Introduction:
A. All my life I’ve been told how dangerous tripping is.
1. As a child my parents taught me to never trip my sisters and brothers.
2. It was certainly a lesson I had to be taught, because I had a fun-loving, devious side.
3. All organized sports have rules against tripping players.
4. That’s the case in basketball.
5. That’s the case in soccer.
6. And even in football – a game where one of the objectives is to knock the other guy down.
B. Just like in all other arenas of life – tripping is dangerous and is against the rules – such is also the case in the church.
1. I’m not talking about kids tripping kids in the nursery or in the foyer after services, I’m talking about people putting spiritual stumbling blocks that will cause other people to trip spiritually.
2. That’s the very thing that was happening at Corinth and so Paul addressed the problem in chapter 8.
3. Let’s take a look at the Corinthian’s situation and Paul’s response to it.
4. Then let’s work to apply it to our own life situations.
A Stumbling Block at Corinth
A. Having addressed the questions the Corinthians had sent him about marriage in chapter 7, now Paul addresses another question – “Now about meat sacrificed to idols…” (8:1)
1. There appears to have been a controversy among the Corinthian Christians whether it was permissible to eat meat from animals that had been used in pagan sacrifices.
2. We might expect Paul to give a simple and straightforward answer to the question, because elsewhere in the NT the answer is pretty “cut and dry.”
3. One of the primary restrictions imposed on Gentile converts that came out of the council in Jerusalem recorded in Acts 15 was simply, “You are to abstain from food offered to idols…” (Acts 15:29).
4. The only other mention in the NT of the problem occurs in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation. The churches of Pergamum and Thyatira are corrected for tolerating the practices of eating meat sacrificed to idols (Rev. 2:14, 20).
B. In contrast to those two brief NT references, Paul does not render a simple judgment – instead, he launches into a long and complex argument that actually covers three chapters – 8, 9 and 10.
1. At times it seems that the complex argument that Paul lays out is contradictory.
2. Richard Hays, in his commentary, says that one key to following Paul’s argument is to recognize that he is primarily addressing the problem of sacrificial food consumed in the temple of the pagan god, rather than meat sold in the market or served in private homes.
3. So that must have been the primary question raised by the Corinthians in their letter to Paul.
C. There are actually four movements to Paul’s treatment of the idol meat question.
1. The first movement is chapter 8, and can be summarized as “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”
2. The second movement is chapter 9 where Paul uses himself as an example of renouncing rights.
3. The third movement is chapter 10, verses 1-22 where Paul offers a warning against idolatry.
4. The final movement is the final verses of chapter 10 where Paul’s point can be summarized as “Use your freedom for the glory of God.” (10:23-11:1)
5. We will explore each of those movements as we proceed through our sermon series in the coming weeks.
D. The fact that Paul crafts such an elaborate argument concerning idol meat shows that it was a major issue in the church at Corinth and that its’ important principles needed application in Christianity in general.
1. Even though this may appear to be an obscure problem from our point of view, we should take this section of the letter very seriously and try to understand what was at stake.
2. Meat sacrificed to idols was a “hot-button” issue in Corinth because it exposed three much larger concerns.
a. First, the problem of boundaries between the church and pagan culture.
b. Second, the strained relationship between different social classes in the church.
c. And third, the relationship between knowledge and love as the foundation of the church’s life.
E. As Paul begins chapter 8, it seems that he is employing the same diatribe approach as in pervious chapters.
1. Paul reflects the Corinthians’ views back on them in verses 1, 4, 8 and then he replies in counterpoint.
2. The overall question being asked is “Are Christians free to eat meat from animals slaughtered in pagan cultic rituals?”
3. Paul’s discussion of the problem suggests that this issue had arisen because some of the Corinthians were attending feasts held in pagan temples where meat was served to all present.
F. Based on Paul’s remarks, we are able to reconstruct the justifications being used by those attending the feasts.
1. How are they defending their behavior? They claimed that as enlightened Christians, we all possess knowledge, and we know that there is only one god and that pagan idols are nothing other than lifeless statues, having no power to help or harm anyone.
2. Furthermore, they had the knowledge that food is spiritually insignificant.
3. They understood that just as Gentiles need not seek God’s approval by keeping Jewish dietary laws, so also they need not worry about the source of the meat they were eating.
4. Those Christians who fear defilement from idol meat are simply ignorant and superstitious.
G. So in the mind of the “strong” Christians at Corinth, armed with the appropriate knowledge, they could go into pagan temples and eat whatever was offered there without guilt or hesitation.
1. Matter of fact, to do so was their way of demonstrating their spiritual maturity and freedom.
2. They may actually have been encouraging their more scrupulous brothers and sisters, called the “weak” in this letter, to build up the strength of their own consciences by attending such ceremonies and eating the idol meat.
3. Afterall, if they would only do that, they would see that no harm comes of it, and their consciousness would be raised.
4. The letter the Corinthians wrote to Paul was probably written by the “strong” appealing to Paul to straighten out the “weak.”
