Principles of Christian Liberty – Part 1: Introduction & Food Offered to Idols, 8/16/26

Welcome again to each one on this Lord's Day.

We're going to be looking today at 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8. The title today is Principles of Christian

Liberty. We're going to be looking at the introduction

and the matter of food offered to idols. It says

part 1. Our text is the whole chapter of 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8. It is written to us. Now concerning

things offered to idols, we know that we all

have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love

edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything,

he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But

if anyone loves God, this one is known by him.

Therefore concerning the eating of things offered

to idols, We know that an idol is nothing in

the world, and that there is no other God but

one. For even if there are so -called gods, whether

in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods

and many lords, yet for us there is one God,

the Father, of whom are all things, and we for

him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom

are all things, and through whom we live. However,

there is not in everyone that knowledge. For

some, with consciousness of the idol, until now

eat it as a thing offered to an idol, and their

conscience, being weak, is defiled. But food

does not commend us to God, for neither if we

eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are

we the worse. But beware, lest somehow this liberty

of yours become a stumbling block to those who

are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge

eating in an idol's temple, will not the conscience

of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those

things offered to idols? And because of your

knowledge, shall the weak brother perish for

whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against

the brethren and wound their weak conscience,

you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes

my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat,

lest I... Make my brother stumble. Let's pray

together. Father, we thank you for this day and

for the privilege of looking at this passage

in your word. I pray, Lord, that you would speak

to us, that you would illuminate us, Lord, by

the power of the Spirit. Please help us to understand

this passage as it applies to us today, Lord,

even as it was written to the Corinthians so

many years ago. Please open our eyes, Lord. Grant

me the ability to speak forth your word in a

way that is clear and plain and that speaks to

the heart. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. In this

chapter, Paul moves on from his former conversation

in chapters 5 and 6 and 7, and he begins to answer

a new question. The question is, what about the

matter of eating food offered to idols? This

actually begins a whole new section in the book

of 1 Corinthians, a section on idolatry and the

proper worship of the one true God, and goes

up until the end of chapter 14. But within this,

Paul is going to give profound and comprehensive

instruction and discussion on the matter of Christian

liberty. Now the subject of liberty is one that

is found throughout the scriptures. David says,

so shall I keep your law continually forever

and ever. And I will walk at liberty for I seek

your precepts. Psalm 119 verse 44 and 45. Jesus

Psalms 119:44

proclaims that he is the fulfillment of the one

sent to set at liberty those who are oppressed.

In Luke chapter 4, verse 18 and 19, which is

Luke 4:18

the fulfillment of the prophecy by Isaiah. Indeed,

as Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse

2 Corinthians 3:14–18

14 through 18, where the Spirit of the Lord is,

there is liberty. And we then as Christian believers

must watch out against those who come in by stealth.

Or by deceit to spy out our liberty in Christ.

So that they might bring us again into bondage.

This is Paul's declaration in Galatians chapter

Galatians 2 · chapter mention

2 and verse 4. He exhorts them saying, Stand

fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ

has made us free. And do not be entangled again

in the yoke of bondage for you brethren. have

been called to liberty. Only do not use liberty

as an opportunity for the flesh, but by love

serve one another. Galatians 5 .13 Thus it is

the will of God that by doing good you may be

able to put to silence the ignorance of foolish

men as free, and yet not using liberty as a cloak

for vice, but as bondservants of God. 1 Peter

2, 15 and 16. But what does Christian liberty

mean? How do we apply it? In order to understand

this, we need to understand there's two broad

categories of liberty in the scripture. There

is Christian liberty of conscience. And there

is Christian liberty regarding our freedom in

Christ. and in things indifferent. Let me explain.

Liberty of conscience. This is where good Christians

disagree on areas of Christian doctrine in those

matters that are not matters of first importance.

