Book of 1 Corinthians - Ch. 8, Vs. 1-13 (01/07/2001)

Park Meadows Church

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1 Corinthians 8 verse 1. Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we have all knowledge.

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Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. The more a gracious man knows, the more humble he is, because his knowledge shows him his own wickedness.

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But the more a carnal man knows, the more proud he is, because he knows not himself.

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His knowledge is not only a temptation to pride, but the very matter of his pride.

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We're in 1 Corinthians 8. Paul is going to discuss a little bit of things offered unto idols.

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We don't have idols as they did, but we have idols. And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

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Man's wisdom is but conceit, who is only wise in his own eyes.

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But if a man love God, the same is known of him. The apostle does not say what, if a man knows

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God. If any man love

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God, the same is known, that is allowed, accepted, and approved of him.

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Now true love to our neighbor is a good evidence of our sincere love to God.

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We cannot hate our neighbor and love God. And if we love our neighbor truly, we dare not scandalize our neighbor sinfully, nor offend.

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Only here we must take notice that by offending the weak, it is not meant displeasing them, but by offending them is meant laying a stumbling block before them.

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Which may occasion their fall into sin. What are some stumbling blocks? Bill? One stumbling block is for a person who pretends to be a

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Christian. A weak person.

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Alright. What's another? Another stumbling block is to be secure in the church.

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Alright. Alright. Okay. Alright.

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I go to church because my father did. What do you mean legalism?

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Alright. Another stumbling block. Roger? We're still half asleep.

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Brother Bancroft. Alright.

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Joy? Well, but how could that be a stumbling block?

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And you lead others. Alright. Failure to study the word.

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Well, he says, as concerning, therefore, the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other god but one.

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What difference does it make, Bill, in eating things offered to an idol?

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Well, it wouldn't make any difference if everybody recognized that what he just said, that an idol is nothing, that there is only one

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God. But the fact of the matter is, not everybody believes that, not everybody knows that.

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And so, you are in some way, to some people, a certain homage to that idol, when you favor the things that were given to him.

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So, in the eyes of others, you act as if you are worshipping that idol.

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Alright. Alright. What about eating pork?

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I'm sorry, can you direct that, please? No, anybody. Looks like I have to direct it, though, to get...

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Are you talking about eating pork? Yes. Well, there's nothing wrong with eating pork.

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See, if it does, you shouldn't eat it. Alright, what if you know that? If you know that it offends you, then you shouldn't eat it.

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Alright, if you do, it becomes a stumbling block. The application of that answer to things offered to idols.

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I grant, he says, that an idol is indeed vain imagination, and that there is but one

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God and Lord, and therefore that food cannot be made either holy or profane by the idol, but it does not follow that a man may, without regard of what they are, use those foods for any other reason.

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We have today accepted things into our society that we really do not look at as being idol worship.

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But what if you're in a hurry to get home to watch the ball game? For though there be that which are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be gods many and lords many, but to us there is but one

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God, the Father of whom are all things, and we in him, and the one

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Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

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Here the apostle tells them that although the heathen idolaters acknowledge a plurality of gods, some in heaven as the sun, the moon, stars, some on earth as men and beasts, they having their celestial and terrestrial gods and lords, but these were only called gods, that is,

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God in name, not in nature, not in reality.

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I think most of us would not call something a god way far past that, but I think also that some of us place things close to God.

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But in us there is but one God. There can only be one

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God, the Father of whom are all things, and we in him, and one

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Lord Jesus Christ, by whom all things are, and we by him.

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Now, what does it mean there is but one God? Clarence?

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Well, it means that God is sovereign and he's the only one.

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There's no such thing as power and ability.

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We may place those images ahead of God, and not give him the proper time and worship, but for what our creator, there is one

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Lord in heaven and earth. All right. The Father of whom we all, the

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Father of whom are all things. Harvey, what about that?

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All right, could God create another God? Clarence?

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Well, I think that's a question for me to answer, because what happens is, if you say that God is all powerful, then he can do anything that he deserves to do.

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But to create another God, be another God would be as powerful as him, so there would be more than one

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God. So he wouldn't do that, so I don't think he would. If this doesn't exist, it cannot exist today.

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All right. He's the eternal, so God would have to exist for eternity.

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So he couldn't really create another God. All right.

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Of whom are all things, and we in him.

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Now, what does that include? That includes the fact that God does separate himself.

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He needs another God. He's God the Father, God the Son, and God the

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Holy Spirit. So one God in three persons. Now, if we're in him, then we can only be in him.

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All right, that's pretty good. When did we appear in him?

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Oh, no way, man. In the beginning. When was the beginning?

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I don't know. Well, from those that, when would he be in us?

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When would he be in us? God did. Is that the same answer, or is that different?

