Sermon Tone Analysis

We live in a messed up, mixed-up world.

Within the past week we have heard about the wicked killing of children in the Texas elementary school.

What a horrible tragedy committed by a wicked person!

We live in a messed up, mixed-up world.

And that doesn’t stop at the church door.

A report came out that gives evidence of sexual sin and sexual abuse among leaders in our Southern Baptist Convention were covered up for many years, but is now coming to light.

We live in a messed up, mixed-up world full of messed up mixed-up people.

And that doesn’t stop at the church door.

The Church in Corinth, and many churches in America are “A Beautiful Mess”.

We have already seen how Paul confronts lawsuits between believers (1 Cor 6:1-8), sexual sin (1 Cor 5-6), how sex is intended for marriage (1 Cor 7:1-9), plus how Christians need to do their best to stay celibate & sexually pure or stay committed in marriage - with divorce & remarriage only being allowed for the exceptions of adultery, abandonment, and most likely - abuse (1 Cor 7:10-40).

Now Paul changes gears to deal with some other Stumbling Blocks - where younger believers are getting tripped up because of an older believer’s poor example.

Has that ever happened to you - where the actions of another Christian somehow detoured your walk with the Lord?

Or maybe YOU have been the cause of another’s stumbling.

Today we are reminded how Christians should direct others to follow Jesus rather than detour them away from Him.

Beyond those Christians causing confusion by living in sexual sin and leaving their marriages, the Christians is Corinth were struggling with what it looked like to follow Jesus without becoming hermits to the culture that need them to demonstrate Christ.

After all, you can’t impact people that you isolate yourself from.

But as Christians interacted with non-Christians in Corinth, this sometimes caused confusion to young believers, a stumbling block to their young faith.

One of those areas of confusion had to do with how Christians were to interact with the idolatrous practices that littered the Corinthian culture.

As mentioned several times in our study, the city of Corinth had 6 temples and 26 sacred sites to many different false gods.

In order to receive the protection and provision of those ‘gods’, the people prayed and sacrificed to them.

Since most of the food had already been offered up to false gods in the temples before being placed in the marketplace the Christian was in a quandary.

So what was the Christian to do?

Imagine knowing that all the meat that you went to buy at the grocery store had first been offered to false gods?

What would YOU do?

Some might give no care to it and make the purchase anyway.

Others might become vegetarian for a while.

So, WHICH option is the RIGHT option?

1 Corinthians 8:1 (CSB)

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “we all have knowledge.”

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.

Evidently, there were some Christians who were quick to quote another Corinthian slogan - “we all have knowledge”, to imply that food sacrificed to idols is no big deal since the Christian should KNOW better than to think this food was sacrificed to a real god, because all other gods are false.

This is true, and Christians need to have this knowledge, but knowledge doesn’t always lead to love

Knowledge often puffs up because of HOW much people know.

Paul quickly reminds Christians that instead of only pursuing knowledge that can puff up ourselves, we should pursue love that builds up others.

God wants us to grow in both knowledge and love.

Knowledge without love breeds arrogance.

Love without knowledge breeds ignorance.

God doesn’t want you to be arrogant nor ignorant.

He wants you to grow in knowledge and love.

Intellectual knowledge is not enough.

1 Corinthians 8:2–3 (CSB)

If anyone thinks he knows anything, he does not yet know it as he ought to know it.

But if anyone loves God, He is known by Him.

The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know it all.

Christianity is more than intellectual knowledge - WHAT you know.

Christianity is about relational knowledge - WHO you know…and WHO knows you - it’s about loving God and and being known by Him.

Now Paul shows how knowledge and love should be weaved together so that we aren’t a stumbling block to others.

First he starts with KNOWING what is TRUE.

1 Corinthians 8:4 (CSB)

About eating food sacrificed to idols, then, we know that “an idol is nothing in the world,” and that “there is no God but one.”

Contrary to the ideology of the Corinthian culture that recognized many different gods, the Scriptures had long taught that there is only ONE creator, provider, redeemer, and judge.

God proclaims this loud and clear through the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 43:10–11 (LSB)

“You are My witnesses,” declares Yahweh, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He.

Before Me there was no god formed, and there will be none after Me.

I, even I, am Yahweh, and there is no savior besides Me.

Yahweh is GOD and there is none other.

Never has been.

Never will be.

Yet even God’s people had a long history of following false gods, even during the time of Moses when God showed His incredible power.

Listen to the silliness of this making false gods.

Isaiah 44:16–17 (CSB)

He burns half of it in a fire, and he roasts meat on that half.

He eats the roast and is satisfied.

He warms himself and says, “Ah!

I am warm, I see the blaze.”

He makes a god or his idol with the rest of it.

He bows down to it and worships; he prays to it, “Save me, for you are my god.”

The Psalmist makes this clear as well.

Psalm 115:4–7 (CSB)

Their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands.

They have mouths but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.

They have ears but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell.

They have hands but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk.

They cannot make a sound with their throats.

Paul continues...

1 Corinthians 8:5–6 (CSB)

For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth—as there are many “gods” and many “lords”—yet for us there is one God, the Father.

All things are from Him, and we exist for Him.

And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ.

All things are through Him, and we exist through Him.

The Scriptures affirm angelic authorities (spiritual god-like authorities - see Eph 6:11-12)) and earthly lords (e.g.

kings, governors, spiritual leaders).

But there is only one God and one Lord over all - God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

This text does not do away with the Trinity.

Is the text implying that the Father is God, but not Lord?

NOPE.

Is Paul trying to say that Jesus is Lord, but not God?

NOPE.

In fact, it does the opposite.

The Jewish Shema, recited and repeated in every day prayer, says:

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 (CSB) Listen, Israel: The LORD [Yahweh] our God, the LORD is one.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

Who is LORD in this text?

Who is GOD in this text?

Is there a separation between the two?

NOPE!

The LORD - Yahweh in Hebrew - IS GOD.

He is ONE.

When the New Testament writers translate “Yahweh” [LORD] from Deut 6:4-5, they use the Greek “kyrios”.