1 Corinthians 8:1-13 - Freedom Regulated by Love

Introduction

When a teenager first begins to feel a sense of his or her freedom from parental authority and control, he or she is likely to overindulge. When you lift the limit on screen time, the teenager is probably going to be on the phone, or pad, or TV for far longer than he or she ought. When you do away with a curfew, the teenager is probably going to stay out way past any reasonable hour. When you stop checking that homework and chores are done, the teenager is likely to make a few bad grades and miss a few trash days.

It is a mark of immaturity… overindulgence in the exercise of freedom. This is not to be encouraged in teenagers, but it is not surprising when an immature person does immature things with his or her freedom.

On the other hand, a mark of maturity, a sign that a man or woman has become responsible, trustworthy, and sensible is when he or she is free to do a thing but chooses not to do it for the sake of some greater purpose, greater good, or (even better) for the good of others.

This transition from immaturity toward maturity is what we observe when an adolescent moves toward adulthood… and we also see it when a baby Christian begins to understand that there’s more to be considered in the Christian life than his or her own justification and spiritual growth… more to be enjoyed than his or her own Christian freedom.

Today, we are continuing our study through Paul’s first canonical letter to the Corinthians. For a couple of chapters now, Paul has been very interested in helping the Corinthian Christians to understand that their lives are to be regulated according to biblical principles and commands, and he’s been trying to help them understand what those principles are as well as what God has commanded.

In our passage today, Paul is going to explain why Christian freedom is something we all enjoy and also why Christian freedom is something we should all be willing to lay aside for the sake of love.

Let’s read our passage together, and let’s consider how all of this applies to us. Would you stand with me as I read 1 Corinthians 8:1-13?

Scripture Reading

1 Corinthians 8:1–13 (ESV)

1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

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.

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.

13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

Main Idea:

Christians are free to live all of life to the glory of God, but a key feature of Christian love is setting aside personal freedom for the sake of others.

Sermon

1. Regulated by Love (v1-3)

In our passage this morning, the Apostle Paul is returning to an aspect of regulated Christian living that he briefly mentioned a couple of chapters ago. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul quoted what was apparently a common phrase among the Corinthians, “All things are lawful for me” (1 Cor. 6:12). But Paul countered this motto by saying that “not all things are helpful,” and “I will not be dominated by [or “mastered by” (NASB) or “controlled by” (NET) or “brought under the power of” (KJV)] anything” (1 Cor. 6:12).

So, if Paul will not let his desires or even his freedoms “dominate” him, and if he is calling the Christians in Corinth to regulate their desires and their freedoms according to some higher and better standard than “Is it lawful?”, then what is it? What is the overarching force that is to regulateChristian freedom? What is that dominant attitude by which knowledge and its application is to be regulated?

In a word, the answer is “love” (v1).

The specific freedom being addressed in our passage is the ability of a Christian to eat “food” – especially “meat” (v13) – that had been “offered” or “sacrificed” (NASB) to “idols” (v1). Paul explains the rationale for why Christians are, in fact, free to eat such food in v4-6; but in these first three verses, Paul urges his hearer to think and act with more than his or her own freedom in mind.

This “knowledge” that Christians are generally free can “puff up” (v1) or “make [one] arrogant” (NASB), and Paul wants to avoid that sort of divided Christianity. Remember, the Corinthian church was “divided” and “quarreling” (1 Cor. 1:10-11). And, no doubt, Paul is here putting his finger on one of the ways they were fighting amongst themselves. There seems to have been some Christians in the church who flaunted their freedoms, while other Christians self-righteously condemned their brethren for living so freely.

And like Paul did in chapter 6, he again here charges those Christians who fancy themselves as the “more mature” of the bunch to take the hit. In chapter 6, Paul urged those who had been offended and even injured to be quick to forgive and slow to prosecute. Now here, Paul rebukes those who “imagine that [they] know something” (v2), telling them that they “do not yet know as [they] ought to know” (v2). In other words, “You think you’re smarter than your fellow church members, but you’re actually showing your ignorance.”

