Though one of the objectives of football is to knock the other guy down, tripping is not allowed. If the Packers' Ross Verba is blocking the Vikings' John Randle, trying to prevent him from sacking Brett Favre, he is not allowed to stick out his leg and trip him. If he does, and the referee sees it, he will be assessed a 15-yard penalty. Yes, fall is approaching which means that there will be lots of football games on television, and at least occasional references to football in my sermons. My point today is that if tripping is not allowed in football, a game where people are supposed to be knocking each other down, it certainly should not be allowed in church, a place where people should be helping and holding each other up. Some of you are thinking, "What in the world are you talking about, Pastor Dan? I don't see anyone tripping people in church. Oh, yeah, that one time a lady tripped over my leg in the foyer, but that was an accident." No, today we are not talking about physically tripping someone, but rather about spiritually tripping another person, or as Paul says, being a stumbling block to another Christian. Our text, as we continue our journey through 1 Corinthians, is 8:1-13. Here, as Paul addresses a problem which was very specific to the church at Corinth, we find the Lord reminding us of some things which are very important for us and our church. Let's pause and pray that God would speak to us through His Word today.
The issue in Corinth, which Paul addresses, centers on food sacrificed to idols. He is responding to the question: Is it wrong to eat such food? In the pagan culture people would bring food offerings, meat and other products, to a temple and place them beside a statue of one of the Greek or Roman deities. In Corinth these included Aphrodite, the goddess of love; Asclepius, the god of healing; and Apollo, the chief Roman god. Now, everyone knew that these stone or wood figures were not going to consume the food, so it was considered acceptable to use it for other purposes. Often the temple priests would take the offerings home and cook them for supper. Sometimes people met at one of these pagan temples and would end up using the offerings they had brought for kind of a potluck picnic. Usually there was more food left than the priests could possibly use, so they would bring it to the market where it was sold to folks who were grocery shopping. The question that came up in the church was this: What if a Christian eats some of this food that has been sacrificed to a pagan idol? Does partaking of that stuff constitute participation in idol worship? Is it a sin to eat a steak which had once been offered to Aphrodite?
In our text, Paul gives a two-part answer to those questions. First, he says no, there is nothing inherently wrong with eating this food. The main reason is because these pagan deities don't really exist. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), 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. Aphrodite or Apollo can't contaminate a piece of meat, because they are not real. There is only one God, the God of the Bible, the triune God -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Christians have nothing to fear from any idols.
Now, some Christians today might say, "Wait a minute, Paul. Of course, the statues don't have any power, but isn't the worship of pagan gods connected with the demonic? Apollo and Aphrodite may not be real, but Satan and his angels certainly are. Would it be OK to eat food which had been offered to Satan? In Chapter 10 we find that Paul basically agrees with that analysis. He says that though the idols are nothing, (Verse 20) ..but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. Is Paul contradicting what he says in Chapter 8? No. In Chapter 10 he clearly discourages and forbids Christians from participating in pagan worship, from going to the temple and feasting on the offerings there. To do so would be playing with spiritual fire. It would be opening oneself up to demonic influences. In Chapter 8, however, he is talking about eating food which has been purchased at the market. Though it may have once been a pagan offering, and there is often no way to know whether it was or not, there is no residual demonic presence. It is perfectly safe to eat.
Let's take a quick look at how we should apply what Paul says here. Today, as C. S. Lewis once said, Christians make the mistake of either believing in the devil too much or not at all. Paul's warning in Chapter 10 against participation in pagan rituals is ignored by many folks, even in the church. At the Blueberry Festival in Ely last weekend, I was somewhat surprised by the number of people lined up to visit the fortune tellers. Christians should stay away from anything which claims spiritual power apart from God, whether it is silly things like calling the Psychic Hotline, getting involved in New Age stuff, or participating in more serious occult activity. Why? Because Satan and demons are real and nothing to fool around with. Other Christians, however, make the opposite mistake and ignore what Paul teaches in Chapter 8. They exaggerate the power of Satan and claim every problem in life is a result of a demonic activity. Some beliefs directly contradict what Paul says. I have heard people say, for example, that they bought a lamp at a garage sale and later learned that it had been owned by a Satan worshiper. They then throw the lamp away or go through some cleansing ritual to protect themselves spiritually. But, if food sacrificed to Aphrodite is harmless, I suspect that lamp is too.
