Tuesday,
July 14 –
I
congratulate you on keeping in step with these readings. I began this for my
own sake so that I would make sure I did more than read through the New
Testament. I wanted to “think” about what I was reading. We all get used to
some things, and with familiarity can come laziness in thinking. So, thanks for
coming along with me on this New Testament in a Year Journey. Our reading today
comes from 1 Corinthians 8:1 – 13. After you read thru this short chapter, please
come back to think about what Paul is saying.
I want
you to notice that Paul has shifted again to answer a question: “Now
concerning food offered to idols...” (8:1). It’s not the easiest section to
apply for today. I’ve never run across a problem with someone over eating meat
that might have been sold in a market after it had been offered as a sacrifice
to an idol. William Barclay gives us a long explanation of what Paul is writing
about. Offering meats to idols was part of Roman and Greek culture: “‘Sacrifice
to the gods was an integral part of ancient life. It might be of two kinds,
private or public. In private sacrifice, the animal was divided into three
parts. A token part was burned on the altar...; the priests received their
rightful portion ...; the worshipper himself received the rest of the meat.
With the meat, he gave a banquet. Sometimes these feasts were in the house of
the hosts; sometimes they were even in the temple of the god to whom the
sacrifice had been made...”[1]
The
problem which confronted the Christian was whether they should take part in
such a feast at all? If a believer ate meat from the marketplace that had been
first offered as a pagan sacrifice, was he committing a sinful act? The issue
was not easy, because whether a believer was invited to a meal, or bought meat
from a market that had been offered to a pagan god, the complications were
evident. Barclay finalized the issue: “It, therefore, followed that a man
could hardly eat meat at all which was not in some way connected with a heathen
god. Could the Christian eat it? To the Christian in Corinth or any other great
city, it was a problem which pervaded all life, and which has to be settled one
way or the other.’[2]
One of
the stipulations that came out of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 was that
Gentile believers were to “not eat meat sacrificed to Idols” (Acts
15:29). Paul came teaching the message of the Gospel. In his teaching, he made
clear that “in Christ” every believer was free from the Law concerning foods.
Believers were no longer under the Law. Yet, the church in Corinth was divided
between those who rigorously abstained from all market meats and those who
stood on the “freedom” they had in Christ. Paul tackles this divisive issue in
two – somewhat – different ways.
First
of all, he reminds them that just because they know something, that knowledge
does not supersede love. Knowledge “puffs up” – that is, it makes a
person proud, even feel superior to others who obviously “don’t get it” (8:1).
There were some in the Corinthian church whose arrogance revealed their
attitude and indifference. They were not guided by love for one another in
their insistence that buying meat was no big deal...after all, “we’ve learned
from Paul himself that Idols are not gods at all.” “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. For although there may be so-called gods in
heaven or on earth—as indeed there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’— 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” (8:4-6). They stood proudly in the church, saying, “there, that’s
it...there is no reason why we should not eat the meat sold in the markets!”
The
other side didn’t have that kind of confidence, and rather than forcing them
into uncomfortable situations, Paul appeals to the “freedom” people. “However,
not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with
idols, eat food as offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is
defiled” (8:7). This is the issue – do we cling to our “rights,” or do we
give up our rights for the sake of those who don’t have that faith? It is not
an easy tightrope of Spirituality to walk. What is clear is that arrogance,
pride, not caring about the other person should have no place in our
Christ-life. At the beginning of answering these questions, Paul had already
stated a guiding principle – “All things are lawful for me, but not all
things are profitable” (6:12).
In 8:1,
Paul addresses them with this in mind – “concerning the question you have
about buying meat sacrificed to an idol and sold in the market, the arrogance
of knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (my paraphrase). The word Paul
used we translate “puffs up” is “physio,” which meant to blow something
up like a balloon – inflate. We refer to it in the vernacular as a person who
has “a big head.” This arrogance had surfaced before as Paul rebuked those who
boasted about the sexual immorality that was taking place in the church
(5:1-2). The result is that those who claimed their rights did so unconcerned
about the fellowship they had in Christ – “But take care that this right of
yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak” (8:9).
Truth
is so crucial in cases where people are polarized. Common sense based on
Spiritual principles must help us think our way through the morass of
assumptions and differing perspectives. I’ve seen people fall out over many
problematic areas – some serious and some silly, such as the color of carpets!
At times you want to cry out, “is there a Spiritual Adult in the room?” Paul
dives in with an important principle – “Food will not commend us to God. We
are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do” (8:8). In
other words, some things need to be left in the area of personal choices. At
the same time, he adds a second qualification, “But take care that this
right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 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? And so by
your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died”
(8:9-11). Paul’s use of the word “weak” has to do with people who have past
experiences with things that became unhealthy. The concern is that they are
vulnerable to falling headlong into it again. An example of this would be an
alcoholic. While I have the right to have an alcoholic drink, it is foolish to
flaunt that in front of a recovering alcoholic. While it might not be a concern
for some to have a drink, it is a dangerous choice for others.
Another
important element Paul adds is the realization that a Christian is a “brother
for whom Christ died” (8:11). Paul asks a rhetorical question – “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?”
(8:10). It is crucial to think about the choices we make so that our guiding
motives are love and care for others. For many of the believers in Corinth, the
meat was “just another piece of meat.” For others, they had spent years
sacrificing and offering this meat to a pagan “god.” For these brothers, the
consequences of their weak conscience was grave – “Thus, sinning against
your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against
Christ” (8:12). The point that Paul makes is that it is never a
demonstration of love, faith, spiritual maturity, to do things out of the freedom
that is motivated by pride. Paul sums it up: “Therefore, if food makes my
brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble”
(8:13). The point is made: “take the high road” and care more about your
brother (and sister) than you do in your rights.
Dr.
John Stott said it best:
”For
Paul, therefore, the ‘strong’ person is the Christian who allows the dictates
of Christ’s Lordship alone to determine his daily behaviour; for such a person
the whole of life is his oyster. But there are many Christians for whom such
strength is so distant as to be almost a chimera (literally, an illusion) .
What is the way forward? ‘We who are strong ought to bear with (literally
‘carry’) the failings/weaknesses of the weak/inadequate, and not to please
ourselves; let each of us please his neighbour for his good, to edify him.’” [3]
It runs
across the grain of our rights-oriented Western culture when we read the words
“not to please ourselves.” Love is the higher principle and character
that rules a Christian’s life. Love is willing to serve the other instead of
self first. It’s true in marriage, and it’s true in the case of the weaker brother/sister.
Later Paul would state it again in his letter to the Philippians: “Do
nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more
significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests
but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). The issue is the
tender heart of a newer believer, not the self-righteous legalism of someone’s
do’s and don’ts. The “Gray” issues of life are important for us if, for no
other reason, than the testimony of Christ we portray to the world. Jesus was
concise, “Love one another” (John 13:34). It’s not that difficult to do
if we care.
Peace
[1]
William Barclay, 1 Cornthians, quoted by John Stott, The Bible Speaks, page 141
[2]
Ibid
[3]
John R Stott, The Bible Speaks, 1 Corinthians, page 149
Comments