Welcome again to each one on this Lord's Day.
We're going to be looking today at 1 Corinthians
chapter 8. The title today is Principles of Christian
Liberty. We're going to be looking at the introduction
and the matter of food offered to idols. It says
part 1. Our text is the whole chapter of 1 Corinthians
chapter 8. It is written to us. Now concerning
things offered to idols, we know that we all
have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love
edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything,
he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But
if anyone loves God, this one is known by him.
Therefore concerning the eating of things offered
to idols, We know that an idol is nothing in
the world, and that there is no other God but
one. For even if there are so -called gods, whether
in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods
and many lords, yet for us there is one God,
the Father, of whom are all things, and we for
him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom
are all things, and through whom we live. However,
there is not in everyone that knowledge. For
some, with consciousness of the idol, until now
eat it as a thing offered to an idol, and their
conscience, being weak, is defiled. But food
does not commend us to God, for neither if we
eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are
we the worse. But beware, lest somehow this liberty
of yours become a stumbling block to those who
are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge
eating in an idol's temple, will not the conscience
of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those
things offered to idols? And because of your
knowledge, shall the weak brother perish for
whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against
the brethren and wound their weak conscience,
you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes
my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat,
lest I... Make my brother stumble. Let's pray
together. Father, we thank you for this day and
for the privilege of looking at this passage
in your word. I pray, Lord, that you would speak
to us, that you would illuminate us, Lord, by
the power of the Spirit. Please help us to understand
this passage as it applies to us today, Lord,
even as it was written to the Corinthians so
many years ago. Please open our eyes, Lord. Grant
me the ability to speak forth your word in a
way that is clear and plain and that speaks to
the heart. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. In this
chapter, Paul moves on from his former conversation
in chapters 5 and 6 and 7, and he begins to answer
a new question. The question is, what about the
matter of eating food offered to idols? This
actually begins a whole new section in the book
of 1 Corinthians, a section on idolatry and the
proper worship of the one true God, and goes
up until the end of chapter 14. But within this,
Paul is going to give profound and comprehensive
instruction and discussion on the matter of Christian
liberty. Now the subject of liberty is one that
is found throughout the scriptures. David says,
so shall I keep your law continually forever
and ever. And I will walk at liberty for I seek
your precepts. Psalm 119 verse 44 and 45. Jesus
proclaims that he is the fulfillment of the one
sent to set at liberty those who are oppressed.
In Luke chapter 4, verse 18 and 19, which is
the fulfillment of the prophecy by Isaiah. Indeed,
as Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse
14 through 18, where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty. And we then as Christian believers
must watch out against those who come in by stealth.
Or by deceit to spy out our liberty in Christ.
So that they might bring us again into bondage.
This is Paul's declaration in Galatians chapter
2 and verse 4. He exhorts them saying, Stand
fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ
has made us free. And do not be entangled again
in the yoke of bondage for you brethren. have
been called to liberty. Only do not use liberty
as an opportunity for the flesh, but by love
serve one another. Galatians 5 .13 Thus it is
the will of God that by doing good you may be
able to put to silence the ignorance of foolish
men as free, and yet not using liberty as a cloak
for vice, but as bondservants of God. 1 Peter
2, 15 and 16. But what does Christian liberty
mean? How do we apply it? In order to understand
this, we need to understand there's two broad
categories of liberty in the scripture. There
is Christian liberty of conscience. And there
is Christian liberty regarding our freedom in
Christ. and in things indifferent. Let me explain.
Liberty of conscience. This is where good Christians
disagree on areas of Christian doctrine in those
matters that are not matters of first importance.
Matters of first importance are basic doctrines
in which we must believe in order to be a Christian,
to be a faithful Christian, such as the doctrines
of God, the doctrine of the Trinity, the authority
of the Word, and so forth. These great truths
are summarized in the great creeds of the faith,
such as the Apostles and the Nicene Creeds. We
stand together in one gospel, but we may disagree.
Disagree in what? Disagree in matters such as
the proper time or the mode of baptism. Or the
full meaning of what the Lord's Supper is. Or
what separation from the world looks like exactly.
Or eschatology, the doctrine of the end times.
