The Principle of Liberty and Idols

Take their Bibles and turn please
to 1 Corinthians chapter 8. 1 Corinthians chapter 8. Meat offered to idols. Not a very compelling topic for
us, is it? In fact, many of us may be of
a mind to dismiss the topic entirely, but while meat offered to idols
was indeed a real issue for the Corinthians, Paul’s approach
to the problem presents some timeless principles that ought
to be applied to similar questions of our own day. There are many,
many subjects about which scripture is relatively silent, but about
which many Christians form and have to form strong and often
very diverse opinions. Several weeks ago, I proposed
a miniature list, and I spent some time thinking about some
of these divisive issues, and I jotted down as many as that
I could think of. The issue of school choice becomes
a divisive issue. Whether or not the wife works
outside of the home. The use of tobacco. the moderate
enjoyment of alcohol, the playing of cards and games, listening
to secular music, questions about the Sabbath and how it should
be honored, the use of modern technology, the internet and
its many trappings, dating and courtship, dancing, television,
gambling, clothing, movies, birth control, debt, insurance, entertainment,
and leisure. Those are just a few of the many
things that can become divisive as one forms an opinion not shared
by his brother. All of those things are important
questions and most of us have a position on each of them. And we do not always agree on
those things. How then do we navigate church
life and friendships without making a complete wreck of things
over areas of liberty. Paul would have naturally been
concerned about how his church plant was faring in the midst
of a heathen culture that produced many such questions, and so he
was likely not too surprised to learn of questions, even contentions
over people’s responses. It was crucial that Paul addressed
these matters because the integrity of the church was coming into
question. How would this new church bear up under the strains
that threatened to tear them apart? Things seem to be taking
a disastrous turn there in Corinth over the matter of food offered
to idols. There was a great division in
the Corinthian church about a lot of issues, but this was one of
the most acrimonious. The church was very divided over
the issue and people on both sides were insensitive and unkind
in the way that they were treating those who just happened to disagree
with them. On the one side, believers, some,
were proudly flaunting their freedoms, while those in the
opposite camp dug in their heels on their legalistic opinion. There was real strife in the
church. Both sides were in the wrong. And the one who comes
only to steal and kill and destroy, the devil, was having his way
with this church. So Paul is providing wisdom on
the matter here in chapter eight by way of sound and timeless
principles. These principles are broad enough
to deal with a wide range of questions. Questions that may arise in any
culture and day. They’re not limited to dealing
with idols and things sacrificed to idols. Christians can capably
apply these principles to any of the so-called gray area questions
that inevitably arise. These principles are for us.
We’ll take the chapter in its entirety, eight one through 13.
Would you read along with me? First Corinthians chapter eight.
Now concerning the things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all
have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant, love
edifies. If anyone supposes that he knows
anything, he is not yet known as he ought to know. But if anyone
loves God, he is known by him. Therefore, concerning the eating
of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such
thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but
one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on
earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for
us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things,
and we exist for Him, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are
all things, and we exist through Him, However, not all men have
this knowledge, but some, being accustomed to the idol until
now, eat food as if it were sacrifice to an idol, and their conscience,
being weak, is defiled. But food will not commend us
to God. We are neither the worse if we
do not eat, nor the better if we do eat. But take care that
this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block
to the weak. For if someone sees you who have
knowledge dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience,
if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? For through your knowledge, he
who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. And
also, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience
when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food causes
my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that
I will not cause my brother to stumble. The chapter, as we have
seen it, breaks up into three major sections. The principle
of knowledge and idols in verse one through three, Effectively,
they’re a call to humility. The principle of truth and idols
in verses four through six, where Paul establishes common ground
between the two groups based on biblical truth. And then finally,
in verses seven through 13, we have the principle of liberty
and idols, which we will consider this morning. In that first section,
the principle of knowledge and idols, Paul is detailing for
his readers the scope of knowledge. But knowledge alone would not
help the Corinthians navigate life’s difficult questions. Knowledge
alone had failed them. They all had knowledge, and still
they had conflict. But Paul lays out the second
principle in verses four through six, the principle of truth and
idols. And there he imparts a special
kind of knowledge, truth, And he does this to build a consensus. He wants to identify some specific
truths on which they could all agree on a foundation, no matter
which side they were taking in this debate. And he names two
specific truths there in verse four. First, we know that there
is no such idol in the world. And second, we know that there
is no God but one. Truth is an altogether different
kind of knowledge, and the only proper use of it is to receive
it and appropriate it into one’s life. And what we concluded last
week from Paul’s discussion of these truths is that when we
come to God in worship, whether privately in prayer or together
as a body of believers, we come before a loving Heavenly Father
eager to greet us, eager to hear our hurts and needs, We come
before a God whose designed purpose in our coming is His own glory. We come before our eternal Lord,
the very means of all created things. We come before the very
one by whom and through whom we are redeemed and forgiven
and saved. That is applicational truth. And that leads us to Paul’s final
principle, the principle of liberty and idols, verses seven through
13. Paul takes a deep breath here
and draws in closer to the reality of the situation. There in Corinth,
he wants every single believer to consider this reality. And
he begins by saying, however, not all men have this knowledge.
