The Focus In Our Use of Liberties

Transcript

GR 1476
06/26/11
The Focus in the Use of Liberties
1 Corinthians 8-10; Romans 13-15
Gil Rugh

We've been studying the book of Romans together and we just finished the last major section of the book of Romans in the middle of chapter 15, a section that dealt with the matter of what we call Christian liberty and the using of our liberty and rights as believers in Jesus Christ. When we talk about liberty and rights, we're talking about those areas that the Scripture does not say are right or wrong. We have freedom in those areas, and how are we to use the freedom that we have in Christ. Romans 14 and the first half of Romans 15 are one of the major sections on that subject.

Another major section is found in the book of 1 Corinthians 8-10. And I want to direct your attention to 1 Corinthians in our time together today. I want to do something a little different. We've worked through some of the details of Paul's explanation and instruction in Romans 14 and the first half of Romans 15 on this subject. What I want to do with you today on the basis of that foundation, do an overview of 1 Corinthians 8-10. We're not looking at all the details but basically reading through and seeing how Paul addresses this subject in writing to the Corinthians. And we see that they are basically the same foundational principles operative, even though the issue is different.

Come to 1 Corinthians 1 for a moment. And in verse 2 Paul indicates that he is writing to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. In verse 9 he says, God is faithful through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. So he is writing to those whom God in His grace has called to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, has brought them into a relationship with God and a relationship with other believers. We are sanctified, saints, those who have been set apart by God from sin and the world to Himself. Paul emphasized in the last part of this chapter the message of the cross of Jesus Christ and it being the central foundational issue to everything. In verse 18 he said, the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. And God is well pleased, the end of verse 21. To what the world views a s foolishness in the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we are lost in our sin, we are without hope in the world. We are the enemies of God, under His condemnation, destined to an eternal hell. But Jesus Christ, the Son of God, by His death on the cross, His resurrection and ascension to the Father, He has paid the penalty for sin. The work of redemption is finished, salvation has been provided and all who believe in Christ will experience the forgiveness of sins, be brought into fellowship with God and fellowship with others who have believed in Jesus Christ. Paul stresses through this section that we preach Christ. It is a simple basic message that the world views as foolish, stupid, moronic, the Greek word for foolish. But God has chosen not the wise and intelligent, but the simple to proclaim Jesus Christ.

So in 1 Corinthians 2:2 Paul said, I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Verse 4, my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men but on the power of God. There is only one Savior, there is only one way of salvation—by hearing the message of Jesus Christ and believing it. That's what has happened at Corinth. Paul came and preached Jesus Christ. Now he is in the city of Ephesus and he writes back to the church at Corinth with this letter of instruction.

And you come over to 1 Corinthians 7:1, you'll note the chapter begins, now concerning the things about which you wrote. This church had contacted Paul and sent to him some questions that they needed clarification regarding. What they should do, how they should function and so on now that they are believers in Jesus Christ. Chapter 7 revolved around matters related to marriage. And you come to 1 Corinthians 8:1, you'll note the chapter begins, now concerning things sacrificed to idols. They had written to ask Paul about eating foods sacrificed to idols. There is a similarity to what we talked about in Romans. In Romans 14-15 there was an issue about foods as well, that could be eaten or should not be eaten. There the primary focus was on those who had come out of a Jewish background and the restrictions that the Mosaic Law placed upon eating certain foods or observing certain days. And Paul made clear that in Christ we have been set free from all the obligations to the Mosaic Law. There was freedom now to eat any foods and to observe or not observe certain days.

Well we have the issue of foods in 1 Corinthians, but it's a little different. Here these Corinthians coming out of pagan backgrounds, live in an environment where it is customary that the foods you would eat would first be sacrificed to the idol, the god that they worshiped. And then it could be sold in the marketplace or eaten by the family or shared with friends and so on. Coming out of this background there was an issue, just like for Jews coming out of their background. They came to trust in Christ, but now there is a time of growth. But during that time of growing some had a fuller, clearer understanding of God's grace and what it meant in how they lived and what they were free to do and not do. Others were still troubled coming out of their background. So we saw in Romans that both Jew and Gentile alike needed to understand that foods were not an issue. And you were not better if you ate certain foods or if you didn't eat certain foods. There was liberty there. But those who had more maturity and understanding their freedom to eat had to take into careful consideration the fact that not all believers had matured to the same level. And so they had to be careful in how they used their liberty, not to create difficulties for those who were yet less mature.