Now these are all important issues. They should
not be swept aside or overlooked. But at the
same time, faithful Christians disagree and we
can still love one another and we can receive
one another as Christian believers. This is fully
developed or further developed in Romans chapter
14, which we're not going to look at today. Liberty
of conscience. also includes freedom from the
doctrines and commandments of men that are either
contrary to scripture or go beyond scripture
in matters of faith and worship. This is Christian
liberty of conscience, conscience. Secondly,
though, and this is we're going to be looking
at more today, Christian liberty broadly refers
to two things. First of all, It is the spiritual
freedom that Christ has purchased for believers.
This is freedom from the guilt of sin and the
condemning wrath of God, from bondage to Satan
and the dominion of sin, and from the curse of
the law as a means of justification, and from
the fear of death and of final judgment. We have
free access to God and the privilege of serving
Him, not out of a slavish fear, but from a childlike
love. and a willing mind. And thus we are free
from the law of ceremonies that were fulfilled
in Christ and in his sacrifice. And therefore,
we no longer offer sacrifices. We no longer have
a Levitical priesthood and a physical temple
that we attend three times a year. We are free
from the purity and cleanness laws or from the
observance of the national festivals and holy
days. The prohibition of unclean foods is given.
Given in the dietary laws are no longer in place.
For now, every creature of God is good, and nothing
is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving,
for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
1 Timothy 4, verse 4. That is one aspect of Christian
liberty. This Christian liberty also, though,
extends to matters that are what we call indifferent.
That is, areas where scripture provides general
principles and boundaries, but does not prescribe
a specific single required course of action.
In such things, God grants his people a significant
latitude to exercise wisdom, preference, and
Christian freedom. Wisdom, preference, and Christian
freedom. Examples. Examples include. Your choice
of occupation, or a place of residence, or whom
to marry within the bounds of biblical marriage.
Styles of clothing and appearance, forms of recreation,
and many other details of daily life. In these
areas, believers are free to make decisions according
to conscience. They are to be guided by the general
rules of scripture. and by the love of neighbor
and the pursuit of God's glory, without being
bound by the traditions or preferences of others.
These are just some of the biblical standards
for how we practice Christian liberty. So the
question that Paul addresses in chapter 8 is
this. Is it lawful to eat food offered to idols?
Now this whole passage is very similar to an
Old Testament case law. A case law is a case
in which God's law is applied to a specific thing,
to a specific case. And then we can apply it
in other ways. In this chapter, the guidance
and the wisdom given by Paul regarding food,
the eating of food offered to idols, can also
be applied to many other matters. And so it's
a very important one to understand. Here's the
situation in Corinth. National and local festivals
and celebrations were held in the city from time
to time. A common practice was that the celebration
meal... At the time of this celebration, it could
have been some kind of a national holiday or
just some other great deliverance in the past
or an armed victory, whatever it was. But the
practice was that the celebration meal was held
in the temple. That is the dining hall that was
attached to the temple of the idol. And the food
served at this meal was first dedicated. and
offered to the idol and then brought to the people
to eat. That's the one thing that happened. Now,
also, during the regular sacrifices at the temple,
a portion of the food would be offered. That
is, people would bring food as part of their
offering. So then some of it was given to the
idol, some of it was given to the pagan priest
for him to eat, and another portion was given
to the one bringing the offering. Now, often,
of course, when the food was given to the priest,
it was far in excess of what they needed. And
of course, the idol didn't consume anything.
And so not having refrigeration, the food, especially
the meat, would need to be disposed of rather
quickly. Therefore, the food that was left over
was then taken to the open marketplace and sold
for anyone to buy. So the questions for the Christians
were these. Is it proper to join a feast of celebration
at the temple? This could be celebration something
about the nation, for example. Not necessarily
celebrating the idol, just kind of like a July
4th or Labor Day or something like that that
we might have. So was it proper to join a feast
of celebration at the temple and to eat the food
that had been offered at that temple? One. Second,
was it proper to eat that food that was offered
to idols and then was served at your neighbor's
house? Was it okay to go and eat with your neighbor
and eat this food that had been offered to idols?
Third, was it proper, was it allowed to buy the
food in the market and then take it home and
cook it and eat it for yourself? Those were the
three issues of concern. Now, this exact issue
is pretty much irrelevant for us in America and
in many other parts of the world, but it is still
one that exists in some places, some countries,
especially in Asian countries where open idolatry
is still practiced in this way. Nevertheless,
this passage is very instructive for us in the
whole understanding of how to live with one another.
in matters like this, matters of Christian liberty.
