1 Corinthians 8 Christian Liberty pt. 1

What is Christian Liberty?

What it is:

Christian liberty is the freedom of the believer in Christ. Freedom from enslavement to sin, freedom from the ceremonial observances of the law, freedom to exercise the dictates of a pure and right conscience in matters not condemned in Scripture.

“Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;

Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free,

I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”

What it is not:

A licence to indulge the flesh

1 Peter 2:15–16 NKJV

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.

A licence to indulge the flesh

Galatians 5:13 NKJV

For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

Liberty & Knowledge ch. 8

The word “know” or “knowledge is a key word in this chapter- it appears 11 times

What are some things we “know” related to Christian liberty

-that we are justified by grace alone through faith alone, not by a moral work

-we are given freedom to enjoy God’s creation “the earth is the Lord and its fullness”

-that knowledge (that is, knowledge as we ought to know) is one product of maturity

2 Peter 3:18 NKJV

but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

—notice that “grace” and “knowledge” are paired together…we are not to be loveless, graceless, know-it-alls

What is a consistent character trait of a know-it-all?

-Pride/arrogance/conceit

-Narcissism

-Selfishness

What do each of these sins do?

-they blind us

-they make us unloving

The Danger of “Knowledge” (v. 1-3)

Paul argues that if someone believes they know anything, they only reveal the startling depth of their ignorance.

—it has been said that the more you grow in sanctification, the more your sin is grieves you

—similarly, knowledge has been defined as “the process of passing from the unconscious sate of ignorance to the conscious state of ignorance.”

This “puffing up” also makes a believer insensitive to other believers, particularly in relation to their liberty

Thus the contrast—knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.

2. Food offered to Idols (v. 4-6)

Cultural context—socially, it was not uncommon to eat in temples (for non-religious events) but with food that had been offered to idols

Moreover, many shops obtained their meat from temples…so this was a very real reality

What are some current-day examples of things/activities that would be a matter of liberty?

Paul affirms that in reality this food is not harmful, because idols are not real gods

Psalm 115:4–7 NKJV

Their idols 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; Noses they have, but they do not smell; They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat.

There is therefore nothing inherently wrong with eating this meat…the believers are free to do so.

3. Loving Weaker Brothers and Sisters (v. 7-13)

Many new believers in Corinth had spent their lives offering sacrifices to these idols, and their conscience troubled them when eating sacrificed meat

Rather than flaunt their liberty (being puffed up) Paul says the mature believers should lovingly forgo eating this food before believers whose conscience would be troubled

Paul never dilutes the theology—food, partaking or not partaking, can never commend us to God

We need to be careful here as well—is your conscience bothered, or have you given in to legalism?

Similarly we need to be careful…if your conscience is never bothered, have you believed the lie of antinomianism?

One of the greatest expressions of liberty is the joy to give things up—not out of compulsion from a legal requirement before God, but out of love and delight in our brothers and sisters in Christ.

When you express your liberty in Christ, do you flaunt it?

When you exercise your liberty in Christ, do you stop to consider who may be watching?