“Free to Love"
Excerpts from a sermon preached on Sunday, July 5, 2015 at
Hebron Baptist Church, Denham Springs, Louisiana by Pastor Joe Alain.
Scripture Reading: 1
Corinthians 8:1-13
More than ever, we are asking, “What does it mean to be
free? Are there limits to our freedoms?” And “How do we balance our individual
freedoms with the greater community and nation of which we belong to?” These
are not always easy to answer. And when these issues get “messy, they sometimes
end up in a court of law. As Christians living in these United States we have
dual freedoms, we have freedoms as US citizens and because of the cross of
Christ we have spiritual freedom from the tyranny and power of sin.
Exercising our Christian freedom can sometimes be “messy”
because more often than not, we must be guided by principles rather than
specific rules. In Christ we are free, but we are “Free to Love.” Life Application: Christians should practice
their Christian freedom responsibly by considering others, building others up
in Christian love. In using your freedom responsibly, you will be honoring God
and helping to build up other believers, helping them to mature in Christ.
First Corinthians 8:1-13 deals with knowledge, love, idols,
and the weaker Christian. What does it all mean for us today? How does this
relate to the exercising of our Christian freedom?
In our text, there is a plea to . . .
1. Use your spiritual
knowledge to build others up (8:1-3)
The immediate issue that Paul was dealing with was “food
sacrificed to idols” (8:1). Animals would be offered as sacrifices in pagan
temples. The meat from those sacrifices would be split up in three ways: (1)
Some would be burned (usually the fat), (2) Some given to the priest, and (3)
Some given to the person bringing the offering. Obviously, the priest could
only use so much meat (they didn’t have freezers), so the excess meat would be
offered in the local meat markets. Now, only the best animals were brought for
sacrifices so that meant that usually the best meat was found in the markets.
Christians had some questions about all this.
(1) Is it
acceptable to buy and eat meat from a sacrificed animal? Did the pagan god
actually have an effect on the meat?
(2) Is it
acceptable to eat this meat as a guest in a friend’s home? Should you ask your
neighbor where he bought the Sunday roast?
(3) Is it
acceptable to attend a pagan sacrifice and enjoy the meal? Believers were
invited to banquets and some participated for social reasons. For us in South
Louisiana, the question might be, is it ok to attend a “Mardi Gras” celebration?
Paul’s basic answer to all of this is not to deal
specifically with a list of what’s right and what’s wrong, but to move beyond
to the principle that spiritual knowledge (knowing the truth) should result in
a more loving attitude towards others. The question really is not, “Can I do
it?” But, “Should I do it? Will this be seen as something that could edify
others?” “Knowledge puffs up [i.e., knowledge without thought of others leads
to pride] while love builds up” (8:1). It’s possible for a believer who has
misunderstood knowledge to be self-centered. However, knowledge properly
understood leads to an attitude of love towards others. While knowledge may be
self-centered, love is always other-centered.
People who have knowledge, who are maturing believers, who
are stronger have a heavier burden of responsibility to bear. In Scripture, it
is the strong who must care for the weak (Rom. 14-15). Five times the word
“weak” is used in this passage (8:7, 9, 10, 11, 12). Gentiles (non-Jews) would
have participated in sacrifices to idols prior to their coming to Christ. After
salvation some would have found it difficult to forget those associations with
their gods. More mature believers should show some sensitivity to the weaker
believers in this area.
The mention of “love” in this passage is key to the entire
argument and echoes the “Shema” in Deuteronomy 6:4-5. This passage is a very practical
application of the Great Commandment, to love God and love one another (Matt.
22:37-40). So, this is a plea for sensitivity on the part of the Christian who
has “knowledge,” over against the weaker believer who doesn’t. While freedom
comes through faith in Christ, it is always governed by love. Paul says, “You
who know are to love.” Use your knowledge to build others up.
2. Deepen your
understanding of the character of God (8:4-6).
The mature are growing in their understanding of God’s
character and world. They have learned some things about God and the world. They
have learned some things that the weaker believers at Corinth need to learn as
well. What have they learned?
(1) They
know that “An idol is nothing,” (8:4). The very word for “idol” means
“no-thing,” “empty,” “vanity.” Idols are “no things.” Eating meat sacrificed to
idols means eating food sacrificed to nothing. By the way, for those of you who
have an I Phone, ask Siri what is 0 divided by 0. This is what Paul is saying.
If an idol is a “nothing,” it doesn’t matter what you do with it, or how you
pray over it, because by definition, the idol is a “no thing.”
(2) They
know “There is no God but one” (8:4). There may be many little “g’s” (gods) and
little “l’s” (lords), but there is only “one Lord, Jesus Christ” (8:6). While
the burden of sensitivity falls on the strong, the more mature believer, the
weak need to mature in their understanding of the nature of God so that they
too can experience freedom in Christ.
