Love Builds Up

                                                                      Sunday School Lesson                                       Lesson: I Corinthians 8:1-13
                                                                                                  Golden Text: “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak” (I Corinthians 8:9).
 I.  INTRODUCTION.   There are many things that are clearly identified in Scripture as right or wrong.  Other things are not so clearly identified.  These fall into the category of debatable things because the Bible does not clearly state that they are wrong to do.  To grasp the truth presented in this week’s lesson, we first have to understand the situation that existed in Corinth and throughout the Greco-Roman world.  Sacrifices were made to many different gods.  Meats from those sacrificial animals were then offered for sale in the marketplace.  In addition, Corinthian believers were often invited to special social occasions, either in a home or a temple, where such meat was served.  This presented a dilemma for Christians.  The question was whether Christians had the liberty to eat meat that had been sacrificed to pagan gods.  Some believers had no problem with eating this meat.  However, others believed that it was wrong and were offended when they saw some believers eating this meat.  Although eating meat offered to idols is hardly a problem in the church today, there are other debatable practices that are just as problematic for Christians.  This week’s lesson gives us guidance for dealing with issues that the Bible does not directly address which may cause sincere disagreement among believers.

II. REALIZING SPIRITUAL IGNORANCE IN OTHERS (I Corinthians 8:1-6) 

A. Knowledge versus love (I Corinthians 8:1).  Our first verse says “Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.”  As the founder of the church in Corinth on his Second Missionary Journey (see Acts 15:36;18:1-11), the Apostle Paul had received one or more letters from the Christians in Corinth asking him questions about different subjects (see I Corinthians 7:1, 25; 12:1; 16:1, 12).  After he answered their questions concerning marriage in I Corinthians 7:1-16, Paul addressed another question as seen in the phrase “Now as touching things offered unto idols.”  In other words, next he would answer their questions concerning foods or meats offered to idol gods.  Actually there were two issues that the Corinthian believers struggled with.  First, since most meat that was sold in the markets would have been sacrificed to a pagan god, was a Christian permitted to purchase this meat?  Second, was a Christian permitted to attend the activities of the pagan temples where various social functions were held?  It was considered socially improper not to attend these events even though sacrifices were sometimes made to idols and the meat was served to all who attended.  But the major issue was should believers eat the meat served on these occasions?   Our lesson focuses on the first question while Paul addresses the second issue later in this letter (see I Corinthians 10:23- 11:1).  Note:  The question of whether or not it was okay for believers in Corinth to eat meats offered to idols was dividing the church and was made even worse by the declaration made by the Apostolic council in Jerusalem that believers were to “abstain from meats offered to idols”(see Acts 15:19-20).  Today, similar questions that Christians might have are: Can we purchase products from a company that also makes things that promote sinful lifestyles?  Can we attend social events where things will be done that we consider wrong, but may not be declared wrong in the Scriptures?  Just having these kinds of questions reveal that for some things there are no pat answers that are sufficient.  Paul continued to say in this verse that “we know that we all have knowledge.”  He was implying that all believers have some knowledge about God’s uniqueness (He’s the only true God) and the emptiness of idolatry, but there were some who didn’t have a full understanding about those things.  But even though we may know some things we must also know that “Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.”  The words “puffeth up” mean to become arrogant, or proud.  Knowledge can make us look good and feel important, but we can very easily develop an arrogant know-it-all attitude.  No doubt there were some in Corinth who thought they knew everything about what was right or wrong.  They would use that knowledge to make those who had doubts about eating meats offered to idols feel as if they knew nothing.  Knowledge was important but love was more important, for Paul declared “but charity edifieth.”  It was more important for the Corinthians to show “charity” or godly love, which “edifies” or builds up people.  If everything we do is based on knowledge alone it leads to pride (see Proverbs 16:18).  But when we do all things based on love with knowledge, it will lead to the edification or building up of the body of Christ.  The person who truly loves God wants to please Him and do what’s best for his or her neighbor, for Romans 13:10 says “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”  Knowledge can cause us to think that we have all the answers, but love causes us to consider things from the viewpoint of fellow Christians and the impact any decision may have on them.  The believer who has knowledge without love does not know all that he or she should know.