The knowledge that he’s speaking about is that which he addresses
in verses four through six. As I just mentioned, truth. Truth
is knowledge of the most powerful and convincing and most beneficial
kind. And he rallied these divided
believers around those two truths. There’s no such thing as an idol.
We can all agree to that. And there’s no God but one. Those are the truths. And remember,
he taught that lesson for the sake of those on both sides of
the argument. There were those who knew that
idols were nothing and therefore thought nothing of eating meat
from false sacrifices. And there too, listening to the
same truths, are those who perhaps have been raised in such a cult
and eating such meat was for them just plain wrong. And Paul
taught the lesson for both groups. And so it’s quaint and almost
amusing here when Paul says, however, not all men have this
knowledge because he just taught them these truths. They all heard
the same lesson. They all heard the same truths.
They may well have interacted with it thus far in their minds,
but those truths had not yet formed a conviction in their
heart. And in that sense, they do not
all have knowledge. He seemingly accommodates the
reality that it takes people time, doesn’t it? It takes people
time, sometimes a long time, to process, investigate, test,
verify, and finally to come to a conviction and to make that
conviction their own. It takes time. And Paul does
acknowledge that because here they are sitting there reading
this letter, having just heard his lesson on these two truths,
and further he elaborates about them there in verse seven. Some,
he says, are accustomed to the idol. What he indicates there
is that these believers among them, there are believers who were
very familiar with this idolatry. There’s a deep personal experience
with an idol, its worship, its people, its practices. And to
such a person, it’s as if the idol was a one-time dear friend,
a loved one, almost like a family member. And that former life,
that worship of a false idol has left a deep imprint on their
mind and heart. so that even after they come
to faith in Christ, they cannot rise above the thought that there
is something real about that idol. Breaking free from those
thoughts proves to be exceedingly difficult. So when Paul says that they are
accustomed to the idol until now, he points to the fact that
these are believers. They’re new believers perhaps,
who have come to Christ and they are learning and they’re growing,
but so far they cannot shake the memories and the impact of
their former idolatrous lifestyle. Paul addresses much the same
concern in Romans chapter 14. Would you turn there for just
a moment because it’s a passage that I’m gonna read from or quote
from again and again. Romans chapter 14. Keep a finger
in First Corinthians eight. We’ll only be here momentarily. And start in verse one. Now, except the one who is weak
in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. That’s how most people carry
themselves. It’s kind of arrogant, you know, that their knowledge
is greater than the ones around them. One man has faith that
he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. Let not him who eats regard with
contempt him who does not eat, and let him who does not eat
judge him who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to
judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or
falls, and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him
stand. One man regards one day above
another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully
convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes
it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord. For he
gives thanks to God, and he who eats not, for the Lord he does
not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives
for himself, and not one of us dies for himself. For if we live,
we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore,
whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ
died and lived again. He might be both Lord, both of
the dead and the living. But you, why do you judge your
brother? Or again, why do you regard your
brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before
the judgment seat of God, for it is written, As I live, says
the Lord, every knee shall bow to me. and every tongue shall
give praise to God. So then, each one of us shall
give account of himself to God. Therefore, let us not judge one
another anymore, but rather determine this, not to put an obstacle
or a stumbling block in a brother’s way. I know and am convinced
in the Lord that nothing is unclean in itself. But to him who thinks
anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For if because
of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according
to love. Do not destroy with your food
him for whom Christ died. Therefore, do not let what is
for you a good thing be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of
God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and
joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves
Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue the things
which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do