It's a similar kind of instruction we have in 1 Corinthians 8-10, it's fuller, so we'll be just moving through rather quickly, looking how Paul addresses the subject of liberty we have. I wanted to come and overview this section with you because it is broader than what we considered in Romans. And Paul by his application and illustration takes it much broader than the issue of foods. But he starts out with the issue of foods sacrificed to idols. So he says, now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. He's going to put things in proper perspective because you know how it is even today as a believer. When you come to understand, maybe more fully, God's grace you have to be careful that that knowledge that you have, increased knowledge and understanding doesn't lead to arrogance. So Paul puts everybody on the same level to start as believers. We know we all have knowledge regarding food sacrificed to idols. This is common knowledge among believers. So you are not that much better just because you know about idols and so on.

But then there is a subtle rebuke here. Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies. If all you have is knowledge, you'll be arrogant, puffed up, filled with wind, bloated with yourself, if you will. Because that's all knowledge does, if you don't wed your knowledge to love. Because knowledge conditioned and controlled by love builds other believers, helps them mature in their relationship with Christ. So he's not talking about love without knowledge, because he's already made the point—we all have knowledge in this area. But what he is driving home through this section of this letter is not everyone is using their knowledge with love. And all knowledge does without love is create problems and dissension.

So verse 2, if anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. You know, put into perspective here. If all you have is knowledge, again, your knowledge is incomplete because you may know a lot of facts about foods and idols, but do you know and have a lot of knowledge about love. If anyone loves, God he is known by Him. It is God's initiative. We love because He first loved us. To be known by God, to be the object of His divine favor and because of that we love God. And because that relationship has been established, we can talk about the relationship we have with one another because that's foundational. Our love for fellow believers is the result of our love for God. Our fellowship with one another is the result of our fellowship with God. John wrote in his first epistle, he was writing so that we would have fellowship with one another, and truly our fellowship is with God. What binds us together is God is our heavenly Father, we have come to salvation in Christ and have become the sons of God.

With that as the foundation then, our relationship to God as a result of His love for us, His knowing us, how are we to function? 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. So concerning things sacrificed to idols, verse 1, we know we all have knowledge. And every believer knows there is no such thing as an idol in the world and there is no God but one. That's foundational, that was foundational for Israel in Deuteronomy 6, that there is only one God. So believers recognize these aren't other competing gods that the world is worshiping, that they make idols to. Common knowledge among us as believers—there is only one God, He's the God who created everything, He's the God who rules over all. He is the only Savior.

We know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, there is no God but one. And even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, objects of worship, yet for us there is but one God, the Father from whom are all things. We exist for him. One Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we exist through Him. So there is God the Father, He is the source of all. And God the Son and God the Father always work in perfect harmony. And God the Father works His work through God the Son, He created all things through the Son, Colossians 1 tells us. He carried out the work and accomplished the work of redemption through His Son coming to this earth and suffering and dying on the cross and being raised from the dead.

So we understand the uniqueness of our God. All other gods, small “g,” are nothing. They are creations, they are not eternal gods. This is not new. We won't have time to go to other passages, but we'll do one at the beginning here. Jeremiah 10:1, hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, oh house of Israel. Thus says the Lord, do not learn the way of the nations and do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens, although the nations are terrified by them. So astrology and what is your sign and all that goofiness, it's nothing. It's foolishness. You don't have to be concerned about it at all. The customs of the people are delusion because it is the wood cut from the forest, the work of the hands of the craftsmen with a cutting tool. So here the idols, the gods they make, they like to have something to represent their god, to be their god. They decorate it with silver and gold, they fasten it with nail and hammer so that it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they. The prophets didn't know about not making fun of other people's worship, I guess. They cannot speak, they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, they can do no harm, they can't do any good. They are worthless, they are nothing. A piece of wood is a piece of wood. There is none like you, oh Lord. You are great. Great is your name in might.

