1 Corinthians 8:1–13 | The Limits of Christian Liberty

I’ve shared this story briefly many years ago. But years ago I served as a missionary in Thailand. It was a fascinatin time in my life where I learn so much about ministry, about culture, about idolatry. Thailand is a country steeped in overt idolatry. There are golden statues and temples on nearly every corner. And throughout a day you will find virtually every person in society stopping to light incense and make offerings to their particular local deity. The local Christians had a challenge before them, and I recall a debate about this one day after Church. One woman shared that when her whole office goes out to lunch, they all stop as they pass the local temple, get down their knees and say a quick prayer to that local God. This sweet woman asked the question, “Now that I’m a Christian—what do I do? If I don’t bow down with them, I’ll be outcast from my peers and likely ultimately lose my job, and perhaps even more in terms of my friends and lifestyle. But if I bow down I feel like I’m forskaing God.” It was a great conversation. One young man said, “You know what I do. When my office does the same thing, I just bow down with them and take the moment the tie my shoe. it’s only the heart that matters. If you know you’re okay with God, then the outward actions are secondary.”

Personal

That story is difficult for us to relate to because it has to do with idol worship and cultural elements that are a bit foreign to us. However, the challenge that those Thai Christians faced is the same challenge we all face in Chicago every day. How do we live in the midst of an idol-worshiping culture. After becoming a Christian, are there limits on what we should and shouldn’t do in society. Yoga in its truest sense is worship to a false god. Do Christians need to leave their Yoga studio, or is it possible to do all the same motions and just know your heart is right with God. It’s the same question. How about the music we listen to and enjoy. Before you were a Christian, there were lots of concerts and songs you would have enjoyed. But now that you’re a Christian, can you sing those same songs and attend those same concerts. What do you say to your friends who want to go. Same question as my Thai friends.

Context: Christians & Culture

In today’s passage Paul deals with a very similar issue in the 1st century context. The specific issue they were facing was eating meat that had been offered to an idol. And the whole conversation is around Christians and culture. How do Christians now behave while living in a polytheistic idolatrous culture. What old practices can we still do? What old practices do we need to stop? Where does our friendship with the world now have limits? While we’re studying 1 Corinthians 8 today, the section actually extends all the way through 1 Corinthians 10. And so, we will be in this inquisition into cultural engagement for the next few weeks as we study these chapters. Today’s big idea is simple. A desparate desire to build others up in Christ drives our ethics.

Move 1: The Knowledge Principle (8:1-3)

The Apostle begins...

1 Corinthians 8:1-3 “1 Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that “all of us possess knowledge.” This “knowledge” puffs up, but love builds up. 2 If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.”

Now Concerning… New Topic

The phrase ‘Now concerning,’ means that Paul is taking a new turn in his letter. He has been addressing on set of topics, and now he turns and addresses an entire new set of talking points. The new topic is food offered to idols. In our 21st century context, this concept is foreign to us. The essentials that you need to know are that in a culture inundated by idol worship, as 1st century Corinth was, food that had been used in some kind of idol worshiping ceremony was everywhere. Someone would bring an offering to a local temple where an idol was housed. Part of the meat was burned on the temple altar. Then, as part of that ceremony, there was typically a feast of some kind where friends, neighbors, elites from society would gather together with the person who made the sacrifice, and feast on the meal. All of that would have been done with the express purpose of worshiping that idol. Lastly, whatever meat was remaining was sold to local butchers who then sold it for common use in homes throughout Corinth.

The Question Arises

So the question arises, if you’re living in 1st century Corinth and you’re now a Christian, what do you with meat? Especially since, a good percentage of the meat sold in butchers was likely offered to an idol at some point.

What if your friend invites you to a feast at a local idol where he is going to make a sacrifice and then all his friends are going to enjoy the meal after. Can you go now that you’re a Christian?

What if you miss the idol worship part, and just arrive for the meal. That’s just a meal right? Certainly you can hang out with your friends.

What if you’re at the butcher, do you need to ask the butcher which meat was offered to an idol and which meat wasn’t?

What if you’re at the butcher and its really overt, there is a clearance on all the beef from last nights ceremony down the street. Can you buy it?

These questions might sound foreign to us. But it has everything to do with Christians engaging in culture. What lines prohibit us from participating. Where can we just know our heart is right with God so we’re good, we can join with no problem? And where would it really be wrong for us to participate like we used to. After all, Paul has already instructed back in chapter 5, that it would be impossible for us to fully remove ourselves from all the world’s dealings. So how do we answer these questions.