As we will see, there were some Christian believers
whose consciences were held captive by a wrong
interpretation of Scripture, and they needed
to be enlightened. There were others who were
not walking in love, and some were proud and
arrogant, and they were causing their brethren
to stumble. They were not... loving their brothers
and sisters in Christ. This section of scripture
from here to chapter 11 and verse 1 deals with
this matter thoroughly. So I'm going to look
at it fairly much in depth today, but there's
going to be additional commentary that Paul gives
and instruction that he gives later on. Now I've
spent more time than usual in this introduction,
but I thought it would be... good for our edification
as we look at this whole section because this
really sets the stage for looking at a lot that
is in chapters 8, chapter 9, and chapter 10.
So let's now look into this in greater depth
in chapter 8. Number one, the practice of Christian
liberty is based on knowledge and love. On knowledge
and love. This is found in verses 1 to 3. Paul
says, Now concerning things offered to idols,
we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge
puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks
that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet
as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God,
this one is known by him. Now we all possess
a certain amount of knowledge. We have understanding
as the general understanding of the Christian
religion. But some are more advanced than others
in the deeper things. of Christian theology.
We have moral wisdom, knowing the difference
between good and evil as declared by God in His
Word. Now, not all of us are at the same level,
just as there's a difference in knowledge between
a new Christian or a baby Christian and a seasoned,
mature Christian who has walked with God for
50 years. Furthermore, we know that the worship
of God does not belong with those who worship
idols. We'll see this again in verse 4. Paul
acknowledges that the Christians were enriched
in everything in Christ Jesus. In all utterance
and in knowledge. Chapter 1 and verse 5. Now
knowledge is important. Knowledge is essential.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.
But fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs
1 and verse 7. And the Lord gives wisdom from
his mouth. comes knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2 and verse 6. Wise people stir up knowledge,
but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.
Proverbs 10 verse 14. And the tongue of the wise
uses knowledge rightly. Proverbs 15 and verse
2. There is a way to have knowledge though, but
to hold it in an arrogant, a proud, and an unloving
way. Indeed, without love, knowledge puffs up.
It puffs us. It inflates our ego. It makes us
proud and to bear ourselves in a lofty manner.
I am superior to you because I have more knowledge.
So easy for that to happen. Knowledge puffs up.
In order to address the good and noble practice
of Christian liberty, Paul begins with an emphasis
on love and knowledge. Love and knowledge because
love edifies. Love edifies. Now the literal meaning
of edify is speaking really of the building up
of a house. That's what it literally means. Metaphorically,
it means to build one another up. to build us
up, to promote growth in Christian wisdom and
in affection, in grace and in virtue, in holiness
and in blessedness. That's quite a mouthful.
Let me repeat it again, just so that it sinks
deep into our souls and it moves us. To edify
one another is to build each other up. It is
to promote the other's growth in Christian wisdom.
It is to see growth and blessing and affection
and love and grace and virtue and holiness and
blessedness. And to grow in wisdom and in piety
and faithfulness before God. That's what the
word edify means. And love edifies. So much is
the tendency to be proud and arrogant of our
knowledge. That Paul exhorts even the most knowledgeable
among us with these words in verse 2. If anyone
thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing
yet as he ought to know. Now that's a real reality
check, isn't it? If you think you know a lot,
you don't know anything of what you ought to
know. Wow. That's a blow to the ego. So vast
and so deep. Is the knowledge of God. Of the
Holy Trinity. And the relationship of the three
persons. And the doctrine of God. And of his
word. And of his church. And of all things related.
And how it applies to the world in which we live.
That no matter how much we know. There is yet
an ocean of things. That we do not know. An ocean
full. Job got a glimpse of this. When God answers
him. In Job 38, chapters 38 through 41, when
God questions Job with unanswerable questions
as to his greatness, his creation, the earth,
and all the heavenly host. And at the end of
it, Job just says, woe is me. I lay my hand on
my mouth. I don't know anything is really what
he was saying. I don't know anything as I ought
to know. And yet. In all this world, knowledge
and love of arrogance versus humility, Paul then
reminds us that if anyone loves God, this person
is known by God himself. Brothers and sisters,
how can this be? That each one of you who are
in Christ are known by him. God knows you. He
knows you. you have a relationship with the creator
of the universe. He knows you. He knows everything
about you. He knows your love, your imperfect
love for him. He knows it all. And so as we love
God and we study to know him more, we are then
also taught by him and we increase in spiritual
knowledge and we are highly approved of and esteemed
and beloved by God. Oh, let that sink into your
heart and comfort and strengthen you that God
knows you. Therefore, true knowledge is marked
by a love and a fervency for God and being known
by Him. Ah, brethren and sisters, let us seek
to love Him and to be known by God Himself. And
God can only be known through His Son, Jesus
Christ. As Jesus himself says in Matthew 11 verse
27, No one knows the Son except the Father, nor
does anyone know the Father except the Son, and
the one to whom the Son will reveal him. Oh,
how we need a fresh and continued relationship
with Jesus Christ and a knowledge of Jesus Christ
and a revelation of Christ. Through his word.
