1 Corinthians 8: Seven Principles on Doubtful things

The excavations at Corinth have revealed most of the shopping and meeting areas of the ancient city!

When believers don’t have a clear prohibition from Scripture, they may be allowed by the Lord to do things that other believers – perhaps because of their past – may not be allowed. These are “liberty issues” that the Spirit can direct each of us who know the Lord in. Yet, these practices have the potential to become an issue of contention between us. 1 Corinthians 8 addresses these with practical principles in three settings.

Misplaced Standards: The Examined Life

Is something wrong simply because it offends someone else? Does that mean I live my life entirely without opinions, based on whatever someone else thinks is wrong? Am I free to choose what the Spirit and the Word teach me is ok for me, or must I refrain for others in all things? Concerning things we all have opinions on (because they are not specifically stated as wrong in Scripture to be involved in), and we don’t all agree in the body of Christ…(8:1), let me offer seven truths:

1. We all have opinions and most of us feel they are fairly well informed (8:1b) – “We know that we all have knowledge”. Think of the things they said of the Apostle Paul when he preached: His sermons were over their heads. His opinionated views alienated his colleagues. Coworkers found him boastful, even arrogant. A physical disability drove him to over-function in ministry. Many congregations he started rejected his leadership, and, unable to still their internal strife and bickering, he went on to others. By some measures of success, his ministry was a failure. There opinions didn’t make what they said true!

2. Without a view to the needs of our brother (love) our knowledge serves only ourselves, making us feel better about ourselves even when we are hurting others (8:1b) – “Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies”. People who live for self, die. People who live for others, live! In Yorkshire, England, during the early 1800s, two sons were born to a family named Taylor. The older one set out to make a name for himself by entering Parliament and gaining public prestige. But the younger son chose to give his life to Christ. He later recalled, “Well do I remember, as in unreserved consecration I put myself, my life, my friends, my all, upon the altar. I felt I was in the presence of God, entering into covenant with the Almighty.” With that commitment, Hudson Taylor turned his face toward China and obscurity. As a result, he is known and honored on every continent as a faithful missionary and the founder of the China Inland Mission (now known as Overseas Missionary Fellowship). For the other son, however, there is no lasting monument. When you look in the encyclopedia to see what the other son has done, you find these words, “the brother of Hudson Taylor.” “. . . he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:17). (From Ted Sutherland)

3. We must be humble enough to admit that our opinions may not be the absolute truth on the matter (8:2) – “he has not known as he ought to know”. A lot of really educated people in our society think very proudly that we came from apes, but that doesn’t make it so. In fact, they didn’t hear about… Three monkeys sat on a coconut tree, Discussing things as they are said to be, Said one monkey to the other : “Now listen you two, there’s a certain rumor which can’t be true, that man has descended from our noble race; why, the very idea is an utter disgrace, No monkey has ever deserted his wife, starved her baby and ruined her life, and you have never known a mother monk, who will leave her babies with others to bunk, and passing them off from one to the other; till those poor babies hardly know which one was their mother, and another thing a monk won’t do, is to go out at night and get on a stew, and use a club, a gun, or a knife, to take some other monkey’s life, ……yes, man descended the noble cuss, but hey brother monkey, HE DIDN’T DESCEND FROM US!” (By Adlai Naidoo).

4. Whatever position we take on any opinion, it should be rooted in our love of God and our identity as His child (8:3) – “he is known of Him”. The caterpillar, when checked for DNA by a scientist, is in every way a butterfly. The fact that it LOOKS like a butterfly, has nothing to do with it. It IS what it IS inside. It eventually will become on the outside what God has already made it to be. We are like that. We are holy. We are sanctified, we are FREE. Yet, for now, we live as a caterpillar!

5. The judgment will not be made solely on the intrinsic argument of the right or wrong of the act itself (8:4-6). In his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace, Philip Yancey tells the true story of a Texas couple who had trouble with pride. An argument ensued one day when the husband felt that his wife had spent too much on sugar at the grocery store. The argument was never resolved. They lived together for forty years without speaking a word to one another. One day the husband took out a lumber saw and sawed their home exactly in half. He nailed up planks to cover the raw sides and moved one of the halves behind a row of scruffy pine trees on the same acre of ground. There the two, husband and wife, lived out the rest of their days in separate half-houses.

