A Love For Liberty-Part One

October 16, 2005 Preacher: Randy Smith Series: 1 Corinthians

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 8:1–3

Transcript

A Love For Liberty-Part One

1 Corinthians 8:1-3
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Pastor Randy Smith



A Christian without love is a contradiction! You can know the Bible inside and out and attend church whenever the doors are open, but if you have not love, your faith is in vain.

We have already learned extensively about the disunity in the Corinthian church. There was jealously, strife, quarrels and divisions (1:10-11; 3:3). Members were siding with their favorite leader (1:12). The problem according to Paul? A lack of love.

Therefore in chapter 13 of this epistle, the Apostle told the church in Corinth, "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing" (1 Cor. 13:1-3).

Love amongst Christians is important, because love is considered one of the dominant attributes of God. In 1 John 4 we read, "God is love" (1 Jn. 4:8, 16). And therefore evidence that we know this God is measured by the degree to which we experience His love and extend His love to others. That is why John said, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. …Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. …If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also" (1 Jn. 4:7-8, 11, 20-21; cf. 2:9-11).

The Biblical Counseling Foundation said, "Learning how to love your neighbor requires a willingness to draw on the strength of Jesus Christ as you die to self and live for Him. Living in this manner allows you to practice biblical love for others in spite of adverse circumstances or your feelings to the contrary." They go on to say, "Loving others in a biblical manner involves your thoughts, words, and actions and is a sign of your being a disciple of Christ. Loving others biblically is dependent on your commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and is not dependent on people, circumstances, or your feelings" (Self-Confrontation Manuel, Lesson 13, Page 1, 27).

I believe the American evangelical church has missed the heart of the Christian message. We have narrowed down the essentials of our faith to a man-made, easily managed, self-protecting set of rules and regulations. If I read my Bible and attend church and avoid cursing, alcohol, cigarettes and rock music and promote sound doctrine, I have every right to believe I am saved. My friends, these things are important, but unbelievers can and have accomplished all of them without the Spirit of God. Whatever happened to the second greatest commandment: To love my neighbor as myself (Mt. 22:39)?

The primary mark of a true Christian is not self-determination to live a moral life or the self-justification to point out others' faults while ignoring your own. The primary mark of a true Christian according to Jesus is love. Love, manifested in us as the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22), grasping, inspiring and influencing every action we take.

As Augustine, the great church theologian once said, "Disturbers are to be rebuked, the low spirited to be encouraged, the infirm to be supported, objectors confuted, the treacherous guarded against, the unskilled taught, the lazy aroused, the contentious restrained, the haughty repressed, the poor relieved, the oppressed liberated, the good approved, the evil borne with, and all are to be loved!"

How important is love for the Christian? Jesus said, "Love one another, even as I have loved you. …By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn. 13:34b-35). How can I call myself a Christian if I fail to love others unconditionally as God loves me by being selective in whom I choose to love (Lk. 6:32-35)? How can I call myself a Christian if I fail to love others sacrificially as God loves me by being protective of my rights and comfort (1 Jn. 4:9-11)?

All this to say, I can follow many principles based on biblical conviction and the Word of God and do it all while missing the essence of the Christian faith. All this to say, the absence of love was another error of the Corinthian church.

Chapter 8-10 commences another section of Paul's letter. We learned in chapter 7 that Paul began to address specific questions addressed to him from the Corinthian church. Often these topics are prefaced by the words "now concerning" (NASB). Chapter 7 dealt with issues concerning marriage and singleness. Chapter 8 begins with these words, "Now concerning things sacrificed to idols."

Idol worship was common in the ancient world. Most, if not all of these Corinthian Christians were delivered out of this detestable practice. They, like the Thessalonians, "turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God" (1 Thes. 1:9). They repented from their former manner of living, however they could not escape from a world still immersed in this evil practice.

You see, the Corinthian culture worshipped many gods and in order to appease these gods, they were required to present them with regular offerings. Quite often these offerings were in the form of meat - and how the meat was distributed is of tremendous significance.

Once the animal was slaughtered, a portion of the meat was burned on the altar to serve as the sacrifice. However, the remainder of the meat was divided between the family who brought the sacrifice and the priest(s) who served in the temple. Since the priest(s) often obtained more meat than he could use, the leftovers were sold to the local butcher at the marketplace and then purchased by the general population. Furthermore this meat often brought the greatest price since it was believed to be free from evil spirits. You see, the people believed evil spirits would invade homes and attach themselves to the food before it was consumed. Therefore the only way to remove the spirits from the food was to offer it as a sacrifice to the gods.

So, how did this practice "concerning things sacrificed to idols" (8:1) affect the church if they were not involved any longer in idolatry themselves?

  • Let's say you were invited to a banquet and you come to find out that the meat being served was some of the demon-free, highly valued meat bought in the marketplace. Could you go to the banquet or should you shun your friends and family?
  • Let's say you are purchasing meat at the local butcher shop. Since the meat previously used for idol worship is not distinguished from other cuts, should you do detective work as to the origin of the meat before making the purchase?
  • Let's say you are dining with a fellow Christian and the person is greatly troubled that you are eating meat that was previously sacrificed to an idol. Should you avoid eating the meat or should you encourage the individual to eat the meat even if it means violating his or her conscience?

