Morning Message Text: 1Corinthians 8: 1-13
Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols
1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.
2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.
3 But whoever loves God is known by God.
4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.”
5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”),
6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols?
11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.
12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.
Morning Message:
I have preached from this text several times in the past twenty years. Every time I come to it; I am struck with a deeper sense of responsibility. When we come to Christ; a slow process begins to shape and mold us into what God wants our lives to be. We become more and more aware that our lives are no longer our own. This is what is supposed to happen. The process is different for every person. Some slower than others, but this change should occur. Sometimes we stop the process; we become stagnant in our faith, or we backslide a little bit. Don’t be dismayed or upset if this has happened in your life. It happens to all of us. I have always said that this sense of self, looking out for what we think is best for us and what we want, is the most difficult obstacle in our faith. It is engrained in us as a survival mechanism and serves us well in many instances of life. Our relationship with God must be different. The battle within us between the Holy Spirit and our flesh is never easy.
In our text from Deuteronomy, we see how seriously God takes falseness and the misleading of God’s people. Now when I start preaching from Deuteronomy, everyone tends to close their ears. We don’t like rules and regulations and this book is full of them. I just want to call your attention to the responsibilities that God is laying out before his people. First, he promises to raise up prophets among them because they are afraid to hear directly from him. But then he tells them that they are responsible to listen to the prophets. God says, “I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.” Then, to anyone who calls themselves a prophet and speaks falsely, God says they should be put to death. Boy wouldn’t that change the messages that some of these so called “prophets” of today preach.
Today’s message is not about food that has been sacrificed to idols. It’s not about whether you should eat meat or not. Clearly in this text we are told that none of that matters to God. Here is where this message gets difficult. Living a Christian life and resisting the sin that is all around us is tough, but as followers of Jesus, well, I’m about to make it even harder. How your actions affect others is just as important to God as the things that you do before God. Causing someone to sin is sin. Isn’t that just wonderful? Wait, are you saying that not only am I responsible for my own sins, but also the sins of those my actions affect? Yes, you are your brother’s keeper. That’s not fair. Sorry, welcome to God’s call upon your life. Stop thinking that your life belongs to you. If you gave your life to Jesus, stop trying to take it back. The definition of fair: “Free from bias, dishonesty, or injustice.” God himself came down from heaven and died a horrible death on a cross so that your sins could be forgiven. Be careful when you ask God for what is fair.
Let me give you a couple of examples. Take food out of your thoughts. I, of all people, am not going to preach to you about eating. Although I will say that we should take care of our health. I have said some of these things before, but I think they are worth repeating. Drinking alcohol in moderation. Nothing at all is sinful in a drink of alcohol. I can remember a time when I visited this church on Christmas Eve and wine was served as a choice for Communion. Oh my goodness, they drank wine in church. The Bible says that we should not be drunk with wine, but it doesn’t say we shouldn’t drink it. But there is always a but; right? You have brothers and sisters in Christ who may have a problem with drinking. Should we freely drink alcohol in front of them? It will do us no harm, but it could devastate their lives. Now for a second think about this. What if it is someone who doesn’t know they have an addiction problem and you, a Christian, drinking in front of them, causes them to think that it’s alright. What have you done?
Just one more example. In today’s society gambling is so prevalent. You don’t have to go anywhere to gamble; you can gamble your life away on your phone. Now gambling is a little different; it depends on your attitude and intentions. There is gambling for entertainment and there is compulsive gambling that can destroy entire families. Tina and I used to go to the Meadows for the evening. This was when they only had horse races. We would have dinner and casually bet on a few races.
We never really knew too much about it, but it was a fun evening. We would usually lose a few dollars and go home. I had a friend who had a real problem. Every day that the track was open he was there. He couldn’t stand staying at work for the evening; he had to go to the track. He lost everything he made and then some. I think back on those times when I was a very young Christian and I wonder: What influence did I have on my friend? Not the influence that I should have had. Yes church, all of us are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. Your life is not just your own. It was bought with a price, and you are responsible for much more than yourself.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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