1 Corinthians

We're going to look to the word of the Lord. We're continuing our study in First Corinthians uh today. He's not here today, but I do want to give a big thank you to Dr. Carden for walking us through the minefields of chapter 7 last week. This lesson will head in a bit different direction. Paul shifts gears as we look into chapter 8. We've observed several times that the letter of First Corinthians was written to answer a letter that was written to Paul. some questions that were asked of him and a letter we do not have.

So, we don't know exactly what those questions were, but we can kind of see by implication what what they were. And so, in this lesson, Paul will continue answering the next question that came up. It's a little bit trickier deciphering just what the questions were, but that's not going to stop us from trying when we get there. Let's look at 1 Corinthians chapter 8, and I'll read verses 4 and six. 4-6. and then we'll turn over to 1 Corinthians 10 and begin at n verse 19 there.

Chapter 8 verse4 Paul writes as concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered and sacrificed unto idols. We know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is none other god but one. For though there are be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be God's many and lords many, but to us there's but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom all things are, and we by him.

And if we jump over to 1 Corinthians 10, begin at verse 19, what say I then that an idol is anything, or that that which is offered to in sacrifice to God, idols, is anything? But I say that the things with the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to God. And I would not that you have fellowship with devils. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and of the table of de devils.

And then verse 23 says this, "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. So as we look at the questions or we look at what Paul is trying to discuss or trying to answer the answers he has given it appears that some in Corinth felt they were knowledgeable enough to discount the whole idea of knowledge of idols and they probably mocked those who felt otherwise about that and we'll get into that here in a couple minutes.

Second, there was a debate over whether a Christian should eat meat that had been offered to idols. And so that was part of their questioning, what they wanted to know. Should we eat this meat or should we not? It also seems that there were probably two prongs to that debate which may have been precipitated by class or divisions. As we know, Corinth was, in fact, we've already studied that in other lessons. It was a very divided church into different factions, different groups. And so those that were poor would go to the meat market to buy meat that had been offered to idols because it was cheap usually and they could pick it up there.

While the wealthy, they wanted to socialize with the Gentiles or as other translations say with pagans who would often serve the meat from their sacrificial offerings at social gatherings and feasts. And so Paul is going to walk a real tight rope here in parsing out his response. But in doing so, and obviously the topic is something that we don't really face here in America as far as eating meat offered to idols, but he will give us a lesson in Christian liberty and and how we can prefer others in in our walk with God.

And so, we're going to focus in on that as we go through this uh this passage of scripture. as we've seen Paul do on other topics in this letter. His response is separated into two different chapters. Uh he begins in chapter 8 and goes through chapter 8 and then in chapter nine he kind of takes a detour and goes a different direction and the beginning of chapter 10 uh is also a different direction. But then he picks up this idea where we began there in chapter 10 about verse 18 or 19.

And so let's begin in in verse one of chapter 8 if you want to follow along in the Bible. He said this now as touching things offered unto idols. We know that we all have knowledge. How do you put those together? Touching idols. We have knowledge. Then Paul says, "Knowledge it puffs up but charity edifyth. And any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing as yet ought to know." I think because of that phrase, although we don't have the actual question that he he asked, I think we can kind of discern how this question was phrased to Paul.

The Corinthians prided themselves on knowledge. In fact, Paul uh we spent lesson two talking about that. Paul talked about there's not many wise and not many you wise in the ways of man. You're not wise in the ways of God. And he contrasted man's knowledge and God's knowledge. And it was very important for him to do that because of where these Corinthians were. They prided himself on their knowledge. That Greek word nosis, they thought they knew more than others. And among their many divisions was this perception that some of them had more knowledge than others.

They felt like we're on a higher plane because we just understand things better than the these other people. And so they divided themselves into some of these factions over their knowledge. And so Paul's opening words, they they actually kind of smack of sarcasm here. He's being very sarcastic to them when he says this. You know, the the Corinthian letter may have went something like this. Why is eating meat offered idols a problem? We all know idols are nothing. They're just wood, stone, metal, whatever. And so why should that even matter?

