How to Build in Love

Series on I Corinthians

V Meat Sacrificed to Idols

B The Ignorant, Text: 8:7-13

Title: How to Build in Love

Introduction

In our last discussion we saw how knowledge by itself puffs up, but knowledge combined with love is the true wisdom from above which is peaceable and does not slander or gossip about our brother in Christ. When knowledge is combined with love, it comes alongside to help. Here in this Scripture Paul is dealing with the ways in which the Corinthians could show love, and be positive instead of negative. In his teaching Paul lays precept upon precept. Patiently he explains by asking them first of all, to consider the facts, and secondly, to commit themselves to the fellowship.

I Consideration of the Facts

i think we can assume that the people who wrote to Paul were those who knew that meat that God had created was good if it was received with thanksgiving, and the fact that it had once been used in idol worship did not affect the meat itself. They probably assumed therefore that Paul would simply confirm their view and encourage everyone to eat without any problem in their conscience. After all they were right, weren’t they? Now here is a perfect illustration that being intellectually right isn’t always the answer. Paul does not simply approve their conduct. He says you need to consider two facts.

A Ignorance

On the one hand there is ignorance. Jesus did indeed say that it is not what goes into a man’s mouth that defiles him but what comes out. You eat something, it goes into your digestive system and is gone, but what comes out of your mouth reveals the condition of your heart. The principle is manifestly true according to verse 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. But verse 7 reminds us that some people do not yet grasp the significance of this truth, 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. They lack knowledge and therefore they are weak. In making this observation it is not Paul’s desire to condemn these people. He is asking them to consider the facts. the reality is that the Church has people who are weak and ignorant and it always will. They need consideration, patience, love, and forgiveness. And now Paul really gets down to it. They may know there are weak people but they have the wrong attitude toward them, and they need to consider the second fact.

B Independence

Not only is their a problem with ignorance, there’s a problem with independence as verse 9 says, Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. You see, Christ has made us free through his redeeming love. If the Son shall make you free you shall be free indeed, and that freedom includes not having to obey the commandments of men. It includes not being subjected to the ignorance of others. But says Paul, there is a difference between freedom and independence. You may be free but you are not independent of your brothers. Consider the criticism of one group in our society by another. You hear it every day. As many point out, we have free speech. We can speak our opinions. But it is not always good to voice them. That profligate Oscar Wilde once wrote, “Selfishness is not living as one wishes to live; it is asking others to live as one wishes to live.” You are your brother’s keeper. You must not become a stumbling block to him. So whatever your brother’s weakness is or whatever his confusion you need to remember that in the body of Christ we depend upon one another. We are not free from putting Christ first and therefore we are not free from the obligation to put one another first. With these things in mind Paul proceeds to the idea of commitment.

II Commitment to the Fellowship

This is all about a commitment to caring. Pursuant to that Paul gives us two thoughts. As he gave us two facts to consider he now gives us to consequences to consider. The first is my influence and the second is my intention. Others are affected by both of these.

A Influence

Verses 10 and 11 remind us that no man is an island, 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. I remember the astonishing audacity of a woman who was separating from her husband because of an affair with another man. She sat in R.C. Sproul’s office and said, “This is private, it’s my business, who am i hurting?” R.C. Sproul took out his appointment book and showed her over thirty appointments with children, relatives, friends, neighbors, fellow-workers, and employers all concerned and troubled over what what was happening. Our actions have consequences for others. Paul says consider the effect your conduct is having on your brother in Christ. but he sums the matter up in verses 12 and 13 declaring his intention.

B Intention

Verses 12 and 13 make us think about our intentions, When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 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. This is an intention we all need to think about. At the bottom of the trouble in the Corinthian church was selfishness . Someone has written about the Lord’s prayer, You cannot say the Lord’s prayer, and even once say “I”. You cannot pray the Lord’s prayer, and even once say “My”. Nor can you pray the Lord’s prayer and not pray for another. For when you ask for daily bread, you must include your brother! For others are included in each and every plea. From the beginning to the end of it, it does not once say “me”. Calvin Miller commenting satirically on the modern church paraphrased the first line of the Lord’s prayer as “Our Father who art in heaven, gimme, gimme, gimme.” This was the problem in Corinth, but Paul understood the love of Christ. He knew that Jesus, the Son of God came into this world to lay down his life for his church, his bride. To sin against a brother or to be uncaring and lacking in compassion toward the weaker brothers was to do to Christ exactly what we would do to them. Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my brethren you have done it unto me. Jesus’ love identifies him so completely with each of us in our weakness that it is an assault directly on him when we do not show patience with the weak. Indeed it leads to Paul’s vow that he would never do anything to hurt his brother. The other day my Father-in-law was commenting about a difficult person and he said How can you love somebody like that? I said because Jesus loved you. You see, it cost him a lot more to love you then it will ever cost you to love your Brother. A fable is told of Jesus and His disciples walking one day along a stony road. Jesus asked each of them to choose a stone to carry for Him. John, it is said, chose a large one while Peter chose the smallest. Jesus led them then to the top of a mountain and commanded that the stones be made bread. Each disciple, by this time tired and hungry, was allowed to eat the bread he held in his hand, but of course Peter’s was not sufficient to satisfy his hunger. John gave him some of his. Some time later Jesus again asked the disciples to pick up a stone to carry. This time Peter chose the largest of all. Taking them to a river, Jesus told them to cast the stones into the water. They did so, but looked at one another in bewilderment. “For whom,” asked Jesus, “did you carry the stone?” In the Church today brothers are critical of one another. We are no different than the church at Corinth. We are so convinced that we are right and we probably are, but we are still wrong if we do not show the patience and forgiveness and defer to our brothers in love when the issue is not critical to the integrity of the gospel.

Conclusion

In the end perhaps each of us thinks that if we do not make everything right then it never will be. i suspect that’s the way the Corinthians were thinking. but that’s not the way it works. In the end our prideful efforts to make things perfect generally impede the growth of the fellowship. Respect and love for one another’s strengths and weaknesses do the opposite. They create an environment in which we all grow much more quickly into the mature man that Christ desires.