1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 8:
“Beware Not To Cause Your Brother To Stumble”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked at the second part of Paul’s answers to the
questions which the Corinthian church had written to him about concerning
marriage and divorce
1.1.1. We saw that Paul tells the
people to remain in the state in which they were called
1.1.1.1.We saw that many times
Christians think that if they just move somewhere else or go to church
somewhere else that they will find God’s blessings in their lives.
1.1.1.2.However, since God is
working primarily to make changes within a Christian’s life and heart, not externally,
staying put is usually much more helpful to healthy spiritual growth
1.1.1.2.1.Many times Christians know
that something needs to change in their life and rather than consider the
painful process of seeking the Lord about removing from their life something that
may be hindering them, they instead think that if they just make a change of
location that things will be different and better, but it never is
1.1.1.3.We saw that constantly
digging up a plant and moving it from location to location will never allow it
to build up the root system that it will need for healthy sustainable growth
1.1.2. Paul then gave some further
reasons for why he thought that it would be best not to marry, that is, if they
had been given the gift of celibacy
1.1.2.1.He told them that in light
‘of the present distress’ that it would be better not to marry, but that if
they had not been given the gift of celibacy, then they should plan on marrying
someday.
1.1.2.1.1.The ‘present distress’
referred to the persecution of Christians which Paul saw as beginning to occur
on a more global and systematic basis
1.1.2.2.He told them that the person
who is married has to live to please his or her spouse, and therefore
wholehearted devotion to the Lord is not possible for him
1.1.2.3.We looked at how that more
than anything Jesus wants us to just sit at His feet and learn from Him, and
that we have undistracted devotion to Jesus
1.2.
In our study today we are going to look at how Paul answered yet
another question which the Corinthians had asked him about in the letter that
they had sent him, “Should a Christian eat meat that has been sacrificed to an
idol?”
1.2.1. Paul warns the Corinthians
about how knowledge about God can actually be dangerous or harmful, and that a
Christian must have love for his brothers and sisters as a consideration for
all his conduct
1.2.2. Paul gives the Corinthians
one rule to follow in determining whether or not they should do certain things
that are not spelled out as right or wrong in the scriptures, “Don’t do it if
doing it will cause your brother to stumble.”
1.2.3. When we consider how our
conduct affects others, we ought to take Jesus’ words very seriously when He
pronounced a woe in Matt. 18:6 upon anyone who causes another to stumble in
their faith, “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me
to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his
neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea”.
1.2.3.1.In our world we see
Christians and non-Christians often stumbling in their faith and walk in Christ
1.2.3.2.However, every person, young
or old, is too precious to the Lord for us to allow ourselves to do anything
that will cause them to stumble in their faith
1.2.4. As we look at this chapter,
one of the things that we are made aware of is
that we are to display God’s agape love in our lives and by our
actions. Doing this shows that God’s love
in our lives is primarily not an emotion, but demonstrated by the things that
we do, by our actions
2.
VS 8:1 - “8:1
Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have
knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant,
but loves edifies.” - Paul compares the effects of having knowledge and acting in love
2.1.
In
this chapter and the next, Paul begins a big dissertation concerning whether
Christians should get involved in activities that the Bible did not
specifically forbid as sinful. There
are many activities which people participate in which the Bible does not mention
or is not black and white about. Thus,
we need some some guidelines for deciding
whether or not activities of this category are sinful for us as
Christians to participate in.
2.2.
The
Corinthians had asked Paul whether or not it was right for a Christian to eat
meat that was sacrificed to an idol.
There is much about the culture of the populace of Corinth which helps
us to understand the context of the writing of this chapter.
2.2.1. The society in which the
Corinthians lived was filled with the worship of idols. The people believed that if they didn’t
sacrifice to their gods, which ever they may be, then bad things would happen
to them. The masses believed in evil
spirits, and many were taught that animals could be possessed by spirits, and
that by sacrificing their animals to their gods the meat from them would be
freed from the spirits. The people
would sacrifice part of the animal, give part of the animal to the priests, and
then eat the rest of it. The priests on
the other hand were given so many portions of meat daily that they would sell
the overflow of meat in the market places.