H. There is good reason to believe that there may have been a socioeconomic aspect to the conflict about idol food.
1. Feasts held in pagan temples were common events in the daily life of a Greco-Roman city.
2. The sanctuary of Asclepius in Corinth was made up of both an area for cultic sacrifice and several dining rooms that opened onto a pleasant public courtyard.
3. The wealthier Corinthians would have been invited to meals in such places as a regular part of their social life – to celebrate birthdays, weddings, healings attributed to the god, or other important occasions.
4. For those few Corinthian Christians who were among the wealthier class, their public and professional duties virtually required their attendance at such events.
5. To eat the sacrificial meat served on such occasions was simple social courtesy; to refuse to share the meal would be an affront to the host.
6. On those occasions, the specifically religious connotations of eating the meat may have been downplayed.
7. Consequently, the wealthy and powerful Christians would take the eating of meat in stride and readily accept the view that it was a matter of spiritual indifference
I. On the other hand, within the social circle of the poorer Corinthians, such meat-eating would not have been so commonplace.
1. Meat was too expensive to be part of their ordinary diet, and may only have been available at certain public religious festivals where there was a general distribution of the meat.
2. The poorer Christians were more likely to regard the idol meat as laden with religious connotations and therefore abstain from it.
J. In view of all of this, Paul’s response to the question must have come as a shock to the “strong,” “knowledge” group in Corinth.
1. Rather than taking their sides, Paul seized the opportunity to challenge those with “knowledge” to reconsider their actions on the basis of very different standards.
2. Paul suggests that knowledge is defective if it fails to build up the community in love.
3. “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” (8:1b)
K. Paul’s use of the word “knowledge” does not mean that there were Gnostics at Corinth.
1. Gnosticism as a formal religious movement did not emerge until the second century.
2. Certainly the seeds of Gnostic tendencies were already planted among the Corinthians.
3. Prominent among those tendencies was a spiritual elitism that separated the church into different classes based on the possession of knowledge.
4. Those in the “know” would feel superior to others who lacked their elevated perspective.
L. In sharp contrast to the supremacy of knowledge, Paul insists that what really matters is love.
1. Ironically and paradoxically, those who boast in their own exalted knowledge demonstrate precisely by their boasting that they do not yet know as they ought to know.
2. Verse 2 and 3 read, “The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God.”
3. Paul throws us a curve ball. We would expect Paul to say, “Anyone who loves God knows God.”
4. That is certainly true, but Paul is trying to make a different point – Anyone who loves God is known by God.
5. The initiative of salvation comes from God, not from us.
6. What counts is not so much our knowledge of God as God’s knowledge of us.
7. Therefore, anyone who understands that salvation depends on God’s initiative and our love response will not become puffed up by the possession of knowledge.
M. With that point made, Paul begins again to address the idol meat question about which the Corinthians had written.
1. Paul likely quotes a slogan from the Corinthian letter – “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and “There is no God but one.”
2. Both slogans are true and are consistent with the teaching of Judaism and early Christianity.
3. Unlike some of the earlier slogans of the Corinthians, Paul does not disagree with the slogan it self, but with the application of the slogan.
4. In the mind of some of the Corinthians, because the idol has no real existence, then idol worship is a meaningless gesture. Therefore if they find it socially advantageous to eat idol meat, what difference does it make?
N. In verse 6, Paul writes, “yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.”
1. Here Paul is likely giving another quotation, but this time it is not a quotation from the Corinthians, but may have been an early hymn or confessional statement of the church.
2. The Corinthians would have recognized it as an authoritative statement of the Christian faith.
3. Much like the Jewish confessional statement from Deut. 6:4 called the Shema, “Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God. The Lord is one.”
4. This truth will have bearing a little later in chapter 10 when Paul talks about idolatry, because our God is a “jealous God” who has no tolerance for idolatry.
O. Next Paul challenges the “strong” or “knowledge” group with the implications of their actions on the rest of the church.
1. First, he challenges their premise that “we all possess knowledge.”
2. In other words, the “strong” group was saying, “Everybody knows…”
3. Paul insists the opposite – not every in the community shares this “knowledge.”
4. Some members of this very young church are so accustomed to thinking of idols as real that they cannot eat the idol meat without being dragged back into the world of idol worship.
P. The Corinthians counter with a slogan in verse 8, “But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.”
1. That’s a true statement, but Paul counters in verse 9, “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.”
2. With that statement, Paul warns those who seek to flex their spiritual muscles should watch out to see what effect it will have on others around them.
3. You might remember Jesus’ stern warning in Matt. 18:6-7 about placing “a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe” in Him – it is better for them to have a large millstone hung around the neck and drowned in the sea!
Q. Verses 10 -12 offer a specific description of how Paul imagines the possible damage inflicted on the community by those believers who want to force their right to eat idol meat.
1. “For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.”
2. From these verses we see that Paul’s primary concern is not meat sold in the marketplace; rather, he is most concerned about weak Christians being drawn back into the idol temple.
