Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were camping. They pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep. Then sometime in the middle of the night, Holmes woke Watson. “Watson, look up at the stars and tell me what you deduce.”
Watson says, “I see millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it's quite likely there are some planets like Earth, and if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life.”
Holmes replies, “Watson, you idiot, somebody stole our tent!” (Tom Kuntz, The World's 'Funniest' Jokes)
Sometimes our knowledge blinds us to the obvious, doesn’t it? It’s a particular hazard, especially for those who have been Christians for a while. They know so much about God and the Bible that they sometimes overlook the most important thing.
The 1st century, Corinthian church had that problem. They prided themselves on their knowledge of theology so much so that they missed what was most important in their relationships with each other.
If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 8, 1 Corinthians 8, where you can learn to avoid making the same mistake.
1 Corinthians 8:1 Now concerning food offered to idols…
This was one of the issues over which the Corinthian believers fought. You see, the cheapest meat in Corinth was sold in the idol’s temple. After it had been sacrificed, there was so much left over that the priests sold it very cheaply, so they could get rid of it before it spoiled. In addition, a lot of the community gatherings took place in the idol’s temple, where such meat was consumed, and the Believers in Corinth debated over whether it was okay to eat that meat.
Some argued to eat such meat is participating in idolatry. Others retorted, “No, it’s not! It’s cheap meat, and it’s where my friends hang out. I’m not participating in their idolatry. I’m just enjoying a good steak for little or next to nothing.” They lived in a pagan culture, which presented them with a lot of questions about how to interact with that culture.
It’s not unlike our culture. We don’t worry about “meat sacrificed to idols” today. But we do debate things like Yoga. Is it just a relaxing way to exercise or a doorway into Hinduism, which is antithetical to Christianity?
How about Halloween? Is it an irredeemable holiday of Satanism and witchcraft or just a fun time of candy and costumes?
Then there is the issue of education. Should we put our children in public schools, where they can be salt and light in a pagan world? Or should we home-school our children, or put them in private schools, where we can be sure they learn our values?
How about psychology? Is it a valuable tool as a supplement to biblical counseling, or is it just so much worthless, worldly wisdom, which contradicts the Scriptures?
How about politics? Should we vote republican or democrat, or just stay out of politics altogether, because the whole system is corrupt? Just how involved should we be involved in politics?
Then there is the issue of R-rated movies and alcohol. Should we abstain altogether, or can it be appropriate for some believers in certain settings?
We face a lot of questions as we try to interact with our culture, and our knowledge of the Bible can be very helpful. But if we’re not careful, it can also swell our heads with pride and blind us to some obvious solutions.
1 Corinthians 8:1 Now concerning food offered to idols: We know that all of us possess knowledge.
It’s what we as Bible-believing Christians pride ourselves in. We know a lot about the Bible! There is only one problem.
1 Corinthians 8:1 This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
This is the key idea of the whole chapter: Knowledge puffs up (vs.1-8), but love builds up (vs.9-13).
There was a traveler, between flights at an airport, who went to a lounge and bought a small package of cookies. Then she sat down and began reading a newspaper. Gradually, she became aware of a rustling noise. From behind her paper, she was flabbergasted to see a neatly dressed man helping himself to her cookies. Not wanting to make a scene, she leaned over and took a cookie herself.
A minute or two passed, and then came more rustling. He was helping himself to another cookie! By this time, they had come to the end of the package, but she was so angry she didn't dare allow herself to say anything. Then, as if to add insult to injury, the man broke the remaining cookie in two, pushed half across to her, and ate the other half and left. Still fuming some time later when her flight was announced, the woman opened her handbag to get her ticket. To her shock and embarrassment, there she found her pack of unopened cookies! (John Ross Cranleigh, Surrey, England, Leadership, Vol. 12, no. 2)
Sometimes we think we know when we really don’t. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
1 Corinthians 8:2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know (ESV).
You know some things, but you don’t know everything.
1 Corinthians 8:3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God (ESV).
More important than WHAT you know is WHO you know. And more important than WHO you know is WHO knows you. The fact that you and I know and love God is wonderful! But the fact that He knows and loves us is beyond comprehension.
Rob Kenney’s YouTube channel, “Dad, how do I?” went viral two years ago (2020). Kenney released his first video shortly after the coronavirus pandemic reared its ugly head. He wanted to provide practical advice (“How to fix most running toilets”) and emotional support (“I am proud of you!”). But in a time defined by isolation and loneliness, his messages resonated with far more than the 30 or 40 subscribers he expected. Now (July 2022) he has surpassed 4 million subscribers.
Last year (2001), “Good Morning America” called the then 57-year-old the “Internet’s Dad.” After that, followers flooded him with stories about their parents, broken relationships, and traumatic experiences. Kenney said, “It breaks my heart that so many people need my channel.”