The Grecian people preferred to buy and eat meat which had already been
sacrificed to an idol since it would hopefully be free of evil spirits. Thus, non-Christians from every walk of life
were always eating meat that was sacrificed to idols. One could not go to a social event put on by a non-believer, or
even go to their houses without the possibility that he would be offered meat
to eat that may have been sacrificed to an idol.
2.2.2. It wasn’t a problem to the
Christians who had been saved for a good period of time to eat meat that had
been sacrificed to an idol because they realized that an idol is just an inanimate
object and just because one ate meat sacrificed to an idol it didn’t mean that
they were in any way worshipping any demon or creature other than the one true
God.
2.2.3. However, many of the
Christians who were younger, especially those who had been involved in pagan
religions before coming to Christ would feel much differently about this. These ones in the church were troubled to
see their brothers and sisters in Christ eating meat that they knew had been
sacrificed to an idol.
2.2.3.1.This offended the consciences
of these young believers.
2.3.
The
freedom that Christ has given us is central to the lives of Christians. We have been set free from sin, death, and
the law. The Jewish believers who
understood this truth must have appreciated their freedom in Christ more than
any. However, many Jewish believers
still wanted to go back into legalism, obeying ceremonial laws, etc.
2.3.1. What this chapter in
Corinthians does for us is to provide some principles with which to apply in
helping us to determine whether or not to being involved in conduct and
activities which are not spoken for or against in God’s word, but rather are
gray areas.
2.4.
Some
of the gray areas that the Bible does not speak about and yet many Christians
avoid out of conscience are: social
drinking, smoking, dancing, certain types of music, sporting events, secular
clubs and organizations, watching certain types of movies, watching certain
types of television programs.
2.5.
In
this chapter in Corinthians, Paul gives one main principle from which to judge
whether or not you should participate in these gray areas which the Bible does
not strictly forbid, “Don’t do it if it will cause your brother or sister in
Christ to stumble!”
2.6.
Paul
speaks to the Corinthians pride in saying, ‘we all have knowledge’. Many of the Corinthians were very proud of
what they knew about the Lord. They
knew that an idol was an inanimate thing and that God had created animals for
us to eat, and therefore even if you ate some meat that had been sacrificed to
an idol, you had not sinned as long as you acknowledged that it had come from
the Lord, and you had given thanks for it.
2.6.1. However, Paul shows us that
these ones who were proud of their spiritual insight were not walking in love,
but rather were arrogant towards their fellow brothers and sisters in
Christ. They were only thinking about
themselves, not their brothers and sisters and their well-being.
2.6.2. Many times Christians can
become so selfish and self-centered that they really don’t care what others
think about what they do in their lives.
They can sometimes feel that they are an island unto themselves and what
they do is nobody else’s business.
2.6.2.1.However, each of us who are
Christians are part of one another, as Paul writes later in this book, and thus
the things that we do in our life affect everyone else in the body of Christ.
2.6.2.2.When any part of our human
body begins to live just for itself, regardless of the needs of the rest of the
body, there is a name for this. It is
called, ‘cancer.’ We Christians must
not allow ourselves to live just for ourselves and thus hinder the body of
Christ from being as healthy as it should be.
2.6.3. We Christians need to also
be careful not to be lifted up with pride because of the knowledge of the Lord
which He has given us. It is a
wonderful thing for the Lord to impart much knowledge to His children, however
each of us must be careful not to become arrogant in our use of that knowledge.
2.6.3.1.This is insidious, however
many times Christians who have been saved only by the undeserved grace of God,
can begin to be lifted up in pride and think that they are something
special. I remember as a new believer
that immediately after receiving Christ into my life I was so blown away by how
God could have loved this horrible wretched creature that I was in my sin, to
send His only begotten son to die upon the cross in my place for my sins. I wondered why God would ever have bothered
with a guy like me, and yet He had.