But what were they ignorant about?! Aren’t those who “know” their freedom in Christ the possessors of a greater “knowledge” than those who live in the bondage of legalism? Yes! Legalism thrives among those who are ignorant of Christian freedom, and those who know their freedom in Christ have a far better knowledge of the gospel and the implications of it than those who do not.

But what they (and we) often do not know is how “love” ought to regulate Christian freedom, even if we do know a bit more about what that freedom means. In v2, Paul sets “knowledge” and “love” as opposites, but not because they are mutually exclusive. It is not as though we have to choose to be either intelligent or sentimental, either knowledgeable or loving. No, that’s not the idea here.

Instead, Paul is saying that “love” must come along with“knowledge,” otherwise “knowledge” (by itself) will only “puff up” (v1) or “make arrogant” (NASB). Paul says the same sort of thing about “spiritual gifts” in chapters 13-14. Both “knowledge” and “spiritual gifts” ought to be “earnestly desired” (1 Cor. 8:7-8, 14:1), but “love” must be understood as “greater” than these (1 Cor. 13:13).

Why?! Well, because “love builds up” (v1), and love for God and for one another is the key mark or feature of genuine Christianity in the world. The Bible teaches us that Christians are those who have “God’s [own] love… poured into [their] hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 5:5). And Jesus said, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. [And] By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn. 13:34-35).

But the church in Corinth was not showing love for one another. Many of them were arrogantly celebrating sin among their membership, instead of grieving over it and lovingly demanding repentance (1 Cor. 5:2). Some of them were defrauding one another and taking each other to court over disputes that should have been lovingly forgiven (1 Cor. 6:7-8). And here in our passage, some of them were unwilling to set aside their Christian freedom for the sake of “love,” specifically lacking love for their “weaker” brothers and sisters in Christ (v11).

Friends, the Scriptures teach us that church unity is hard to maintain and that church growth is a supernatural work… and both unity and growth are completely dependent upon love. That’s why Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, saying, “I… urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Eph. 4:1-4). And he goes on, “speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together… so that it builds itself up in love” (Eph. 4:15-16).

Brothers and sisters, we can all find better preaching on the internet than what you’re hearing today. We can all learn sound doctrine and discover profound insights in good Christian books. In our information age, there is no limit to the “knowledge” we can gain through personal study and a little self-discipline.

But what makes us a church is our genuine “love” for one another. Not just a sentimentality or warm feeling about others in the room… but a genuine care and concern for one another, such that we are not only willing but eager to set aside our own preferences and freedoms for the good and benefit and growth of others.

“Love builds up” (v1)… May God help us grow in love for one another.

2. All From God Through Christ (v4-6)

These three verses form the most theological or doctrinal section of our passage this morning. This section is the teaching on the “knowledge” that Paul does actually want all of the Corinthians to know and understand (v7). It is important to note here that Paul is very interested in protecting the “conscience” of the “weak” Christian (v11), but he also wants that “conscience” to be shaped and strengthened by an increased understanding of doctrine (v4-6).

Brothers and sisters, we all ought to assume that the longer we walk with Christ, the more we are going to have to change what we think about all sorts of things. Before we became Christians, our consciences were twisted by sin and confused by worldly influences. And we showed our “conscience confusion” every time we judged others and justified our own immorality… every time we pointed out some sin or wrong even while we rejected the very standard by which all sin and sinners are judged (God’s comprehensive moral law).

But when we first had our hearts renewed by the Spirit of God – when we first began to love Christ and His laws – our lifelong discovery of all our inconsistencies also began. And yet the reshaping of our entire worldview doesn’t happen overnight. Indeed, it is a lifelong process, whereby we learn more doctrine, we grow in wisdom, we learn how to apply all of this better, and we reform our consciences according to our growing understanding of God’s word.