Matters of first importance are basic doctrines

in which we must believe in order to be a Christian,

to be a faithful Christian, such as the doctrines

of God, the doctrine of the Trinity, the authority

of the Word, and so forth. These great truths

are summarized in the great creeds of the faith,

such as the Apostles and the Nicene Creeds. We

stand together in one gospel, but we may disagree.

Disagree in what? Disagree in matters such as

the proper time or the mode of baptism. Or the

full meaning of what the Lord's Supper is. Or

what separation from the world looks like exactly.

Or eschatology, the doctrine of the end times.

Now these are all important issues. They should

not be swept aside or overlooked. But at the

same time, faithful Christians disagree and we

can still love one another and we can receive

one another as Christian believers. This is fully

developed or further developed in Romans chapter

Romans 14 · chapter mention

14, which we're not going to look at today. Liberty

of conscience. also includes freedom from the

doctrines and commandments of men that are either

contrary to scripture or go beyond scripture

in matters of faith and worship. This is Christian

liberty of conscience, conscience. Secondly,

though, and this is we're going to be looking

at more today, Christian liberty broadly refers

to two things. First of all, It is the spiritual

freedom that Christ has purchased for believers.

This is freedom from the guilt of sin and the

condemning wrath of God, from bondage to Satan

and the dominion of sin, and from the curse of

the law as a means of justification, and from

the fear of death and of final judgment. We have

free access to God and the privilege of serving

Him, not out of a slavish fear, but from a childlike

love. and a willing mind. And thus we are free

from the law of ceremonies that were fulfilled

in Christ and in his sacrifice. And therefore,

we no longer offer sacrifices. We no longer have

a Levitical priesthood and a physical temple

that we attend three times a year. We are free

from the purity and cleanness laws or from the

observance of the national festivals and holy

days. The prohibition of unclean foods is given.

Given in the dietary laws are no longer in place.

For now, every creature of God is good, and nothing

is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving,

for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

1 Timothy 4, verse 4. That is one aspect of Christian

1 Timothy 4:4

liberty. This Christian liberty also, though,

extends to matters that are what we call indifferent.

That is, areas where scripture provides general

principles and boundaries, but does not prescribe

a specific single required course of action.

In such things, God grants his people a significant

latitude to exercise wisdom, preference, and

Christian freedom. Wisdom, preference, and Christian

freedom. Examples. Examples include. Your choice

of occupation, or a place of residence, or whom

to marry within the bounds of biblical marriage.

Styles of clothing and appearance, forms of recreation,

and many other details of daily life. In these

areas, believers are free to make decisions according

to conscience. They are to be guided by the general

rules of scripture. and by the love of neighbor

and the pursuit of God's glory, without being

bound by the traditions or preferences of others.

These are just some of the biblical standards

for how we practice Christian liberty. So the

question that Paul addresses in chapter 8 is

this. Is it lawful to eat food offered to idols?

Now this whole passage is very similar to an

Old Testament case law. A case law is a case

in which God's law is applied to a specific thing,

to a specific case. And then we can apply it

in other ways. In this chapter, the guidance

and the wisdom given by Paul regarding food,

the eating of food offered to idols, can also

be applied to many other matters. And so it's

a very important one to understand. Here's the

situation in Corinth. National and local festivals

and celebrations were held in the city from time

to time. A common practice was that the celebration

meal... At the time of this celebration, it could

have been some kind of a national holiday or

just some other great deliverance in the past

or an armed victory, whatever it was. But the

practice was that the celebration meal was held

in the temple. That is the dining hall that was

attached to the temple of the idol. And the food

served at this meal was first dedicated. and

offered to the idol and then brought to the people

to eat. That's the one thing that happened. Now,

also, during the regular sacrifices at the temple,

a portion of the food would be offered. That

is, people would bring food as part of their

offering. So then some of it was given to the

idol, some of it was given to the pagan priest

for him to eat, and another portion was given

to the one bringing the offering. Now, often,

of course, when the food was given to the priest,

it was far in excess of what they needed. And

of course, the idol didn't consume anything.