However, within probably a month or so I began to sort of feel like I
was somehow a cut above a lot of other people.
It was as if I had somehow come to think that God was lucky to have me
or that somehow I had deserved God’s blessings in my life. I became an arrogant jerk for awhile until
God used some circumstances to humble me in a big way.
2.6.3.2.Knowledge in and of itself
will just cause a person to be puffed up with pride, as Paul writes in verse
1.
2.6.3.3.Having knowledge alone will
not cause anyone to be able to help anyone in their relationship with Christ,
for Paul writes here that it is ‘love’ that edifies people.
2.6.4. We Christians must exercise
the knowledge that the Lord has given us while also being filled with God’s
‘agape’ love for the people that God has brought into our life.
2.6.4.1.If we do not walk in God’s
love toward people, Paul says in chapter 13 that no matter what kind of radical
things that we might do for the Lord, the only thing that our life will like is
just a “clanging gong” or cymbal.
2.6.4.1.1.All that we do for the Lord
will be in vain if we do not walk in God’s love.
2.6.5. In Philippians 2:3-9,
Paul exhorted the church to follow Christ’s example by humbling themselves,
doing nothing from empty conceit, thinking of others as being more important
than themselves, and thinking not only about their own interests but also those
of others, “3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with
humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than
himself;4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for
the interests of others.5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in
Christ Jesus,6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard
equality with God a thing to be grasped,7 but emptied Himself, taking the form
of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.8 And being found in
appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross.9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and
bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.”
3.
VS 8:2 - “8:2
If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he
ought to know;” - Paul tells the Corinthians that if we think that we have
knowledge that we do not
3.1.
Real
spiritual knowledge according to Paul involved the stark realization of how
little one actually did know about the Lord’s ways.
3.2.
Paul
says that if there were any who thought that they really had the inside track
on knowledge about God, then those ones were actually lacking in the knowledge
of God.
3.3.
Real
spiritual knowledge always involves ‘humility’ in the believers’ life.
3.4.
When
we Christians get glimpses of how great God is, we must also confess how small
and insignificant we are.
3.4.1. We must also realize that we
are totally unworthy of any of God’s many blessings in our lives!
3.4.2. We Christians need to come
to grips with the fact that everything that we have has come to us only through
the incredible grace of God.
4.
VS 8:3 - “8:3
but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him.”
- Paul tells the Corinthians that God
knows those who are His
4.1.
Paul
mentions in this verse what is said elsewhere in the Bible, that the Lord is
intimately aware of and knows all of those who truly love (agape) Him.
4.2.
In
Isaiah 49:16, Isaiah wrote that the Lord has His people inscribed on the
palm of His hand, “16 “Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My
hands; Your walls are continually
before Me.”
4.2.1. Note that Isaiah does not
say that the Lord has your name inscribed on the palm of His hand, rather He
has ‘you’.
4.2.2. This shows us that the Lord
knows all about you for He has every need and every facet of your life
inscribed there on the palm of His hand.
5.
VS 8:4 - “8:4
Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know
that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God
but one.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that in reality there is no such thing
as another god, for other gods only exist in the minds of men
5.1.
In
this verse, Paul seems to be indicating that he was actually answering another
question which the Corinthians had written to him about, namely, “Is it OK to
eat meat that has been sacrificed to an idol?”
5.2.
If
the Corinthians were mature in their thinking and understood God’s word
correctly, then they would know that there is really no such thing as an idol
that has any power over men, and there is no other “god” that exercises power
over man besides the one God who is the creator of all.
5.3.