Verse 10, but the Lord is the true God. He is the living God. Verse 12, it is He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom. By His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. So that's common knowledge among all who are true believers. They know the living God.

And just an aside. I was watching a program, some of you probably saw it. On these channels they were showing trucks that deliver material in other parts of the world on these dangerous roads. I think it might have been called, the most dangerous roads. But one of the trucks was delivering an idol to an isolated community, and I forget the country. And the whole program was about how careful they had to be that he didn't hit too many big bumps or something and break the god. And then when he gets to the village he is going to, they open the truck up and they unpack it and everybody is so excited because the god didn't break on the trip. That's just a terrific god. He gets delivered in a truck and then you are relieved he didn't break on the way because then he wouldn't be any use to you.

But that's true of all the gods that men and women worship, wherever they are. They are nothing because there is only one true and living God. And there is only one way of worshiping the true and living God, only one way of having a relationship with the true and living God. That's why Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, but by Me. It's exclusive, but it is inclusive. There is only one Savior, but there is only one Savior needed.

So when he talks here about the knowledge we have and who our God is, that's settled for all believers. However, back in 1 Corinthians 8:7, not all men have this knowledge. Some being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to the idol, their conscience being weak is defiled. You can see similarity if you were here for our study in Romans 14-15. The weak conscience, they are accustomed to the idol here. In other words just like the Jews come out of a background of observing all the restrictions and requirements of the Mosaic Law, these pagans at Corinth came out of a background that these gods have importance and the food offered to them is inseparably connected to the worship of these gods. And so we are told that they are accustomed to the idol, they eat the food as if it were sacrificed to an idol. For them it is more than just food, it's food sacrificed to an idol. It's inseparably joined to worship activity. That becomes important as we move along. We get over to 1 Corinthians 10 Paul will have a strong warning that the more mature and understanding don't cross the line and get entangled in false worship, thinking they are using freedom. So here those coming out of this background, naturally if this has been offered before it's been served up to an idol, then it's part of a worship system. And by partaking of it I am still being joined in that worship system. So that's their thinking because of their background.

Their conscience being weak is defiled. Same point we saw in Romans. Their conscience being weak, they don't understand the freedom they have, the liberty they have and that the food sacrificed to idols hasn't changed anything. It is still just food, good for eating. So when they eat it their conscience is telling them this is something God does not want me to do. But they go ahead and do it anyway. That defiles their conscience, gives them a guilty conscience and makes them guilty before the Lord as we have seen in Romans, for doing something the believe God would not have them do. So their conscience being weak is defiled.

Verse 8, but food will not commend us to God, for we are neither the worse if we do not eat nor the better if we do eat. Food does not commend us to God. I can have a fuller understanding of grace and liberty, but that does not mean I am better off spiritually be eating that food. It means I have a clearer understanding of liberty and freedom. But that doesn't mean now I will be better if I eat it because it doesn't matter whether I eat it or not. That maturity comes with my understanding. Going ahead and eating it .... Sometimes in reading articles and writings on liberty we get the idea, we really have accomplished something when this person who is not comfortable eating it, now eats it or drinks it. That's not the issue. The point is not to get them to do it, but when they grow in maturity they'll understand they have the liberty and freedom to do it. But going ahead and doing it doesn't make them better before the Lord. So understand the issue here. We sometimes get that they really have come to maturity when they go ahead and do it. No, that's not maturity, in fact Paul is going to say just the opposite. Often the greatest maturity is manifested by not going ahead and doing it. So we never want to put people in the position where there is some kind of pressure of one kind or another that it will be manifesting maturity because they go ahead and eat it or drink it. That's never the manifestation of maturity. The mature, the strong understand their liberty. Now the implementation of that understanding is controlled by factors like love.

So we're not the better nor the worse. 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. So now those who have fuller understanding, this liberty, this authority, this right that they have should not somehow become a stumbling block, an impediment. The broad gets broken up in front of them so they can't proceed like they should, to the weak, the one who doesn't have the same understanding.

