Wise Living: Love and Liberty
I
Corinthians 8:4-13
Introduction: Lewis Sperry Chafer was a very influential
professor at Dallas Theological Seminary.
He apparently was personally convinced that Christians should not drink
coffee, feeling it was both addictive, and bad for your health. He never drank coffee himself, he taught his
students that they shouldn’t drink coffee, and he preached against it. Well during a conference at the school H.A.
Ironside was present, along with another prominent Bible teacher of the day,
and the three men went out for lunch during a break. The waitress asked them what she could get
them to drink, and Ironside and the other man said, “we’ll have coffee.” Chafer
scowled and said, “I’ll take water, I’ll bury these two later!” Some of you might
have a scruple about coffee, and others might like nothing better than meeting
down at the Red Cup for a latte! Who is
right? The Bible doesn’t talk about
coffee, so what do we do when we face questions like that? (Ironically, Chafer developed some heart
issues, and apparently on his death bed his doctor advised him to have some
coffee!). Obviously we’re talking about
more than coffee, and Paul’s teaching here applies to more than meat sacrificed
to idols.
One of the verbal links
that we saw in our two side-trips for Mothers’ Day and Fathers’ Day into 1
Peter with Paul’s teaching in our current series in First Corinthians, is the
word “knowledge” (and the related idea, “wisdom”). Rightly defined, true wisdom, God’s wisdom,
is rooted in the Gospel and the grace of God. Here, in the opening verses of I Corinthians 8,
we saw that if we love God, we have been known by Him. As God’s elect, how
in the world should we live? Looking
back, we could have called our teaching series this year “Wise Living,” since
the dominant idea has been contrasting the false wisdom (and false gospels!) of
the world, with the truth of God. This section of First Corinthians is
reminding us that “truth” is not just doctrine in the abstract, but that rather
it is something that must be “known” personally. It has only been “believed”
when it is received and applied in our life.
The Big Idea:
We are free in Christ, yet love should guide how we use our freedom.
Context
(1-3): In 8:1-3 Paul introduced the
topic of idol sacrifices and the principle that love should guide how we use
our freedom. “Knowledge,” even
theological knowledge, is not an end in itself, rather, it must be guided by
love. We have been known by God, and
now, as His children, we have been entrusted with bringing the message of His
grace to the world. Paul now applies the principle to the matter at hand (N.B.
8:1,4).
I.
REMEMBER THE TRUTH: The truth
about idols is that they are nothing. The truth is, there is one God who made
us and who has redeemed us (4-6).
4
Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an
idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but
one." 5 For although
there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth- as indeed there are many
"gods" and many "lords"- 6 yet for us there is one God, the
Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus
Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
Paul starts by affirming theological truth. For Paul, theology is always practical.
Throughout this letter, as Paul addresses practical issues about divisions,
immorality, lawsuits, marriage, and sexuality, he reminds them essentially of
who God is, and who they are in the light of His story. He taught them doctrine
and called them to live like they believed it!
As he addresses the question of “meat sacrificed to idols,” the
theological issues are perhaps even more transparent. As he establishes a basis from which to
address the questions the Corinthians had asked him on the matter (cf. 7:1;
8:1) he has to lay a foundation before he calls them to respond. There are two sides to what he is saying at
the outset, 1) idols are nothing, and 2) there is one true and living God, the Creator,
the God of the Bible. We’ve been going
through the psalms for the last couple of years on Wednesday nights, and lately
we’ve been going through a group of psalms starting around Psalm 111, several
of which begin and/or end with the phrase, “Praise
the Lord” or “Hallelujah!” Yahweh, the Lord God of the
Scriptures, He is the One true God who exists, and who has revealed himself in
history, who remembers the promises He makes and always acts according to His
character. Our psalm for this Wednesday
night is Psalm 115. Read verses 115:1-9,
Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of
your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
2 Why should the nations say, "Where is their
God?" 3 Our God is in
the heavens; he does all that he pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human
hands. 5 They have mouths,
but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. 6
They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell. 7 They have hands, but do not
feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat. 8 Those who make them become like
them; so do all who trust in them. 9
O Israel, trust in the LORD! He is their help and their shield.
