I love sports. I started playing organized sports when I was five years old, with t-ball, and most of you know I played baseball up to my senior year of college. When I was a kid, I also played soccer, wrestled a little, and even played a little flag football. As a teenager I played baseball, soccer and basketball in high school, and even boxed a little, winning both my bouts by TKO in the second round.
I love sports because there’s two sides of the game, and I don’t mean offense and defense. The two sides I’m talking about is the individual and the team aspects. In every sport there’s both sides, but depending on the sport, one is seen as more important than the other. In most sports, like baseball and football, the team is very important. Every individual has to play their role on the field which can garner them a lot of praise for their work, but if the team doesn’t work together, then the everyone can suffer. In basketball the team is important, but an individual can carry the team through many games. And then there’s a sport like boxing, where the individual seems to be the most important, because boxers are going one-on-one in the ring. But even in boxing, there’s still a team, you have at least one trainer and the more high profile you get, the larger you support team becomes.
No athlete is an island. Every person that participates in sports has a team, either front and center, or supporting them on the sidelines.
And it’s with this understanding of sports having both individuals and team participants that we come back to 1st Corinthians, where we’ll be starting back up in chapter 8 verse 1.
Now as we open up to 1st Corinthians chapter 8 verse 1, let’s recap where we’re at.
As we’ve been going through our summer series, the focus has always been on one word, unity. The reason for this is because Paul makes it his end goal in the very first chapter of his letter. Everything he says after that introduction is meant to bring about unity within the Corinthian Church. This is because the Corinthian Church was fracturing.
So following Paul’s call to unity, he begins to address each of the issues that are causing fracturing within the Corinthian Church. First, the issue of leadership. The Corinthians were fighting over who was following the better leader. Paul addresses this with a call away from the focus on human leadership, and a return to Jesus as the authority over all others. Paul writes that human leadership is there only to nurture the believer, but even human leaders answer to Jesus, and so all of us are under his authority, with no human leader being more important than another.
Second, sin had become acceptable within the Corinthian Church, and so Paul addressed the second problem they were dealing with, which was an unwillingness to judge sin. For the two reasons that Paul gives and that we talked about, the Corinthians were not taking sin seriously, and so they weren’t taking on their role in judging within the Church in these matters. And so, Paul calls them to make righteous judgments in the areas of flagrant sin.
The third problem that Paul addresses, is what we covered last week. The Corinthians, most likely, because of sexual sin running rampant, asked Paul to speak on whether it was right for them to abstain from sexual relationships. It was here that Paul discussed singles and marrieds, revealing that both have their strengths and weakness, and that the goal was to stay away from sexual immorality. So if you needed to get marriage then Paul said do it, if you could stay single, Paul said that he believed that it was better to do so. But the crux of the matter wasn’t just sexual immorality, but rather an unwillingness to be content in the situation where people found themselves in. If we are not content where God has us, then sin will be all the more tempting because it says it has a way to give us more. And so Paul calls the Corinthians to be content, whether married, single, slave, or free.
Now with this refreshed in our minds, let’s return to 1st Corinthians and pick it up in chapter 8 verse 1. Now today we’re going to be covering three chapters. The reason for this is because we are looking for the overarching themes in the books of the Bible during these summer series. And sometimes, in order to see these themes, multiple chapters have to be looked at. So today we will be starting with chapter 8 verse 1, going all the way to the beginning of chapter 11. This means we will not be reading or covering every verse, but rather focusing on those verses that speak to the overarching theme. Then in the following weeks we will return to these chapters, because there are some other things in them, that we need to look at. But for now, let’s open together and read 1st Corinthians chapter 8 starting in verse 1.
1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God.
4 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.” 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 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.
7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 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.
In these verses Paul addresses a common practice of his day that the Corinthian Christians were struggling with. The pagan belief was that spirits would attach themselves to food and try to enter into a person’s body when that food was eaten. The belief was that, in order to cleanse the food of the spirits, it had to be offered up to the pagan gods. This had the dual outcome of cleansing the food and gaining favor with the god. The meat that wasn’t ceremonially burned to the god, was then used in the pagan religious festivals. Finally whatever meat was left over was then sold in the market.
To a converted Gentile, the thought of this was abhorrent, and they were struggling with the idea that eating the food would return to their life before Christ. So Paul reminds them, that these other gods, are nothing, they’re mere idols, and have no power or authority over the believer’s life, and neither does food. In fact as Paul writes in verse 8, “…food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.”
This is a biblical teaching, where Jesus says in Matthew 15:11, “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.”
Paul upholds the biblical understanding that what we eat and what we drink is not the basis of sin, or being spiritually unclean. Rather it is our response to those things that are in fact what causes sin.
And so, if you’re okay with eating the meat, then it’s fine to do so. This simple biblical teaching can manifest itself in a lot of other areas. Drinking alcohol is probably one of the ones that gets brought up a lot. Can a Christian drink alcohol? Well, as we talked about in our word study a few weeks back, the sin is intoxication; so can a Christian drink alcohol, perhaps. Will it cause them to become intoxicated and therefore sin? For me, I know from my life, that I can drink a little alcohol and not be intoxicated or even tipsy. But I’ve know friends who have put rubbing alcohol on their hands and passed out drunk.
This simple biblical teaching let’s us know that there are areas in the Christian life in which there is a little gray. In the Corinthian Church there are those that have no problem eating the meat sacrificed to idols, because they understand that the idols are nothing. Yet there are some that struggle with the idea because of past life issues. So if a person who has no problem eating the meat eats it, did they sin? No. But what if a person who does have a problem eats it, have they sinned? No but yes. They have sinned against their own consequence, not that the meat has made them sin, but their struggle and the power it has given the idol has caused them to sin.