Isaiah,
in Isaiah 40:12, wrote of the folly of men who create some idol out of
wood or stone and then bow down to it as if it were a god, “12 The blacksmith takes a tool and works
with it in the coals; he shapes an idol
with hammers, he forges it with the might of his arm. He gets hungry and loses his strength; he drinks no water and grows faint 13 The carpenter
measures with a line and makes an outline with a marker; he roughs it out with and marks it with
compasses. He shapes it in the form of
man, of man in all his glory, that it may dwell in a shrine. 14 He
cut down cedars, or perhaps took a cypress or oak. He let it grow among the trees of the forest, or planted a pine, and
the rain made it grow. 15 It is man's fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he
kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he
also fashions a god and worships it; he
makes an idol and bows down to it. 16 Half of the wood he burns in the
fire; over it he prepares his meal, he
roasts his meat and eats his fill. He
also warms himself and says, "Ah! I am warm; I see the fire." 17 From
the rest he makes a god, his idol; he
bows down to it and worships. He prays
to it and says, "Save me; you are
my god." 18 They know nothing, they understand nothing; their eyes are plastered over so they cannot
see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. 19 No
one stops to think, no one has the
knowledge or understanding to say, "Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is
left? Shall I bow down to a block of
wood?" 20 He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a
lie?"”.
6.
VS 8:5-6 - “8:5
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 are
all things, and we exist for
Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by
whom are all things, and we exist
through Him.” - Paul reminds the Corinthians that there is only one God from whom
all of creation has originated
6.1.
Paul
tells the Corinthians that those Christians who are mature in their thinking
must realize that:
6.1.1. The gods that are in the
world are just so-called ‘gods’ since there is only one “true” God.
6.1.2. Though there are many
‘lords’ in the world, there is only one true God.
6.1.3. There is one Father from
whom all things have come into being, and that men were created to ‘exist’ or
live their life for Him.
6.1.4. There is just one ‘Lord’ or
master, Jesus Christ who is the creator of all things that exist.
7.
VS 8:7 - “8:7
However not all men have this knowledge; but some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an
idol; and their conscience being weak
is defiled.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that there are some men, in particular
Christian men, who if they should eat meat that has been sacrificed previously
to an idol, feel in their heart that they have defiled themselves
7.1.
The
Corinthian believers who ate meat that was sacrificed to idols were not wrong
in their understanding that since there is only one God that this meat could
not be tainted by being sacrificed to an idol, for idols only exist in people’s
minds. It was not their understanding
that was wrong, rather it was that by acting upon this knowledge they could
cause a brother to stumble.
7.2.
So,
although there were ones in Corinth who had been Christians for a good amount
of time and had mature thinking regarding things sacrificed to idols and
so-called gods, there were still many young believers who did not have this
same knowledge and wisdom. Those who
had just been delivered from pagan religions usually could not look at the
eating of meat that was sacrificed to an idol as being anything but actually
worshipping the idol and practicing paganism.
7.3.
Also
for many of these new believers in Christ, the eating of meat sacrificed to an
idol brought them into too great of temptations to again begin practicing pagan
religion. Their conscience told them it
was wrong to eat the meat sacrificed to an idol, and therefore they were
actually led into sin as they compromised what their consciences were telling
them. This would then lead them back
into paganism and away from the living God.
8.
VS 8:8 - “8:8
But food will not commend us to God;
we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat.” - Paul
tells the Corinthians that food is a neutral thing spiritually speaking
8.1.
Paul
tells the Corinthians that the eating or not eating of foods is not what causes
men and women to be defiled before the Lord.
The eating of food in and of itself is a morally neutral thing, neither
sinful nor holy.
8.2.
Jesus
taught His disciples in Mark 7:14-23 that what is sinful in man is that
which comes not from the outside but from within him, out of his heart, “14 Again Jesus called the crowd to him
and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a man can make him
`unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes
him `unclean.'" 17 After he had left the crowd and
entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 "Are you so dull?" he asked.
"Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make
him `unclean'? 19 For it doesn't go
into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying
this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.") 20 He went on:
"What comes out of a man is what makes him `unclean.' 21 For from within, out of men's hearts,
come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy,
slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All
these evils come from inside and make a man `unclean'"”.