Idols are nothing! Yahweh parted the sea
and led the Jews out of Egyptian bondage. He gave them food and water for 40
years in the wilderness. He brought them
into the promised land and gave them victory over their enemies. Even when they
wandered from Him, He never gave up on them but chastened them, and wooed them
back to covenant faithfulness. He
preserved them through the exile and when the time was right he brought them
back into the land. The prophetic word
was silent for a time, but in the fullness of time He spoke again, this time,
He sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, that He might
redeem those who were under the Law. And redeem He did, through the cross and
the resurrection. That is a God who
is real, a God who is faithful, and God worthy to be praised! And yet men make their idols. You might recall Paul’s visit to Greece on
his second missionary journey. After coming through Philippi and Thessalonica,
and Berea, before coming to Corinth, Paul stopped in Athens. He was grieved by the idolatry he saw
there. We read his about his encounter
on Mars Hill in Acts 17…
21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived
there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something
new. 22 So Paul, standing in
the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every
way you are very religious. 23
For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an
altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship
as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and
earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human
hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life
and breath and everything. 26
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the
earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling
place, 27 that they should
seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him.
Yet he is actually not far from each one of us…
Paul came into a city that was full of
idols. Just in case they had missed a “god,” they even had an idol to the “unknown
god”! Rather than starting by attacking
their idolatry, he began with the positive, talking about the one true God, the
one God who was still the “unknown god” to the Athenians, the one God who is
real. Paul pointed to Him as the creator
and sustainer of the universe. The Old
Testament is full of teaching and warnings about the foolishness of
idolatry. We read in Isaiah 40:19-26,
19 An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and
casts for it silver chains. 20
He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he
seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move. 21 Do you not know? Do you not
hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from
the foundations of the earth? 22
It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like
grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them
like a tent to dwell in; 23
who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as
emptiness. 24 Scarcely are
they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,
when he blows on them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like
stubble. 25 To whom then will
you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. 26 Lift up your eyes on high and
see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them
all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power
not one is missing.
Also in Isaiah we read in Isaiah
44:10-17,
10 Who fashions a god or casts an
idol that is profitable for nothing? 11
Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only
human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified;
they shall be put to shame together. 12
The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it
with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his
strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line;
he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a
compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to
dwell in a house. 14 He cuts
down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong
among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes
it. 15 Then it becomes fuel
for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes
bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down
before it. 16 Half of it he
burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied.
Also he warms himself and says, "Aha, I am warm, I have seen the
fire!" 17 And the rest
of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He
prays to it and says, "Deliver me, for you are my god!"
Well it sounds pretty ridiculous when
you put it that way! The reality is,
that is what we have all been saved from if we are believers. What do I mean by
that? Well, the truth is, there are no real atheists, but there are many idolaters
in the world. There is a sense of the eternal, an understanding that God
exists, that there is an uncaused first cause out there, that we are not alone
in the universe. But rather than taking God at His word and responding to Him
we resist. We try to “create a god” in our mind, a god we can live with, one
who is like us, one who leaves us in charge. So let’s not be too quick to say
that idolatry was only a first century issue!
The
point Paul is making here is that for the mature believer, for the one who has
come to the knowledge of the truth and trusted in the one true God, we realize
that the idols men build for themselves are not gods, even though humans may
act like it! There is only one true God,
our creator, the God of the Bible. The God who revealed himself in history and
has invited us into His Story. That theological basis invites us to tear down
the idols that lurk in the margins of our souls and to consider how he would
have us live in the world. The truth is, we are free in Christ, yet love should
guide how we use our freedom, love for God, and love for one another.
II.
RECOGNIZE THE PROBLEM: Christian
Immaturity (7-12). God one, idols
nothing. Final score. No debate. The Corinthians seemed to embrace that truth,
but they were neglecting an important aspect of how it should be applied. If we
are God’s, His beloved, His elect, how in the world should we live?
7
However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with
idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak,
is defiled. 8 Food will not
commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if
we do. 9 But take care that
this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have
knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his
conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this
weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your
brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against
Christ.