These were some of the hotly debated issues in the Corinthian church.

On the one hand, some people believed the meat could contaminate them. It brought back memories from their former pagan life. They felt it might ruin their testimony for Christ. Were these people being too narrow or overly scrupulous?

On the other hand, some believed the meat was only meat. They knew there was no such thing as a pagan god. They understood that evil spirits are not contained in food. Were these people being too permissive or insensitive to sin?

Generally speaking, do these concerns sound familiar? We may not be dealing with meat sacrificed to idols in the American church, but we struggle with other issues that fall into the gray category, issues not specifically addressed in Scripture often entitled: "Christian Liberty."

Certain guidelines are clearly delineated in Scripture. We are called to be kind and giving and evangelistic. We are called to avoid drunkenness and lying and divisiveness. However, what about the gray issues that dominate much of our Christian lives. How do we respond when the Bible is relatively silent on a particular topic? - Playing cards, moderate drinking, television, clothing, dancing, the celebration of a holiday, and the list continues. So I ask again, how do we respond?

For starters, we are not to be legalistic, which means elevating a gray area to a biblical mandate that not only we but also others must follow as well. All Christian decisions are not black and white. Legalists wish to impose their convictions in areas of Christian liberty on others. And soon all of their rules often become more important than the Word of God. This was the error of the Pharisees.

On the other hand, we must not extend automatic unrestricted license to these issues without prayer and counsel and deliberation. We must not crowd God out of our decisions. We must develop personal convictions based upon guidance from the Holy Spirit and general principles in the Word of God.

So as long as these two extremes are avoided (legalism and license), we have Christian liberty to pursue these gray areas as we believe directed by God. We are entitled to develop our own convictions and are called to respect the convictions of others.

But, and here is the crux of the issue this morning, what if my personal convictions become a "stumbling block" for you? In other words, what if exercising my convictions in the area of Christian liberty cause you to violate your conscience and thereby sin against God? Do you need to "toughen up" or do I need to limit my freedoms? That's the question we will seek to answer as Paul uses the matter of meat sacrificed to animals to teach a universal principle much needed in the church today.

1. WE ALL HAVE KNOWLEDGE (1-3)

Let's begin in verse 1. "Now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies."

We have already learned how the Greek culture prided themselves on knowledge. In points 2 and 3 of the sermon we will discuss the specific points of knowledge they boasted in. Namely, they knew that there is no such thing as an idol in the world (verse 4) and food is not an issue with God (verse 8). On both these points they were accurate.

Therefore since they had correct knowledge, the Corinthians concluded eating this meat was permissible regardless of how their actions affected the conscience of another brother or sister in Christ. Right thinking…wrong thinking! Paul says, "Knowledge makes arrogant!"

Let's first examine how this saying has been misused. Throughout the centuries these words have developed into a subtle rebuke of the Christian who desires to learn. You have heard the arguments:

  • "We should be more concerned about being spiritual than being academic."
  • "Increased knowledge breeds divisions in the church."
  • "Intelligent people are always arrogant people."

After all, they claim, isn't this what Paul is saying, "Knowledge makes arrogant."

Paul is definitely not condemning the accumulation of knowledge. If so, he would be contradicting himself and the rest of Scripture. Paul prayed that the Colossian church would "be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding" (Col. 1:9). He wanted them to be "increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10). You know that Solomon was praised by God for choosing wisdom (1 Ki. 3:10). In Proverbs 1:7 we read, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction" (cf. Pr. 19:2a).

So if knowledge is to be sought after, how can Paul conclude that "knowledge makes arrogant?" Answer - Our Christian living does not end with knowledge. Our Christian living begins and ends with love. Love for God and love for others. Therefore the verse continues, "Knowledge make arrogant but love edifies" (emphasis added). Consider with me the following observations based on the connection between love and knowledge:

  1. We must always act in love. Love must guide all our actions. We must love to learn and exercise our learning in love. If we misuse our knowledge we are strong in self-love and weak in brotherly-love.
  2. We are accountable to apply what we know. Being "doers of the Word" demonstrates our love for God and others (2 Jn. 1:6). As Spurgeon once said, "Your knowledge may be a millstone about your neck to sink you down to eternal woe, unless your knowledge is turned to holy practice."
  3. Knowledge by itself breeds arrogance. Knowledge by itself breeds a superiority complex that shuns people who may think differently on non-essential items. It promotes dividing rather than uniting. It's been said, "Some churches grow, but other churches swell." We can be right doctrinally, but exercise it in a wrong way. Knowledge without love is sin. A wise individual once remarked, "Love without truth is hypocrisy, but truth without love is brutality." Few things are sadder than when someone uses Scripture in an unloving manner.
  4. Paul is not trying to dismiss the inseparable connection between love and truth. For example, sometimes the most loving thing we can do is discipline an erring member of the church or wayward child of the home. Paul is only seeking to warn the church that increased head knowledge in and of itself can produce arrogant individuals who use their Christian freedom to run roughshod over others who may not share their convictions.
  5. Knowledge may tell us what is acceptable but love will tell us how to take advantage of our knowledge without causing a brother or sister in Christ to stumble.
  6. Christian maturity is not based on our head knowledge, but rather our ability to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15) and discern how to apply our knowledge for the edification of another. Romans 15, "Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself" (Rom. 15:2-3a). I need to ask myself, does my knowledge, though limited, build up or blow up?

