Let us not be rightly wrong...

Good morning, Church…

for our reflection this morning, we are continuing our sermon series, working through 1 Corinthians…

and today, we are looking at chapters 8 and 9 of this epistle...

there’s a lot to material in these two chapters,

so i thought I’ll better narrow down our focus this morning, and hence, today, we shall focus on

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 and just a few verses from chapter 9…

and as always, I think it’s always a wonderful practice to read of the word together...

so I invite you to join me to read the word together while staying muted on zoom,

starting from v1 of chapter 8 of the English Standard Version... <Slide>

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. <Slide>

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. <Slide>

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. <Slide>

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. <Slide>

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. <Slide>

1 Corinthians 9:1 ESV

1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? <Slide>

1 Corinthians 9:19–23 ESV

19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. <Slide>

22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

1 Corinthians 9:25–27 ESV<Slide>

25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. <Slide>

› <this is the word of the Lord>

› <pray><Slide>

Shortly before midnight, on the 29th of December 1972,

something very tragic happened in the United States...

Eastern Airlines Flight 401 which had 176 people on board crashed into the swampy area in the Florida Everglades, the South Eastern tip of N. America...

while it was on final approach into Miami airport...

the good news is that of the 176 people on board, 75 people survived...

but that also means that 101 people perished that night...

› pause

what happened?

what caused the crash?

was it an engine failure?

no, all three engines on board the flight were perfectly functional...

did they lose control of the aircraft?

no, the plane was perfectly flyable…

was it because of bad weather?

no, there wasn’t any report of windshear, rain or snow… it was a perfect evening with no known weather conditions that contributed to the crash...

was it because of lack of experience?

no, the captain of the aircraft had close to 30,000 flight hours, while the co-pilot had almost 6,000 flight hours...

that’s a lot…

in fact, the captain was the 50th most experienced pilot in the company...

so what was the cause of the crash?

what caused a perfectly functional $95 million Lockheed TriStar aircraft to crash causing more than 100 fatalities?

› slow down

when the investigators concluded their investigation,

it was so heart-wrenching to find out that the cause of the crash was because of a $5 bulb...

what does that even mean?

let me explain.

That evening, the journey from New York to Florida was pretty much routine...

the weather was fine, the aircraft was fine, the traffic was light considering it was the holiday season,

nothing was out of the ordinary...

that was until it was time to prepare for arrival into Miami International Airport...

it was then that the First Officer discovered that something was amiss...

it appears that the front wheel of the aircraft did not lower properly

why appear?

The reason I said appear is because in the cockpit, you can’t see the wheel of the aircraft, but have to rely on indicators in the cockpit to tell you whether the wheels are up, or down or stuck in-between…

Indicators like what you see on the powerpoint slide now… <Slide>

In fact, the indication they saw in the cockpit was probably something like this…

There were lights for each of the 3 sets of wheels in the aircraft… Nose, Left and Right wheels…

green is good… that means the wheels are in the correct down position...

but on that evening, the front lamp was not lit up...

and this could indicate either the wheel was not in the safe to land position, or the light was simply blown as was the case in the accident...

and it was fairly easy to ascertain which situation it was....

you could actually climb down into this little compartment below the cockpit and look through a little window to see where the wheel was...

and even if the wheel was not in the safe-to-land position,

it was still safe to land the aircraft... <Slide>

it is not a normal and everyday situation for sure...

but pilots are trained to tackle the situation...

it would have been a bumpy landing… but survivable one...

but unfortunately, that didn’t happen that night...

the cockpit crew had an extended discussion on the landing gear system or wheels,

raised and lowered the wheels a few times in hope that it would solve the issue,

and even removed the bulb from the assembly...

all these things were not bad in itself, and wouldn’t crash the aircraft....

but they did fail to do one thing...

they failed to fly the aircraft...

while they were busy looking in and concentrating on that bulb that wasn’t lit,

they didn’t realise that they were on a gentle descend and slowly descending from the sky...

and took 10 minutes for them to descend and eventually crash…

<Slide>

they allowed a non-issue, a blown $5 bulb, to distract them from the most important thing pilots need to do...

fly the aircraft...

they blew an issue out of proportion and caused unthinkable consequences...

they allowed their vision to be narrowed to that of a $5 bulb and allowed it to cause 101 lives to be lost...

including their own...

they allowed an inconsequential problem escalate into a catastrophic problem...

they allowed something that was arguably insignificant make them lose sight of the larger and more important issue...