6. My opinion must take into account a brother that is not as mature. He may be swayed by my action to go back into some part of his unsaved past that doesn’t honor God because he rationalizes based on his view of my behavior! (8:7).
PROGRESSION OF WISDOM WITH AGE
-You can’t hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk. Age 7
-When I wave at people in the country, they stop what they’re doing and wave back. Age 9
-When I get my room the way I like it, Mom makes me clean it up. Age 13
-Though it’s hard to admit it, I’m secretly glad my parents spent time with me. Age 15
-Silent company is often more healing than words of advice. Age 24
- Brushing my child’s hair is one of life’s greatest pleasures. Age 29
-Wherever I go, the world’s worst drivers have followed me there. Age 35
-If someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it. Age 39
-I’ve learned you can make someone’s day simply by sending them a little card. Age 44
-Children and grandparents are natural allies. Age 46
-The greater a person’s sense of guilt, the greater his need to cast blame on others. Age 48
-Singing “Amazing Grace” can lift my spirits for hours. Age 49
-Motel mattresses lie better on the side away from the phone. Age 50
-You can tell a lot about a man by the way he handles three things: 1) A rainy day 2) Lost luggage 3) Tangled Christmas tree lights. Age 52
- Regardless of your relationship with your parents, you miss them after they’re gone. Age 53
-I’ve learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life. Age 58
-If you want to do something positive for your children, try to improve your marriage. Age 61
-Life sometimes gives you a second chance. Age 62
-You shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back. Age 64
-If you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your work, and meeting new people – happiness will find you. Age 65
-Whenever I decide something with kindness, I have usually made the right decision. Age 66
-It pays to believe in miracles. And, to tell the truth, I’ve seen several. Age 73
-Even when I have pains, I don’t have to BE one. Age 82
-I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. Age 92

7. I don’t need to do this practice that I have the opinion that I can do, and I must be careful not to practice anything that will cause the less mature that look at my example to fall into their sinful past (8:8-9). How do I practice these seven truths in the normal situations of life? There are three specific settings where the use of doubtful things required some instruction to the Corinthians in Paul’s letter. This “sample” or “model” situation was used by the Spirit to instruct believers. The three settings are:

1. In Public: Eating meat offered to idols in a Temple owned restaurant (8:1-13 note: “in an idol’s temple” in v. 10 suggests a property owned by the Temple system – not necessarily in the Temple itself).
a. Priority in Doubtful Things: My greatest concern in participation in a doubtful thing must be love for a brother that may not understand (8:10).
b. Problem in Doubtful Things: My brother may be ruined (8:11) and I will crush the work of God made by the sacrifice of Jesus – causing me to sin against my Savior (8:12)!
c. Perspective on Doubtful Things: I can set aside any public practice so that my
weaker brother is preserved! (8:13).

Summary: I may be personally allowed by the Spirit of God to practice something, but I should choose to deliberately NOT make it a public issue if at all possible – in fear that I could cause a weaker brother to stumble. He or she is more important to me than my “right” to participate in anything!

2. In your own home: Purchasing meat that may have been offered to idols for private consumption from the public meat market (10: 23-26). (note: the items are bought in the public market, but consumed in private, 10:23-26). Paul offered four standards:
a. “Molding” standard: Just because I am allowed does not mean it will help me become what God wants me to be (23a).
b. “Building” standard: Because I can do this, it may not help me grow in the Lord (23b).
c. “Brother” standard: Though I can do this, will it help me to appreciate others more, or is it all about me? (24).
d. “Ignorance” standard: What I don’t know won’t hurt me (in this context – 25). I should not go on a “witch hunt” to find trouble, for God has graciously cared for my life and given good things! (25,26).

Summary: I can accept the good things God gives me and I am allowed to privately use them. Yet, I must measure if these things will mold me into a more godly and growing believer, sensitive to others. I should not look for trouble, but I should be careful about the effect of participation in anything that won’t help me grow in Jesus.

3. Before the World: Eating meat that may have been offered to idols when invited to an unsaved person’s picnic (10:27-33).
a. Be hospitable and not suspicious, using your liberty to participate fully without question – limited only by your testimony for God (10:27).
b. If someone points out to you that they are offended by your participation, refuse to continue to participate, claiming ignorance of the basis of the offense, and assure them you do not wish to be offensive to any (10:28).
c. Show others that they are more important to you then anything you may want to do (10:29-33).

Summary: We should be inviting an friendly people, not looking for offense or trouble. We must also be careful to turn back on any behavior that is offensive in the public arena when someone who is legitimately offended (because of their weak conscience), demonstrating to them that they are more important than anything we do. Imagine that you had invited someone over to your home. Let’s suppose there was a skunk outside and something scared it so that it gave off its scent. The smell begins to enter the home. You immediately reach up for your favorite air freshener and start to spray the room. Your guest begins coughing and can barely breathe. You recognize the person is having an allergic reaction and their airway is quickly closing, what would you do?
A. Keep spraying the house until the skunk sent is all gone.
B. Stop spraying the house with the freshener and help your friend whatever means necessary to get them to the hospital.
C. Look at your friend and wonder why he or she does not have enough faith to overcome the air freshener.
D. Let your friend know you are sorry the air freshener offends them, but you have every right to spray your house to make it smell good. (Borrowed from Rick Gillespie-Mobley)