MARCH 3rd, 2024 PASTOR DON PIEPER
The Corinthian Complex 1 Corinthians 8:1-6, 7-13
“PUFFED UP OR PUMPED UP?”
As we've seen, 1 Corinthians is a letter the apostle Paul wrote in response to a number of questions that they've asked him, in writing and in person. He's responded to issues they've raised about marriage, church leadership, lawsuits between church members and sexual immorality – issues that are still issues in the church today. But how about this next question they've asked? “Now regarding your question about eating food that has been offered to idols.” (1 Corinthians 8:1)
Anyone ever attend a church where they were doing that? It seems kind of obscure! It's not exactly what I would call a hot button issue in the church today. What kind of crazy question is that?
It reminds me of a series of crazy questions that a stand-up comedian asked his audience once. Like, If quitters never win, and winners never quit, what fool came up with, 'Quit while you're ahead?'
Hmmm....? Think about it!
Or, Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do a 'practice'? And if you're sending someone some styrofoam, what do you pack it in? And what about this – If men and women evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes? It's a quandary!
If such questions leave you scratching your head, the one Paul here refers to must do no less!
As always, we need to consider the Corinthian context. Conquered by Julius Caesar in 44 BC where-upon a Roman colony was established there, the Roman pagan influence dominated Corinth, with temples dedicated to Apollos and Aphrodite and even Octavian, otherwise known as Caesar Augustus.
Animal sacrifices were made to the gods at these and other locations raising the question for the Christians worshipping in Corinth on whether they should eat meat or not. It's not that they're vegans, or vegetarians, or even members of PETA, (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), it's that most of the meat being sold in the marketplace was meat that had been used in the pagan worship of false gods. The pagan priests would sacrifice the animal to Zeus or Apollos or Augustus, or whoever, and whatever was not eaten there by the pagan worshippers would be sold to the local merchants, and they in turn, would sell it at the market place to their customers.
So, when the Christians bought their food at the local QFC, there was a pretty good chance that the lamb chops and T-Bone steaks they purchased had come from animals sacrificed to an idol of one of these pagan gods. So, the Christians are now asking Paul, is it alright for us to eat it?
“So about this issue about eating meat that's been offered to idols, we all know that an idol isn't really a god and that there is only one God. Some people worship many gods and many lords, but for us, there is one God the Father, by whom all things were created and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6)
In answering, Paul quotes the Shema, an ancient Jewish confession of faith, recorded in the book of Deuteronomy.... Paul adds a phrase about there only being one Lord, because of the Roman custom to worship Caesar, in which the Octavian temple in Corinth pressed the issue. Paul is making clear that no Caesar, nor any idol to a pagan god, was divine and worthy of worship. He's saying in effect, it's a non-issue. Idols aren't real anyway, so eat up! Steak and Lowenbrau for everyone!
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Or is he? Actually, he's not quite finished teaching on the subject. He goes on to say, “However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that's been offered to idols..., their weak consciences are violated.” (1 Corinthians 8:7)
Wait – what? Uh oh! Looks like this is a little more complicated than just “yes, it's alright”, or “no, it's wrong”. It's not simply a black and white, always right, always wrong, kind of thing. What we have here is a grey area. What's okay for one person may be wrong for someone else. What's okay in one situation, is not okay in another. That doesn't mean there are no absolutes but it does mean that we followers of Christ need to realize that not everything is black and white. We will find ourselves occasionally having to navigate our way through the grey areas of life and faith.
We prefer things black and white but Paul's making it clear here not everything is! You may have experienced some of this in some of the taboos you were raised with in the church. My father tells of how he and others were told that good Christians aren't supposed to dance, play cards or drink any alcohol. In some churches men are told they're hair must be short, that women are only to wear long dresses, and children are to be seen but not heard. Any of that sound familiar?
Some taboos, some Christians will point out, are not addressed in the Bible, so, they say, it's alright to do. Other Christians, based on Scripture, see compelling reasons not to do it. So,what do you do when we don't all agree with what's taboo? How do we live together in community when we don't all agree on what we should or should not do? How do we navigate the grey areas of life?
Paul's response is clear. Let love be the determining factor of what you do or don't do. Some in Corinth seemed to think refraining from eating such meat was curtailing their freedom. So Paul writes: “You must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others...to stumble.” (1 Corinthians 8:9)
Paul goes on to model for them the way of love that overrules the issue of freedom and the sureness of being right or more knowledgeable. He offers to voluntarily limit his freedom for the sake of those around him that he cares about, because what's okay for one person may not be okay for somebody else and what's okay in one situation may not be okay in another. “Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling out, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause someone to fall.” (1 Corinthians 8:13)
In so doing, Paul urges us to navigate the grey area that's endangering the unity and harmony of Christ's church with kindness and respect for the other person.