For 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. So here is the weak Christian observing the more mature Christian. There is so-and-so, he has been a believer for years longer than I have been and he's eating this food and partaking in this. I guess I should do it, too. And then what happens? He goes ahead and eats.

Then verse 11, through your knowledge he who is weak is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. And we have this same connection as we had in Romans. You ruin the brother for whom Christ died over what you eat and what you drink. You make that such an issue and so important to you that you would ruin spiritually one for whom Christ died. I mean, the contrast. I'm making food such a huge issue, I elevate it above the death of Christ because I'll bring harm to the one that Christ died for over the issue of my liberty. It's my right, I can eat it, I can drink it, I'm not stepping back from my liberty one step. It's my right in the Lord. Well there is an element of truth as in all error. It is a right. That's what he said, we have a right in that sense. But we are obligated to use our rights properly.

We do this with the speed limit. Sometimes you'll get to a place and you'll see the speed limit and then you'll have qualifications—conditions permitting. And then you are supposed to generally, if you have a snowstorm and the road is covered with ice, that doesn't mean you still have to go the speed limit. You have authority to go the speed limit, that's the maximum prescribed, but there are other conditions that govern that. That's what we're talking about with our liberty.

Verse 12, note here where we go. And so by sinning against the brethren, the weaker Christian, the Christian who still doesn't have that freedom in his understanding that this food is all right, it hasn't changed character, it still is just food even though it was offered to an idol. They haven't matured to that point yet, but through my action they've been encouraged to go ahead and partake of it and thus defile their conscience. So by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Now we have a serious, serious issue. He brings it down to the personal, really personal issue. My relationship to Christ is now dramatically impacted. I have an element of theological and biblical truth, I have the right, the liberty, the freedom. There is nothing from God directly saying this food is wrong, you should not eat that. So on that basis of just having knowledge I'm going ahead and doing it. And the result is I end up sinning against Christ. Why? I didn't take into consideration the impact on you, on a fellow believer. So I didn't use my liberty, my rights properly. And in misusing them I caused you to stumble and do what you believed God wouldn't have you do, but you were trying to follow me, the more mature believer. And when I do that I sin against Christ. Now all of a sudden it's not a matter of liberty any longer, I mean this is bottom line serious issue. I've sinned against Christ. Now my relationship with my Lord has been impacted. I've been a vehicle to hinder the relationship of this weaker Christian's relationship with his Lord, and now my relationship is impacted. All of a sudden the whole area of liberty is totally misunderstood. I've used my liberty in a way that has really been a sin against Christ.

Now wait a minute, theologically do I not have the right to eat? If that's all we're talking about, knowledge, yes. You are theologically correct as far as you go, but you have not gone far enough with your knowledge because if your knowledge is not governed by love, all you are is an arrogant person flaunting your liberty and using it destructively. And you are sinning against Christ. And that kind of liberty continues down because once you are in a mode of insensitivity to what Christ your Lord would have you do, where does that stop?

Therefore, verse 13, if food causes my brother to stumble, I'll never eat meat again so that I will not cause my brother to stumble. That's it, I mean, I'm not going to sin against the Lord, and it means I'm not going to sin against my brother, ______________ _________________. So right, I know my liberty, but I have liberty not to, I have liberty to. So it's relatively simple but somehow it becomes a matter that we want to put the pressure on them. But remember we welcome the weaker brother, not for the purpose of passing judgment on their opinions as Paul started out Romans 14. He starts out here, we all have knowledge and knowledge makes you arrogant. You need to have knowledge governed by love.

So now in 1 Corinthians 9 he is going to use himself as an example. Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you. You are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. We don't have time to do the details of apostleship, but Paul is not defending his apostleship here. He is just establishing, it's a settled fact at Corinth, you recognize my apostleship. Now it becomes a battle, his second letter unfolds that, but if no one else accepts my apostleship, you should because who led you to Christ? Who has helped you to grow in your new life in Christ? It has been Paul. They are writing the letter to Paul to get answers on these issues, they recognize his apostleship.

So my defense to those who examine me is this. So here I am going to use myself as an example, I'm going to put myself on the stand regarding the use of liberty. You see here how Paul expands what he is talking about out into unrelated areas, unrelated to food and drink. We see how the point he is making covers all areas where we say there is liberty. In other words the Bible does not require us to do this or not do something else.