So this should be a clear cut and dry thing. If you have no problem doing something that falls into a grey area fo Scripture, and as long as it is not taken to a sinful point, then you’re fine. But if you do have a problem with something that is not clearly stated in the Bible, even when others don’t, you should abstain from it, if you don’t it will cause you to sin. Simple right? Nope, because of what Paul says in verse 9.
9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.
Paul just threw a wrench into this whole simple idea of I can do whatever I want, and you can do whatever you want. Our individual relationship with God is not that simple. What I do, can lead another into sin, even if what I’m doing is neither condemned within Scripture, nor is condemned by my consequence. And this is where it gets tricky. Because we have two seemingly contradictory ideas here. Take these two verses for example, both written by Paul. In 1st Corinthians chapter 10 verse 33 Paul states, “…even as I try to please everyone in every way…”
But in another letter Paul writes, this time to the Galatian Church, he states in the 10th verses of the opening chapter, “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
These seemly contradictory statements by Paul is, in my opinion outside of the Trinity in theology, one of the hardest aspects of the Christian life to wrestle with. I am my own, but I am not my own. I am freed in Christ, yet I am a slave to him. I can eat whatever I want, but I need to be careful in it because of others.
Especially in our individualized American Christianity, this is hard. What should I care what others think? They need to get over it.
Yet we are both the individual athlete, and one who is a part of the greater team. I must do what I can for both my good and the good of those around me. This is a hard thing to do, because individualism is so intrenched in our way of life, that living out our Christian lives in light of another’s faith seems unattainable or unnecessary. Yet it’s what we are called to.
Let’s walk through this: I come to Christ as an individual, my sins were paid by him on the cross. No one else can take his place, nor can anyone take mine. My individual relationship with God is what moves me to repentance, and to salvation. Yet now when I, the individual have come to God, he brings me into his Church.
Paul writes this in Ephesians 1:15, “5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure (NLT).”
We are now a part of God’s family. And so as a part of God’s family the Church, Paul goes into great detail of how we are to view ourselves as a part of that family. In chapter 9, Paul talks about the right he has as a preacher and apostle. Paul argues that, those who work in full time ministry have the right to be compensated for that work, yet Paul himself has decided to not take this right. He chose instead to be a bi-vocational minister of the Gospel, which is a really hard thing to do, I know, I’ve done it in the past. But this was his choice, he gave up his right.
Then in chapter 10 verse 23, Paul brings up again the Corinthian saying that we’ve talked about before when he writes, “‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but not everything is constructive. 24 No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.”
This goes to an even deeper theological thought that we do not have time to cover today. But suffice it to say that just because a person can do something, doesn’t mean they are in the right to do it. I personally have no problem with the idea of drinking minimal alcohol, but I rarely ever do it for the reason that if someone were to see me buying and they known me to be a pastor, that might cause them to sin. In my life I try to do things that would uplift people in the Lord. Do I always succeed? Far from it.
One time I made a joke that was harmless to me and the person I made it with. But that person told another person, and that third person took offense to it. That little joke between two people, was one reason that third person gave for walking away from their faith. So, I try very hard to watch what I say with people now. Not because I think that what I did was wrong, but that joke was taken as something that hurt another’s faith.
Can we be people pleasers? No, we can only seek to please God, yet as we seek to please him, we need to begin to ask questions like, are there things that I do, that I’m fine with, but others could stumble over? Is it a hill I’m willing to die on? Can I live without this thing? If the answer is yes, I can live without something for the sake of another, then by all means let’s get rid of it.
Paul’s words in chapter 10 verse 31 have become a staple thought in my life, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.”
Whatever we do, we’re individuals who are a part of a team. Our desires as individuals should be to glorify God, and if there are things that I can do to help another, that are not sinful nor are they required by God of me, then why not?
It’s easy to fall into the mindset that my faith is purely individual. That what I do only effects me, but the reality is, our walk with God is a community life, and the way in which we conduct ourselves can have lasting impact on those around us.
So what must we do? First, we must seek to help those who have convictions that we do not, we do this by not participating in those things that are not essential. Is drinking alcohol essential to the faith? Is, eating certain foods essential to the faith? Are certain clothes essential to the faith? Are certain political stances essential to the faith? Wherever we can, we must make allowances for each other and not hold onto the non-essentials of our faith. Second, if we are on the other side and hold to convictions that others do not, we must give grace to them. Allow them the freedom that is in Christ. Not everything we disagree with is a sin, and only when something is a blatant sin or a non-essential is taken to a place of sin, do we need to speak up.
My father gave me this example years ago that has stuck with me. A man in the church smokes, and the members of the church chastise him for it, “You’re body is the temple of God and you’re destroying it with cigarettes,” they say, “That’s a sinful act and you need to quit.” But what they don’t know, is that God was working on fixing his marriage because he had an adulterous relationship, and it’s that, that God is focusing on. The cigarettes, though bad, were a less important matter in the grand scheme of things.
This is my challenge to you this week, what are the essentials to the faith? Have you ever thought about that? I want to challenge you write down what you believe are the essentials to the Christian’s walk with God. Then, once that is done, make another list of things you do, that others might say of you, that’s not what a Christian should do, and in that list, cross out everything that you could live without if needed.
There are certain things that a Christian cannot reject, Jesus as Savior and the only way to the Father is one of those things. So let’s narrow our lives to the essentials of the faith, all the while being mindful that God works with others as individuals and their convictions over non-essentials might be different than our own. Let’s examine our lives and be prepared to cut out the non-essentials, when needed.
Let us take seriously the call on our lives to be a part of the Church, by being humble with our own lives, and gracious with the lives of our brothers and sisters. When we do this, harmony and unity will overflow from our lives, and people will experience the God whom we serve. Amen.
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