OK, let's get back to our text. Paul has said there is nothing wrong with the food that has been offered to idols. 8:7 But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. This is not a big deal, though, because 8:8a But food does not bring us near to God; We sometimes forget that. 8:8b ..we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. Spiritual health or vitality, how good of a Christian someone is, doesn't depend on whether or not they choose to eat the food that may have been given to an idol. That is not the problem. But there is a problem which concerns Paul very much -- tripping up another Christian. 8:9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. How could we trip someone up? 8:10,11 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. Someone who doesn't realize that the food given to idols is harmless when they see you are participating. The situation to which Paul is referring may have been like this: Philip invites Bartholomew over for a steak dinner. Bart asks, "Where did you get the meat?" Phil says, "I bought it on sale at the market this morning." Bart responds, "But, are you not afraid that it might be meat which came from the pagan temple?" "Oh, yeah," says Phil, "it probably was. But that is no big deal, it is still OK to eat. The meat can't hurt us." So he and Bart enjoy their steak dinner. But not really. You see, Bart still believes in his heart that it is wrong to eat food that had been given to a pagan idol. Even though his belief may be mistaken, he is violating his conscience with the first bite he takes. Even though there is nothing inherently wrong with eating the steak, it is a sin to go against your conscience, because by doing so, you are going against what you believe God wants you to do. As Paul said in Romans 14:23, as he addressed a similar situation, ..the man who has doubts (who isn't sure if what he is doing is right) is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin. By eating that steak, Bart has decided that what Phil thinks is more important than what God thinks.
Now, we might think Paul would scold someone like Bart for violating their conscience, and he probably would, but here he focuses on people like Phil who should not put people like Bart in that type of situation. 8:12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. That is heavy stuff. Phil might say, "But I didn't do anything wrong!" Paul would say, "Yes, you did. You were not thinking of your brother in Christ. You were being selfish. You were using your knowledge that the meat was harmless to try to seem morally superior." Putting knowledge ahead of love is very dangerous. Paul speaks of that at the beginning of the chapter. 8:1b,2 We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. Putting knowledge ahead of love shows you are really ignorant. 8:3 But the man who loves God is known by God. The right attitude, the attitude of love, is reflected in Paul's statement of how he would handle the whole situation with the questionable food. 8:13 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. Paul says, "I am willing to give up my rights, to limit my own freedom, to deny myself something that gives me pleasure, in order to make sure I don't trip up one of my Christian brothers or sisters." That is an attitude of love.
OK, now we know how to deal with food which has been sacrificed to pagan idols. But, what does it mean for us today? There are two main implications. 1) We need to make sure we are not tripping someone and causing them to stumble. Because we ought to love everyone, from other believers to those who have little use for Christianity, I think it is true that we should never act in a way that would trip up anyone spiritually. Our special responsibility, though, is to make sure we are not leading a Christian brother or sister in this congregation to sin. What are some ways that could happen? Well, it probably is not going to be by serving a steak previously sacrificed to an idol. There would be FDA regulations against that anyway. But let's look at ways we might trip up someone.
For example, drinking or serving alcoholic beverages. Most of us are aware that in this room there are a couple of different attitudes toward alcohol. Almost all of us agree that drunkenness and abuse of alcohol, including underage drinking, is wrong; it is a sin and should not happen. Some, however, claim that moderate use of alcoholic beverages is OK because it is not prohibited in the Bible, while others say, "No, Christians should totally abstain from using beer, wine, liquor or any other alcoholic drink." We are not going to try to figure out who is right on that question today. If you are interested, our church has a position statement on use of alcoholic beverages which I think is very good, and you can find a copy of the statement in the rack in the foyer. Our text today makes it clear, however, that someone who believes it is OK to drink an occasional can of beer, needs to be careful not to cause another Christian to stumble. Obviously this means it is wrong to offer a beer to someone who is under 21 or to someone who has a tendency to abuse alcohol and get drunk. It also means don't serve a beer to anyone who believes it is morally wrong to drink it. But, can't that individual just politely say, "No thanks," if that is his conviction? Of course he can, but that is not the point. Because that person believes it is wrong for him or her to drink a can of beer, it is a sin if he or she does so. We should be discouraging others from ever doing anything which they don't believe honors the Lord. But, you ask, "How can I know what convictions another person might have?" Well, use your brain. Sure, you may offer someone a can of beer without knowing that it would violate his conscience to drink it, but once you realize that is the case, don't do it again. Don't say, "Oh, go ahead and have a drink. One beer won't hurt you." Do your best not to trip up the other person.
There are plenty of other issues where Christians are in disagreement where we need to make sure we are not causing someone else to stumble. It may have to do with watching certain movies or television programs. The principle in our text is that even if you are convinced that there is nothing wrong with your watching a particular show, you need to be careful that you don't trip up someone else. You may really enjoy a movie and think it is worthwhile to watch, but don't recommend it to someone else if you know that certain scenes or language in the movie may be offensive to that person. There may be certain activities that you don't see anything wrong with, but don't invite someone to do something if you know they have questions about whether a Christian should be doing that. The point is that it is not our job to toughen up another person's conscience. Maybe you have a friend who, from your perspective, is much too legalistic about what Christians should do on Sunday. She won't even go to eat at McDonald's after church. Now, it is certainly not wrong to explain why you don't think going to McDonald's dishonors the Lord's Day, but don't try to persuade her to join you until she is fully convinced that you are right. It is the Holy Spirit's job to shape her conscience, not yours.