B. Knowing nothing versus being known by God (I Corinthians 8:2-3).

1. (vs. 2).  In this verse, Paul continued to say “And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.”  At the heart of the issue regarding whether or not it was permissible for believers to eat meats offered to idols was Christian liberty.  In other words, since the believer has been set free from sin by Christ many who thought they knew everything believed that the Christian was now free to do whatever they wanted.  Paul’s point here was that anyone who thought they had full knowledge about any subject really didn’t know as much as he or she needed to know.

2. (vs. 3).  Now the apostle says here “But if any man love God, the same is known of him.”  Those who love God instead of knowledge are known by God (see II Timothy 2:19), and our love for God leads to obedience (see John 14:15; 15:10).  The principle of godly love (see I Corinthians 13:1-8) would cause the Corinthian believers to choose the most loving response when facing such debatable issues as eating meats offered to idols.  Likewise, when we are faced with questions about issues that are not directly addressed in God’s Word, we need to give the most loving response as opposed to what we think we know.

C. Nothing versus reality (I Corinthians 8:4).  In this verse Paul said “As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.”  Now Paul addressed the issue at hand, eating meats “offered in sacrifice unto idols.”  He declared that “an idol is nothing in the world.”  The psalmist also spoke about the worthlessness of the gods that their images represented (see Psalms 115:4-8).  Everyday Paul met people who truly believed that the images before which they bowed and offered sacrifices were real.  Yet the apostle said that they were nothing.  In reality they were just hunks of wood or stone, unable to do anything good or bad (see Isaiah 44:9-17).  Paul then said “and that there is none other God but one.”  The apostle confirmed what Christians and Jews believed, namely that there is no other God other than the one true God, Jehovah.  As a boy, like most Jewish children, Paul would have learned the Shema, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all they might” (see Deuteronomy 6:4-5).  Jewish people believed this with all their hearts, and now it was important for these new believers in Corinth to believe it as well.

D. Many gods versus one God (I Corinthians 8:5-6). 

1. (vs. 5).  The apostle continued to say in this verse “For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,).”  In preparation for what he would say in the next verse, here Paul acknowledged that among pagans there were many so-called gods.  Idols are visible representations of heavenly and earthly gods that are not real except in the minds of those who worship them.  Some people worshipped the sun, moon, and stars.  Others worshipped mountains, rivers, beasts, and kings.  Some even believed that various gods appeared to people (see Acts 14:11-12).  In Athens, Paul found an altar erected to the “Unknown God” (see Acts 17:23).  On his missionary journeys throughout the Roman world, Paul would have had contact with many people who believed in “gods many, and lords many.”

2. (vs. 6).  After acknowledging that there were things called gods in the previous verse, here Paul declared “But 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.”  As believers, we know that there is only one true God who is the Creator of all things and all people.  This is the meaning of the phrase “of whom are all things, and we in him.”  We also know that there is only “one Lord Jesus Christ” the One we submit to and worship.  He is the One through whom the Father created all things (see Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:14-17).

III. BUILDING UP OTHERS (I Corinthians 8:7-13) 

A. Understanding the use of foods (I Corinthians 8:7-8).

1. (vs. 7).  In this verse Paul said “Howbeit there is not in every man that 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.”  When the apostle said “Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge” he was saying that some believers had come to the conclusion that an idol was nothing, but there were others who didn’t have this knowledge.  Paul’s point here is that believers are at different levels of spiritual maturity.  Christians are either mature, meaning spiritually strong, or immature, meaning spiritually weak.  Those who were spiritually weak still had a difficult time eating something that was associated with idolatry.  Paul described the spiritually weak believer as “some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol.”  In other words, the weak believer in their minds or conscience couldn’t separate the eating of meat from the false god it had been dedicated to.  Having lived their entire lives as pagan worshippers, it wasn’t easy for these new Christians to simply change their thinking about these things.  When they ate the meat offered to idols, Paul said “their conscience being weak is defiled.”  In other words, these believers had a guilty conscience when they did eat this meat.  Paul described their consciences as “defiled.”  This word is based on a Greek verb that means “to be soiled.”  When the weak Christian ate this meat offered to idols, or saw someone else eating it, they felt spiritually dirty.  Their consciences were “weak” because they hadn’t grown enough spiritually to know that meat offered to idols was still just meat, and had no spiritual attachment at all.  Note:  In the same sense, early in our Christian lives we may have been taught that certain forms of recreation, dress, or behavior were either acceptable or unacceptable to God.  If at some point we discovered that these were only matters of opinion, we might still find it hard to do what we previously believed was wrong.  The Christian’s conscience is weak because they have an elementary understanding of the Christian faith.