And so not having refrigeration, the food, especially

the meat, would need to be disposed of rather

quickly. Therefore, the food that was left over

was then taken to the open marketplace and sold

for anyone to buy. So the questions for the Christians

were these. Is it proper to join a feast of celebration

at the temple? This could be celebration something

about the nation, for example. Not necessarily

celebrating the idol, just kind of like a July

4th or Labor Day or something like that that

we might have. So was it proper to join a feast

of celebration at the temple and to eat the food

that had been offered at that temple? One. Second,

was it proper to eat that food that was offered

to idols and then was served at your neighbor's

house? Was it okay to go and eat with your neighbor

and eat this food that had been offered to idols?

Third, was it proper, was it allowed to buy the

food in the market and then take it home and

cook it and eat it for yourself? Those were the

three issues of concern. Now, this exact issue

is pretty much irrelevant for us in America and

in many other parts of the world, but it is still

one that exists in some places, some countries,

especially in Asian countries where open idolatry

is still practiced in this way. Nevertheless,

this passage is very instructive for us in the

whole understanding of how to live with one another.

in matters like this, matters of Christian liberty.

As we will see, there were some Christian believers

whose consciences were held captive by a wrong

interpretation of Scripture, and they needed

to be enlightened. There were others who were

not walking in love, and some were proud and

arrogant, and they were causing their brethren

to stumble. They were not... loving their brothers

and sisters in Christ. This section of scripture

from here to chapter 11 and verse 1 deals with

this matter thoroughly. So I'm going to look

at it fairly much in depth today, but there's

going to be additional commentary that Paul gives

and instruction that he gives later on. Now I've

spent more time than usual in this introduction,

but I thought it would be... good for our edification

as we look at this whole section because this

really sets the stage for looking at a lot that

is in chapters 8, chapter 9, and chapter 10.

So let's now look into this in greater depth

in chapter 8. Number one, the practice of Christian

liberty is based on knowledge and love. On knowledge

and love. This is found in verses 1 to 3. Paul

says, Now concerning things offered to idols,

we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge

puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks

that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet

as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God,

this one is known by him. Now we all possess

a certain amount of knowledge. We have understanding

as the general understanding of the Christian

religion. But some are more advanced than others

in the deeper things. of Christian theology.

We have moral wisdom, knowing the difference

between good and evil as declared by God in His

Word. Now, not all of us are at the same level,

just as there's a difference in knowledge between

a new Christian or a baby Christian and a seasoned,

mature Christian who has walked with God for

50 years. Furthermore, we know that the worship

of God does not belong with those who worship

idols. We'll see this again in verse 4. Paul

acknowledges that the Christians were enriched

in everything in Christ Jesus. In all utterance

and in knowledge. Chapter 1 and verse 5. Now

knowledge is important. Knowledge is essential.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

But fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs

1 and verse 7. And the Lord gives wisdom from

his mouth. comes knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 2 and verse 6. Wise people stir up knowledge,

but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

Proverbs 10 verse 14. And the tongue of the wise

Proverbs 10:14

uses knowledge rightly. Proverbs 15 and verse

2. There is a way to have knowledge though, but

to hold it in an arrogant, a proud, and an unloving

way. Indeed, without love, knowledge puffs up.

It puffs us. It inflates our ego. It makes us

proud and to bear ourselves in a lofty manner.

I am superior to you because I have more knowledge.

So easy for that to happen. Knowledge puffs up.

In order to address the good and noble practice

of Christian liberty, Paul begins with an emphasis

on love and knowledge. Love and knowledge because

love edifies. Love edifies. Now the literal meaning

of edify is speaking really of the building up

of a house. That's what it literally means. Metaphorically,

it means to build one another up. to build us

up, to promote growth in Christian wisdom and

in affection, in grace and in virtue, in holiness

and in blessedness. That's quite a mouthful.