However, I don’t want to imply that as you mature and
experience freedom in Christ that you will get to the place where there are not
limitations. The limits (boundaries) of your freedom will be framed by
exercising your freedom in love and based on your conscience. In other words,
you could be a maturing believer in Paul’s day and still not feel comfortable
eating meat sacrificed to idols, not because you don’t have “knowledge” or you
don’t “understand,” but because of personal convictions. Your conscience won’t
really allow you, and that’s fine, but because of spiritual maturity you
realize that what your conscience tells you is not binding on everyone else. So
while you don’t eat meat sacrificed to idols, neither do you condemn your
brother who does or look down upon him as a lesser Christian. So while I’m free
in Christ, my conscience informed by past experiences may limit the exercise of
that freedom. And even if they do not, I still will be limited to exercising my
freedom in love. So freedom is exercised in love and done with a clear
conscience.
3. Exercise your
Christian freedom with care (8:7-13)
Here is the heart of the passage. We are free, but free to
love! The more mature are to consider “the weak” (8:9) in “conscience” (8:7). Believers
are not to be “stumbling blocks” but “building blocks.” What does Paul mean by
“stumbling block”? If my actions or my example lead someone else to violate
their conscience, then they will experience “guilt,” something I certainly
would not want a person to do. But even more dangerous, it may go beyond guilt
to compromising with pagan idolatry (8:13). This is the kind of falling away or
destruction that Paul has in mind.
Verses 8-10 (“if someone . . .”) provides a case study. It
might go beyond eating the steak to participation in pagan idolatry. A careless
Christian could lead a newer believer to fall away all together from the faith.
Let me share a personal testimony that
parallels the point being made in this case study. I am completely free to
drink alcohol but I freely choose not to drink alcohol for two reasons. First,
I witnessed the destruction that happens firsthand when people abuse alcohol. My
parents split up when I was young and while I’m sure there were other factors
that led to the breakup, the abuse of alcohol was certainly a major part of the
disintegration of their relationship. Aside from destroying a marriage and
family, alcohol destroyed my Dad’s liver which hastened the end of his life sooner
than it had to be. I too began early in my teenage years following in my Dad’s
footsteps. I too was traveling down a dead end street. Fortunately, when I gave
my life to Christ, He changed me, he set me free from the need for alcohol. Now,
I experience a “high” and a “feeling” that no bottle could ever provide. I have
in me through the Holy Spirit the joy of the Lord!
So drinking alcohol is not really an option for me on that
one point alone. I’m free to drink alcohol, but my conscience doesn’t have a
very good feeling about it. I’ve just seen too much destruction wrought due to
its use. But second, I don’t want to participate in anything that could lead
you to believe that a potentially destructive behavior is acceptable for a
child of God. I love you too much to indulge in a behavior that I know
personally robs people of life. I would never want you to follow my example if
it leads you into sin and enslavement. The present danger is that my behavior
could embolden a believer who has been set free from alcohol to drink again,
and even worse, you might completely fall away. So my freedom is limited by my
conscience and my love for others.
You might be tempted to think, “What’s the big deal?” “Aren’t
you kind of being extreme hear?” Loving others in the exercise of our Christian
freedom is pretty important to God! When we exercise our freedom without love,
which means without thought of others, we possibly sin against our brother or
sister which in turn is a “sin against Christ” (8:12). So yes, it is a big
deal.
At this point, I do want to inject a word about “Balance.” I
don’t want to suggest that the stronger believers need to be paranoid or always
pandering to the weaker believers, constantly giving up their freedoms in
Christ. The weak do need to be maturing in Christ. What God is saying is that
the stronger believers need to be sensitive and loving to the weaker believers
(“for whom Christ died”) and the weaker believers need to move forward in
maturity (“possess knowledge”) and be free from a legalistic version of
Christianity that Jesus died to free us from.
The final word from Paul sums up the Christian principle (8:13,
“Therefore”). Paul is saying, “The
exercise of my personal freedom in Christ is not worth it, if it ‘causes my
brother or sister to fall into sin’” (8:13). “I am free, but I am free to Love!”
Christian freedom properly understood, leads to serving one another in love
(cf. Gal. 5:13).
How then do we determine right from wrong? How do I know
when there is no clear word in Scripture? Here are some questions to consider.
(1) Does my conscience accuse me or
excuse me? What does my conscience tell me? Keep in mind, to be trustworthy and
reliable, your conscience must be informed by the truth of God’s Word. Without
God’s truth you and I will probably not get it right. So, be sure that your
conscience is being informed with God’s Word.
(2) What
will my actions communicate to others intentionally or unintentionally? This
requires “thinking through” issues. Some in Corinth (probably unintentionally)
didn’t think about how their actions might effect their fellow believers.
(3) Am I
acting in love? If in the exercise of my Christian freedom my attitude is,
“People need to grow up, or get over it,” I’m probably not acting in love because
love considers others.
Exercising our Christian freedom can sometimes by messy
because more often than not, we must be guided by principles rather than
specific rules. In our Scripture and throughout the New Testament, we find that
as Christians we are free, but we are “Free to Love.” Christians should use
their Christian freedom responsibly by considering others, building others up
in Christian love. When you use your freedom to love, you will be fulfilling
the Great Commandment, to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself.
“For His Glory, By His Grace!”
Pastor Joe
“I thank my God every
time I remember you.” Philippians 1:3