And so it's almost as if Paul is saying here in this first verse, yes, we all know, we all have knowledge. But here's the problem. Your knowledge puffs you up. Your m knowledge makes you proud. You're smug because you're think that you're the only people that know anything. And if you think you know, he says it's apparent that you don't know anything as you ought to know it. I I don't often quote the New Living Translation or New Living paraphrase, if you will, but I think they pretty well nailed it the way Paul what Paul was saying.

They said it this way. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn't really know very much. And so that's kind of what Paul's saying to them. Now, I was touching things off and we understand you think you have knowledge, but here's the thing. what you think is coming from pride and you really don't know everything. And so I think he he's trying to make his point here in these first three verses because then he will pick up the topic again in verse four and kind of repeat that idea about eating idols.

And so but in the middle of those words he hints at what he is going to take up in this situation and really the thing he is going to focus on. He said, "Knowledge puffs up, but charity edifies. Love builds up." You can say, "Well, I'm knowledgeable." And so for these people that aren't and these people that that are just a little more foolish or maybe just don't quite understand and they don't know what they're doing, Paul's saying, "You need to have some love. You need to build one another up, not tear one another down." So, what was this knowledge they felt they had?

We read about it in our first portion of our text in verse four. As concerning therefore the eating of those things offered in sacrifice to idols, he said, "We know." So here's your knowledge. Here's what you think you know. We know that an idol is nothing in this world. An idol really isn't anything of significance. Yes, Corinth, we understand that idols are wood and stone and metal. We understand they are not gods. And so some of you feel that since they're not really gods, since they're not anything except wood and stone, then eating the sacrifices under them would be no different than going to the local b butch butcher shop and buying meat.

And so Paul acknowledges that in the world's eyes there are many that are called gods. He said, I understand when we look at them, there are many of them. They think, well, this is a god and that's a god and they go to the temples, these idols, and and they they think they're gods. He said, "And yet we know, we do understand there's only one God, one that we worship. And since idols are nothing, then the sacrifices to them must be of no consequences, right?" Paul's not ready to say that quite yet.

He turns the tide of the conversation. And here's what must be considered. While one may have knowledge and one may think it's no big deal and one may think, well, it's okay because I understand there's only one God and that's not really an idol. It really isn't anything anyway. Somebody's just out there offering a sacrifice to a tree or sacrifice to a statue. No big deal. Let's eat them eat and not worry about it. But Paul turns the tables here in verse eight and he said, "How be it, there is not every man that has knowledge.

For all you that think you know everything, slow down. Some people don't have the same knowledge that you have. For some with conscious of the idol, in other words, some saying, "I I understand this is someone's God. I understand that to them maybe that God had power or had influence in some ways that that demon, that devil, whatever you want to call it." And so because he said, "For some with conscience of the idol," in other words, thinking about what that idol represented, until this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol.

So some are going to eat it and think, "I want to eat this because it was offered to this idol." And their conscience being weak is defiled. So some without knowledge because of the of the nothingness of side they eat meat because it was offered to the idol. Now we don't understand that really because we don't go down that path right and and I think we also have to understand how these sacrifices worked when they took a sacrifice. In fact Israel did this as well. I think often we think a sacrifice you just took the whole animal and you threw it on the altar and burned it up.

That was not how it worked. The priest would take that animal and they would cut it apart and the priest got to keep some of it for his own to eat. Some of it parts that God required or the god of that idol or whoever would go on the altar as an offering and some of it would be cooked and those that brought the sacrifice would actually eat it. So that's something we sometimes I think we just look over when they brought those sacrifices. a lot of times they were going to eat what they brought to the temple.

And so this same thing would happen in honor of their god and and to represent and gain favor. And so because of this, some people without this knowledge, if you will, would go to maybe a temple of a god that supposedly was in charge of rain. And they would go and they would eat of that sacrifice, thinking, well, I need rain and so I'll go here and I'll honor that God and maybe it will rain this this week. or maybe I'll go over here because I need a financial blessing and I'll go to this.