There's a slogan that was quoted at the LCMC National Gathering a few years ago that reflects Paul's Holy Spirit guided words here. The slogan goes like this: “In the essentials, Unity. In the non-essentials, Liberty. In all things, Love.” Can we agree? Let's repeat. In the essentials, Unity....
So what are the essentials? They're the core beliefs of our faith. As Paul noted, that there is one God, revealed as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That God sent Jesus to save us from our sins, to see his kingdom come as lives are transformed and people live out His gospel of love and grace. Early in the fifth century Christians put to paper the essentials of our faith in something called The Apostle's Creed:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered died and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
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I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic, (that is universal), church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen? Amen!
Those are the essentials. Upon this truth and testimony, the church stands, united & redeemed!
But, as Paul urges here, when it comes to non-essential matters, we give each other liberty. As John Wesley so aptly put it: “As for those opinions which do not strike at the root of the Christian faith, we are content to think and let think.” (John Wesley) Notice his use of the word, 'opinion'. We Christians have never been short on those and our reputation thereof is not exactly very positive.
The problem is we confuse the non-essential matters with the essential ones. Here's three blaring examples dividing the church today. One is on worship styles. The magazine, Christianity Today, founded among others by Billy Graham, published it's monthly issue a few years ago, with the front page title, “Worship Wars”, which covered the ongoing infighting on the styles of worship.
Some Christians feel that true worship is that which is reverent and reflective, using classic hymns and a liturgical format, rooted in references from scripture. Other Christians feel that true worship should be free to reflect the Holy Spirit's inspiration of new praise songs & spontaneous prayer.
Another non-essential is that of politics. Oooh – dare I even go there? As one evangelical writer put it in referring to the great divide in the American church today: “Some Christians say, 'I'm going to vote Democratic, because the Democrats support social programs that help the poor and needy.' While still other Christians say, 'I'm going to vote Republican, because the Republicans are stronger on moral issues and family values.' Some are so convinced of their superior knowledge in this area, as Paul put it, that they're convinced that only their party is the true Christian party. (Christianity Today, 2016)
But my friends, Jesus is neither a Democrat nor a Republican. The allegiance he calls for makes that clear. “We have but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom we live (in the Spirit by his grace).” (1 Corinthians 8:6)
Might I stick my neck out further and suggest that another non-essential is the issue of whether or not to wear a mask during a pandemic. You won't find any mandate on the subject in scripture. I wonder what Paul might've said. “You must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others to stumble. For if others see you, with your superior knowledge..., won't they be encouraged to violate their conscious? As for me, I don't want to cause another believer to stumble.” (1 Corinthians 8:9f)
My evangelical brother who wrote that article I quoted, added this, and keep in mind that this was written four years before the pandemic: “Here's what you must understand: As strongly as you might feel about these issues, the bottom line is that they fall into the category of Non-essentials because they don't strike at the root of our faith. On these issues we have to agree to disagree, agreeably, because in non-essentials we give each other liberty.” (Christianity Today, 2016)
The bottom line is that we love one another! As it's worded in the NIV translation: “Knowledge puffs up but love builds up. While knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens and pumps up the church.” (1 Corinthians 8:1)
Anyone remember Hans and Franz from Saturday Night Live? Those were the two guys who sold videos of themselves with the motto, “We're here to pump you up!” The irony of their routine was that in-between repeating that mantra they would verbally criticize and tear down their audience, calling the men in the crowd “girly -men” and “crybabies”. They're pump seemed to be full of hot air!
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Let's not just love in theory, but where the rubber hits the road. Let's love in the hard grey areas of life. Let's not get puffed up with how right we are but seek to pump each other up with the selfless, gracious love of God that has been so generously poured out upon us in Jesus Christ!
As Paul will later point out in this same letter: “Love is patient and kind; it is not envious, boastful, arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way, nor is it irritable or resentful. Love like Jesus, who bore all things, believed all things, hoped all things, and endured all things!” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
In the essentials of our faith, let's stand strong together in unity; in the non-essentials, let's give each other liberty, but no matter what we agree or disagree on, above all things, let us love each other!
“So be careful so that your freedom does not cause others to stumble. For if others see you, with your superior knowledge..., won't they be encouraged to violate their conscious? As for me, I don't want to cause another believer to stumble.” (1 Corinthians 8:9-10, 13)