not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things
are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives
offense It is good not to eat meat, or to drink wine, or to
do anything by which your brother stumbles. The faith which you
have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does
not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is
condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith,
and whatever is not of faith is sin. Back, if you would, to
first Corinthians. And these believers, Paul continues,
being accustomed to the idol are still bearing the scars. Look at the verse, they are accustomed. And I take this to mean that
if they were to eat such meat, they would eat food as if it
were sacrificed to an idol. They cannot do it. They cannot
shake the images and the sounds and the smells of their former
lifestyle. And about Paul, they would say,
well, he gave a great lesson. He gave a great lesson about
idols and the one true God. But the reality is I cannot shake
the experience. And if they were to sit down,
whether in a private home or a marketplace, certainly some
temple courtyard, they could not eat without dredging up those
old memories. As Paul points out in Romans
14, 14, I know and I’m convinced in the Lord that nothing is unclean
in itself, including meat offered to idols. But to him who thinks
anything to be unclean, it is unclean. that’s essentially the
same argument that Paul is making here in First Corinthians. There’s
no such thing as an idol, he says. And yet to some the idol
was still very real. Note the way that Paul describes
this. He says that they eat food as if it were sacrifice to an
idol. Paul refuses to give them that. Paul refuses to bend here. He’s
very consistent. He refuses to say even that it’s
meat that has been sacrificed to an idol. But rather he says
it is as if it were. Because in reality he’s already
instructed everyone. An idol is nothing. Such a person
is totally misinformed that an idol is anything but a chunk
of wood or a piece of granite. As long as those erroneous thoughts
are entertained, such an individual will continue to respond accordingly. He thinks of the idol as real,
to him it’s real. That’s Paul’s point. But there’s
one more thing to note here. Paul says that such a person
with such a background in such a situation, if he was to eat,
his conscience would be defiled, literally soiled. His conscience,
or our conscience rather, is the early warning system in the
heart and life of each one of us. Both believers and unbelievers
have this mechanism called the conscience. It’s one of the indications
or assurances, I tell my young worldview students, it’s one
of those indications or assurances, proofs, if you will, that there
is a God. We know that something is pestering
us deep within. The conscience serves, as I said,
as an early warning system to alert our mind to the foolishness
or the dangerousness or the sinfulness of a thing. The conscience can and should
be informed, and we do this by reading the Scriptures. The Word
of God informs our conscience, and we find ourselves aware and
alerted to sinful things of which we were previously unaware. But
it’s also true because sometimes our conscience is overactive. We feel convicted over things
without cause. And so Scripture serves to inform
our conscience on those matters as well in order to liberate
us. And in the case of these former
idol worshipers, their conscience was not yet informed. To them,
this meat was still tainted. since it had been sacrificed
to this false God. This is what Paul means when
he says that this man’s conscience is weak. It’s uninformed. His
conscience is uninformed. And as a result, it’s like that
faulty smoke alarm, right? Always going off of those blaring,
irritating beeps. Remember, a neighbor one time
had just such a smoke alarm and he chucked it out in the backyard
and we had to listen to it for a week. As Paul would say it,
they did not yet have this knowledge. And because of that, if they
were to eat, if some brother were to coax them to join him
for a brisket sandwich, he might eat. But all the while he would
be mindful of the idol and its cult, the conscience of such
accuses the individual. The guilt may well be a false
guilt, but it’s very real to the individual. He believes in
his heart that he sinned And to be clear, his conscience is
not defiled by the food that he’s eating, but rather his conscience
kicks into action and begins to sound the alarm of conviction
because his conscience has not yet been informed. He doesn’t
believe that this is okay, and so he believes that he’s sinning.
He still believes the thing to be wrong, and his conscience
responds accordingly. The defilement comes not from
food, but from his sense of guilt. And I will just tell you here
that we ought not learn, try to learn to ignore or to dull
our conscience. If our conscience says no, we
should heed our conscience until it’s better informed. It’s our
God-given early warning system. And even when it’s under informed
or even misinformed, it’s to be heated until it’s more fully
instructed. As Paul said to the Romans in
1423, he who doubts is condemned if he eats because his eating
is not from faith. Whatever is not of faith is sin.