And so Paul said some people are doing this. He said and the knowledgeable might take it this well that's their problem. They should know that this idol is really nothing. But Paul had a different take in verse 9. He said but take heed because of your liberty because you think you know things that if you're not careful you will be a stumbling block to them that are weak. you're going to cause someone else to fail because of what you think you know. Earlier we read that charity edifies.

Love will always consider others. And there's a lesson in this for us today. I understand the concept of idols as happened in Corinth. It's foreign to most of us. We don't build. We don't buy offers. We don't alt idols. We don't offer them sacrifices. We don't bow down and worship to to that thing that we bought and say, "This is this is my God." I understand we don't go down that that but there is a very real application for us church. We must be careful that our actions don't become a stumbling block to someone else.

We've got to be careful. Can I say many have what we call personal convictions and what one person will avoid ever someone else may look and say, "Well, that's no big deal. Who cares? That that hasn't got anything to do with anything." we would do well to understand we all come from different backgrounds. We've all been saved from different things and there are environments and there are activities that will remind one person of their past life of sin while to another looks at it and say I don't see any problem and there's nothing harmless of this and to the Corinthian who had spent his life in the temples of false gods and offering sacrifices and then he comes to be saved no doubt the whole scene was something he needed to avoid to someone else that had never been in an idol's temple and and never been a part of that This is no big deal.

It's just a cheap meal. But Paul says unto them, "Take heed. Be careful. Consider what he's saying is none one another." In verse 10, he said, "For if any man see thee which has knowledge, so he sees you that think it's no big deal. And you're sitting at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things?" He's going to think, well, if it's okay for him, it must be okay for me. He said, and through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died.

Are you willing to say, well, because I understand things and it I understand it really doesn't mean anything. I don't care that it bothers my brother. I'm going to go ahead and do this because really it's no big deal. Paul's saying, "Yes, it is." Are you going to let that person perish because you think you know things better than what they do? We must never assume what is right for us is right for everyone. And we must never take the attitude that you don't care what someone else thinks about it.

If you don't think that issue is important, look what Paul says in verse 12. He says, "But when you sow sin against the brethren," so he calls it sin. He said, "You're transgressing against them and you wound their weak conscience. You put them in a bad position to where they may lose out with God." And he said, "And when you do that, you sin against Christ." Our lesson is about Christian liberty. Yes, we have been set free from sin. And yes, it is true that some no no longer see an issue with things they deem as nothing and and they don't care.

Yet, if we cause another person to lose out by my actions, he said, "You've sinned against our savior." We need to be careful the things that we allow and the things that we don't. Then he makes a comment few are willing to follow probably. He said, "Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend," and you can insert anything you want there. "Wherefore, if I do this, offends my brother. If I do that, offends them." Paul said, "If if it's meat, I will eat no flesh while the world stands, lest I make my brother to offend." He said, "I'm going to consider them before I consider myself." That is love that builds up.

Now, it would seem at this point that Paul's discussion, if you if you stop in chapter 8 and you leave it there, it would seem at this point that the only concern with eating meat offers is offending someone else. But, but not so fast because he picks up the question again in chapter 10. And this time he approaches it from a completely different vantage point. And we'll go back through in in uh future lessons, we'll look at verse chapters nine and 10 and see what Paul was talking about there.

But in chapter 10, he picks up this idea of idols again, but he approaches it from a completely different vantage point. Looking again at that second passage, he said, 'What shall I say then? That an idol is anything that her or sacrifices to an idol is anything? Should I say the idol is something? No, we understand it's nothing. And so we'll leave that there. But he said, "I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they are sacrificing it to devils." He said, "And the things they sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to God." And then he said, "I would not that you should have fellowship with devils." So where previously he said, you know, we understand an idol's nothing.