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Well, it all depends on how you look at it. Both questions demand that answer.

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He would be in us since we're us. We've been in him forever.

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It's a little hard for my mind to comprehend forever. It's just the absence of time.

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Yes. I recall sometimes, too, that words like in can be off to, not always in, but for, or to, things of this nature.

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And it could mean that we are for him. All right.

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He is the God, he is the creator, and we were created. All right.

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That's good. One Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things.

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Now we come down to all things. Are by who?

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What does it mean, all things? Everything, God, all things.

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Do you agree with that? I can't hear your head.

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I do. Yes. All right. Yes. Heard what?

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No, I don't, no. That's everything he does.

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Now, somebody else's hand was, yes. Yes, please. Yes. To all things, whose class is sixteen and seventeen, for by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be trunks or dominions or principalities or powers.

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All things were created by him and for him, and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

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All right. Now, we come down, and we by him.

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What does that mean? We were created by him?

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We were? Then we have not always been. Yes. He created us in the beginning.

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The last time he went, he was a man. Well, that's the physical man.

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The, um, we were created by Christ. Created in Christ.

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Was Christ from the beginning? You sure? You're real sure of that?

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Is that your last answer? That's right. That's right. That's how it is. That's how it is.

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Well, one does not regard the persons but the nature. This word by does not signify the instrumental cause but the effect.

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For the father and son work together, which is not so much so to be the, to be taken that we should make two causes out of it, seeing that they both have but one nature, though they are distinct persons.

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They have but one nature. The, in the beginning was what?

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God. Now, were all things in God? All right.

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What about sin? Well. No.

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Sin is not really a thing. Sin is the absence of a thing.

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The absence of a thing that sin is, is the absence of God. Well, I'd have trouble disagreeing with that.

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Maybe not absence, but it's not exactly what I mean. Maybe separation is better what

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I mean. Absence of a thing is the absence of God. What do you think?

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All right, let's go a little bit further. Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge.

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What's he mean by that? That knowledge that idols are nothing. All right.

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There is one and only one God. All right. Everybody doesn't know that. Is that true today?

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Today. For some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol.

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And their conscience being weak is defiled. Everything goes back to the mind, does it not?

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Whether it's an idol, whether it's a God, whether it's not God, everything goes back to the mind.

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That an action which is lawful in respect of ourselves may yet be a sin if done in respect to others.

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Do we understand that? That an action which is lawful in respect to itself or to ourself may yet be a sin if done by others with respect to them.

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Do you understand that? This is a hard crowd.

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The action which is lawful in respect to ourselves may yet be a sin if done by us with respect to others.

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Explain it. That being what is lawful for us in our freedom in Christ not to be a sin if we exploit it before one does it.

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All right. I think you've got it. Encouraged by our example may do the same act but do it with the same, but not do it with the same intent.

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It goes back to the mind. As in the case before us and that this before us is eating meat that is offered to an idol.

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I can eat anything. I don't eat anything, but it's certainly lawful for me to eat anything, even a bug.

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But it's not lawful for me to eat something that another person has decided you shouldn't eat that.

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The sight of one Christian eating things offered unto idols who knows that an idol is nothing in the world, they may harden, embolden, and encourage others to do the same.

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Well, what would be wrong with that? Am I not communicating with you?

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Because their intent would be different. Their intent, if they did it, they would do it believing that what they were doing.

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And so that would cause them a likelihood of sin.

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Or it would be a sin to them. And therefore we would have been a son of God.

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All right, David. But if they can't do it, they've sinned.

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So, just like Bill said, if everybody happens to sin and they do it anyway because they saw you do it, then they're sinning.

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Even though you're not? But you're not if you're not aware of it. All right.

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But if you leave your brother to do it anyway, then you're sinning. All right.

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What is right for one person can be wrong for another person.

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Yes. Mr. Douglas, I've got a question. All right.

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Back a few years ago, when the Catholics had a more peaceful movement, a peaceful pride, or even the day that the

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Jewish outlawed on the streets of Matthew, or any kind,

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I don't reward them with either one of those things. I'm either a Jew or a

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Catholic. I'm glad you told us. Am I?

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But I do reward them to be a Christian. All right. If I eat more fish fried.

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If you eat it where they can see you. Sort of. If I went in a public cafeteria knowing that there were, or is it?

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Well, if you want to get technical about it, yes. Who's talking?

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Okay. All right.

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So that would be a good example. This is what we're talking about.

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You should not attack someone like that. That's a real problem. Myron's the same way.

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He's not Jewish. He just, you know, to him it's just, right, borders on sin.

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Myron's not Jewish? No. He's not. No. Well, I've never asked if he's not

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Jewish. Sammy Davis Jr. was. But he borders on him thinking it's sinful if you eat a lot of fat in it and stuff like that because you're killing the body.