Kenney had a tumultuous childhood. When his parents divorced, his dad gained custody. His mom was legally declared unfit to parent as she turned to alcohol. Soon after, Kenney’s dad met another woman. On the weekend, he would stock up his kids with groceries and then leave them as he drove an hour away. After a year, he gathered his children to deliver a devastating message: “I’m done raising kids.”
Kenney, who was 14 at the time, moved in with his 23-year-old newlywed brother in a 280-square-foot trailer. His teenage experience was full of anger, sorrow, and confusion as he vowed to never cause his own children such pain. That pledge broadened when he realized he wasn’t the only kid without a dad around, so he doubled down and decided he’d also help anyone else who needed a father figure.
When Kenney reached his early 50s, he felt like he had accomplished his goal of raising two good adults. That’s when he zeroed in on the second part of his vow: to help others. His daughter says, “I genuinely think he was put on Earth to be a dad.”
Kenny is a firm believer in Jesus Christ. His early-morning habit of reading the Bible provides him with calmness and clarity. On the Father’s Day after his YouTube channel went viral (2020), his followers mailed him scores of cards (some handmade, many heartfelt). The fact that strangers are celebrating him at all reflects a man who found time to share his story—and a world that was desperate to hear it (Josh Paunil, “Amid the pandemic, people crave connection. The ‘Internet’s Dad’ provides it,” The Washington Post, 6-17-21, www.youtube.com/channel/UCNepEAWZH0TBu7dkxIbluDw; www.PreachingToday.com).
Many people in the world are desperate for a father who loves them, and that’s what you have in your Heavenly Father. He knows you personally (Psalm 139:1-24). He is available at any time just to hang out with you (1 Jn 1:3). He carries your burdens (1 Peter 5:7). And He takes care of every need you have (Psalm 23:1-6).
You may know God through faith in His Son. But even better than that, God knows you and loves you.
Your relationship with God is of primary importance, and next to that is your relationship with others. Jesus said it himself. A Bible scholar once asked Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Love God. Love each other. It’s the whole Bible wrapped up in two commands. So, keep that front and center when you debate the fine points of doctrine. Keep the forest in mind when you look at the trees. Focus on love when you study the Bible, because it is on every page.
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
Does that mean, then, that we should ignore what we know? No! In the context of love, knowledge is very helpful. So let’s look at what we do know.
1 Corinthians 8:4-6 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.” For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 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 (ESV).
We know that there is only one God. All the other gods are nothing. All the other religions are worthless. There is only one Creator and only one God worth serving, and that’s our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Now, that knowledge is helpful, especially when it comes to interacting with our culture. We can enjoy eating meat sacrificed to idols when we KNOW that those idols are nothing, because the practice means nothing to us. We’re not participating in idolatry. We’re just enjoying good steak.
We can enjoy some yoga exercises when we KNOW that Hinduism is a false religion, because that religion has no meaning for us. We’re not in danger of being sucked into idolatry. We’re just enjoying a relaxing way of exercise.
We can listen to a public school, biology teacher explain the theory of evolution when we KNOW that God created the world. We’re not in danger of buying his lies when we KNOW the opposite is true. We’re just trying to understand our culture.
Knowing and understanding what we believe protects us from the harmful aspects of our culture. The problem is a lot of believers today don’t know what they believe.
1 Corinthians 8:7 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 (ESV).
When we don’t know what we believe as Christians, then participation in the culture defiles us. It literally “stains” our conscience. It “soils” our ability to know the difference between right and wrong.
Last year (April 2021), the Department of Justice filed charges against a father and his three sons for selling industrial bleach as a miracle cure.
According to the criminal complaint, Mark Grenon of Bradenton, Fla, along with his adult sons, repeatedly told their customers that their “Mineral Miracle Solution” could cure not only COVID-19, but also various other diseases including malaria and cancer. According to a press release from the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Florida, “[The] FDA has received reports of people requiring hospitalizations, developing life-threatening conditions, and dying after drinking MMS.”
The DOJ alleged that the Grenon’s sold thousands of bottles of the fraudulent solution, netting over $1 million in the process. The DOJ also accused them of attempting to operate as a religious nonprofit entity, the “Genesis II Church of Health and Healing,” for the purpose of avoiding government scrutiny and regulations.
The DOJ charged the Grenon’s with conspiracy to commit fraud and also criminal contempt, because the government previously filed a civil suit to stop the sale of their product, which they ignored. Not only did they continue selling the toxic fake cure, but they sent a letter to the judge of the civil case informing him that they had no plans to comply with the court order. They also included threats of violence if the state were to try to enforce compliance.