Knowledge is essential. But it is not enough.
In the same way. Love is essential. But love
is also not enough. We can't just go around and
say all we need is love. It's love that makes
the world go around. No. It is the truth of God
that must come to us. Through the revealed word
of God. And we must have that knowledge. It's
knowledge and love. And they are clasped. firmly
together we need a powerful combination of both
love and knowledge in order to maintain our fervency
in order to stay with in doctrinal truth in soundness
and in fervent love for one another and for god
and to have and uphold christian liberty in the
church secondly then paul moves on verses four
to six into the theological reality that there
is one God and there is one Lord. He says, Therefore
concerning the eating of things offered to idols,
we know that an idol is nothing in the world,
and there is no other God but one. For even if
there are so -called gods, whether in heaven
or in earth, as there are many gods and many
lords, yet for us there is one God, the Father,
of whom are all things, and we for Him. and one
Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things
and through whom we live. So as it regards to
liberty and specifically to food being offered
to idols, we know, we affirm, we have the revealed
knowledge of the true God that all of the idols
are made by men and they are not gods. They're
made by men. It is aptly described and powerfully
spoken in Psalm 135. The idols of the nations
are silver and gold. The work of men's hands.
They have mouths, but they do not speak. Eyes
they have, but they do not see. They have ears,
but they do not hear. Nor is there any breath
in their mouths. Those who make them are like
them. So is everyone who trusts in them. How
can a man who is not God fashion an image that
is God? Paul says, we know that an idol is nothing.
Now Paul will speak about the demonic powers
behind the idols in chapter 10. But for our purpose
here, the gods are nothing. This is how missionaries
and preachers over the world in pagan lands could
demonstrate the gods the people served were unable
to do anything. Elijah on Mount Carmel waiting
for hours while the 450 prophets of Baal danced
around, called upon their God, cut themselves
with knives, they bled and did all sorts of incantations
and there was no fire. There was no fire. There
was no sacrifice. And then a simple prayer from
Elijah and what happened? Fire fell out of heaven.
It fell out of heaven and it consumed the sacrifice.
It consumed the stones and it ate up all the
water. Just burned it all up just like that.
Or there was Boniface who chopped down the evergreen
tree revered as an idol to show that it was not
a god. And he cut branches and sent them home
with the people to burn and to decorate their
houses in celebration that their false god was
dead. And there was one true and living God who
provided a way of salvation. This was how John
G. Patton demonstrated the futility of the island
of Tana, the islanders' gods, most strikingly
through a public challenge to their sacred men
and sorcerers. If you have not read Patton's
autobiography, I urge you to buy it, to read
it. Give it to your children to read or read
it to them. It is a wonderful, powerful story
of a faithful man of God, John G. Patton, P -A
-T -T -O -N. An idol is nothing. There is no
other God but one, even when there are... so
-called gods whether they're in heaven or earth
for us there is one god the father of whom are
all things and we exist for him he is the creator
of all things in him we live and move and have
our being think of this for a moment we live
because of the creation the help And the breath
of God. We are able to move and to use our limbs.
Our arms. Our legs. Our hands. And all of our
senses. Because of his creative power. We have
our being in him. The very fact that all the
cells and the molecules came together. And that
flash of light. Appeared in the womb of your
mother. When conception occurred. And a baby
was born into the world. Around nine months later.
This is all the work of God. Incredible work
of God. We have our being in God. We owe our
all to God. Even if you were conceived in a sinful
union of fornication or of adultery, even you
still have your being in God and you are precious
in His sight. He ordained that you would be born
in the station of life, the particular time in
history, and that all of the creative processes
would come together so that you would be born
and that you would come to know and to love Him.