Let me repeat it again, just so that it sinks

deep into our souls and it moves us. To edify

one another is to build each other up. It is

to promote the other's growth in Christian wisdom.

It is to see growth and blessing and affection

and love and grace and virtue and holiness and

blessedness. And to grow in wisdom and in piety

and faithfulness before God. That's what the

word edify means. And love edifies. So much is

the tendency to be proud and arrogant of our

knowledge. That Paul exhorts even the most knowledgeable

among us with these words in verse 2. If anyone

thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing

yet as he ought to know. Now that's a real reality

check, isn't it? If you think you know a lot,

you don't know anything of what you ought to

know. Wow. That's a blow to the ego. So vast

and so deep. Is the knowledge of God. Of the

Holy Trinity. And the relationship of the three

persons. And the doctrine of God. And of his

word. And of his church. And of all things related.

And how it applies to the world in which we live.

That no matter how much we know. There is yet

an ocean of things. That we do not know. An ocean

full. Job got a glimpse of this. When God answers

him. In Job 38, chapters 38 through 41, when

God questions Job with unanswerable questions

as to his greatness, his creation, the earth,

and all the heavenly host. And at the end of

it, Job just says, woe is me. I lay my hand on

my mouth. I don't know anything is really what

he was saying. I don't know anything as I ought

to know. And yet. In all this world, knowledge

and love of arrogance versus humility, Paul then

reminds us that if anyone loves God, this person

is known by God himself. Brothers and sisters,

how can this be? That each one of you who are

in Christ are known by him. God knows you. He

knows you. you have a relationship with the creator

of the universe. He knows you. He knows everything

about you. He knows your love, your imperfect

love for him. He knows it all. And so as we love

God and we study to know him more, we are then

also taught by him and we increase in spiritual

knowledge and we are highly approved of and esteemed

and beloved by God. Oh, let that sink into your

heart and comfort and strengthen you that God

knows you. Therefore, true knowledge is marked

by a love and a fervency for God and being known

by Him. Ah, brethren and sisters, let us seek

to love Him and to be known by God Himself. And

God can only be known through His Son, Jesus

Christ. As Jesus himself says in Matthew 11 verse

Matthew 11:27

27, No one knows the Son except the Father, nor

does anyone know the Father except the Son, and

the one to whom the Son will reveal him. Oh,

how we need a fresh and continued relationship

with Jesus Christ and a knowledge of Jesus Christ

and a revelation of Christ. Through his word.

Knowledge is essential. But it is not enough.

In the same way. Love is essential. But love

is also not enough. We can't just go around and

say all we need is love. It's love that makes

the world go around. No. It is the truth of God

that must come to us. Through the revealed word

of God. And we must have that knowledge. It's

knowledge and love. And they are clasped. firmly

together we need a powerful combination of both

love and knowledge in order to maintain our fervency

in order to stay with in doctrinal truth in soundness

and in fervent love for one another and for god

and to have and uphold christian liberty in the

church secondly then paul moves on verses four

to six into the theological reality that there

is one God and there is one Lord. He says, Therefore

concerning the eating of things offered to idols,

we know that an idol is nothing in the world,

and there is no other God but one. For even if

there are so -called gods, whether in heaven

or in earth, as there are many gods and many

lords, yet for us there is one God, the Father,

of whom are all things, and we for Him. and one

Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things

and through whom we live. So as it regards to

liberty and specifically to food being offered

to idols, we know, we affirm, we have the revealed

knowledge of the true God that all of the idols

are made by men and they are not gods. They're

made by men. It is aptly described and powerfully

spoken in Psalm 135. The idols of the nations

are silver and gold. The work of men's hands.

They have mouths, but they do not speak. Eyes

they have, but they do not see. They have ears,

but they do not hear. Nor is there any breath

in their mouths. Those who make them are like

them. So is everyone who trusts in them. How

can a man who is not God fashion an image that

is God? Paul says, we know that an idol is nothing.