Paul has talked about truth, and now he points to the problem: not
everyone has gotten it, not all have learned enough about grace to embrace
their freedom in Christ, “…not all
possess this knowledge…” Some of the
believers at Corinth felt like the old idols were all around them, luring them
back, and they struggled to learn and grow in the knowledge of the one true
God. The Christian life is often called
a “walk,” in the New Testament. It is a journey, one step at a time, one foot
in front of the other. We’re not home
yet, and we are all at different points in the journey. Notice the phrases that are used to describe
our brother and how we exercise our freedom…
First of all, we all have
different situations that we’ve come through in life. Though we get to know each other over time,
we don’t know everything about someone’s past and the things they might have
struggled with. Here Paul refers to some
who “…through former association with
idols…” had a history that affected their present “freedom” in Christ. So, though what enters the mouth of a person
can’t defile them, that brother, “…their
conscience, being weak, is defiled…” If he knows the meat was sacrificed to
an idol, even as it is in his mouth his mind may go back there, to the pagan
worship that enslaved him in the past.
The Corinthians had their
doctrine right, Paul does not challenge that, it seems in v.8 he quotes
something they are saying, that is, “Food
will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better
off if we do…” Paul agrees, “But take care that this right of yours does
not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak…”(v.9). We don’t want to be the cause of someone
stumbling in their faith, or backsliding into some area of struggle from their
past.
Notice v.12, “…Thus,
sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak,
you sin against Christ…” Listen,
that “latte” (ok, I am not talking about coffee!) might be kosher, it might be
theologically neutral, it might be perfectly ok for you, but if I am having
lunch with a brother who has had a serious “Starbucks” addiction, I need to ask
if my coffee is that important, or if I would do better to put my brother ahead
of my freedom.
Paul makes a similar argument in Romans 14:13-23…
13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another
any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in
the way of a brother. 14 I
know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but
it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no
longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ
died. 16 So do not let what
you regard as good be spoken of as evil.
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and
drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is
acceptable to God and approved by men. 19
So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. 20 Do not, for the sake of food,
destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone
to make another stumble by what he eats.
21 It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything
that causes your brother to stumble. 22
The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who
has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is
condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does
not proceed from faith is sin…
Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of
God. Notice especially v.22, “…the faith that you have keep between
yourself and God…” In other words,
if you have freedom in your own conscience in an area that you know full well
could become a stumbling block to someone else, “Don’t ask, don’t tell”! Don’t make an issue of it, out of
consideration to your weaker brother. If
you really want that latte (!) don’t have it in a place where it will be seen
by your weaker brother, where it could become a point of offense. After all, we are free in Christ, yet love should guide how we
use our freedom.
III.
RELINQUISH YOUR RIGHTS: Extend
the Grace of Christian maturity in love (13).
13
Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make
my brother stumble.
So then what do we do? How do we decide between our “rights” and someone
else’s weak conscience? Paul would not risk “scandalizing” someone who was weak
in the faith, being a “stumbling block” to their faith. He would rather
surrender his rights in such situations.
This seems to have been the principle that guided in the Jerusalem
Council in Acts 15. Some Jewish
Christians were saying that gentile converts to faith in Christ needed keep the
requirements of Jewish law, like circumcision.
The council met and issued a decree that apparently addressed some
issues that were either a problem in the conduct of the gentiles (such as fornication)
or that would be offensive to Jewish believers (eating blood, or meat
sacrificed to idols). This is not
presented in Acts as “law,” but for the sake of the Jews in the community, to
avoid offense (see Acts 15:21). Consider Paul’s resolution here, “Therefore…”,
i.e. “in the light of the principles that guide how in the world I should live,”
“if food makes my brother stumble…” The word here is skanilizo, from which we get the English words “scandal” or
scandalize,” “I will never eat meat again…”
Paul is saying that watching out for his brother, recognizing that they may not
be in the same place in their spiritual journey, he will surrender his rights
for the good of his brother.
What is God saying to me in this passage? We are free in Christ, yet love should guide how we
use our freedom.
What would God have me to do in response
to this passage? All of this talk
about meat and coffee might be getting you hungry, especially if you missed
breakfast today! We’re talking about
more than meat, and more than coffee. I want to allow you to fill in the
blanks. I also want to say that we need
to distinguish those who would emasculate the gospel of grace and seek to
replace it with a religion of “works righteousness,” from those who
legitimately, due to their past, struggle with an area of Christian conduct
that is may be no problem for you and me. Dr. Ironside had no problem having a cup of
coffee while having lunch with Dr. Chafer, he was no weaker brother who would
be tempted and fall into sin! Let me
close with another quotation from Paul, Galatians
5:13 (NLT), “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But
don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom
to serve one another in love.” Think about that. AMEN.
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