So if you eat the meat, it's really nothing unless you're offending your brother. Now he says, "Now wait a minute. You can't go have fellowship with devils. You can't drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and the partakers of devils." I think what he's saying there is you're in the world, but you're not of the world. You can't be on both sides and say, "Well, I can be a Christian, enjoy the things of God, and I can go out, enjoy the things of the world, and do what it wants to do." He said, "Wait a minute.

Let's draw a further distinction in here. And so in verse 19, he again acknowledges that it's nothing. Not going to say that idol is anything. But he points out to us that the Gentiles, the pagans, the unbelievers make their sacrifices to devils. The Greek word there is where we get the word demons. And to be sure, an idol was usually something made by hand of man. It was something that was crafted, something that was built to represent of God. But what we also maybe don't realize, it was common practice that once they built that idol, they would hold a ceremony and they would ask whatever god they were representing to come and inhabit that idol.

So it was more than just stone. They were actually asking demonic spirits, if you will, to inhabit that idol that they had made. And so in a real sense, sacrifices were being made to a spirit being such as those that Jesus cast out during his ministry. Yes, an idol is nothing but those offering sacrifices, they weren't necessarily offering to a piece of wood. They were offering to the God that they had asked to inhabit that piece of wood. And so Paul says very plainly, I would not that you should fellowship with devils.

that it is plain to go into the temples of Corinth false god was to have fellowship with those devils. So what he was saying was stay out of those places. Don't go there where those spirits are. There are places and we understand where a Christian should not go. Now we're being legalistic now. And and I'm not here to give you a list this morning, but if you go into places designated for sinful activities, we end up, if we're not careful, fellowshipping with devils. Let me ask you this question.

When you go into those places, is your spirit comfortable in those places? Or let me ask another question. Would you feel comfortable having Jesus with you and walk in to those places where sinful activities are being carried out and going on? And so Paul's saying, you know, it's easy to say, well, meat offered to idols. And so it it really doesn't mean anything. We have knowledge. We can go in the temple. We'll sit down, have a feast with everybody else, and we're ignoring the fact that there's devils in here.

And Paul's saying, don't do that. And he concludes this thought by repeating a chapter he made in verse in chapter six. This this is one verse. It's repeated twice in first Corinthians. All things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient. So because of my knowledge, it's lawful. Yes, I could go in there, but it's not expedient. It's not good for me. The Greek word there, sero, is used to translate various Hebrews terms. It means that which is good. It's not good. It's not suitable.

It's not profitable. It's also used that way in the New Testament. All things are lawful, but all things aren't profitable in my walk with God. The NIV says it this way. I have a right to do anything, but not everything is beneficial. Not everything is good for me as a Christian. So the question is, can I go into places of ill repute and just hang out? Can I go sit every Friday night at the corner bar and just have a coke? Say it's okay. You know, I know where sin abounds, grace does nothing more abound.

God's with me. Yes, probably could do those things and not backside, but backside. But Paul said, "It's not profitable for you. Don't do that. It's not profitable. You see that that first half of that verse concerns me. All things are lawful for me, but all things are are not expedient for me. They're not good for me. They're not profitable for me. Then he says, "All things are lawful for me." So he repeats that part of it. Yes, I can do all things, but he then he looks at others and said, "But all things edify not." It's not building someone else up.

It's not having that love that edifies. We must build up others. You see, it's not all about me. I can do this because I feel confident in it and confident in my salvation and it really isn't going to matter and I can go and do this and this. What's that going to do when a weaker person or someone else looks and said, "You know, they go to the bar every Friday night. Might as well start going too." And it offends them. Am I building them up or am I tearing them down?

You see, it's not all about me. It's not all about you. It's about the body of Christ. Paul focuses on this so much and we'll get into it in more uh detail as we get further into this letter. He he is constantly saying we are the body of Christ. We're members one of another. We've got to be careful how we live. We've got to be careful the things that we do. And so he he finishes this discussion with some very practical advice. I said he he's kind of walks a fine line here as he talks and and it's a pastoral letter.