Now Paul will speak about the demonic powers

behind the idols in chapter 10. But for our purpose

here, the gods are nothing. This is how missionaries

and preachers over the world in pagan lands could

demonstrate the gods the people served were unable

to do anything. Elijah on Mount Carmel waiting

for hours while the 450 prophets of Baal danced

around, called upon their God, cut themselves

with knives, they bled and did all sorts of incantations

and there was no fire. There was no fire. There

was no sacrifice. And then a simple prayer from

Elijah and what happened? Fire fell out of heaven.

It fell out of heaven and it consumed the sacrifice.

It consumed the stones and it ate up all the

water. Just burned it all up just like that.

Or there was Boniface who chopped down the evergreen

tree revered as an idol to show that it was not

a god. And he cut branches and sent them home

with the people to burn and to decorate their

houses in celebration that their false god was

dead. And there was one true and living God who

provided a way of salvation. This was how John

G. Patton demonstrated the futility of the island

of Tana, the islanders' gods, most strikingly

through a public challenge to their sacred men

and sorcerers. If you have not read Patton's

autobiography, I urge you to buy it, to read

it. Give it to your children to read or read

it to them. It is a wonderful, powerful story

of a faithful man of God, John G. Patton, P -A

-T -T -O -N. An idol is nothing. There is no

other God but one, even when there are... so

-called gods whether they're in heaven or earth

for us there is one god the father of whom are

all things and we exist for him he is the creator

of all things in him we live and move and have

our being think of this for a moment we live

because of the creation the help And the breath

of God. We are able to move and to use our limbs.

Our arms. Our legs. Our hands. And all of our

senses. Because of his creative power. We have

our being in him. The very fact that all the

cells and the molecules came together. And that

flash of light. Appeared in the womb of your

mother. When conception occurred. And a baby

was born into the world. Around nine months later.

This is all the work of God. Incredible work

of God. We have our being in God. We owe our

all to God. Even if you were conceived in a sinful

union of fornication or of adultery, even you

still have your being in God and you are precious

in His sight. He ordained that you would be born

in the station of life, the particular time in

history, and that all of the creative processes

would come together so that you would be born

and that you would come to know and to love Him.

In Him we live and move and have our being. There

is one God, the Father, of whom are all things,

and we for Him. It is him whom we must love and

worship and worship with all our heart, soul,

mind and strength. And there is one Lord Jesus

Christ, he says, through whom are all things,

through whom and through whom we live. Paul describes

the way God the Father did all of this. And he

created through the one and only Lord Jesus Christ,

who is one with the Father. Through Christ are

all things, for God created through Him, and

it is through Him we live. This is Jesus, the

eternal Son of the Father, who was born as a

baby from a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit,

who died and rose again, and ascended to be with

the Father at His right hand, there to intercede

for us. This theological truth grounds us, and

it grounds the church, and it helps us to understand

that idols are nothing. And it also helps us

to understand Christian liberty. We know who

we are and we know the God who made us and we

serve the Lord Jesus Christ. This is profound,

all inspiring and a glorious truth about God.

So with this knowledge, the matter of eating

food that wasn't offered to an idol means nothing.

Paul says it means nothing. Why? Because God

created the food and the idol is nothing. One

can eat it with no ill effects. It is nothing.

But that's not the end of it. Because he goes

on, our third point, not all yet have that knowledge,

he says. Not all yet have that knowledge. There

is not in everyone that knowledge, for some with

consciousness of the idol, until now, eat it

as a thing offered to an idol. And their conscience,

being weak, is defiled. But food does not commend

us to God, for neither if we eat are we the better,

nor if we do not eat are we the worse. So when

an idolater first comes to know the Lord, he's

born again, he's added to Christ's church, There

are still many things that need to be learned

about faith in Christ and about the faith. This

is why Jesus said to make disciples. How are

disciples made? They are made by baptizing them

and by then teaching them to observe all things

that he has commanded. Matthew 28, the Great

Commission. In this process of sanctification,

there is much to learn. But there are also things

that need to be unlearned or de -learned, if

there is such a thing. In other words, they need

to be set aside. They need to be set aside. Paul

is saying here that some of the Christians rescued

from paganism and idolatry still are not persuaded

that the gods of the heathen have no existence

and no spiritual power. Though they believe in

God, yet they still think there is some kind

of an innate power, spiritual power in those

idols. They're not persuaded yet. Though the

gods are imaginary, that imagination still has

some roots in the consciousness. They are Christian.