› pause <Slide>

and this was what’s happening in the Corinthian church as well,

and that was what Paul was trying to address in this portion of the epistle…

which was how some in the Corinthian church were insisting on their rights to continue to eat meat…

and what’s wrong with eating meat?

well, nothing wrong in itself, except for the fact that most of the meat that was available in Corinth were actually meat that had been sacrificed to pagan gods...

well, remember that we shared in our previous sermons that Corinth was a very successful city because of her two ports…

and because of her status as a port city, much resource were catered to it…

which also means that there was very little land allocated as well as available for raising large quantities of livestock...

so, whatever meat that was available would most probably be bought by the dominant consumer of meat in that place,

<Slide>

the cult dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, beauty and fertility, which has a prominent temple on the summit of Acrocorinth, which overlooks the ancient city of Corinth

and just to give you a scale of the influence of this cult,

according to archaeologists, this temple had almost 1,000 slave-priestesses alone, quite a large number considering that the population of Corinth only had

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Corinth > Cc

a population of almost 700,000.

and to makes things worse, the Aphrodite cult was not the only cult there…

there were other temples that were dedicated to other deities such as Apollo, Octavia, which you can see in the picture…

and there was even worship to Egyptian deities Isis and Saraphis as well...

in other words, there were many many pagan temples present in Corinth,

and it was common practice for those temples, during their religious festivals for some food to be

1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary (Schreiner) C. Idol Food: Edification and Danger (8:1–11:1)

offered to the idol in the form of a sacrifice, but having some of the food saved for those celebrating in the temple; and leftovers sold in the marketplace

so you may ask, was it possible for people to obtain meat that was not part of this process?

yes, of course, but you would need to pray a premium for it...

you could go straight to the few farmers, bought the animal straight from them,

and have the whole cow or sheep or lamb for your family...

which is what the rich among the Corinthian church are doing...

that’s why they are saying, what’s the problem?

why can’t i have my meat?

I can afford it… what’s wrong with that?

why can’t i have my meat and eat it?

but obviously, this solution is something that not everyone could do, because buying the whole animal was not cheap,

i mean, even in today’s market, it would cost a few thousands to buy a whole cow...

this would be exasperate by the fact that there is so much demand from the cults and so little supply, and therefore only a few could do so...

<pause>

so you see, this meat problem was not just a problem about the meat in itself, but there was a deeper problem...

to look at this problem and thinking that it is only a problem about whether people could eat meat, was like looking at the burnt out bulb in the aircraft at the beginning of the sermon and losing sight of the bigger problem, which is that people were thinking more about themselves, and not willing to think of others in their community...

they were not willing to sacrifice their individual rights for the communal good...

and if unaddressed, it would cause the church to crash...

no wonder Paul was upset...

› slow down...

but does it that mean that it is a problem only with those wealthy people?

remember that other than buying the whole animal for yourself, there were indeed other means to get meat...

and that was to buy the meat sold in the marketplace or join in the temple celebrations...

in other words, a means to get cheap meat or even free meat, was to simply go for celebrations held in the temples...

and indeed some were arguing that it is ok for them to continue eating meat that had been sacrificed are those who want to continue to be able to eat meat,

and their argument is this...