Either Driven by Knowledge or Driven by Love

Paul’s principle is that there are two ways you could go about making these decisions. One way is to rely on knowledge as the driving principle. The other way is to rely on love as the driving principle. And his opening two verses are a bit of aswipe at those who are relying on knowledge. He says, “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” What is this knowledge he’s talking about. Well, he explains that knowledge in verses 4-6. He says

1 Corinthians 8:4-6 “4 Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that “an idol has no real existence,” and that “there is no God but one.” 5 For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”

Their Arguments

How does he describe our knowledgee as Christians. Verse 4, ‘We know that an idol has no real existence.’ Further, we know that, ‘there is no God but one.’ So likely, he’s quoting the arguments the people in Corinth were making at this point. They had been saying something like this, “Paul—In our hearts we know that these are just idols. We’re not really worshipping them. We are Christians now, so we know that there is only one God. So what difference does it make if we go spend time with our friends eating good food. It’s about our heart, and since we know the truth, we should be free to eat whatever meat we want. Whether or not it was offered to an idol means to nothing to us.” Paul actually, in verse 6 affirms their knowledge of the one true God. They are accurate in what they say the know. And in verse he expands it with this beautiful Christological verse that explicitly states the divinity of Jesus Christ. He’s affirming what they know, ‘I’m glad you and I agree on those principles.’

Move 2: The Love Principle

However

But verse 7 begins, ‘However.’ In other words, your knowledge of the truth is not the only thing that drives your ethical decision making. There is another principle to which your knowledge must submit. That principle is love. A love that desparately desires those who are stuck in idol worship to be freed from those chains. And a love that desparately desires for new Christians who are still forming their convictions to never fall back into idolatry because of our behavior.

1 Corinthians 8:7-13 “7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

Not All Possess This Knowledge

The however is that, ‘not all possess this knowledge.’ Who is Paul referring to. It seems that he is referring to other believers, as those with a weak conscience.

The Young Believer Scenario

This is likely a rerefence to believers perhaps who are newer or less mature in their faith, who know the truth, but are not convicted about the truth to the degree they ought to be. In other words, these are people who are Christians but by their actions don’t really think twice about whether or not they’re attending an idol festival or not is that big of an issue. So that new believer sees you, who are supposed to be a mature believer, someone who is walking in the faith well eating at idol festival. And what will they say and think. In that situation, your presence has normalized idolatry in their heart. You’re going to cause them to sin. And because of that fact alone, you should recognize, this is sin, and I should not participate in any way.

The Nonbeliever Scenario

Or, perhaps someone at that banquet has been learning about Jesus, beginning to consider following Christ. Then they see you who are not are supposedly a Christian and you don’t seem to care much about whether you participate in worship of these idols. This can have eternal consequences. Listen to these next words because they’re vital.

1 Corinthians 8:12-13 “12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.”

Paul’s Laws & Freedom

Paul minces no words. Later on in chapter 10 Paul will explicitly lay down the law. Paul’s rule is this, “Christians are never permitted to eat idol offerings that are known to be such.”

1 Corinthians 10:28 “28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it...

Prohibition 1 (above) for Paul. If you know it was the meat was offered in a sacrifice. You are forbidden to eat it.

1 Corinthians 10:20-21 “20 … I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.”

Prohibition 2 (above) for Paul. You cannot attend an idol feast

1 Corinthians 10:25 “25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience.”

What are they free to do? If they’re buying meat at the butcher, and they don’t know if its from an idol sacrifice or not. They can buy the meat on good conscience. They have freedom.

Paul’s Methodology—Not Law at this Point

But Paul is not interested in laying down the law of whether it is sin to eat at an idol festival. Chapter 10 is clear. It is sin. Here Paul has a different motivation he is trying to build in his audience. His method of teaching in these chapters is not necessarily to lay down the law, but rather to get the Corinthian church to be driven by a motivation of love. He is trying to develop a sense of concern for those around them. So rather than saying, “Don’t eat meat offered to idols.” He labors to say, “Consider the impact that would happen if you were to knowingly eat meat offered to idols.” And in this approach, Paul is like a father trying to guide his Church to think, not apart from the law, as if the law didn’t matter, but rather primarily driven by love of God and love of neighbor. He wants the primary ethic that drives their decision making to be ‘How is my decision building up others in the faith.’

Paul’s Conclusion

Paul’s conclusion in verse 13 is that even though he has knowledge to eat meat and not really be concerned. If eating certain meat causes a brother to stumble, then he will joyfully abstain from meat in those circumstances so as to love his brother. Paul personally chooses to avoid anything that might put a weaker brother at risk of being led into sin. A desparate desire to build others up in Christ drives our ethics.

The Gospel

Why? Because this is exactly what Christ has both done and modeled for us. Jesus, as the second person of the eternal Trinity, had perfect freedom. He was God. Philippians 2 reads:

Philippians 2:5-8 “5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

When it says, “he emptied himself,” what it means is that he willingly submitted himself to some physical limitation, by entering into the human form. What drove Christ was love for His creation. He emptied himself. He took on the form of a servant. It was not just knowledge that drove Christ. Jesus knew who he was. He was driven by love as John 3:16 so famously says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave His only Son so that those who believe in him may not perish but have eternal life.” Christ died in order for us to be pulled out of sin and death eternally, and he gave us life everlasting. Now only Christ can fogive sin. And yet, In Christ, Christians have a model for the ethic that ought to drive us. In Christ we have our exemplar who has paved the way for what it means to sacrificiall love our neighbor.