9.
VS 8:9-10 - “8:9
But take care lest this liberty of yours somehow become a stumbling
block to the weak. For if someone sees
you, who have knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience,
if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols?” - Paul
tells the Corinthians to be careful not to let their liberty be a stumbling
block to the weak brothers and sisters in Christ
9.1.
The
Corinthians had knowledge all right, true knowledge from God’s word that set
them free from the many things they previously had been in bondage to in this
world. However, they needed to also be
careful that their freedom in Christ did not cause a brother who didn’t have
the same knowledge and wisdom to stumble in his faith.
9.1.1. The danger is that a brother
might think that it is all right for him to eat things sacrificed to an idol if
he sees you eating things sacrificed to an idol, and then he may as a result
fall away from Christ and back into paganism.
9.2.
There
is another principle on display in this chapter, and it is seen in these
verses. That is that though some
activities may not in and of themselves be wrong for everyone to participate
in, it is wrong for someone to participate in if he in his conscience believes
that it is wrong.
9.2.1. Each of us as Christians are responsible to our own
consciences. If our conscience tells us
that something that is not strictly forbidden in God’s word is wrong, then if
we do it we are sinning by that action.
For though the same action may not be wrong for another brother or
sister in Christ, it is wrong for us because of our conscience. Paul wrote about this same principle in Romans
14:14-15, “I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is
unclean in itself; but to him who
thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer
walking according to love. Do not
destroy with your food him for whom Christ died”.
9.2.2. We Christians must be
sensitive to this fact, and if we are with a brother or a sister whom we know
has a conviction concerning a certain activity, limit our freedom to not doing
that thing at least while we are with them.
9.2.2.1.To follow this advice is to
walk in agape love and to be careful not to do anything that could cause
someone else to stumble in their faith.
10.
VS 8:11-12 - “8:11
For through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for
whose sake Christ died. And thus, by
sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you
sin against Christ.” - Paul admonishes the Corinthians that it was their correct
knowledge which could actually cause their brother or sister to be ruined in
their faith
10.1.
Paul
tells the Corinthians that though their ‘knowledge’ of the truth of what God’s
word says about many things is a good thing, if that knowledge is not checked
by a higher purpose, that of ‘agape’ love for their brothers and sisters, then
a brother or sister in Christ may be ‘ruined’ in backsliding.
10.2.
Paul
gives us one more principle here, namely that sin against a person is also sin
against Christ, and therefore by causing a brother or sister to stumble, they
were sinning against that brother or sister, and therefore also against Christ.
11.
VS 8:13 - “8:13
Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat
again, that I might not cause my brother to stumble.”
- Paul tells the Corinthians that if it
caused a brother to stumble if he ate meat, then he would never eat meat again
11.1.
In
this verse, Paul brings his exhortation to personal application. Paul tells the
Corinthians that he is even willing not to ever eat meat of any type again if
eating meat might cause a brother or sister to stumble in their relationship to
Christ. Other personal illustrations of
this principle might be:
11.1.1. If you are with a Christian
brother or sister who has a conviction that drinking any alcohol at all is a
sin, then even though you may feel that you have the freedom in Christ to do
that, you should be sensitive to your brother’s conscience and at least not be in
a position for your brother to see you drinking alcohol.
11.1.2. If you are with a Christian
brother or sister who has a conviction that dancing is a sin, then even though
you may feel that you have the freedom in Christ to do that, you should be
sensitive to your brother’s conscience and don’t suggest that you both go to a
discoteque.
11.2.
As
I mentioned at the beginning of this study, we Christians need to be very
careful about what we allow in our lives and how it will affect the people that
God has placed around us in our life.
Causing any person to stumble in their relationship to the Lord is a
very serious offense, and thus Christ warned very sternly about it in Matt.
18:6, “”But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to
stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck,
and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea”.