God is the supreme God… He is the one who created everything…

he is the true God, and all those idols to whom the food had been sacrificed to,

are either incapable of harming them because

the idols are just wood and metals, liveless and incapable of thoughts or power… (this we know is true because of Isaiah 44:9-20)

or because that they believed in the prevalent understanding among the pagans, which is that even though the idols gods are real, they are all subordinate to the one true God… yahweh...

regardless of what their conviction is, these people believed that those food that had been sacrificed to idols have no power over them, since they are now children of the one true God,

and since they know that they will not be overcome by those food,

they have every right to continue eating those food...

<Pause>

Well, that sounds perfectly logical...

why should they allow somebody else’s ignorance deprive them of their rights?

but the problem is this...

as they are exercising their rights to meat,

people are being stumbled in the process...

v10-11 says <Slide>

English Standard Version Chapter 8

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.

and this is serious...

this brother who is new to the faith and perhaps is still facing persecution from the society - business associates, friends, and family members...

still wavering and still trying to get their doctrines right...

still trying to figure out for themselves whether YHWH is the only one true God or is he just one among many...

trying to work out whether he should continue participating with the other rituals in the temples...

then sees this more matured Christian happily eating, drinking in the pagan temple courts,

thinks to himself, ok, if he can do it, then perhaps i can do it too...

perhaps i can continue in my old ways and worship all my other pagan gods and continue in my old immoral and carnal ways, in addition to Jesus, as an insurance,

and in the process, go back to the ways of the world once again...

and loses his salvation...

because he doesn’t understand the perhaps safe-guards the more matured Christians put up for themselves...

such as eating only meat that had been apportioned out before the sacrifice...

then the question is…

why can’t we educate the new believers?

certainly, we can…

but at the appropriate time...

here we have a brother or sister,

who is really struggling now,

because all their lives,

they thought that by partaking the food sacrificed to idols,

they were in fellowship and becoming one with the idols...

it would take a while for them to internalise and slowly shift their mindset and behaviour,

it would take time and effort for them to change,

and the actions of the more senior Christians were not making it any easier for them...

they were so fixated on their rights, that they forgot that they are supposed to confirm to the way of the prevalent culture around them...

they are supposed to act in love…

loving our neighbors as ourselves…

that’s why Paul in v8 of our text today says that

1 Corinthians 8:8 ESV <Slide>

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.

in other words, Paul was,

in his usual suave and sophisticated way, telling the Corinthians...

you shouldn’t be having this conversation in the first place!

why are you prioritizing your energy on arguing about your rights to eat meat above the other more important things?!

you are missing the point...

you are looking at the burnt out bulb and not flying the plane...

the plane is going to crash...

sure, food issues are things that can and need to be addressed, (as Paul did in chapter 10)

but hello, your brothers and sisters in Christ who Christ had redeemed by his previous blood on the cross (v11) are in the danger of falling away from salvation,

and here you are, talking about insisting on eating your meat...

shame on you...

it shouldn’t be an issue in the first place...

but before we are too harsh on the Corinthian Church...

we need to remember that they too are being transformed as well...

you see, this emphasis on ‘knowledge’ is something that is prevalent in the Greek/Roman society...

having knowledge is key and the most important thing for them...

and in fact there were some cults whose ideology had penetrated the early church, was that knowledge was the only key to salvation…

what was called the neo-gnostic movement…

where the word gnostic comes from the word gnosis (γνῶσιν), which is knowledge...

(and perhaps this emphasis is still present today)

i mean it’s true, God is supreme over all things and all things had been redeemed by God...

and food that had been sacrificed to idols may not have effect on us,

but to insist on that right, based on the knowledge at the expense of precious souls who are being stumbled,

is to miss to point and not to understand God at all...

but the fact of the matter is that while having knowledge is important, it must be knowledge that leads to a closer relationship with God...

this brings me to my first point today, which is <Slide>

1. Knowledge by itself is useless, unless it leads to reconciliation with God...

don’t get me wrong...

increasing in knowledge and information is important...

let’s not be ignorant of the bible, and the world around us...

proverbs 18.15 encourages us by saying that <Slide>

“The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.” (Proverbs 18:15, NIV)

and proverbs 15.14 reinforces that saying

“The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.” (Proverbs 15:14, NIV) <Slide>

but it has to be molded by God and our relationship with him...