2. (vs. 8). Here Paul declared “But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.”  The word “commendeth” means to praise, so Paul was saying that what we eat does not gain us praise or favor from God.  We are no better in God’s eyes if we eat and no worse in God’s eyes if we don’t eat.  Food does not change our spiritual condition for good or bad.  Whether we eat or don’t eat does not affect our relationship to God.  Note:  We might gather from what Paul said that some of the more mature believers in Corinth were flaunting their Christian freedom by eating this meat offered to idols.  While those believers may have been spiritually mature having the knowledge that meat is just meat, they were not being sensitive to the conscience of the weaker brethren.

B. Showing concern for others (I Corinthians 8:9-10).

1. (vs. 9).  In this verse Paul says “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak.”  The apostle warned the spiritually strong believers to be careful not to let the liberty they now enjoyed in Christ become a hindrance or “a stumbling block to them that are weak.”  The “liberty” Paul is referring to is the permission a Christian has to do something that the Scriptures don’t clearly prohibit.  The stronger believer should understand that their liberty or freedom to eat any kind of meat should never become a stumbling block to those who were weaker in their understanding.  While mature believers might conclude that it was okay for them to eat any kind of meat, this didn’t necessarily always make it right to do so.  As an illustration of this, Paul later said that he had the right to receive financial support from the churches for preaching the gospel, but he generally chose not to receive such support (see I Corinthians 9:1-18).  In reality, the mature believer could use their spiritual liberty and eat whatever they wanted, but if using their freedom hurts someone else, they were not acting in love.  A “stumbling block” is a hindrance of any kind.  It’s against the principle of love to lead someone to do something that weakens them by causing a setback in spiritual growth; even if I have liberty in my own conscience to do something.  It may have also been that the mature Christians were making fun of the weaker or immature believers.  Note:  Christian liberty or freedom does not mean that anything goes.  Where there is Christian freedom there is also Christian responsibility and they are inseparable.  New believers often have trouble knowing what they can or can’t do and what is right or wrong.  Some things may be perfectly alright to do for a mature Christian, but the same things may harm a brother or sister who is still young or immature in the faith and still learning what the Christian life is all about.  We must be careful not to offend an immature Christian by our example and cause him or her to sin.  When we love others, we should be more concerned about strengthening the faith of a brother or sister in Christ than about our Christian freedom.  Let’s remember that the principle of love goes not only for eating meats offered to idols, but for anything we feel free to do that the Bible does not forbid, but causes another to sin if they do the same thing. We might have freedom to do certain things but that shouldn’t outweigh what is best for others. We should always consider how our actions will affect other people.

2. (vs. 10).  In this verse Paul presents an illustration of how a mature Christian who eats meat sacrificed to idols can affect the weak Christian.  He said “For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols.”  In plain terms the illustration is this: Suppose a mature saint attended a banquet in a pagan temple.  As far as he was concerned, this was a social function that had nothing to do with pagan worship, but the food that had been sacrificed to an idol was offered to him.  Since this believer knew that this so-called god didn’t really exist, the meat was just meat.  Therefore the believer could eat with a clear conscience.  However, a Christian who was still weak in this regard might see the stronger brother at the banquet.  The actions of the stronger brother might “embolden” or encourage the weaker brother to join in causing him to go against his conscience.  The weaker brother would then feel guilty, thus harming their own spiritual growth.  If the weaker brother who thinks it’s not okay to eat meats offered to idols sees another believer do it and then he eats it, the stronger brother is guilty of causing the weaker brother to sin (see James 4:17).  The point of Paul’s illustration was that the strong believer should avoid eating meat offered to idols if there was any chance that they would even be seen by the weaker believer (see Romans 14:20-21).  We may not think others are watching us, but for sure, we are all role models for someone.      

