct, if we are being offensive, it should not be because of the sake of Your Word, but rather because of our own desires. We should be willing to lay down our liberties so that people might see You and not see us.
God, we thank You that You have saved us, not by our works of righteousness that we have done, but by grace through faith. You have given us liberty in Christ to do so many great things, but You have also given us the liberty not to. As we saw in the story of Muhammad, if taking liberty not to do something gives us an opportunity to share the truth of the gospel with someone who may not live the way we do, then we should embrace that opportunity.
Live or see the way we see. May it be so. We pray for this and ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
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