So he's writing to his church there that he had found it. We said in the introduction this was a debate over eating meat that it was it was two-pronged. First there were those who went to the meat market to buy what was cheap. So probably in the economy they were in they were poor. In fact Paul mentions that in in the earlier chapters that we read he said there were not many wise not many noble not many wealthy. You know look look at who you are.

you're mostly a lot of people that were saved and that were of lower class and were were slaves and other things like that. And so he said, "This is where you came from." They didn't have a lot of money. So when they want to buy meat, it was cheap in the meat market because stuff left over from those sacrifices, they would take it and sell it in the meat markets. And so Paul says that's okay. Eat anything, he says in verse 25, that's sold in the meat market.

King James uses the word shambles. So the idea there was a an outdoor it was a meat market. He said eat anything there without asking questions for conscience sake. In other words, just go and buy the meat, take it home and eat it. Now if you walk to the meat market and say, "I want a piece of that beef that was offered to ISIS." Now suddenly he said, "Now you violated the principle. You don't need to know where it came from. It's just meat. it becomes nothing when there's no conscience of saying I'm buying this so that I can honor this particular god.

And so he tells them that just it's okay to eat the meat as long as there's no question about you're not you don't even know where it came from. Has nothing. It's just meat. And so he then quotes Psalm 24:1. He said the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. It all belongs to God. He gave it. There was nothing unique about that cow that was offered or that sheep or whatever it happened to be, that goat, that thing that was offered as sacrifice. It had all bong the Lord.

And so if you choose to buy meat in the market, just don't ask where it comes from. That way the weak won't go choose the thing thinking, well, I'll curry favor with the gods. And other people won't say, well, he went and bought that because he knew it was offered to this particular god. So it was better to just realize it all comes from the one true true God and not to concern yourself with anything else. Then he also addresses these more affluent people that want to socialize with the the wealthy and and they would hold these great feast.

And he said in verse 27, if any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, so he's talking about unbelievers, pagans would would invite you to a feast and you be disposed to go. You want to go. They're your friends. whatsoever before you eat asking no questions. So when you sit down say wait a minute before we eat this where'd it come from. Was this offered to a god? He said just eat it. Don't worry about it. I think he was kind of given a don't ask don't tell command it's meat.

Just eat it. Thank God for it and go on. Go and enjoy the meal. Don't ask for it. But then he says this in verse 28. He said but if any man say unto you got this wonderful roast here. this was offered to so and so, don't eat it. Stay away from it. So, it all came down, you know, you can say we've got knowledge. What he's saying is if you have no knowledge, you're okay. If you know where it came from, stay away from it.

In a very practical sense, Paul was saying it's better not to know the source than to cause someone else to stumble. As I say, that doesn't really affect us a whole lot when we talk about meat, but it does affect us in how we live our lives. In our liberty as Christian believers, we have an inherent responsibility to others, and we can't avoid it. It matters how our actions affect one another. Paul expressed it this way. Wherefore, and we mentioned it, if meat makes my brother to offend, I'm not going to eat it as long as the world stands.

So, we we saw his his attitude in verse eight. There will always be questions and we see it when various groups of believers come together. We go to rallies, we go to conventions, we go to conferences. It doesn't take long to notice that different churches follow different rules, different standards, have a little bit different take on things that what one church may allow, another may avoid. And that's okay. I came from a church, I think Sister Reaver told me, she did too, that we did not roller skate.

A pastor that we had when he got saved, he said, "When I was living in sin, I roller skated every Friday night." And he just felt it was a bad environment. And he said, "We don't go to roller skates." I came to 13th and Graeway. I would became youth pastor and I looked at the schedule and there was a roller skate for the youth that I was now in charge of scheduled. Like we don't roller skate. We roller skate. Well, I didn't. I can't put wheels under my feet.