Move 3: Exegesis of the Heart

We Live in a Pluralistic Polytheistic City

Alright, let’s make this as uncomfortable for us, as it would have been for these first century Corinthians who originally read this text. We need to apply this principle into our lives. First, let us consider the differences and similarities between 1st century Corinth and 21st century Chicago. We are clearly not primarily dealing with idol worship and idol festivals in the same way Corinth was. However, we are an increasingly polytheistic culture. Polytheism simply means, worship of many Gods. Across Chicago, it would not be difficult for you to discover a variety of Buddhist Temples, synagogues, Muslim Mosques, Hindu temples, Mormon Temples, psychics, and general spirituality and witchcraft stores. And so we need a nuanced wisdom to navigate the kinds of decisions we do need to make.

Separatism & Syncretism

There are two mistakes we can make in trying to apply this text. On the one hand you have the mistake Separatism. And on the other hand you have the mistake of Syncretism. True separatists would be something like the Amish or the Mennonites, or other Christian denominations who make it their aim to completely separate themselves from all possibilities of even accidentally stumbling into a questionable scenario. That is not what this text teaches. Because in chapter 10, as we’ve seen, Paul explicitly states that when they’re in the butcher, they can buy the meat with a clear conscience. Separatists don’t know what to do with that verse. On the other we need to avoid Syncretism. Syncretism is where we as Christians just to try to be like chameleons in culture. No difference. Our faith is totally private and no real-world sacrificial decision making takes place in way. In other words, nobody would ever know you were a Christian if you didn’t say anything.

Illustration: Epistle to Diognetius

Early in Church history, this document arose that has been called the Epistle to Diognetius. A very important early Church text. And in this document, the writer describes Christians living in his city. He says:

“they are not distinguished from the rest of humanity by country, language, or custom. They follow the local customs in dress and food and other aspects of life, and yet also they demonstrate the remarkable and admittedly unusual character of their own citizenship. Christians participate in everything as citizens, but have to endure everything as foreigners. Furthermore, Christians marry like everyone else, and have children, but they do not expose their offspring. They share their food, but not their wives. They live on this Earth but their citizenship is in heaven… They obey the laws of the land in which they live but live personally by a much higher standard... Though dishonored, slandered, insulted, and cursed they bless in return and offer respect. When unjustly punished, “they rejoice as though brought to life.”

There is something about this text that is aspirational. These Christians were clearly not Separatists. But they also were no syncretists. They lived by a higher ethic, and everybody knew it.

Application: Yoga

Let me give you an application or two that you might not like. Yoga. Yoga is rooted in Hinduism and Hindu beliefs permeate every part of it. One Yogi described Yoga this way,

“Yoga means to know the union of existence by experience… When you know the oneness of existence like you experience the five fingers of your hand, then we say you are in Yoga… What Yoga means is to move towards an experiential reality where one knows the ultimate nature of the existence, the way it is made.”

Yoga is a combination of stretching, breathing, and spiritual practices that were designed not only to worship false gods but also to live out the Hindu worldview of the “oneness of existence.” The writer goes on to say,

“It aims to reorient the mind, connect a person with a universal consciousness, assist a person in feeling the energy in the universe, and overall provide a new philosophy of life of union and oneness with the cosmos around you.”

Some of you are saying this, “Yeah, but when I do Yoga, I don’t worship those gods and I don’t think those spiritual thoughts. I simply go through the motions in order to get a good stretch and to calm myself down.” If we’re honest, there is something eerilie similar to my friend in Thailand who said, “I just tie my shoe.” The principle of whether or not going into a yoga studio and participating in Yoga is sin, is saved for the end of chapter 10. That’s where Paul lays down the law. The question today is, ‘what potential impact does your participation in Yoga have or could have on believers with a weak conscience?’

More Importantly… Is That of Any Concern to You

And more importantly… Is that of any concern to you? Or, does your knowledge of your freedom in Christ have you so puffed up, that you’ve ceased to really care about the spiritual health of your brothers and sisters in Christ, and the way your behavior could potentially cause a brother to stumble. A Call to Repentance here. This is the heart of it today. This is everything. I don’t want to cause my brother stumble. I’m willing to adjust my lifestyle so as not to put a stumbling block in front my brother or sister.

Closing

The implications of this principle are enormous, far beyond Yoga. Under what circumstances should I drink or not drink alcohol. We can extend that, now that marijuana has been legalized—how do Christians navigate marijuana use. What music and concerts can I attend? What weddings can I attend? What clothing is appropriate to wear? What holidays should I celebrate? All of these questions and many more are daily thoughts and decisions we need to make as Christians. We cannot separate from society, and we must not syncretize our faith. And so there is need to be trained to know how to decide. And our lead foot, must be love. A love that not only honors Jesus Christ as Lord, but a love that desparately desire to build others up in Christ drives our ethics.

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