My defense to those who examine me is this. Do we not have a right to eat and drink? Picking up the point he has been talking about, what we have in the first chapter. Now he moves to an area that is not related to food and drink at all. Do we not have a right to take along a believe wife? What does that have to do with whether you eat food or drink sacrificed to idols? The point is, Paul is saying, what I am saying here in the use of liberty governs all of our lives as believers. My right to be married, don't I have a right to take along a believing wife even as the rest of the apostles do? I mean, the other apostles are married. Don't I have a right to have a wife to come along, take care of me, provide a warm, welcoming, comforting home when I come back from a trip? The brothers of the Lord, that would be the half-brothers born to Mary and Joseph after the birth of Christ, like James, becomes a leader in the church at Jerusalem in Acts 15 and writes the letter of James. He had a wife. Cephas, Peter, he had a wife. In Matthew 8 Jesus healed the mother-in-law of Peter from a physical sickness. So I have a right. I have a right to eat and drink, I have a right to have a wife. Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working? I mean, everybody else gets paid for their labor. Barnabas and I have a right.

Then he gives examples of his right in the area of finances because that becomes a clear area that he did not use his right in his ministry at Corinth. Who at any time serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, doesn't eat the fruit of it? Who tends the flock and does not use the milk of the flock? So, people work and benefit from their labor is the point.

I'm not speaking these things to human judgment, the law speaks the same thing. The law said that the ox as he is treading out the grain should not be muzzled. He can benefit from the grain he is treading out. As God is doing this, verse 10, God is not concerned for oxen, verse 9, or is he speaking for our sake? For our sake. Why? The plowman ought to plow and hope, the thresher to thresh and hope. I mean, that farmer working hard ought to benefit from his labor. That's the point. If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? Paul came and presented the gospel to them, he has nurtured them in their walk with the Lord. Shouldn't he expect to be supported by his labors? They ought to be paying him. If others share the right over you, do not we the more? Now note this, nevertheless, we did not use this right. That's the point, that's why he has carried to this. He didn't use the right to be married, he didn't use the right to be paid. So you see he has moved it out broadly because we're talking about the issue of rights, rights. And when we come to understand that I have liberty, I have a right then it is easy to take the next step and say, therefore I must use it as though it is a denial of a theological truth if I don't go ahead and do it. We don't have to.

I have rights, I know. I don't drink alcoholic beverages, I use that as an example. Doesn't mean you can't. Certain things that I think should govern my activity for various reasons, how it would impact you in my position, whatever. Does that mean anybody here who has a glass of wine is sinning? I don't know, that's between you and the Lord. It's a right. Do I have to have a glass of wine to prove to you I understand liberty? Gil doesn't know liberty, he never has a glass of wine. Well maybe Gil understands liberty and just chooses not to have a glass of wine. Right? Did Paul have to get married to prove he had the right to be married? No. Did he have to take money from the Corinthians to prove he knew he had the right to it? No. You ought to underline that, highlight it, circle it, star it. We did not use this right. That's key for us to understand. But we endure all things so we will cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. That's the guiding factor, would this be a hindrance to the gospel as it impacts unbelievers, as it impacts believers. I'm not going to be causing a stumbling block of any kind, a hindrance to the gospel.

Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, those who attend regularly the altar have their share in the altar. So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel. This is biblical truth, biblical authority. It's the plan of the sovereign Lord that we serve, that those who preach the gospel be supported in their ministry. But I have used none of these things. You see he has the right but he doesn't have to exercise that right. He has full maturity, he is a strong believer, but he is not using these rights. You observe him and you think maybe he does not know, he could do this, he has the right to do this. If you talked to Paul he would say, I know I have the right to do that, but I have the right not to do it also. Right? So I'm not doing it.

