Lessons From 1 Corinthians – Lesson 7
There are several important principals given to us in Chapter 8. And these principals are given to us using idol worship as an example.
Living in America our first thought about idol worship can be, that was only in ancient times. Or maybe your first thought is since idol worship is where you replace where God should be in your life with something else.
And that can be very true. Especially in America. Some people will make sports their idol, or money, or fame, or entertainers, or fill in the blank.
Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Inordinate affection and covetousness the Bible says is idolatry.
And we can tend to think that literal idol worship is not something really done today.
Actually and to be honest a little bit shockingly, real actual idol worship is around today.
One of the countries that we are blocked from is Bolivia in South America. I happened to be thinking about that as I had to choose a new series on the treadmill and I saw that someone went to Bolivia and recorded a series of 16 workouts.
What I saw shocked me a little. They worship many gods there. One is the god of mother nature. They have a name for her.
The ifit trainer was talking about how much she appreciates their faith. And how she thinks it is so neat that they purchase lama fetuses and bury them under their house as an offering so they can receive blessings.
And then sure enough we walk thru a market and there is a booth with a bunch of dead lama fetuses hanging there that you can buy.
She went to a site of ruins that was hundreds of years old and she had a bag of Coca leaves and at certain places she would stop and offer the leaves as a sacrifice.
On the walk thru the largest city, they built a nice modern street with a large walkway on the side. All laid with a type of stone. It was nice, but the people decided it was for them to burn sacrifices to frog statues.
Actual worship and sacrifices to idols is alive and well in our day. And not just in Bolivia. The ifit trainer that worships idols is from America.
So the principals in Chapter 8 that are given with idol worship as an example is very applicable to this day.
1 Cor 8:1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.
Charity in a general sense, love, benevolence, good will; that disposition of heart which inclines men to think favorably of their fellow men to think favorably of their fellow men, and to do them good.
We need knowledge, we are supposed to learn our Bible and learn what pleases our Lord so that we can act accordingly and please Him. Knowledge is very important. However, knowledge for only knowledge sake. Knowledge without the right heart and motivation can have bad results.
Paul says here that knowledge can puffeth up. It can cause all kinds of pride issues. And the context here is pride that judges. Pride that says I know better than so and so.
And that kind of attitude about knowledge does not help anyone and does not build anyone up. But charity edifies. Charity builds up. The implication here is clear.
We have knowledge, we need it, but instead of getting puffed up, have some charity, have a heart to love, and good will toward others. Give some people some grace about some things.
Give room for people to grow.
I really appreciate verse 2. Talking about knowledge, Paul is basicly saying you may think you know everything about something, but the reality is far different.
1 Cor 8:2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.
You can learn and learn and learn and study and you still knoweth nothing as you ought to know. You don’t know everything, and it is impossible to know everything.
So have some humility. Don’t let what you do know puff you up to thinking you are a know it all. And again this is all in the context of judging and giving people grace to grow and having an attitude of charity toward your brothers in Christ.
There are true believers that have either grown very little or almost not at all. It is not a good thing to take knowledge that you have and apply it in judgment about someone and even to the point of saying they are not saved.
That is being puffed up with knowledge and not having charity.
1 Cor 8:3 But if any man love God, the same is known of him.
God knows who is saved. God knows the hearts, He sees the inside. Man looks on the outward, God looks at the heart. So leave that to God.
So if a person has a salvation testimony, they understand salvation by grace, and they have called upon the Lord with a repentant heart, then I should believe they are saved.
Even if they don’t do everything like they should. And listen, the largest number of saved people will not do everything like they should. 100 percent compliance to God’s will 100 percent of the time is not possible for anyone.
Everyone is just a sinner saved by grace. Everyone still carries that old sin nature. And everyone grows at different rates and everyone is still growing. No one ever arrives this side of heaven.
Paul is often very through and lays a good foundation of principals first and then gets to the main issue. Verse 1 he says the topic is things offered to idols, then Paul quickly gives a few principals that will relate to this topic.
So far we have don’t let knowledge puff you up.
And you can’t know everything as you should. So instead of using knowledge in a puffed up way have charity toward your brother because charity is what builds people up.
And God knows who is saved. That is not your job to determine.
Now we get to the issue of eating things that were offered to idols.
1 Cor 8:4 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.
1 Cor 8:5 For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,)
1 Cor 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
We know that an idol is nothing in the world. Our God is the only God. And we are in Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ, He is everything. Idols are nothing.
We have that knowledge. That is a fact. Period. And we can be strong in that.
So some Christians in Paul’s day would go to the market to buy food and some of it is sold by lost people who are worshipping some false god. And when they butcher the animal, they would pause and offer it before their idol.
And then after that take the food to market and sell it. That short pause between butchering and market did nothing. It changed nothing. The meat is still the exact same. The idol is not real.
But not every believer has learned that. Take for example someone in Corinth who from as soon as they could talk and even before were trained to worship idols by their parents.
Their entire family worshiped idols. That is been ingrained into them. Then one day they hear the gospel and then maybe hear it again and they choose to believe. And they get saved.
They now have a whole lot of things to unlearn. Habits and old superstitions to get over. And some of them can get this frame of mind that somehow eating that meat offered to idols somehow brings shame to our Lord. After all they now know how wicked that false god system is.
1 Cor 8:7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
1 Cor 8:8 But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse.
Again it is reinforced. It does not matter if you eat it or not. God does not care. It makes no difference. I have not personally ran into the meat offered to idols thing. We would if we went to Bolivia.
But I have ran into the principal before. With me it was not meat offered to idols, it was root bear in a bottle. It is root bear. If we drink it we are not worse and if we do not be are not better.
I think it was some kind of church work day or something and I brought with me a virgil root beer in a bottle.
The pastor ripped me up one side and down the other. I was bringing shame to the cause of Christ. No good Christian would ever drink a root bear in a brown bottle. And he would infer that someone who would drink a Virgil root beer might not be saved.
Honest I am not making that up. I guess he never took a good look at 1 Cor chapter 8. Not drinking root beer does not bring us closer to God.
1 Cor 8:7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: … and their conscience being weak is defiled.
Remember the principals that Paul brought up that apply to this topic.
don’t let knowledge puff you up.
And you can’t know everything as you should. So instead of using knowledge in a puffed up way have charity toward your brother because charity is what builds people up.
And God knows who is saved. That is not your job to determine.
At times we all will run into brothers in Christ who are puffed up in knowledge and think that they know everything and who have no charity.
So what to do.
1 Cor 8:9 But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak.
1st realize that they are weak.
2nd have some charity. Give some grace.
3rd Deny yourself the virgil root beer when your weak brother is around. That is what I did. I still drank root beer, but not at the church pot luck. The pastor had a weak conscience and I chose to not be a stumblingblock to him.
1 Cor 8:10 For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols;
1 Cor 8:11 And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died?
1 Cor 8:12 But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ.
1 Cor 8:13 Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.
Sometimes you need to put others before yourself. Even if they are wrong about something.
Remember one of our verses. Without faith it is impossible to please Him. And for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
If eating the meat offered to idols causes my brother to sin then we should not do it when he is present. Have some charity, show some grace, give your wrong brother time and a chance to learn and grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord. It is Charity that edifies.
This is another example that Paul is using for the bigger issue he is addressing and that is I can but should I.
They can eat meat from idols, but in some cases they should not and the reason they should not is for the sake of their weak brother in Christ.