In Him we live and move and have our being. There
is one God, the Father, of whom are all things,
and we for Him. It is him whom we must love and
worship and worship with all our heart, soul,
mind and strength. And there is one Lord Jesus
Christ, he says, through whom are all things,
through whom and through whom we live. Paul describes
the way God the Father did all of this. And he
created through the one and only Lord Jesus Christ,
who is one with the Father. Through Christ are
all things, for God created through Him, and
it is through Him we live. This is Jesus, the
eternal Son of the Father, who was born as a
baby from a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit,
who died and rose again, and ascended to be with
the Father at His right hand, there to intercede
for us. This theological truth grounds us, and
it grounds the church, and it helps us to understand
that idols are nothing. And it also helps us
to understand Christian liberty. We know who
we are and we know the God who made us and we
serve the Lord Jesus Christ. This is profound,
all inspiring and a glorious truth about God.
So with this knowledge, the matter of eating
food that wasn't offered to an idol means nothing.
Paul says it means nothing. Why? Because God
created the food and the idol is nothing. One
can eat it with no ill effects. It is nothing.
But that's not the end of it. Because he goes
on, our third point, not all yet have that knowledge,
he says. Not all yet have that knowledge. There
is not in everyone that knowledge, for some with
consciousness of the idol, until now, eat it
as a thing offered to an idol. And their conscience,
being weak, is defiled. But food does not commend
us to God, for neither if we eat are we the better,
nor if we do not eat are we the worse. So when
an idolater first comes to know the Lord, he's
born again, he's added to Christ's church, There
are still many things that need to be learned
about faith in Christ and about the faith. This
is why Jesus said to make disciples. How are
disciples made? They are made by baptizing them
and by then teaching them to observe all things
that he has commanded. Matthew 28, the Great
Commission. In this process of sanctification,
there is much to learn. But there are also things
that need to be unlearned or de -learned, if
there is such a thing. In other words, they need
to be set aside. They need to be set aside. Paul
is saying here that some of the Christians rescued
from paganism and idolatry still are not persuaded
that the gods of the heathen have no existence
and no spiritual power. Though they believe in
God, yet they still think there is some kind
of an innate power, spiritual power in those
idols. They're not persuaded yet. Though the
gods are imaginary, that imagination still has
some roots in the consciousness. They are Christian.
They have forsaken the false gods, but they still
think there's some type of spiritual beings,
though false. Therefore, when they eat food that
was offered to an idol, They eat it, not if they
eat it. It is not with thanksgiving to God who
created it and the idol means nothing. But to
them, that eating is part of idolatrous worship
because they're eating something as it were offered
to an idol. It is not ordinary food to them,
but it is an act that has religious character
and spiritual influence as a sacrifice to God.
an idol what happens then paul says their conscience
being weak is thus defiled it is defiled and
those who are in christ must seek to avoid defiling
their conscience and though the act itself is
not sin yet because they are not eating in faith
it is sin to them because they are not eating
it in faith Paul, in a similar context, though
speaking about eating clean or unclean foods
in Romans 14, he applies it to this matter and
he says, Do not destroy the work of God for the
sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but
it is evil for the man who eats with offense.
It is good neither to eat meat, nor drink wine,
nor do anything by which your brother stumbles
or is offended and made weak. Or is made weak.
Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before
God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself
in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned
if he eats. Because he does not eat from faith.
For whatever is not from faith is sin. And so
here we have a case. Where a matter is not sin
in and of itself, but when it is not done in
faith, then it is sin to that particular person.
It may not be sin to you who have the liberty
in Christ, but to this person, it is sin. And
when he partakes it, he sees you and he says,
well, I can do this. But within him, he is still
doing the sin and he's not doing it in faith.
The defiling of the conscience. Is sin. So again.
The principle is stated. Food does not matter.
It does not matter. It's not. There's not a principle
of religious or spiritual significance. It is
not defiling. It does not have spiritual significance.
It is a thing indifferent. You can eat it to
the glory of God. And rejoice in him. But. Paul
reminds them. It does not commend us to God.
We are neither the better if we eat nor the worse
if we do not eat. But what matters? Love. Love
for one another that does not wound the conscience
of the other and cause them, not just making
it so that they don't like you. No, no. They
lose faith and they're destroyed because of it.
They're destroyed because of it. How does that
destruction take place when this particular application
is probably where they went back to idolatrous
worship? Paul sums this up with a closing warning
in this chapter, although he will give additional
application in chapter 10. What is that warning?