They have forsaken the false gods, but they still

think there's some type of spiritual beings,

though false. Therefore, when they eat food that

was offered to an idol, They eat it, not if they

eat it. It is not with thanksgiving to God who

created it and the idol means nothing. But to

them, that eating is part of idolatrous worship

because they're eating something as it were offered

to an idol. It is not ordinary food to them,

but it is an act that has religious character

and spiritual influence as a sacrifice to God.

an idol what happens then paul says their conscience

being weak is thus defiled it is defiled and

those who are in christ must seek to avoid defiling

their conscience and though the act itself is

not sin yet because they are not eating in faith

it is sin to them because they are not eating

it in faith Paul, in a similar context, though

speaking about eating clean or unclean foods

in Romans 14, he applies it to this matter and

he says, Do not destroy the work of God for the

sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but

it is evil for the man who eats with offense.

It is good neither to eat meat, nor drink wine,

nor do anything by which your brother stumbles

or is offended and made weak. Or is made weak.

Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before

God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself

in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned

if he eats. Because he does not eat from faith.

For whatever is not from faith is sin. And so

here we have a case. Where a matter is not sin

in and of itself, but when it is not done in

faith, then it is sin to that particular person.

It may not be sin to you who have the liberty

in Christ, but to this person, it is sin. And

when he partakes it, he sees you and he says,

well, I can do this. But within him, he is still

doing the sin and he's not doing it in faith.

The defiling of the conscience. Is sin. So again.

The principle is stated. Food does not matter.

It does not matter. It's not. There's not a principle

of religious or spiritual significance. It is

not defiling. It does not have spiritual significance.

It is a thing indifferent. You can eat it to

the glory of God. And rejoice in him. But. Paul

reminds them. It does not commend us to God.

We are neither the better if we eat nor the worse

if we do not eat. But what matters? Love. Love

for one another that does not wound the conscience

of the other and cause them, not just making

it so that they don't like you. No, no. They

lose faith and they're destroyed because of it.

They're destroyed because of it. How does that

destruction take place when this particular application

is probably where they went back to idolatrous

worship? Paul sums this up with a closing warning

in this chapter, although he will give additional

application in chapter 10. What is that warning?

Paul warns of the danger, number four, the danger

of causing a brother to stumble. This is verses

9 to 13. But beware, he says, beware lest somehow

this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block

to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you

who have knowledge, eating in an idol's temple,

will not the conscience of him who is weak Be

emboldened to eat those things offered to idols.

And because of your knowledge shall the weak

brother perish for whom Christ died. But when

you thus sin against the brethren and wound their

weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore,

if food makes my brother stumble, I will never

again eat meat lest I make my brother stumble.

Living in Christian liberty is a wonderful gift.

We have an enlightened conscience. We experience

the free grace of God and we delight in his good

gifts to us. But sometimes that joy and delight

can have some unintended consequences, especially

in a setting like this. Paul says, beware and

take heed. lest this liberty of yours become

a stumbling block. The stumbling block is an

occasion to sin. Weak means that they are without

strength and sick and powerless. Who is the weak

in this case? It is those whose consciences have

not yet been freed from all of the effects of

false worship and idolatrous practices. Not yet

has their consciences been freed from that. And

thus, If a weak brother sees you and you have

your knowledge and so you go to the feast, you

eat the food at the feast in the temple, in the

idol's temple, and you're saying, I'm not worshiping.