The primary thrust of our passage today is a call for mature believers to show love and patience toward less mature believers, but these three verses (v4-6) indicate that Paul is also interested in helping weaker Christians become stronger. So, let’s hear the call to love (we will get right back to that in just a moment), but let’s also feel a sense of our responsibility to learn and grow. At some point, baby Christians need to become men and women (i.e., spiritually mature in Christ) who turn around and lovingly help those immature Christians coming up behind them.

The doctrinal teaching in v4-6 is straightforward, but it can also be a little confusing if we’re not familiar with the biblical language. I’ve often thought of studying the Bible as similar to learning a foreign language. Obviously, the Bible was originally written in Hebrew and Greek, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

Rather, the vocabulary and the history and the concepts of the Bible all fit together like a language. And the more words you know of a given language, the more you know how certain words have been used at big historical moments, then the more you are able to notice and understand the color and depth of the words.

Think of the way we use the word “god” even still today. The word “god” can generally refer to a supernatural being of any kind. We might speak of the Greek gods of ancient mythology or the demigods of Marvel comics… all referring to characters with supernatural features or abilities. But we can also use that same word (“God”) to speak of the one true and living God of the Bible.

We can also use the word “lord” with a similarly wide range. We might speak of the British House of Lords (something like our US Congress) or Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings… each one referring to someone with power and authority. But we can also use that same word to speak of the most frequently used title for the Lord Jesus Christ, who has real and supreme authority over all the universe.

That’s sort of how Paul is using the words “god” and “lord” in v5 of our passage this morning. He says that “there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth,” and “indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’” (v5). From material idols to folk superstitions, and from local magistrates to ruling emperors, the first-century Corinthians knew of many “gods” and many “lords.”

But v5 is sandwiched between two profound verses, which tap into a fundamental biblical doctrine – “there is no God but one” (v4) – and which apply this doctrine in a distinctly Christian way – “for us there is one God, the father… and one Lord, Jesus Christ” (v6).

It is impossible for me to describe what a doctrinal thunderbolt these phrases are, and we’re doing exposition this morning (not systematic theology), so I am resisting the urge to explore this amazing affirmation of the deity of Christ. But suffice it to say that Paul is applying what may be the most fundamental doctrine of the entire OT (monotheism; there is one God) in such a way so as to exalt Christ as God and also to distinguishChrist from God the Father.

If I were to draw from the entire teaching of the New Testament on the doctrine of God, I might say that Paul is affirming here that the only god that exists anywhere is the triune God of the Bible – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And that’s why no Christian needs to worry at all about “idols,” because “an idol has no real existence” (v4). The idols of stone and wood and metal are just the invention of man. They do not talk; they cannot move; and they have no power over the food (or anything else!) that is offered to them.

Therefore, Christian, don’t worry about whether your food has come from the altar of a false god. You may enjoy “all things” with a clear conscience, since “all things” come to us “from” God “the Father” and “through” the “Lord, Jesus Christ” (v6). This is not to say that a Christian should sin, but it is to say that anything we can do to the glory of God, we are free to do to the glory of God.

Brothers and sisters, I wonder how much of our Christian life is marked by our efforts to avoid stuff that is off-limits to us. We should certainly flee from sin and resist temptation, but the Christian life is repeatedly described in the Bible as “freedom” and not bondage (Gal. 5:1). The command Paul has been applying since the end of chapter 6 is “glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:20), and this is primarily intended to be lived out through joyful freedom in Christ (1 Pet. 2:16).

For us, there is one God and one Lord… May God help us live freely and joyfully for Him, remembering that all good things come from God through Christ.