for Proverbs 1.7 tells us that

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge...” (Proverbs 1:7, NIV)

which tells us that true knowledge of God, and to be known by God, is to act out in the context of this loving relationship with God and our neighbours...

in fact, 1 Jn 2.3-5 tells us that <Slide>

“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:” (1 John 2:3–5, ESV)

to insist on being able to hold on to your rights and insist that those who don’t understand be educated on the right thing, is to have a surface understanding about God, and not to understand God...

this is what Paul meant in verse 2, which says

1 Corinthians 8:2 ESV <Slide>

2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know.

when Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandments, he said that it was to <Slide>

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” and this is said that it was the first and greatest commandment.

while the the second, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” is like it: (Matthew 22:37–39, NIV (Anglicised, 2011))

this means to say that as you love God, you should love the neighbours, because your God loves your neighbours...

and how did God love you and your neighbours?

<Slide>

The New Revised Standard Version tells us that Jesus Christ

“who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6–8, NRSV)

and if Jesus Christ, our sinless saviour,

who was the very word, who was there at the creation,

maker of heaven and earth,

very Son of God himself,

gave up his rights as the Son of God,

came into earth among his creatures,

taking the form of a slave,

scourged by his creation and died on the cross,

sacrificed so much so that we may be reconciled to him...

we, who were on the pathway to death and destruction because of sin,

and only rescued by the very blood of Jesus,

do we really have any rights?

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV <Slide>

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

who are we to insist of our rights?

why not give up our so called rights so that more can come into the kingdom of God and more can be reconciled, rather than pushing those who are already at the door away from God?

Rather than insist on what is right, isn’t it better to save the lost and the wavering first?

i mean, if you see someone by the side of the road, bleeding to death,

should you be there, lecturing the person he shouldn’t be riding at such high speed on a wet road?

no, of course not!

call the ambulance first, stop the bleeding, give CPR if needed,

stablise the person...

<Slide>

Paul said… “To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22, NRSV)

and by this he didn’t mean engaging in questionable behavior and act like pagans, participating in their worship...

he meant not being snobbish and willing to act and give up whatever rights needed to reconcile more to God...

and he was saying this because

the Corinthian Christians were a bunch of high performing Christians...

1 Corinthians 1:5 and 7 tells us that they were a gifted, talented group of people...

and they were intelligence and had good grasp of the doctrines and God as well...

but instead of using those gifting, talents and knowledge to glorify God,

they were using them to glorify themselves!

instead of using those things that they had been blessed by God to bring people into the church, and grow the church, and promote unity within the church, to make themselves a formidable force for God,

they have been using what God had given them for their own self-centered purposes and were protecting their own rights!

let’s learn from Paul’s address to them and not make the same mistake...

<Slide>

2. Let us be willing to give up our rights and privileges to create a nurturing environment...

and let me point out something here..

<Slide>

i think in verse 7, when they say that “… their conscience, being weak...” (1 Corinthians 8:7, ESV)

the word translated as weak here, ἀσθενὴς,

doesn’t mean inferior, but has this nuance of being ill or diseased, and hence weakened...

so we shouldn’t see the younger Christians as inferior or not as developed as us...

we should see them as being ill or catching a disease and we are the nurses or doctors,

here in the hospital to nurse them back to health...

I mean many of you are doctors, and in the healthcare industry...

you do not go around with an name tag or surgical gown with a stethoscope round your neck to look good...

you are there to save lives...

you don’t judge your patients and say...

“you so sueh, fall sick…” then walk away...

no right?

you wouldn’t see the patient come in,

do CPR on him, then “oh my shift is over...”

then leave him on the surgical table right?

you would go the extra mile, the extra hour,

give up whatever is necessary to save that life on that table...

the life who is someone’s dad, um, son, daughter, friend…

that life who is a child of God…

likewise, for those of us who had been around longer, have a longer relationship with God,

use your knowledge, use your gifts, use your talents, to help our newer brothers and sisters in Christ to grow their faith...

make things easier for them.. not more difficult for them...

if there’s anything we can do to, adjust our habits, overlook an offense or irritation, share resource, let’s do it for the glory of God...

