Shift Knowledge to Love

English Standard Version Chapter 8

8 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.

Paul first establishes what is ultimate for the glory of God: Not YOUR knowledge, but OUR love

Paul encourages the Corinthians to act out of love for their fellow believers rather than out of their allegedly superior knowledge.

Knowledge of theology, knowledge of scripture, knowledge of tradition, knowledge of the church tends to churn out the prideful. But Jesus said they will know that we are Christians by our love, NOT by our knowledge.

Some Corinthian believers assumed that knowledge was the true sign of spirituality. They did not understand that knowledge without love indicates a lack of knowledge.

Knowledge only says, All things are lawful for me; Love adds, But all things do not edify

Knowledge only says, All things are lawful for me; Love adds, But all things do not edify

What do they know?

English Standard Version Chapter 8

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.

Both weaker and more mature believers knew:

The LORD (Father Son and HS), alone are God and there are no other supposed gods that are to be worshipped - an allusion here in the text to the SHEMA

The weaker of these believers knew:

Food is just foo

Food was offered to idols, and then was sold so that people could worship those idols by eating the food.

To eat said food was an act of idolatry and was therefore sin

The more mature believers knew:

Idols are just idols - these fake gods are, in fact, NOTHING, just vague representations that are truly demons trying to draw Christ followers offsides.

Meat is just meat, and eating it is in no way worship - see verse 8

Meat will neither make you more or less holy, it is a gray area of morality

What Paul and now we know:

If you have developed a habit of false worship, then something mirrors that, it may cause a reversion or your conscience to be seared by the actions that caused your sin previously.

Just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD, and just because you have KNOWLEDGE of your LIBERTIES in CHRIST doesn't mean you can operate without EMPATHY and LOVE.

How doe we Love

English Standard Version Chapter 8

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.

Let me start by saying what it does not mean. Doing something other people think is wrong does not necessarily make you a stumbling block.

Did you catch that? You’re not a stumbling block just because you’re doing something that others believe is wrong.

I’m NOT talking about areas not clearly spelled out in scripture. Lying, cheating, slandering, stealing, and sexual immorality are all clearly sin. If you do those things, you’re straight up sin

Paul, however, was concerned for those who had been saved out of idol worship. For these people, eating food offered to idols was akin to idol worship itself. They closely associate eating food offered to idols with worshiping the idols themselves.

These brothers and sisters had once worshipped false gods by eating of the “consecrated” meat of those demonic deities. When they saw that another was eating that same meat, and felt as though they should as well because it was their liberty, they were pained feeling as though they had been disobedient.

Let me put a modern day spin on it. Generally speaking, I don’t think it’s wrong to smoke cigars (within reason, attending to all the appropriate health concerns, making sure you don’t get addicted, etc.)

You however, are convinced that smoking cigars is wrong. Maybe it’s due to your family history. Maybe you were brought up within a certain church tradition in which you were taught that smoking cigars is categorically wrong.

But no matter how much you search the Bible, you’re not going to find anything about cigars (or any kind of smoking, for that matter). It’s simply not there.

Do I have to stop all cigar smoking because I know you think I am doing something wrong? No. Scripture doesn’t forbid smoking cigars. My liberty in Christ is not restricted simply by what other people might think of me. If my behavior causes you to judge me, that’s not creating a stumbling block. That’s something you need to deal with before the Lord.

But (and this is really important), if I smoke a cigar around you and that, in turn, leads you to smoke a cigar even though you think it is sin, then I have become a stumbling block. My liberty in Christ has actually encouraged you to sin against your conscience. When our “rights” lead others to act against their consciences we have become stumbling blocks.

Food cannot cause me to worship another God, but can it cause another brother or sister to doubt my devotion or their devotion to ONE God. Maybe therein lies the point, it is not causing someone to be an alcoholic by consumption of alcohol, or chronic gambler by your gambler, it is causing them to believe that there is no consequence from an all-knowing God and no grace for their alcoholism or gambling if they return to it.

The stumbling block is not for them to see you doing something, it is to argue that what you doing IS right even though they are convinced that for them, it is wrong.

Food cannot cause me to worship another God, but can it cause another brother or sister to doubt my devotion or their devotion to ONE God. Maybe therein lies the point, it is not causing someone to be an alcoholic by consumption of alcohol, it is causing them to believe that there is no consequence from an all-knowing God and no grace for their alcoholism

Gambling - are you asking someone to gamble with you who has had a gambling problem or belives it wrong for them to do so.....

Alcohol? Smoking? Vicodin? Politics? TV? Movies?

Does your knowledge place a barrier to your love and cause you to dig in, or does your knowledge drive you to love in the extreme like Paul - V. 13.

So then how do we love?

Who is the person?

What do they believe?

What do you believe? - have you even though about it? or do you operate off of guilt or hubris?

What should you do?

Restrict - keep under control - self- examine

Restrain - what do you need to deprive yourself of for the edification of a brother or sister?

Refuse - what needs to go away - what is not worth it?

For all of you this may be different, but we as a church needs to stop defaulting to our liberties or our law, instead think critically and love completely.