3. The dire consequence of such behavior is that the weak are destroyed.
4. Paul’s concern is not that the weak will be offended, but that they will be led into sin and fall away from God.
R. Paul reaches the height of his argument and presents this horrifying possibility with biting irony, “So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.” (vs. 11)
1. Christ gave up his life for this brother or sister…what freedom are you willing to give up?
2. Then Paul adds, “When you sin against your brother in this way…you sin against Christ.” (v. 12) What we do to others, we do to Christ.
3. Paul concludes this section by declaring his own resolution in this matter, “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.” (vs. 13)
4. Interestingly, the word “meat” in verse 13 is the generic word for flesh, and is not the specific term “idol meat” that Paul had been using throughout the earlier verses.
5. So Paul declares that he is willing to not only give up eating idol meat if it causes his brother to stumble, he will give up eating meat completely.
An Application at Wetzel Road
A. I apologize if this lesson has been too focused on the exegesis of the passage, but it is impossible to make the proper application if we don’t have the correct understanding of Paul’s arguments.
B. Let’s quickly discus three practical applications that come out of chapter 8.
C. First, we must realize that knowledge, as good and helpful as it is, can puff us up.
1. We should always be seeking to grow in our knowledge and understanding of God..
2. But we have to realize and admit that no matter how much we know, our knowledge and understanding is incomplete.
3. It certainly doesn’t give us a right to look down on others who may not have the knowledge and education that you or I might have.
4. And even though our knowledge gives us freedom from a religion motivated by fear or legalism, we have to be careful with our freedom.
5. As Paul wrote in Gal. 5:13, “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”
6. On the basis of knowledge, one can be assured of certain freedoms that he or she has the right to exercise, but for the sake of love, he or she might forego some of them.
D. A second practical application is – Love builds up.
1. If we know anything, then we know that God and Jesus consider love to be the most important thing.
2. Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Mt. 22:38-40)
3. Jesus said, “All men will know that you are my disciples if you if you love one another.” (Jn. 13:35)
4. Love is actually more powerful than knowledge and intellect.
5. Think about the number of times when you have been a part of or witnessed arguments where a person won the argument, but lost in the process.
6. We can be completely right intellectually, and all wrong relationally.
7. True love says, “I may be right, or have a right, but your needs, and our relationship, and our precious fellowship are far more important than any right I might want to exercise.
E. A final practical application for us to consider is – The conscience of one’s self and others must be taken seriously.
1. What is safe for one person may be quite unsafe for someone else.
2. Sometimes I am surprised and even ashamed of my own tendency to belittle people who have not come to as full an understanding of the freedom in Jesus that I perceive myself to have.
3. We would likely be able to agree on many or most of those activities and actions that are always right.
4. And we would likely to be able to agree on many or most of those activities and actions that are always wrong.
5. But then, if we are honest, we would have to admit that there are many matters on which there is no clear biblical statement or command.
6. Knowledgeable and sincere Christians over the centuries have been on both sides of these issues.
7. Let me mention just a few to illustrate my point, not to open a can of worms – Social drinking, the use of birth control, service in the military, political party membership, smoking, activities appropriate for Sundays, playing of certain games or card games.
8. None of us have the right to indulge in an activity nor demand a liberty that may be the ruination of someone else.
9. And no one has the right to belittle the conscience of a fellow Christian, even if you and I are convinced that that person’ conscience is too sensitive or too over-developed.
10. God has entrusted us with the responsibility to live in Christian freedom with a concern and a sensitivity for others that respects their conscience, our conscience and what ultimately is the common good.
F. Let me end with an illustration I have used before, because it reminds us of such an important truth.
1. I have never been to a place where I could see Sequoia Trees up close and personal, but some of you may have had that opportunity, yet I am fascinated by them.
2. These redwood trees are the oldest and tallest trees in the world. Some of them are 2500 years old, are 380 feet tall and are 26 feet thick in diameter.
3. The surprising thing though is that they have very shallow root systems.
4. Their roots are just barely below the surface.
5. So how can these huge trees weather storms and high winds with such shallow roots?
6. They only grow in groves where both their roots and limbs can interconnect with each other.
7. The trees literally hold each other up and keep each other safe and healthy.
8. God designed Christians and Christianity to work the same way.
9. In the church, we really do need each other and we must do whatever is necessary to protect and support each other in love.
10. May God help us to have the heart and attitude of Paul who was willing to do anything, or give up anything to keep his brother or sister from stumbling.
11. Tripping up others hurts both them and us. No tripping in church!
12. There are many tripping hazards and let’s work hard not to put stumbling blocks in each other’s path.
Resources:
The (Im)Perfect Church (Studies in 1 Corinthians), Rubel Shelly, 21st Century Christian, 1983.
First Corinthians (Interpretation – A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching), Richard Hays, John Knox Press, 1997.
1 Corinthians (The NIV Application Commentary), Craig L. Blomberg, Zondervan, 1994.
1 Corinthians (Bible Study Guide), Charles R. Swindoll, Insight For Living, 1977.
“Why Even Talk About Food Offered to Idols?,” Sermon by John A. Huffman, Jr., February 12, 2006.