3. Caring for the Weak (v7-12)

Keeping all that I’ve just said in mind, v7 begins with a “However” (ESV, NASB) or “But” (NET, NIV) or “Howbeit” (KJV). Paul wants the Corinthians to remember that “not all possess this knowledge” (v7), and we should remember this too. The goal of Christian growth is maturity in the knowledge of doctrine and in the wisdom to apply it well; and the key mark or feature of real Christian maturity is “love” (v1-3), which (in this case) means patience and charity with those who don’t yet understand Christian freedom the way you do.

Let’s walk through Paul’s description in v7-12. He describes different kinds of church members, he presents a hypothetical situation, and he points out the results of practicing Christian freedom without love.

First, the church members – some strong and some weak. The word “strong” isn’t explicitly used here, but it’s implied by the use of the term “weak” (v10, 11, 12). The “strong” church member does “possess” the “knowledge” of Christian freedom (v7). The “strong” church member is free to “eat” without fear and free to “not eat” without pride (v8), since neither feasting nor fasting will “commend us to God,” and “we are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do” (v8).

The “weak” church member does not “possess” the “knowledge” of Christian freedom (v7)… at least not to the same degree. The “weak” church member may have his or her “conscience” affected by some “former” experience with “food” or “idols” that actually does “defile” or “make dirty” his or her “conscience” if he or she were to eat (v7). The “weak” church member is at risk of “stumbling” over an expression of Christian freedom (v9). And the “weak” church member may actually be “encouraged” to sin if he or she indulges in Christian freedom without first having his or her conscience strengthened (v10).

Let’s see how this plays out in Paul’s hypothetical situation – a discount beast-feast at the local pagan temple. In v10, Paul describes a situation in which a “weak” church member might “see” a “strong” church member “eating in an idol’s temple” (v10). And one reason a Christian might want to eat there is that the meat and other food items that had been offered to the false gods could be obtained at a discounted rate.

Paul does not seem to be describing a coincidental encounter. One can hardly be condemned for running into a fellow church member in public. Rather, Paul does seem to be describing the sort of scenario where one church member might say to another, “Do you plan to go to the market out back of Apollo’s temple later today?” And then the other church member might say, “No! I wouldn’t dare eat from Apollo’s table again! I am a Christian now!” And then the freer church member might say, “Oh, brother. Jesus doesn’t care if you eat from Apollo’s table. If the meat is cheap, why not enjoy?”

In such a case, the stronger brother is actually “encouraging” the “weaker” brother, whose “conscience” is convinced that this really is sin, to “defile” or “dirty” his “conscience” and sin against his Lord. And this scenario helps us to see that sin has a lot to do with our motives, and not just with our actions or words. One Christian may eat, knowing that Christ has set him free to do so; and for him, this is no sin. But another Christian may eat, believing that Christ has not set him free to do it; and for him, this is sin indeed.

The Scriptures even teach us that believers with a “pure” conscience are free to do “all things” to the glory of God, but unbelievers whose “consciences” are “defiled” cannot do anything that is not ultimately “detestable” to God (Titus 1:15-16). In other words, even that stuff that is morally good on the outside, if done with bad or sinful motives, is judged as sin in God’s final analysis.

And because our motives are so important to our actions, it is a terrible thing to persuade a weaker Christian to go against his or her conscience. Once again, as I argued just a bit ago, we are to shape our own consciences and one another’s with Scripture… we are to train and discipline our consciences according to God’s word… but we ought to be very careful not to violate our conscience… and we ought never encourage others to violate theirs.

It’s one thing to say that your scruples cannot bind my conscience (that’s right!), but it’s another thing entirely to say that you must embrace my freedom.

And, in v11-12, Paul gets into the reasons for why encouraging someone to violate his or her conscience is so bad… it’s a sin against a fellow Christian, it’s a sin against Christ, and it’s a flaunting of Christian freedom that may lead to the destruction of a professing believer.

Look at v12. Paul says, “Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ” (v12). This sin hits on two levels: one, “against your brother” (i.e., a fellow Christian); and two, “against Christ” (since Christ is the one who “died” for “the brother” and purchased him).