And so when lunch was over, This man would slink away, burdened
under the conviction that he had somehow participated in idolatry. The very thing he had come to
hate, the very thing from which Christ had saved him. What a
dreadful situation. But remember, although Paul is
talking to people on both sides of this argument, his attention
here is turned to those who do have knowledge. to those who
know the truths about which Paul spoke, that there are no such
thing as idols, one God. And now Paul is speaking much
more directly to them. But in verse 8, Paul declares
one more truth, one that both sides need to consider, especially
those with weaker consciences. Look at verse 8. Food will not
commend us to God. We are neither the worse if we
do eat, nor the better if we if we do not eat, nor the better
if we do eat. The bottom line in all of this
is that food will not commend us to God. It’s an interesting
thought. It almost personifies, personifies
our lunch as marching into the throne room of God to introduce
us. You almost begin to think veggie
tales here. Scripture reserves that great
honor for the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Colossians 1.22, he
has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death in
order to present you before him in holiness and blameless beyond
reproach. No lunch, no matter how delectable,
is ever going to self-animate and seize that role. That thought
is utterly absurd as if eating anything would somehow garner
us favor with God. And the full impact of the absurdity
isn’t fully recognized until you plug in some delectable dish
into that equation. Think of how ridiculous it would
be if someone were to suggest that we can only be at peace
with God, that God will only grant us favor or kindness if
we eat cilantro. or plug in your favorite vegetable,
or your least favorite, Brussels sprouts, or kale. I made a personal decision years
ago not to eat anything with a serrated edge. You see how
silly this is? And that’s Paul’s point, and
he drives home his point here in two different ways, negatively
and positively. We’re neither the worse if we
do not eat, nor the better if we do. Look at both of those
extremes. First, we’re neither the worse
if we do not eat. I told some ladies beforehand
today, there may be some health value to eating tomatoes, vitamin
C, I guess, potassium and more. Thankfully, you get some of that
if they’re cooked, because that’s the only way some of us can eat
them. But we lose absolutely nothing, spiritually speaking,
if we do not eat tomatoes. We lose nothing of eternal benefit
by abstaining from eating anything, especially tomatoes. No matter
what it is that is set before us, we’re not the worst if we
do not eat. Spiritual speaking, it’s not
necessary. And Paul says that the opposite is true as well.
We’re not better if we do. that clause serves as a rebuke
to any who are so self-righteous that because they possess some
greater degree of knowledge, just because you may know that
an idol is nothing and because of that you feel free to eat
whatever you like, that does not put you in greater favor
with God. For instance, liver might be
particularly good for you. High in iron, I’m told. I have
no idea. But it has absolutely no spiritual
benefit whatsoever. Food, Paul makes clear, will
not commend us to God. Whether we eat a thing or skip
it altogether, it will not benefit or negatively affect our relationship
with God. Regardless of what we eat, God
will not love us any more or less because of it. We will never
stand before God in judgment to answer for what we did or
did not eat. Paul instructed the Romans here
as well in 1417. The kingdom of God is not eating
and drinking, but righteousness and peace and the Holy Spirit.
And so with that truth before them, Paul moves now to instruct
the stronger brother in verses nine through 12. Not only the
reality of the situation and this additional truth in verse
eight, but in verse nine, Paul basically says here, with all
that said, be careful not to offend. But it’s at this juncture in
verse nine through 12 that Paul issues his sternest caution yet
in this entire chapter. He’s spoken of the principle
of love and idols that even though not all have knowledge, not everyone
applies this knowledge out of a heart of love. Paul has spoken
of the principle of truth and idols, no such thing as an idol,
no God but one. And he only just now set before
them a new truth that eating does not affect us spiritually
at all. But here Paul somewhat soberly
applies all of this. He pulls it all into focus in
verses one through eight, and he distills it down to a statement
in verse nine, take care. Take care, literally see to it.