I have used none of these things, I am not writing these things so that it would be done in my case. For it would be better for me to die than to have any man make my boast an empty one. For if I preach the gospel I have nothing to boast of, I am under compulsion. Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel. If I do this voluntarily I have a reward, if against my will I have a stewardship entrusted to me. The point is on preaching the gospel I have no liberty, that's not an area of liberty. The Lord requires it of me. I have to do it whether I want to do it or I don't want to do it. If I do it not wanting to do it, there is no reward in that; if I do that desirous of pleasing Him, there is reward in that. But I have no choice. Woe is me if I don't preach the gospel. That's not an area of liberty for Paul, that I have to do. But if I do this voluntarily, I have a reward; against my will I have a stewardship and trust in me. What then is my reward? That when I preach the gospel I may offer the gospel without charge and so not to make full use of my right in the gospel. You ought to note that, not make full use of my right.

So much of what is written on the subject of liberty or talked about in the area of Christian liberty is that we ought to be doing it, we should be doing it if we understand liberty. Paul's whole argument is just the opposite. A mature understanding of liberty means often you won't be using your liberty. I have to preach the gospel, that's not an area of liberty, he says. A stewardship has been entrusted to me. Woe is me if I don't preach the gospel. I have the right to be paid for preaching the gospel, but I'm not exercising that right. I'm going beyond what is required and that will bring greater reward. That's the point.

Though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all so that I might win more. That's the point. Same thing he said at the end of verse 12, I don't want to cause any hindrance to the gospel of Christ. I've made myself a slave to all. I thought we were talking about liberty. Yes. And I use my liberty to enslave myself to others. Whoever they are, my thinking is the same. How can I benefit them in the ministry of the gospel. That's true of believer and unbeliever alike, how can I benefit them in the ministry. There is no compromise in the gospel, there is no compromise here.

To the Jews I became as a Jew so that I might win Jews. What does he mean? While he is witnessing to a Jew, he doesn't have to order a ham sandwich. Well if you come to trust in Christ, you'll be able to eat ham sandwiches, too. Do you make ham sandwiches an obstacle here? You may become a believer in Jesus Christ and never eat a ham sandwich. Do you realize that won't make any difference? That's his point—to the Jews I become as a Jew. __________________________ under the Law, I'm fine. I can observe these requirements. I don't have to, but I can. If those who are not under Law, I don't have to function as under Law. Also I might win those who are under the Law, and verse 21, that I might those who are without Law. And he makes the point, you are not without Law totally. You are without the Mosaic Law but not without the law of Christ, which is different than the Mosaic Law.

To the weak I became weak that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of the gospel that I may become a partaker of it. Get the focus right. The focus is not my liberty, my rights, what pleases me, to demonstrate what I know. The goal is to promote the furtherance of the gospel, that others might be saved, that believers might grow in the gospel and mature. These other things, the more mature you are, the more freedom you have. The immature doesn't have the liberty yet to be free from the sense of obligation to those, if he is going to be pleasing to God. But I know the freedom. So I know I can do it, I can not do it. It doesn't matter. We're not talking about here any compromise with the gospel. Paul made that clear, I'm under compulsion there, that's not an area of liberty. This passage is sometimes used for all kinds of cultural adjustments and everything that sometimes crosses the line. We want to be careful we don't make issues of things that don't have to be issues. We're bringing the gospel to the unsaved. We ought to be careful we're not making issues of things that don't need to be made issues for believers who have yet to grow.

So they don't understand grace to the fullness that we do. That's fine, we're glad they're part of the ministry, we're glad they're in the ministry. We want to be careful we don't put pressure on them to do things that would make them think if they don't do them, they are really looked down in our congregation, they are second class citizens, they are immature. No, you are welcome, you are part of the body, we're glad to have you here. Well, I'm not comfortable doing this. That's fine, you don't have to do that here. I thought you believed everybody had to do it. No, we don't believe everybody has to do it. But I want to be honest, believe in the grace of God, there is freedom to do it, you will find people here that do it. But you should feel no obligation, no pressure to do it because they are doing it. You have to be comfortable before the Lord. Doesn't matter between you and Him. Well I think others look down on me for that. Well then that becomes their problem before the Lord. But you don't want their problem to become your problem. We want to be careful in the use of maturity.