But young people roller skated. I walked in, they were going around in circles. I thought, "What's wrong with this?" But you have to honor another's convictions. Paul understood that and he's making room. All things are lawful. Yes, that's okay. But if it's going to cause divisions and if it's going to cause problems, stay away from it. Now, I'm not talking things Bible defined sin. If the B Bible says it's sin, we avoid it. But what about things that could lead someone to sinful involvement? There are many things that are not sinful in themselves but could lead into sin sinful behavior and it is those things we must avoid if it will particularly brings cause someone else to go into that.

There are other things that are not sinful in themselves but could lead others into sin and it is those we must avoid as well. Paul placed Christian unity above Christian liberty. He said, "It's better that you stay together than it is to say, well, I can do this because I'm free." Romans 14:14 says this, "I know and I'm persuaded by the Lord Jesus Christ, there's nothing in itself. Nothing wrong with that meat offered to idols, nothing wrong with this, nothing wrong with that. All by itself.

But to him that esteemth it to be unclean, to him it is unclean." So if someone has that conviction and says I can't do this, I don't go there. It's unclean to him. And he said, "But if your brother is grieved with your meat or by the thing that you think is okay, you're walking not charitably, you're not showing love." And so he said, "Destroy not him with your meat for whom Christ died." Unity. That concept of preferring one another. We see it over and over in Paul's writings.

Uh Philippians chapter 2 the first verses 2-4. Paul said, "Fulfill me my joy that you be likeminded." That's that unity that you have the same love that you're in one accord and you're in one mind. And so he said, "You all you all need to say the same things. You need to have that same love one toward another." And then he goes on to say, "Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory, but in loneliness of mind. Let us esteem other better thanmselves." So he gives us this instruction.

What is this like-minded love? How do we operate it? We need to watch our attitude and we need to watch our motives. We need to be sure that what we do is not stirring up strife. We need to be sure that what we do is not self-promotion. Well, look what I can do and what I can get by with. The King James, New King James uses the term selfish ambition or conceit. Paul said, "Our mindset must be loneliness and humility." We read in 1 Corinthians 8:1, he said, "Knowledge puffs up.

It's pride, but charity builds up." Do you want to be puffed up or do you want to be someone that builds up? And so by casting aside selfish pride and putting on humility, believers can be considerate one of another. Nothing done through strife or vain glory. Vain glory there could be those that say, "We have knowledge. We can do this. It's no big deal." If you're doing that, you're not esteeming others. And then he said this in verse four, look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

What he is saying there, he doesn't mean to get into some someone else's business. What he does mean to say is if you see it's offending someone else, if you see it's a a drag on someone else, if you see it is detrimental to their walk with God, look on those things and say, "Well, then I'm not going to do it for myself." Think about how my actions will affect others, what it does for others. Paul summed up his teaching on liberty in Romans 15 this way.

He said, "We then that are strong," he's talking to those that said, "Well, I've got knowledge and I can do it. We need to bear the infirmities of the weak and not please ourselves." talking about Christian liberty and how we operate and use it in the church body. Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good edification. Do what you can so someone else could be saved. Do what you can so someone else doesn't lose out with God. And we do that. He sums it up this way.

That ye may be with one mind and one mouth. with one mind and one mouth, one heart, one attitude, one you may glorify God. Doesn't glorify God when I'm doing something that destroys someone else. But when I consider them, maybe give up my rights so that they can be saved, God gets the glory. I think that's what this chapter means to us today. Yeah. We're not worried about going out and sacrificing idols and whether we can eat the meat or not. But we are worried about am I offending someone else and causing them to lose out with God or am I building them up in love?

Let's stand. Let's just take a moment and ask God to help us with that. Lord, you know where we all stand. You know how we feel about different things in the body of Christ. But Lord, help us to have the attitude and the one mind that says I want to build up others that I want to reach out to others. That I don't want to offend a brother or sister, but I want to help them to be built up strong and to be what you want them to be and live that kind of life in Jesus name.

We thank you Lord. We thank you Lord. Let's take a break. Amen. We'll go into morning worship.