Be very careful how you apply this truth. Take care that this liberty of
yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
When Paul speaks of liberty here, he acknowledges a basic Christian
privilege that we all enjoy. The freedom to act upon one’s
own convictions. It’s a tacit acknowledgement
that not every little thing is addressed in scripture. There
are areas of freedom, there’s matters of conscience, but that
privilege is to be guided by the virtue of love for our fellow
Christians. We have to take into account
their convictions. So the liberty of which Paul
speaks is obviously here. The liberty, the freedom to eat
whatever one chooses, even meat sacrificed to idols. Paul says
that’s okay. But he quickly hems in that liberty
by admonishing them not to allow that liberty to become a stumbling
block to their brother, who’s weak. Without a doubt here, by
weak, Paul is referring to the man who yet has an uninformed
conscience, who still believes that eating meat offered to idols
is sinful. And so he says, be careful, take
care, see to it that you do not offend this man. That word, the
word that Paul chooses here, stumbling block, is a relatively
rare word used only once by Peter, a dozen times, half dozen times
rather by Paul. Paul uses it in Romans 9. You
might remember about the Jews who stumbled over the idea of
justification by faith. Isaiah had prophesied that Christ
would be a rock over which to stumble. The Jews, however, chose the
avenue of works righteousness instead. They stumbled over Christ. Peter, as I said, uses the word
also and only once in 1 Peter 2, 8. Also the stumbling over
the precious cornerstone of Jesus Christ. They did not believe,
they stumbled. But here, the stumbling block
is not Jesus Christ, but rather an impediment to faith in Him. What an alarming thought. Paul, as you may have heard,
echoes that same admonition in 14, 13, let us not judge one
another, but rather determine this, not to put an obstacle
in a brother’s way. This idea of a stumbling block
refers to an action by one believer that provokes another to sin. whether by encouragement or by
example. And Jesus tells us that that
is just about the worst thing a person can do. Matthew 18,
seven, it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe
to that man through whom the stumbling block comes. It’s inconceivable
that a Christian would knowingly put an obstacle before another. in coming to Christ. And so we
need to weigh our actions and their effect on our own lives,
but we also need to weigh their effect on others lives. Causing
a brother to stumble is the careless behavior of a Christian brother
callous to the sensitivities of his weaker brother. Our liberty
to eat may not commend us to God, nor in itself be wrong,
But the exercise of our liberty can do real harm if it is exercised
in the wrong spirit. No wonder Paul adds, Romans 14,
20, do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. Those things are evil for the
one who eats and gives offense. And so through a stronger brother’s
insensitivity to his weaker brother’s conscience and convictions, a
gauntlet to that brother’s faith is thrown down in front of him.
Paul explains how this is so in verse 10. Just glance at verse
10 if you would. If someone sees you who have
knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple will not his conscience,
if he is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols.
Paul presents a hypothetical situation here. And he poses
it in verse 10, to the one who has knowledge. He knows that
an idol is nothing. He knows that there’s only one
God. It’s to this man that Paul presents
this scenario, this hypothetical scenario. This knowledgeable
brother has stopped in for lunch in, of all places, the patio
outside of an idol’s temple. They were common. I’ve eaten
in some strange places in my day. A few years back, one brother
proposed that we meet for lunch at the hospital, PVH. Apparently he liked their soup.
And I remember even further back, some of you have been there.