Verse 24, do you not know that those who run in a race all run, only one receives the prize. Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. Talking about self-control here. That means I exercise self-control in not using my liberty. That's no great sacrifice, if it's going to be helpful to another believer. We look like, I make a great sacrifice, I don't do that. I could, but I don't. I'd love to, I wish I could, but I can't because of them. If they ever grow up then I'll be able to . . . No, that's no sacrifice. Christ died for them, that's the sacrifice. If I set a glass of Jack Daniels whiskey up here and a good cigar (I don't know, are there good cigars?) and I periodically took a sip and then a puff, some of you would have a heart attack. I might have one myself from the cigar. But it wouldn't help anyone, would it? Well, I'm proving what liberty is, folks. Those of you having trouble with it ought to understand.

There are pastors who use obscene language and cuss in their sermons because they are just demonstrating . . . They are not demonstrating anything but their lack of love. What would I be demonstrating up here, knowing some people would have a problem? My wife wouldn't come to church if I did that, that would be a problem.

So we're in a race, be careful how you run. Use self-control. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, we an imperishable. Run in such a way, not without aim. I box in such a way, as not beating the air. I discipline my body, I make it my slave so that after I preach to others I should be disqualified. I mean, if I am preaching to others but flaunting my liberty, so sinning against a weaker Christian and sinning against Christ, am I going to be approved at the end of the race? I'm going to be there telling the Lord, well, Lord, it was their problem. They didn't mature and have the understanding of grace that I have. Do you think that's going to cut it when I* have to give an account, when He has already told me I shouldn't be sinning against the weaker Christian? And when I do, I'm sinning against Christ? And I'm going to shift it and say it was their problem of lack of maturity? I don't think so. Paul was concerned, I don't want to be disqualified at the end.

And he gives some fearful examples in 1 Corinthians 10 from Israel. All this happened to Israel, and you'll note the word all. We don't have time to work through this. All, all, all. Then we come, all of the Jews benefited, they were delivered from Egypt, they passed through the Sea when it was parted, they followed the cloud, they were fed manna in the wilderness. But, verse 5, nevertheless with most of them God was not well pleased. They were laid low in the wilderness, they died there. I mean, this is a fearful thing.

These things happened as examples for us. Remember Romans 15? Whatever was written before was written for our instruction. These things are for our examples that we wouldn't crave evil things as they craved. Do not be idolaters, do not act immorally, don't try the Lord, don't grumble. These things happened, verse 11, to them as examples, were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Paul already dealt with us, 1 Corinthians 6, no immoral person is going to be part of the kingdom. There is a danger some of these who think they are flaunting their superior knowledge in the use of their liberty have never come to understand God's grace to begin with. They are in danger of getting to the end and finding out they are rejected because by this shall all men know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another. And they are manifesting their lack of love. You know you can have a tremendous amount of knowledge, even of the Word of God, and have never experienced the saving grace of God. I am amazed at what unbelievers can know about the Word of God and still be ignorant of the saving grace of God. I have a whole series of commentaries covering the whole New Testament by a man who was the most knowledgeable man of the New Testament Greek language of his day. He died an unregenerate man. I sometimes read what he wrote and all he knew, and it's amazing. Then I read other sections and he is totally, totally ignorant of God's saving grace. He thought everybody would be saved, and on it goes. What a tragedy.

A warning here to those who think they are mature, that they're the strong. They are flaunting their knowledge. There is a danger here, you better take some instruction from what happened in the Old Testament. Therefore let him who thinks he stands, take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man. And God is faithful who will not allow you to be tested above what you are able, but will with the testing provide a way of escape that you may be able to endure it. These are times of testing and trial and for believers God is faithful and they can handle it by the grace of God and the pressure never overwhelms them.

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. Well, wait, we started out in 1 Corinthians 8:1, now concerning things offered to idols, we all have knowledge. Paul has moved this beyond, you get the sense he has a serious concern about the spiritual condition of those who think they are so much more knowledgeable in the church at Corinth. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I mean, he gave the warning of what happened in the Old Testament in verse 7. Do not be idolaters as some of them were. They suffered destruction at the hand of the Lord.

I speak as to wise men, you judge what I say. Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body, we all partake of one bread. We share in the communion. We are talking about the death of Christ that has brought us together in a relationship of oneness with Christ and with one another.