The FDA warned consumers not to purchase or consume MMS, explaining that it’s the same as drinking bleach and can cause serious side effects, including severe vomiting, diarrhea, and life-threatening low blood pressure (Staff, “Bradenton family indicted, accused of selling fake 'miracle' COVID-19 cure,” 10 Tampa Bay, 4-23-21; www.PreachingToday.com).
Think of the thousands of people who bought into their scam—their false belief made them sicker, not better, and killed some of them.
So it is when people believe in false teaching. Their lack of knowledge destroys them spiritually. At the very least, it soils their conscience and hinders their ability to tell the difference between right and wrong.
When people don’t know the truth, they end up emphasizing minor issues and overlooking major ones. They end up focusing on the aspects of our culture that really don’t matter, and they get all confused about what’s really important in life.
1 Corinthians 8:8 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do (ESV).
What commends you to God is your faith in Christ, who died for you and rose again. Above everything else, you must trust Christ with your life. It is the most important thing!
Everything else is secondary. In this context, food is a non-issue. Eating or not eating meat offered to idols, in and of itself, does not affect your relationship to God one bit. And so, it goes with many aspects of our culture—whether you eat meat or just vegetables, whether you get the vaccine or not, whether you are republican or democrat—those things really don’t matter to God.
There are more important things to be concerned about, and it’s important that you know and understand those things. It’s important that you…
KNOW THE TRUTH.
It’s important that you know what you believe as a Christian, so you don’t get tripped up over trivial matters. However, at the same time, it’s also important that you…
LOVE THE WEAK.
Show concern for those who don’t know the truth yet and keep the exercise of your knowledge from tripping people up.
1 Corinthians 8:9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak (ESV).
Keep from tripping people up, who don’t know what you know yet.
1 Corinthians 8:10 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? (ESV)
Won’t he be encouraged to violate his own conscience?
1 Corinthians 8:11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died (ESV).
He is ruined spiritually!
1 Corinthians 8:12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ (ESV).
When you hurt another believer, you hurt Christ!
1 Corinthians 8:13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble (ESV).
I desire to stay away from anything that will cause my brother in Christ to violate his own conscience. I desire to avoid anything that will scandalize him or trap him in sin.
You see, it is a sin to violate your own conscience. It is a sin to do something you believe is wrong, even if God’s Word doesn’t condemn it. Romans 14:14 says, “Nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.”
If you are uncomfortable going to movies, then by all means, stay home. If you are uncomfortable letting your children go trick-or-treating at Halloween, then by all means find something else for them to do. If you are uncomfortable eating steak at a bar, then by all means eat your steak at a regular restaurant. But if you ARE comfortable doing these things, be careful, lest your influence causes a weaker Christian to violate his or her own conscience.
Your knowledge may say, “Go ahead and eat.” But Love says, “I will never eat again if it trips my brother up.” Your knowledge may say, “I’m free in Christ to enjoy various aspects of my culture.” But love says, “I will restrict my liberty until my brother is strong enough to stand by his own convictions and is not wrongly influenced by my actions.”
For example, I have made a personal choice not to drink any alcohol whatsoever. Why? Is it because the Bible condemns it outright? No. In fact, at a wedding feast, Jesus made the best wine they had all week (John 2). The Bible condemns getting drunk, not drinking a little wine every once in a while.
Why then have I chosen not to drink any alcohol whatsoever? It is because of my weaker brothers and sisters. Alcoholism is a big problem in our culture. I minister to recovering alcoholics, and if some of them knew that I, their pastor, drank alcohol, it might encourage them to drink again, and that would bring absolute ruin to their lives.
One drink will ruin an alcoholic, and I don’t want to be in any way responsible for encouraging that drink. My knowledge says, “I’m free to drink in Christ, if I don’t get drunk.” But my love says, “I will never drink again, so that I will not cause a brother to fall.” Our knowledge must always be tempered with love. Otherwise, we have missed the whole point of the Bible.
Know the truth, yes! But love the weak. In all your so called “wisdom,” hang on to the most important thing of all. Remember to love one another.
When God created fish, he made them to live and thrive in water. Their gills are adapted to absorb oxygen from the water, and it is there they find their true “freedom.”
But suppose your little goldfish, swimming around in your little goldfish bowl, decided it wanted more “freedom” and took a flying leap out of the bowl. If it landed in Kannapolis or Wilson Lake, it would increase its freedom because there would be more water to swim in. But if it landed on your carpet, then its bid for freedom would mean certain death.
Tell me, if fish were meant for water, what are people made for? What is the element we thrive in, like fish thrive in water?
Well, the Bible says it is love. God made us for love like he made fish for water. He made us for love, because He is love, and we are created in His image. He gave us the capacity to love and be loved, and when we get away from that, we’re like a fish out of water (John Stott, “Freedom,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 102).
So, in your quest for freedom, remember to love, because that’s where you find true freedom. Anything else is certain death.