C. Sinning against Christ (I Corinthians 8:11-12).

1. (vs. 11).  Continuing his statement from the previous verse, Paul asked “And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?”  In other words the one with “knowledge” or the stronger believer must always consider the impact of his actions on others.  In this case, Paul was concerned that the weaker brother might “perish” because of the actions of the stronger or mature believer.  It’s not exactly clear what Paul meant when he used the term “perish,” but mostly likely he meant that the weaker brother’s spiritual growth would be stunted due to a wounded conscience.  Since “Christ died” for both the strong believer and the weak believer (see Romans 15:1-3), those who are spiritually mature should never do or say anything that could hinder the immature believer’s spiritual growth.  Note:  Some of the redeemed grow faster spiritually than others.  Some don’t mature as quickly and may even remain “babes in Christ” (see I Corinthians 3:1) longer than they should.  It’s the weaker, less mature believers who need more understanding from mature believers.

2. (vs. 12).  In this verse Paul stated a very significant truth: “But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.”  A member of the body of Christ should never “wound” (or harm) the “weak (immature) conscience” of another member of that body, for it is a “sin against Christ” Himself.  This puts the issue of whether or not it’s okay to eat meats offered to idols in a whole new light.  Paul is telling us that what we choose to do even in debatable matters, or things that the Bible does not address as right or wrong, can do great damage to the faith of others.

D. Resolving to avoid offending our brother (I Corinthians 8:13).  In our final verse Paul declared “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.”  Paul used himself as an example to his readers.  He resolved that if eating meat was in any way offensive to his Christian brother, he wouldn’t eat meat “while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.”  In other words, he would never eat meat again if it caused his brother or sister to do something against their conscience which would be sin (see Romans 14:23).  Let’s look at an example of this principle today.  Suppose another Christian believes that it’s wrong to do anything on Sunday except go to church and rest.  If this person lives next door to you, according to Paul’s point of view, it would be better not to mow your lawn on Sunday in order to avoid offending that neighbor or causing him to stumble.  Note: Paul was prepared to give up any expression of his Christian liberty that hurts the spiritual walk of a weak or immature Christian.  Love, not freedom is the highest principle of the Christian moral life.  Faith gives freedom, but love governs it.  Think about some of the things that Christians sometimes debate or even divide over today.  Do those things have anything to do with the essential matters of Christian faith and doctrine, or do they fall into the category of opinion?  Are some of these things we debate over related to tradition, culture or personal taste?  If so, are we willing to set aside our preferences and opinions for the sake of Christ’s kingdom, God’s glory, and the benefit of weaker Christians, for whom Christ died?  As Paul wrote “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.  Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved” (see I Corinthians 10:23,31-33).  Since the apostle wanted to see people saved, he was willing to put aside his personal rights for others so that he could have the greatest impact on the greatest number of people (see I Corinthians 9:19-22).                             

IV. Conclusion.  In Christ I am free to do many things, but I should willingly forgo them if a weaker brother’s conscience is offended.  This week’s lesson revealed that knowledge must be tempered with love in order to truly help those who are weaker in the faith.  Strong Christians in Corinth knew their theology and had no problem eating meat that had been offered to inanimate objects.  Weaker or immature Christians still had doubts about eating such meat because of their imperfect understanding of the one true God.  This lesson also explains how to deal with weaker brothers and their uninformed consciences.  While exercising our freedom in Christ, we need to be careful not to lay stumbling blocks in the paths of others.  Remember Christian love builds a person up, but knowledge alone can lead to pride, and pride leads to destruction (see Proverbs 16:18).
 



 

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