I'm just here celebrating this occasion and I'm

going to eat the food that is offered because

God created this and the idol is nothing. But

if this weak brother sees you. And he's there

with you. And so he then is emboldened. I'm just

going to violate my conscience. I'm just going

to do this thing and it's okay because I can

worship both the idol and God or however it might

be in his own mind. Through your liberty in Christ,

they can revert back to idolatrous practices

and perish. Through your knowledge, the weak

brother for whom Christ died may perish or may

be destroyed. This is very strong language. Now

again, I want to reiterate here, this is not

the case of somebody disagreeing with you. This

is not someone being offended at you as not liking

what you're doing. This is not somebody who's

doubting their faith because of, or who is just

of a different mind than what you are regarding

a particular thing. You know, kind of like a

teetotaler versus someone who says, no, the Bible

says that wine is okay in moderation. Kind of

that way. And so they're just like, okay, I don't

think I should. I don't like that you're doing

it, but, you know, it's not that big of a deal.

Now, if it causes them to go back into all of

the things of the past and to forsake the faith

and they are destroyed, then that's a different

matter. It's one of these things where it's not

speaking. The problem is the old King James here

uses the word offend. And so we think of the

word offend as just being something I'm offended

at this. I don't like it. And that's not what

he's talking about. He's talking about destruction.

They're being destroyed because of this act of

liberty. It's not disapproval. It's a perishing,

destruction, putting the one in danger of divine

judgment and living in sin and going back to

the old ways of false worship. When and if this

happens, Paul tells the Corinthian believers

in Corinth, your sin against the brethren and

the wounding of their weak conscience is actually

a sin against Christ. It is a sin against Christ.

For Christ would not have you cause your brother

to lose the faith and to live in sin. Therefore,

Paul concludes, if food makes my brother stumble,

I will never again eat meat, lest I make my brother

stumble. Now, Paul here is not saying, I'm a

vegetarian now. What he's simply saying in giving

this hypothetical case, if this were to happen,

by no means would I do this, lest I make him

stumble and lose the faith. That's what he's

saying. All of this is wrapped up in the overarching

principle. Love your neighbor as yourself. Do

unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Love does not behave rudely and does not seek

its own. And therefore, our practice of Christian

liberty must keep that in mind. By all means,

live in the liberty in which Christ has set you

free. Just be aware of your surroundings. and

of those with whom you associate. Be aware of

it. Now what's our takeaway from this? What do

we take away? Because obviously we don't have

that situation. There's not an idolatrous temple

that is right here in this town with people going

and eating there. We are removed from this context.

But surely there are some things that we can

take away from this. First of all, an understanding

of Christian liberty understands the difference

between i'm going to use two big words here but

i'll explain them antinomianism and legalism

so antinomianism is really means against law

in other words i'm not bound by the law of god

at all all i do is i just need to love i just

need to love god with all my heart however it

comes out well however you love god that's okay

you're okay i'm okay that's the Real bad result

of it. There are others who are partially antinomian.

But I'm not going to go into great detail on

that. But it simply means forsaking the law and

just saying I'm just going to go by the spirit.

However the spirit leads. Whether it's against

the word or not. Then there's also legalism.

And that is where we take a law and we take it

out to the furthest extreme. And our particular

application of the law is something that everybody

needs to do in exactly the same way. and we are

saved by doing that so that's legalism in other

words just a real intent on the law one simply

believes in being led by the spirit and there

are no legal or moral constraints other than

a few basic ones the opposite is if we take areas

that are in christian liberty and then we legislate

it we make it a law for everyone else Rather

than realizing this is an area of liberty. We

want neither one. Need to be led by the Spirit,

absolutely. But the Spirit leads us in the ways

of God. And then we seek to apply it. But we

also take care not to legislate it for others

in ways that go beyond the Word of God. Antinomianism,

legalism, Christian liberty is right there in

the middle. We see the difference. Second, our

consciences need to be enlightened. The answer

to this whole problem is yes, to walk carefully,

but we should be able to advance beyond that

as well. In other words, how does the conscience

get enlightened? This is the need of the hour.