This thought is emphasized in verse 2. "If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know."

Generally speaking, knowledge is an interesting topic. Think about the following questions. Do you know as you ought to know?

  1. Does an increase in knowledge reveal to you how much you know, or does it show you how much you still need to learn?
  2. Does an increase in knowledge fuel your pride, or does it promote humility?
  3. Does an increase in knowledge intensify self-reliance, or does it strengthen Godward dependence.
  4. Does an increase in knowledge prevent you from considering other viewpoints and close your mind to other perspectives? Does it prevent you from extending mercy and forgiveness? Let's remember, only God is infallible and infinite.

Someone once said, "Knowledge is the "process of passing from the unconscious state of ignorance to he conscious state of ignorance, to moving from thinking you know everything to knowing you know (very little)." Do you know as you ought to know?

Specifically speaking, knowledge when exercised in the realm of Christian liberty must consider another believer's sensitivity to an issue. If we exercise our freedom without concern for how it may affect another's conscience, we are not acting in love or as Paul said in this verse, we do "not yet known as (we) ought to know."

Allow me to be clear. Paul is not talking about offending a believer, although we should avoid that whenever possible. Paul is talking about using our Christian liberty at the expense of another's conscience, causing them to violate their conscience and sin.

  • Example number one: Let's say you have fully abstained from alcohol due to a drinking problem in the past. You and another brother go fishing and he pulls two beers out of his cooler. You refuse his offer, but he insists that there is nothing sinful about consuming one beer. Through his desire to drink the beer he gets you to drink the beer and violate your conscience.
  • Example number two: Let's say you have a conviction that it is wrong to listen to secular music. A family invites you over for fellowship after church and they begin to play their favorite Bee Gees album. Not only does the music prick your conscience, but so does the soundtrack that congers up memories from a movie that you wished you had never seen. After politely asking them to turn the music off, they reply by calling you "legalistic."
  • Example number three: Let's say you not feel comfortable celebrating Halloween. You friends from church know that, but still send their four children to your house to "Trick or Treat." Later on they try to convince you that you are narrow-minded since their kids were all dressed as Bible characters.

For any to impose their convictions on another is wrong. You may choose to avoid casual drinking and secular music and Halloween activities. I am not saying any of those are necessarily bad convictions. Yet your convictions must remain your convictions.

But it is also wrong, and this is the point I am trying to make, to flaunt your Christian freedom if it causes other believers to stumble - if it causes them to violate their conscience. It is sin to violate our conscience (Rom. 14:23; Jas. 4:17). And when we cause someone to sin, we are in sin, for not using our knowledge to put another person first by respecting their God-given convictions.

This point is concluded in verse 3. "But if anyone loves God, he is known by Him."

First of all, we know that we only love God because He has first chosen to love us (1 Jn. 4:19). Once we see God's great love for us demonstrated in the sending of His Son to die for our sins (1 Jn. 4:10) and experience God's great love for us through encountering His faithfulness, patience, mercy and grace, we naturally love Him in return. In doing so we solidify the loving relationship that we have with our Creator (Jn. 14:21). As Paul says in verse 3, "(We are) known by Him."

Now, once we have received God's love, God expects us is to share His love with others. God has perfect knowledge of our faults and still grants to us pure and undefiled love. In the same way, we are to grow in our knowledge of God in an effort to receive His love and extend His love to others with faults similar to ours (Phil. 1:9). If we fail to do this, we do not know as we ought to know (verse 2) and we are not known by God since we fail to love others with flaws as He loves us (verse 3).

Walter Chantry in his excellent book, "That Shadow of the Cross - Studies in Self-Denial," tells us how this applies to Christian liberty. "When love for God and love for the brethren fill a Christian's breast and keep self under, there need be no fear of abusing the liberty of things indifferent" (p. 45).

My friends, we do not minimize doctrine nor do we compromise truth. We seek to grow in our knowledge of the Word. But as we do these things, we exercise all of them in love.

Lord willing, we will conclude this chapter next week, but for now, ask yourself the following questions I have been meditating on this week:

  1. Am I exerting my rights or limiting my rights for the sake of a believer?
  2. Am I acting in love with every word I say and every letter I write?
  3. Am I loving others the way I want them to love me?
  4. Am I loving others the way God loves me?
  5. Am I loving others regardless of how they treat me?
  6. Am I promoting my own agenda or what is best for the edification of another?
  7. Are my decisions best for me or best for the unity of the church?

More in 1 Corinthians

April 22, 2007

Edification or Self-Exaltation

April 15, 2007

Everything Minus Love Equals Nothing

March 18, 2007

You Need Us