I ate a wild place, Pike Place Market, where fish are flying
around through the air. And of course, my host ordered
me a bowl of chopino, Cold fish stew. And they didn’t even have
the courtesy to remove the shells. You do that on your own. Well, in addition to being strange,
sometimes where you eat can get you in a little hot water. Barbara
and I know this because in our first church, there was a pizza
place in town. Flashing sign in the window said
so. So Barbara and I, baby in tow, drove up, walked in. The
pizza ended up being just so-so. But boy, did we hear about it
the next day. We had a very distinctive car. Royal
blue Ford Taurus wagon. Easy to spot, and someone did
spot our car outside the pizza place and told our elders at
the church. You see, it turns out that this
place was really a bar. primarily, and in walks innocently
the pastor and his family. Now we understood why they all
looked at us so funny. Well, this guy is in the same
situation. He’s meeting a friend for lunch,
perhaps who has proposed a patio outside of a certain idol’s temple
grounds. It isn’t referring to the idol
temple itself, and certainly not to the idolatrous sacrifice,
but rather to the patio or the courtyard outside of the temple. And these areas were commonplace,
and they were common areas. Anybody could go there and stop
there and meet there. One did not necessarily need
to belong to the idol cult to gather there, and many did so
for shade or a place to sit. even as in the case before us
to have lunch. And this is exactly where the
hypothetical situation here that Paul describes. He didn’t, the
man didn’t think this through. Because here he is, the stronger
brother, the one with convictions, well, pardon me, without convictions,
eating lunch on such a patio. And along comes his fellow church
member, the new believer, who used to be a member of this very
cult. And Paul describes the potential
fallout. Will not his conscience, if he
is weak, be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols? Paul’s
rhetorical question there presumes an affirmative answer. Yes, he
will be. Yes, he will be inclined to sit
down and join his friend and even to join in eating temple
meat even though he believes it’s wrong. Paul says such a
person, if he’s weak, if his convictions are weak, he can
be strengthened. He can be emboldened to go even
against his own conscience. Paul says that this is a great
sin, not only by the one going against his conscience, but even
more so to his allegedly stronger brother who causes him to stumble. It’s a truly tragic situation.
It’s a situation Paul insists here that never should have happened. The damage is real and it’s severe.
Look at verse 11. For through your knowledge, he
who is weak is ruined. I love the way that Paul approaches
this. He refers to this stronger brother’s knowledge. Remember
knowledge? whole chapter is about knowledge. That’s where Paul
started this whole discussion. We all have knowledge, verse
one. But remember also Paul’s balance
to that. If anyone is supposed that he
knows anything, he is not yet known as he ought to know. Don’t
lean on your knowledge. Here in verse 11, he uses that
argument to indict such a careless individual. Through your knowledge,
through the application of what you know, The way that you flippantly applied
that knowledge, you ruined your weak brother. Make no mistake,
the word ruined, Apollo me, used 90 times in the New Testament,
almost invariably of eternal destruction. We’re not suggesting
here that the man loses his salvation, but his faith is severely damaged.
Through your selfish, careless behavior, attending only to your
own liberties, in a sense you killed your brother. You destroyed
him. And to that already strong statement,
Paul adds, the brother for whose sake Christ died. The significance
of that statement cannot be muted. It means that when we disregard
our brother’s convictions, weak and uninformed as they may be,
we disregard the very sacrifice that Christ made on his behalf.
But it gets even worse. Look at verse 12. And so by sinning
against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak,
you sin against Christ. Whether we’re weak or strong, are one. We are of the same body,
the body of Christ. How could we dare offend a part
of our own body? Paul brings the idea of sinning
against the brethren here from verse 11. And it is not so much
the dismay of seeing a brother eating on the temple grounds
of an idol, as much as it is his brother’s encouragement to
join him That’s what wounds his conscience.
To a Christian, more horrific words can hardly be imagined.
To sin against Christ, the one who loved us and lived for us
and sacrificed for us and redeemed us and teaches us, the same one
Lord that Paul described back in verse six, that Lord Jesus
Christ, he himself is abused, mistreated, by our mistreatment
of our brother. Paul doesn’t leave any of us
just hanging there. Instead, he gives us a principle, some wise and faithful guidance
in verse 13. Therefore, if food causes my
brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again. so that I will
not cause my brother to stumble. As we snap back to reality, we’re
made so thankful that Paul is describing a hypothetical situation,
aren’t we? But too often, situations like
this are far too real. They do occur, but they don’t
have to happen. And Paul provides the backdoor of escape to such
a circumstance there in verse 13, the condition is assumed
If food causes my brother to stumble, and we know that to
be the case because Paul just laid out the circumstances in
nine through 12. If food causes my brother to
stumble, that condition warrants an appropriate response. If food
causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again. That indeed is a strong statement.
And it doesn’t necessarily mean that this is the day that Paul
gave up red meat, as if we should use that as a perpetual argument.
But if the circumstances warranted it, Paul is more than willing. This captures as it is intended,
the infinite value of our brother. There could never be any earthly
enjoyment some area of freedom, some gray area liberty that we
could ever love more greatly than our brother or sister in
Christ. Causing one of these to stumble
must always be the most objectionable thing that we can conceive. We need to humble ourselves before
the throne of grace. our merciful King.