And our consciences can be enlightened by the

word of God and by good teaching. That is how

we are able to change and say, okay, now I see

this. Now I see that this is okay. And I'm not

going to defile my conscience when I do this

particular thing. In this case, eating food offered

to idols. Now the answers to the initial questions

that I asked are actually found in chapter 10.

I'm only going to mention them very briefly.

We're going to look at them further when we get

to chapter 10. Is it proper to join the feast

of celebration in the temple and eat the food

that was offered to the temple? Paul answers,

no, it is not. And it's because of the other

people think that you are worshiping the idol,

basically. So that's his answer there. Second,

was it proper to eat food offered to idols and

served at a neighbor's house? Yes, it was, unless

the host makes a special point of bringing it

to you and saying, this is food that was offered

to an idol, then you don't eat it because of

his sake, because you do not want to be associated

with idolatrous worship. That's what he says.

Again, chapter 10. And lastly, was it proper

to buy the food in the market and take it home

and cook it and eat it for yourself? Yes, categorically,

yes. You take it home, you give thanks for God

because an idol is nothing. That's all in chapter

10, but I'm just... Bringing you up on it so

that those three questions are not left hanging.

In our past, we have all had to unlearn some

things and to relearn them. Some of these things

were things that we were told were wrong by the

church, the church that we were in. But it was

an answer or it was a teaching that was based

on tradition and not according to the scriptures

in these cases. We are to take care, but we are

to feel free to be at liberty as our conscience

is enlightened. Now if you're a husband and a

wife, I urge you to both come to that liberty

before enforcing it or practicing it or pushing

it on the other. Be of the same mind. I'll give

you an example. So prior to 1966, Roman Catholics

were not allowed to eat meat on Fridays. It was

considered a sin. You could not eat meat on Fridays.

You had to eat fish if you wanted that kind of

protein. But no meat, no beef, no pork, no any

of the other kinds. Doing so was considered sin.

And so now you come to light. You come to a greater

understanding of the Word of God. And so you

look at it and say... There's nothing in the

Word of God about not eating meat on Fridays.

This is not a proper application of the Word

of God. Therefore, we're going to eat meat. And

so my point there is, if your wife thinks that

and your husband didn't, or vice versa, don't

push it on the other. Wait. There are many, many

things. All of us have different backgrounds.

We all come from various practices in our past,

and we can take this and apply it. to all of

those as we look at things so then fourthly seek

to keep a clear conscience before god at all

times keep a clear conscience before god at all

times paul says in acts 24 i have hope in god

which they themselves also accept that there

will be a resurrection of the dead both of the

just and the unjust This being so, I myself always

strive to have a conscience without offense toward

God and man. If your conscience is weak or is

defiled, come to the Lord, get cleansing, and

then seek light in his word to see if it should

be weak or defiled in that particular matter.

In other words, your conscience is not infallible.

It needs to be instructed from the Word of God.

So keep it clear. Don't violate your conscience,

but seek to enlighten it with proper understanding

from the Word of God. And if a brother in Christ

disagrees with you on a particular thing, talk

to him about it. Look into the Word, and maybe

both of your consciences will be enlightened,

if they need to be. Lastly, Hold fast to Christ.

Brothers and sisters. Hold fast to Christ. Use

your liberty in Christ. But not as an occasion.

To exalt the fleshly desires of your heart. The

flesh. Paul says in Galatians 5 verse 13. You

Galatians 5:13

brethren. And so this I say to you also. You

my brothers and sisters. You are all called to

liberty. But do not use that liberty. As an opportunity

for the flesh. But through love. Serve one another.

Love one another. Edify one another. Care for

one another. For all the law is fulfilled. In

one word. Even in this. You shall love your neighbor.

As yourself. Let's pray.