Paul warns of the danger, number four, the danger
of causing a brother to stumble. This is verses
9 to 13. But beware, he says, beware lest somehow
this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block
to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you
who have knowledge, eating in an idol's temple,
will not the conscience of him who is weak Be
emboldened to eat those things offered to idols.
And because of your knowledge shall the weak
brother perish for whom Christ died. But when
you thus sin against the brethren and wound their
weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore,
if food makes my brother stumble, I will never
again eat meat lest I make my brother stumble.
Living in Christian liberty is a wonderful gift.
We have an enlightened conscience. We experience
the free grace of God and we delight in his good
gifts to us. But sometimes that joy and delight
can have some unintended consequences, especially
in a setting like this. Paul says, beware and
take heed. lest this liberty of yours become
a stumbling block. The stumbling block is an
occasion to sin. Weak means that they are without
strength and sick and powerless. Who is the weak
in this case? It is those whose consciences have
not yet been freed from all of the effects of
false worship and idolatrous practices. Not yet
has their consciences been freed from that. And
thus, If a weak brother sees you and you have
your knowledge and so you go to the feast, you
eat the food at the feast in the temple, in the
idol's temple, and you're saying, I'm not worshiping.
I'm just here celebrating this occasion and I'm
going to eat the food that is offered because
God created this and the idol is nothing. But
if this weak brother sees you. And he's there
with you. And so he then is emboldened. I'm just
going to violate my conscience. I'm just going
to do this thing and it's okay because I can
worship both the idol and God or however it might
be in his own mind. Through your liberty in Christ,
they can revert back to idolatrous practices
and perish. Through your knowledge, the weak
brother for whom Christ died may perish or may
be destroyed. This is very strong language. Now
again, I want to reiterate here, this is not
the case of somebody disagreeing with you. This
is not someone being offended at you as not liking
what you're doing. This is not somebody who's
doubting their faith because of, or who is just
of a different mind than what you are regarding
a particular thing. You know, kind of like a
teetotaler versus someone who says, no, the Bible
says that wine is okay in moderation. Kind of
that way. And so they're just like, okay, I don't
think I should. I don't like that you're doing
it, but, you know, it's not that big of a deal.
Now, if it causes them to go back into all of
the things of the past and to forsake the faith
and they are destroyed, then that's a different
matter. It's one of these things where it's not
speaking. The problem is the old King James here
uses the word offend. And so we think of the
word offend as just being something I'm offended
at this. I don't like it. And that's not what
he's talking about. He's talking about destruction.
They're being destroyed because of this act of
liberty. It's not disapproval. It's a perishing,
destruction, putting the one in danger of divine
judgment and living in sin and going back to
the old ways of false worship. When and if this
happens, Paul tells the Corinthian believers
in Corinth, your sin against the brethren and
the wounding of their weak conscience is actually
a sin against Christ. It is a sin against Christ.
For Christ would not have you cause your brother
to lose the faith and to live in sin. Therefore,
Paul concludes, if food makes my brother stumble,
I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother
stumble. Now, Paul here is not saying, I'm a
vegetarian now. What he's simply saying in giving
this hypothetical case, if this were to happen,
by no means would I do this, lest I make him
stumble and lose the faith. That's what he's
saying. All of this is wrapped up in the overarching
principle. Love your neighbor as yourself. Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Love does not behave rudely and does not seek
its own. And therefore, our practice of Christian
liberty must keep that in mind. By all means,
live in the liberty in which Christ has set you
free. Just be aware of your surroundings. and
of those with whom you associate. Be aware of
it. Now what's our takeaway from this? What do
we take away? Because obviously we don't have
that situation. There's not an idolatrous temple
that is right here in this town with people going
and eating there. We are removed from this context.
But surely there are some things that we can
take away from this. First of all, an understanding
of Christian liberty understands the difference
between i'm going to use two big words here but
i'll explain them antinomianism and legalism
so antinomianism is really means against law
in other words i'm not bound by the law of god
at all all i do is i just need to love i just
need to love god with all my heart however it
comes out well however you love god that's okay
you're okay i'm okay that's the Real bad result
of it. There are others who are partially antinomian.
But I'm not going to go into great detail on
that. But it simply means forsaking the law and
just saying I'm just going to go by the spirit.
However the spirit leads. Whether it's against
the word or not. Then there's also legalism.