Then look at the nation Israel. Are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar? What do I mean then? That if things sacrificed to idols is anything or that an idol is anything? No. But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to become sharers in demons. Serious matter here. Those who think they have liberty need to understand, you better not cross the line here and think an idol is nothing, food sacrificed to idols is nothing, therefore if an idol is nothing and the food sacrificed to idols is nothing, I can join together with idol worshipers because I know even when I join in their worship, they are worshiping nothing. So there is nothing happening here. But when you move here from just the fact of that idol is a block of wood decorated, that food sacrificed to an idol that is nothing to worship, there are spirit beings behind all false worship. Now to be caught up in the worship of that, that is something else. You can't not make the connection. An idol is nothing, food sacrificed to an idol is nothing. Therefore if you are part of that worship system, it is nothing. No, wait. You bring your worship here, there are spirit beings behind all false worship.

Everybody in a church today that does not preach the gospel is involved in the worship of demons. Everybody in every form of worship, wherever they are in the world, if they are not worshiping the true and living God through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, is involved in the worship of demons. There is no gray area here. Paul says it clearly, they worship demons, they sacrifice to demons. And when you join in their worship, you become a sharer in demons, you join yourself in a relationship with demons. That's a serious matter here. Wait a minute, you've crossed the line. Now you have to decide here, those who become partakers in demons, are they partakers in Christ?

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. You see the division line? There is a line here, there is a danger that some in the church of Corinth under the guise of using liberty and knowing liberty are really manifesting their relationship is not with Jesus Christ, their relationship is with demons. I mean, you can't continue on in worship. People say, I trusted Christ and they are still part of a system that is the worship of demons. We say, wait a minute, you can't continue there. That is an impossibility. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He is?

So you see we started out talking about where the weaker Christian was, but we have moved over here to where the stronger Christian thinks he is and the danger he is in. His danger is much greater than the weaker Christian. The weaker Christian needs time to grow. This one who claims to be stronger because of superior knowledge better be very careful that that knowledge is not being conditioned and used in the context of love, genuine love for the well-being of a fellow believer. Genuine concern for the ministry of the gospel to the lost.

All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable; all things are lawful, and the context he is talking about here, that all, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. Eat anything that is sold in the marketplace without questions for conscience' sake, for the earth is the Lord and all it contains. If I go to the market, I don't have to ask, did you sacrifice that to an idol? I don't have to, it's just food, eat it. If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go eat, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience' sake. Don't make it an issue of they have it. But if anyone says to you, this meat is sacrificed to idols, don't eat it for the sake of the one who informed you and for conscience' sake. I do not mean your own conscience, but for the other man's.

Why is my freedom judged by another man's conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks? So the weaker Christian has to be careful, he is not in a position to condemn those who eat. But the one who is stronger has to be very careful in the utilizing of his superior knowledge. Greater knowledge is a great blessing, it brings greater responsibility. We must use our knowledge in the context of love. Whether then you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God. This is in the area of liberty. The preaching of the cross is an offense to those who are perishing. Paul has already dealt with that. But these areas of liberty, I don't want to offend unbelievers unnecessarily, and I don't want to offend believers unnecessarily. And unnecessarily would mean I misuse my liberty. Just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many so that they may be saved. Be imitators of me as I also am of Christ. That's it, that's our goal. So yes we have liberty, we've been set free. But we have to be careful in the use of our freedom that it is used properly. Imitate Christ in this by imitating Paul, thus we can be pleasing to Him.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for the greatness of our salvation, a salvation that truly sets us free. We have liberty. By your grace we have rights, the authority to act with a freedom. But, Lord, a responsibility to use that freedom responsibly as your servants, to be pleasing to you. How blessed we are that the gospel of grace was brought to us in our lost, hopeless condition. We would not want in any way do those things which might be a hindrance to the gospel and its reception among the lost. Nor would we want to use our liberty in any way that would cause concern or stumbling to those who are less mature in their walk with you. And may we appreciate the liberty we have, may we act responsibly in love in the use of that liberty that you might be honored. We pray in Christ' name, amen.