Let’s learn from the early Christians and not look at own rights, and hold on to it so tightly, that we don’t create a conducive environment to grow...

let’s not be stuck looking at offenses and our rights, like the pilots looking at the burnt out bulb in the aircraft and losing sight of the bigger problem...

let us be willing to sacrifice our individual rights for the communal good...

and my last point for today, is that no matter how matured a Christian

<Slide>

3. Constantly guard your walk with God...

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 that “Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:25–27, ESV)

and here, he is using the analogy of the athletes to remind the Corinthians that no matter how far you’ve run the race on earth,

you’re still in the race and you still need to keep working at it until the end of our earthly race...

I’m very sure you’ve heard many stories...

real life stories of people who ran very well in a race all the way to the end,

but lost the race because they celebrated too early or just lost concentration...

<Slide>

such as in the Winter Olympics of 2006, when American Ski-jumper Lindsey Jacobbellis was the first of the pack and looked like she was going to win the race, until she decided to liven up the race with a spectacular trick, and fell on landing, just 100m from the finishing line to allow the second Tanja Frieden to move ahead of her, clinching the gold...

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-18994425

<Slide>

or when two finishers in an Olympic triathlon test event were disqualified when they crossed the finish line, holding hands, even though they were the top two finishers, because they broke a rule that prohibits athletes from finishing “in a contrived tie situation where no effort to separate the finish times has been made.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/08/15/top-two-triathletes-disqualified-crossing-finish-line-holding-hands-olympics-test-event/

what a pity...

in both illustrations, the athletes were well trained, top of their game, but lost the race, either partially, or completely, not because they couldn’t finish the race, but because they allowed something to distract them from finishing their race in a proper manner...

<pause>

and I think it’s a sober reminder to us all who are children of God and especially those of us who are here for a longer period of time...

be careful not to let your maturity trip over your own walk with God, and be complacent about your walk with God...

let us be careful not to let our maturity and our perceived rights cause us to come short of what we can archive in God...

be careful not let your maturity with God lull you into taking shortcuts with God and cause you to lose momentum, and disqualify the prize which is Christ...

do not let the perceived rights as a Christian cause you to lose the race...

<Slide>

in fact, Paul told Timothy in 2 Tim 3:1-5

“...understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” (2 Timothy 3:1–5, ESV)

what a sober warning...

“being lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but lacking power...”

these are Christians who had fallen out of the race, by losing focus, losing sight of the prize...

slowly, over time, they become lovers of self, and were not careful to not let the lure of the world get to them...

what Charles Wesley in his hymn “O Jesus, I have Promised”, described

“the world ever near… the sights that dazzle.. .the tempting sounds I hear...”

let us not let the perceived rights we have prevent us from being willing to run the race carefully, beating your body (not literally of course) into submission, and carrying on to the end...

be careful not to allow yourself to be a Christian by name, and lose Christ in the process...

be careful to guard your walk with God, communing with Him daily, walking with Him daily, and be careful to submit to Him daily, lest you ironically allow your perceived rights as a Christian disqualify you as a Christ by losing Christ...

Continue in your sanctification process, guard your communion with God...

So friends,

even as we who have been given the divine privilege to be called into his kingdom,

called by him to be his children,

let us continue to run the race we have on earth carefully,

living our lives with great care, so as not be disqualified, but be reminded that

<Slide>

1. Knowledge by itself is useless, unless it leads to reconciliation with God...

and being reminded that whatever we have truly belongs to God and we have no real rights of our own except through the grace of us, which therefore compels us to be

2. Let us be willing to give up our rights and privileges to create a nurturing environment...

and always be careful to

3. Constantly guard your walk with God...

no matter how matured a Christian we all...

running the race with care, until God calls us home once again… Amen