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So people like that, you have to be a little careful what you eat in front of them,

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I think. All right. Trudy? I disagree with that in the sense that they claim to be scholars and Christians of the word of God and God has blessed everything.

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And if they agree to the New Testament, well, so then you disagree with the Bible, David.

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Well, yeah, I'm just saying they don't agree and so therefore you can't make them stop. Well, then you need to show them

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Scripture. Look, God has blessed it. It's all mine. You can try that.

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I've tried that. It doesn't always work because they believe the strong believes you and I do the other way.

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All right. Let's keep the questions and answers oriented up here.

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No, just a minute. Whatever your name is.

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Yes. Well, I want to say you eat it at home and forget about them.

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But if it is a real problem to them, then you need to talk to them. Yes. And say that this will offend them.

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At that time, you can, by faith, trust the Lord that he has prompted that and not offend your brother in that area.

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He won't prompt you at home when you're sitting there eating with your family and not have that prompting of the

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Holy Spirit. He won't say, if you eat this now, your brother is going to be thinking this.

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But with your brother there in front of you, he will prompt you. If you are not heavy -weighted in sin and confess and you're not clear before God, which you try to be every day by repentance and coming to him and confessing our sins, then the

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Holy Spirit will speak to you. You'll be in line and that person will look at you and you'll look at him and the Holy Spirit will remind you that this is an offense to him.

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And he's got this. And that's called operating with faith and walking in the

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Spirit. All right, Joy. All right, I think we need to go to chapter 9 of 1

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Corinthians here, 19 and 20. For though I be free from all sin, yet have

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I made myself servant to all that I might gain for. So it's a matter of being concerned about that brother who is not quite where you are, to let

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God bring him where you are. And then verse 20. And unto the Jew I became as a

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Jew that I might gain. The Jew. So all is said, we need to be discerning.

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All right. In the Spirit. Yes, Fred. Rather, I just wouldn't it be much the same as two individuals, a

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Christian and a Jew, living on the same floor of an apartment house.

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And they are, they see each other every day. They love each other as though perhaps better than their own brothers.

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So the non -Jew, I think, might have her own kosher kitchen, so to speak.

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She might have dishes that she serves only when they come, but serves out of the others when they're there.

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But she does preserve that ritual in honor of them, in honor of God's admonition to us.

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That's the way I picture it. All right. The approach that I've always taken, and I haven't been wrong yet, is to become as much one of them as you possibly can without violating your

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Christian principles. Yes. I think that's what I said.

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I think that, remember that it's unto Christ that we're doing it. It's not that animal. That's right.

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It's unto him. And say, Lord, it's because I don't want to offend you.

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Because he goes back to the cup, and you give a cup of water to someone in his name.

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So the same thing if you sacrifice, although he doesn't require sacrifices. He requires obedience to him.

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But if you do it unto him, and say, then, Lord, I leave it in your hand, which is what the prophet was pretty much talking about, then that is pleasing to him.

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Because it's done unto him. All right. Eight. But me commendeth us not to God.

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For neither if we eat are we the better, neither if we eat not are we the worse.

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So all of this is kind of beside the point. And you have to be aware of who you are and where you are at any given moment.

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And if the Jew is there, or the non -Christian, or a weak

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Christian. We're talking about weak Christians, really. If the weak

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Christian is there, then I wouldn't do it.

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But I'd sure spend time trying to educate him. As if the apostle had said, it is not the eating or the not eating that makes a man either better or worse.

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More or less acceptable in the sight of God. But we must take great heed, lest by our example other take occasion to worship the idol.

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You therefore ought to sow heed as to give occasion to the fall of your weaker brother.

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But take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak.

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I heard somebody speak that a moment ago. Take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block to them.

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Now we're talking about the weak Christian. Still the apostle holds forth this truth to us.

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That much such a man certainly sins who uses his liberty so that it becomes a snare and a stumbling block to the weak brother.

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But by emboldening and encouraging him into sin, that's what we don't want to do.

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For if any man see thee which has knowledge that it meet in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idol.

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Who are fully informed in regard to the real nature of the idol worship.

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You will be looked upon as an example. You will be presumed to be partaking of this.

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This will thus encourage him and he will feast in honor of the idol.

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And though thy knowledge shall be weak, and through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom

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Christ died. Now, for through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom

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Christ died. Sounds like a contradiction. All right.

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That means that through your knowledge, through your freedom, that brother, but should you tell him he's got to be that way and offend him to the point where he loses ground?

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That's the whole point of it. We have to be sensitive to our weaker brothers. Well, it's the word perish

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I'm hung up on. All right,

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Greg. All right, same person, only he's...

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All right. Clarence? He's going to ruin him or we have to sin for the weak brother to not perish as far as if he's a chosen one and has eternal life and not lose his salvation because when

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Christ died. But I think if you could cause him to sin...

