September 23, 2002
BaptistWay Bible Study for Texas lesson for Oct. 13
Be victorious when wrestling with life's gray areas
_____By Michael Chancellor
_1 Corinthians 8:1-13; 9:19-26;10:14-33
___8:1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the man who 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 knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, 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 freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall. ...
___9:19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. ...
___10:23 "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"--but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
___25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."
___27 If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience sake-- 29 the other man's conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?
___31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God-- 33 even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
___Over lunch, I was confessing to my wife the perplexity with which I approached this lesson. The truths were clear, but the cultural experience from which they came were far removed from most of our lives. I was frankly stumped as to the "so what" of the passage.
___In supervising ministry students, I have often critiqued their sermons with these words, "Your exegesis is great, but so what?" That was where I was struggling.
___My wife was in the middle of a two-day conference. She said, "So how about this: My leader is obviously a Christian, but he is not careful about his language. He sometimes uses some profanity. Suppose there was a new believer in our group who was seriously trying to move away from that kind of language and as he listened to the speaker, he found himself wrestling with the language of this professing Christian."
___Our text drives a stake through the heart of a Christianity that is self-absorbed. In fact, this lesson could lead us to make some profound changes in the way we approach church life. Why? Much of Christian liberty is "me" oriented. "I now live by grace. I am free from the law. I no longer have to live under the legalistic constraints of some people who have reduced the Christian life to a series of 'don'ts' with a few 'dos' thrown in for good measure."
___Paul, the Apostle of Grace, takes serious exception to such an interpretation of the Scripture. Instead, he calls believers to live lives of love and responsibility.
___So, this is a meat market?_
___The setting of our lesson today is rooted in some features of first century life. Given the many temples and shrines dotting Corinth, meat sacrificed to idols often was the supply of fresh meat for the population. Not only that, but temples also were the settings for many of the "restaurants" of the time. If someone wanted to have a family gathering with a catered meal, they would find themselves at a temple eating and celebrating. Presence in the temple implied worship and support.
___The church at Corinth was a new congregation full of new believers. Most of these new Christians came out of paganism. In other words, their former lives often involved worship in the very temples where fellow church members were having parties and feasts. Many of these new believers were still trying to understand, intellectually and emotionally, the implications of their new faith.
___The return to the temples as a Christian or the consumption of meat sacrificed to the idols they once worshipped left some heads and hearts spinning. Some of the more "mature" Christians were less than sympathetic. In fact, it would be surprising if less-seasoned believers not only felt the struggle within their own consciences but also had to endure sharp rebukes from the more "enlightened."
___The two-fold question is: "What is the right response under grace when we are absolutely, positively convinced Scripture does not prohibit a course of action? In the undertaking of that action, would less-grounded believers flounder in the wake of our freedom?
___Digging another's grave with a fork
___Shortly after being diagnosed with Type II diabetes, I overheard my wife saying to one of the great cooks in our church. "You know, some of you are helping Mike dig his grave with a fork."
___In a manner of speaking, Paul was attempting to get the same point across to the mature believers in Corinth. They were rejoicing in their new knowledge about the one true God and their new freedom that came by grace. Yet some in the fellowship were far behind these who claimed such liberty. The freedom of the mature was crippling the faith of new believers. The mature were doing more harm than good. Paul gives some help in charting those waters.
___Personal freedom in Christ cannot be a cover for hurting others spiritually. God intends the exercise of our freedom to build the kingdom, not tear it down. Spiritual freedom is meant to lift us from an oppressive bondage of sin and law, liberating our souls to soar. Such freedom brings us back to joyful obedience fueled by wellsprings of gratitude.
___However, if our liberty and the exercise of our freedom erodes the faith of weaker brothers and sisters, God is not pleased. Our freedom in lesser things is undermining the spiritual growth of others--which is the greatest thing.
___The fellowship of believers exists to nurture newborn Christians into responsible discipleship. It is not a stage to showcase the freedoms of the mature. Like loving parents who "child-proof" their homes for the little ones in its midst, the church needs to "child-proof" life in the church for the spiritual children in their midst.
___One only has to think about what that means in the home to make a similar adjustment in the fellowship. When our son was born, we set about to do three things in our home: Put breakables and dangerous chemicals out of his reach; never argue in his presence; and set a schedule that was best for him, not necessarily most convenient for us.
___In the same way, church leadership should realize and identify those areas and issues that are hazardous to new believers (such as, don't put them on some committees). Church leaders should lead the church to conduct its business so arguments are not done in the presence of the new believers. Finally, new believers need a routine in the life of the church that helps them grow up, not give up.
___Love keeps us focused; knowledge keeps us proud. The person who comes to personal freedom by way of knowledge has traveled the wrong road. Paul encourages believers to travel the path of love that leads to freedom.
___As I read our text and feel the struggle of new believers trying to adjust their minds and hearts to a new reality, I hear a cruel believer saying to them, "Well, honey, in time you will learn that these idols are about nothing at all." Perhaps he/she even patted the person's hand in a condescending way. Christians need to understand the power old beliefs, superstitions and unhealthy patterns hold in the lives of new believers.
___To that end, love creates a climate of mercy, compassion and grace. Love keeps a heart and mind focused on what is truly important. God-kind-of-love first wants to love God in the same way he has loved the believer. Such love also wants to see and relate to others with the same kind of compassion that God has for others. One is willing to refrain from certain activities and perhaps not go to certain places because of the problems it might cause others. It is a joyful sacrifice that pays eternal benefits into the lives of those who are growing up in Christ. Perhaps love also means that certain things are left unsaid, certain actions left undone. The spiritual gifts of "setting people straight" and "giving someone a piece of our mind" fall away when we realize the eternal damage we could do.
___Freedom can become joyful service. Paul shares with the Corinthians a passion to win people to Christ and the willingness to become and do anything. Perhaps the best way to understand this section (10:19-23) is by asking the question, "What does this person need from me to help him/her to faith in Christ?" We are not used to thinking in those terms, but Paul was. He was willing to speak their language, enter their experience, share their pain and suffering if God could use it to open doors for salvation.
___Serving is not one of the great virtues of the American church. We hire folks for that. However, service is at the core of real evangelism. Not everyone is like us. Not everyone responds as we do. To be willing to set aside unimportant things for the important work of reaching people for Christ must be critical to our thinking and praying today.
___Freedom must always be constructive for the kingdom. For the believer, the end of freedom should be the glory of God. People should be able to look at our lives and look at our choices and be drawn to the One who stands over us and lives in us. When our freedom does anything less, it shows a glaring deficiency. The modern physician lives by a code that says, "First, do no harm." That should be our first rule as a believer in our use of freedom.
___We live in a culture that is not sympathetic to our faith. While we are not bringing home meat offered to idols or sitting down in pagan temples to feast, there still are many invitations for believers to cause our younger and weaker brothers to stumble. Have you ever wondered how many of our members are inactive because some believer was a source of stumbling?
___Live in such a way that your name will never be used as the reason someone quit growing in his Christian life.
Questions for thought and discussion
___This lesson focuses on the mature believer's responsibility to less mature believers in the fellowship of the church. What are some of the spiritual needs new believers display in your congregation? Are some members of your church seen as immature believers even though they have been members for a number of years? What do you think are some of the reasons for their failure to thrive in the Christian life?
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