It is no small matter to flaunt Christian freedom in front of those Christians who may not feel as free as you do. No Christian should ever feel guilty for enjoying Christian freedom, but neither should we let our enjoyment of freedom have a higher priority of place than our love for one another.

Paul said it like this in Galatians 5, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery… Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:1, 13). In other words, don’t merely serve the interests of your freedom, but in freedom and love serve the interest of helping other Christians follow Jesus.

Indeed, this effort to lovingly help other Christians follow Jesus seems to be Paul’s main motivation for regulating his own freedom and the motivation he wants the Corinthian Christians to have as well… which leads us to my final point.

4. Loving Self-Restraint (v13)

Let’s focus on v13 and draw upon v11…

Because flaunting Christian freedom is a sin against a weaker brother and a sin against Christ, and because flaunting Christian freedom is the means by which “this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died” (v11), Paul says, “Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat” (v13). The KJV says, “I will eat no flesh while the world standeth” (v13). The Greek literally translates, “no not [amplified negative] I will eat meat in/to the age” (v13).

This is Paul’s own conclusion. The risk is too great, so he will abstain. He would rather limit or regulate his own Christian freedom than he would do anything that could lead to the destruction of his weaker brother in Christ.

This is Christian love. This is Christian maturity. And this is one of the great benefits of church membership that many of us probably take for granted and some of us simply don’t understand.

Paul is not just interested in making sure he perseveres and grows in the faith… he is also committed to making sure that other Christians around him persevere and grow as well. And he wants the whole church in Corinth to join him in this commitment! He wants all of them to stop being puffed up by their supposed knowledge, but instead for all of them to be built up as those who are more mature lovingly come alongside those who are less so.

This morning, during our membership class, we discussed the covenant of membership we have here at FBC Diana… those nine promises we make to one another that summarize our commitment to follow Christ together.

The basis of any local church (what makes it a church) is that the collection of its members agree… they agree on what they believe(their confession), they agree on how they will function (their constitution), and they agree on what they will do together (their covenant). These three agreements form the bond of church membership, and the more aware we all are of what these agreements include and what they all mean, and the more we all practice these agreements in real time and in real life, the stronger our bond will be.

If you’re a member of FBC Diana, then you have promised to “submit to the Bible, and the truths it contains, in all areas” of your life.[i] You’ve promised to “participate regularly in the life and function of this local church.” And you’ve promised to “serve others rather than expecting others to satisfy [your] preferences.”

There is the promise of Christian maturity. There is the promise of Christian love. We are not all at the same place in our Christian walk, and (God willing) we will see other baby Christians join our church alongside us… and the way we will all grow up in the Lord… the way we will all persevere in faith… the way we will all move from being weaker Christians to stronger ones… is by those among us who are more mature showing genuine love and care for those who are less so.

Let me lay this more directly in all our laps…

Do you have more knowledge of doctrine than other church members? Do you walk in more freedom than other church members? Do you generally have a better reputation for spiritual maturity than other church members?

Well then, look for ways to edify those around you! How might you lay aside your Christian freedoms for the benefit of others? How might you forget about your own preferences in order to serve a fellow church member?

To put it more bluntly and to use the language of our passage… Is your knowledge and experience and spiritual growth puffing you up? Or are you using that stuff, in love, to build up the brothers and sisters for whom Christ died?

Friends, Christians are free to live all of life to the glory of God, but a key feature of Christian love is setting aside personal freedom for the sake of others. I pray that God will help us all to grow in our knowledge of Christian freedom, that He will help us truly live to His glory in all of life, and that he will help us love one another in such a way so as to set aside our own freedoms for the benefit of one another.

Endnotes

[i] See our church covenant here: https://fbcdiana.org/membership-covenant

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Vaughan, Curtis, and Thomas D. Lea. 1 Corinthians. Logos Research Edition. Founders Study Commentary. Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2002.