Now, there are a couple of things we need to keep in mind as we talk about not tripping someone else up. 1) Remember, a strong conscience doesn't give permission to ignore God's commands. Remember that eating food given to idols is OK; participating in idol worship is not. Don't ever pretend that your strong conscience gives you permission to ignore God's commands. The fact that there are legitimate differences of conscience on some issues, doesn't mean there are on others. For example, I have heard people say, "Well, yes, looking at pornography is wrong for some people, but I can handle it. I can do it with a clear conscience." Wrong. The Bible tells us to avoid all sexual immorality, including lustful thoughts, and that is what pornography is all about. No Christian is free to disobey what the Lord says to do. Other folks say, "Well, I know God calls many Christians to be a part of a church, but I can worship and serve the Lord on my own without being a part of any fellowship." Wrong. God expects all Christians to be a part of a group of believers, and He commands that we meet together with other Christians for nurture and encouragement. Don't pretend that your conscience gives you freedom to do things God says you should not do.
2) Remember, sometimes it is OK to make other Christians unhappy. Today we are talking about things which do spiritual harm to another Christian, not about things which they merely don't like. A few months ago I used the example of my wearing a striped shirt to church. If someone doesn't like the fact that I wear a striped shirt to church, a concern for peace and unity in the body may cause me to wear only solid colors. However, there may also be people who are only happy when I wear a striped shirt. It is true: You can't please all of the people all of the time, and sometimes God indeed calls us to do things which other people don't like. That is not the point today, however. Instead of talking about something which makes another person unhappy, we are talking about something which causes someone to stumble and sin. That's the bottom line. Though sometimes it is appropriate to do something which makes another Christian unhappy, we must never do something which would encourage them to sin against God. Never. We need to make sure we are not tripping someone.
The other main point we learn in this text is that we need to be willing to give up some things for the sake of others. As we saw before, Paul was willing to give up his rights, limit his own freedom, and deny himself pleasure, in order to make sure he didn't trip up one of his Christian brothers or sisters. Friends, God calls us to do the same thing. Or, as we read in Philippians 2:4,5: Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Friends, that is a very high standard, but it is what God expects of us as His children. It goes against not only the grain of our culture, but against the dominate view within the church. Most of us reject the attitude of victimization which pervades our culture. We think that people need to take responsibility for their own actions. When a woman gets burned spilling coffee on herself at McDonald's, most of us don't think she has a right to sue the restaurant. She should have known the coffee was hot. She should have been more careful not to spill. Getting burned is her fault, not the fault of anyone else. Carrying our thinking over to our text today, we want to say, "Wait a minute, Paul. If someone has a weak conscience, that is not my fault. It is his/her problem. I should not have to give up my right to do something just because someone else can't handle a particular situation." According to our text, however, that is exactly what we are expected to do. Why? Because the spiritual welfare of a brother or sister in Christ is more important than any right we might want to exercise.
Maybe this doesn't make a lot of sense to you, but it is helpful for me to think about this from the perspective of a family. I'm not the world's greatest dad or anything like that, but I do make quite a few sacrifices for the sake of my three sons. There are all sorts of things I give up having or doing, so that the boys can have and do what they desire. Do you know what is amazing? Though I can be a pretty selfish person sometimes, I make those sacrifices not only willingly, but gladly. I want to give up my rights, my freedom, and my pleasure if it will help Ben, Brady or Brock. Do you know what? It would be so cool if I had that same attitude toward everyone else in this church. It would be great if we all had that attitude toward each other. And why shouldn't we? All of us who are believers in Jesus Christ, are brothers and sisters. That is not just a religious label we use, it is a spiritual reality. Through the blood of His son Jesus, God has adopted us into His family and made us brothers and sisters. Friends, I think when we start to realize this, when we remember this, it helps us to be willing to give up some things for the sake of others. It helps us to gladly make sacrifices, because we find joy in helping those who are a part of our family. Oh, that doesn't mean we are not going to get frustrated with each other at times. I get frustrated with my boys sometimes. But, when we are family, we are able to overcome those frustrations, and we do what we can to build up and encourage each other, rather than trip each other.
In closing I have two suggestions. 1) We need to ask the Lord to forgive us for tripping others. Maybe, as we have talked today, you have started to feel guilty for something you said or did which may have caused spiritual harm to another person. Don't just leave here feeling rotten about that, or trying to justify in your own mind that it is really not your fault. Instead, as the song we sang earlier said, Lay your sins on Jesus, the precious Lamb of God. Confess your selfishness and lack of love to Him. Experience the healing of your spirit and cleansing of your soul that He promises all who will turn to Him. The Lord offers His forgiveness freely. All we need to do is come to Him through Jesus.
2) We need to ask the Lord to give us a "servant heart." Looking out for the interests of others doesn't come naturally to any of us. But that type of servant attitude does flow out of an experience of God's grace, a knowledge of Jesus Christ as Savior, and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. If those are not a part of your life, it is going to be hard for you to get excited about serving other people; thus, the first step in becoming a servant is to turn to Jesus Christ and receive Him as Lord and Savior. If you have not done that, I encourage you to do so today. But even as a Christian, even as a pastor, it is still easy to not want to serve others. Sometimes I still want to worry just about my problems, and not about the problems of anyone else. But as followers of Jesus, we need to be willing to live as servants and look out not only for our own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let's ask God to instill this attitude in our hearts!
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