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Yes, Russell? In some cases, the word perish, but the word can follow.

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All right. This is an impossible situation. The 11th verse is a question, it's not a statement.

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Much as I would say, would your coming to church today cause you to sin?

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No. All right. So that question that he's placed there is really in the line.

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He's telling me because of the weakness he has in the mind, will he feel this way, right?

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Yes. So you being aware of that he is weak in that area should give him that opportunity to not do that and you do it as a guide and then in that process he'll be strengthened.

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All right. The whole thing is this. And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom

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Christ died. Your knowledge does not affect the other person in any way salvation -wise.

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Your knowledge affects only the circumstances. And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom

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Christ died. If Christ died for him, he's going to be saved. I like, was it

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Greg's analogy of it? Roger? Verse 10.

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It says, if any man see thee which he has knowledge. Okay, so this person is completely knowledgeable.

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Yet he still sits at me. Okay. In verse 11 it says, and through thy knowledge.

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So what it's saying is, because you're known to be an upright, standing individual, a strong Christian, just because you do it, it's not going to automatically make that weaker person say, oh,

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I've seen the light, I can do it too. We were saying that just because you think that you're knowledgeable or others think that you're knowledgeable, it's still their right to question your actions.

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And you might think, well, hey, I know what's right, I know what's wrong. And you just need to do what

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I tell you to do. Yeah. That ain't going to cut it. Yeah. I remember a pastor friend of mine, when he was, when he first accepted

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Christ in the manner that he was old, later in life, and realized his standing, and started going to church.

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And he said, well, you know, I'm going to start reading God's word. I'm going to start with Genesis. So he started reading

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Genesis. Well, it wasn't long before he realized that as good Christians we need to sacrifice.

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So he went to the pastor, who he admired tremendously. And he said, Pastor, I think you're wrong.

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Because if we don't sacrifice, we need to. And where's the alternative? Well, you know, here's this young Christian thinking that somebody like a pastor and elders in the church at that time were wrong, because they didn't sacrifice.

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Just because we think that we have been saved for so long and know so much of the scriptures, it's not automatically going to sway people in what we think is right and wrong.

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But when you sin, so against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

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All sin is against who? Christ. You do not sin against your neighbor unless, well, the sin belongs to Christ.

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You wrong your neighbor. Wherefore, if me make my brother to offend,

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I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.

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From the whole of the apostles' discourse in this chapter, we learn that it is the duty of Christians in matters wherein they are at liberty by the law of God to do a thing or to not do a thing, and to take that part which they see will give least occasion of sin unto their brethren, and to avoid that part which, if taken, will certainly give occasion unto others to sin.

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That's what the whole chapter is about, is that it is in the mind, we should not give occasion knowingly to others, and now we're talking about eating, it can be in anything.

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So we're not to give occasion to others to find fault with us, because we know more than they in the scripture, let's act like we know what they know and bring them along, so they will not be offended and stumble.

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Alright, any word from anybody now? You all have done well this morning. Anything else?

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There is a paragraph going over here,

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I wrote it. It says reasonably clear, if any man see thee, shall the conscience of him be emboldened, and we brother perish.

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So, if he sees you, he's emboldened to do wrong, and if not his salvation which he can't prove today, he has it, but at least his spiritual wall will be damaged or destroyed.

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Now, if those three things happen, then you have sinned, but you haven't sinned against him, you've sinned against Christ.

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Alright, Clarence, you want to say something? I was trying to look for the scripture to read, but I was in the scripture this week, and I think it's in Mark, but it talks about where they were running up wanting to ask

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God, you know, who is the greatest, who could be greater, and he clearly told them, if you choose to be great, you have to be a servant to all.

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And so that attitude is to serve them, to try to serve that person, and that is the greatness that the

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Lord requires, because Jesus himself humbled himself to the point of being a servant to all, he didn't.

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And so, the greatness comes in not showing them that, but serving them in that area in the coming long time.

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Alright, Roger, I mean Russell. Yeah, verse 8 says, chapter 8, verse 1 says, knowledge of love as divine, for everything we do should be frank in love.

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Alright, then. We have knowledge, but knowledge itself, we don't always exercise our knowledge of love, but we should.

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That's right. God gives us unconditional love, no matter what we would be doing, we would be utilizing our knowledge, frank in love.

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Alright, is there another word? If not, we'll stand and be dismissed.

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Dennis, would you dismiss us please, sir? Lord, we thank you for this morning.

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We look to other brethren in order to consider their thoughts and actions, to bring each other closer to you.

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Lord, we just want to consider your presence in our minds, and your love toward other people.

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Lord, we thank you for this glad hour of glory. May your ministry be a person of peace, knowledge, and the glory of the