And that is where we take a law and we take it
out to the furthest extreme. And our particular
application of the law is something that everybody
needs to do in exactly the same way. and we are
saved by doing that so that's legalism in other
words just a real intent on the law one simply
believes in being led by the spirit and there
are no legal or moral constraints other than
a few basic ones the opposite is if we take areas
that are in christian liberty and then we legislate
it we make it a law for everyone else Rather
than realizing this is an area of liberty. We
want neither one. Need to be led by the Spirit,
absolutely. But the Spirit leads us in the ways
of God. And then we seek to apply it. But we
also take care not to legislate it for others
in ways that go beyond the Word of God. Antinomianism,
legalism, Christian liberty is right there in
the middle. We see the difference. Second, our
consciences need to be enlightened. The answer
to this whole problem is yes, to walk carefully,
but we should be able to advance beyond that
as well. In other words, how does the conscience
get enlightened? This is the need of the hour.
And our consciences can be enlightened by the
word of God and by good teaching. That is how
we are able to change and say, okay, now I see
this. Now I see that this is okay. And I'm not
going to defile my conscience when I do this
particular thing. In this case, eating food offered
to idols. Now the answers to the initial questions
that I asked are actually found in chapter 10.
I'm only going to mention them very briefly.
We're going to look at them further when we get
to chapter 10. Is it proper to join the feast
of celebration in the temple and eat the food
that was offered to the temple? Paul answers,
no, it is not. And it's because of the other
people think that you are worshiping the idol,
basically. So that's his answer there. Second,
was it proper to eat food offered to idols and
served at a neighbor's house? Yes, it was, unless
the host makes a special point of bringing it
to you and saying, this is food that was offered
to an idol, then you don't eat it because of
his sake, because you do not want to be associated
with idolatrous worship. That's what he says.
Again, chapter 10. And lastly, was it proper
to buy the food in the market and take it home
and cook it and eat it for yourself? Yes, categorically,
yes. You take it home, you give thanks for God
because an idol is nothing. That's all in chapter
10, but I'm just... Bringing you up on it so
that those three questions are not left hanging.
In our past, we have all had to unlearn some
things and to relearn them. Some of these things
were things that we were told were wrong by the
church, the church that we were in. But it was
an answer or it was a teaching that was based
on tradition and not according to the scriptures
in these cases. We are to take care, but we are
to feel free to be at liberty as our conscience
is enlightened. Now if you're a husband and a
wife, I urge you to both come to that liberty
before enforcing it or practicing it or pushing
it on the other. Be of the same mind. I'll give
you an example. So prior to 1966, Roman Catholics
were not allowed to eat meat on Fridays. It was
considered a sin. You could not eat meat on Fridays.
You had to eat fish if you wanted that kind of
protein. But no meat, no beef, no pork, no any
of the other kinds. Doing so was considered sin.
And so now you come to light. You come to a greater
understanding of the Word of God. And so you
look at it and say... There's nothing in the
Word of God about not eating meat on Fridays.
This is not a proper application of the Word
of God. Therefore, we're going to eat meat. And
so my point there is, if your wife thinks that
and your husband didn't, or vice versa, don't
push it on the other. Wait. There are many, many
things. All of us have different backgrounds.
We all come from various practices in our past,
and we can take this and apply it. to all of
those as we look at things so then fourthly seek
to keep a clear conscience before god at all
times keep a clear conscience before god at all
times paul says in acts 24 i have hope in god
which they themselves also accept that there
will be a resurrection of the dead both of the
just and the unjust This being so, I myself always
strive to have a conscience without offense toward
God and man. If your conscience is weak or is
defiled, come to the Lord, get cleansing, and
then seek light in his word to see if it should
be weak or defiled in that particular matter.
In other words, your conscience is not infallible.
It needs to be instructed from the Word of God.
So keep it clear. Don't violate your conscience,
but seek to enlighten it with proper understanding
from the Word of God. And if a brother in Christ
disagrees with you on a particular thing, talk
to him about it. Look into the Word, and maybe
both of your consciences will be enlightened,
if they need to be. Lastly, Hold fast to Christ.
Brothers and sisters. Hold fast to Christ. Use
your liberty in Christ. But not as an occasion.
To exalt the fleshly desires of your heart. The
flesh. Paul says in Galatians 5 verse 13. You
brethren. And so this I say to you also. You
my brothers and sisters. You are all called to
liberty. But do not use that liberty. As an opportunity
for the flesh. But through love. Serve one another.
Love one another. Edify one another. Care for
one another. For all the law is fulfilled. In
one word. Even in this. You shall love your neighbor.
As yourself. Let's pray.