I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of 1 Corinthians
chapter 8. While you're turning there, I
was looking at that last verse that we just sang. When before the throne I stand. You know, we're going to stand
before God. Everybody's going to stand before
God. And here's the only hope that
any of us are going to have. I stand in Him complete. I hope that no one here is resting
in their faith. Our faith did not die for us. only by the shedding of the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that blood, by the grace
of God, that debt that was paid, that Almighty God looks at that
blood and says, I'm satisfied. No charge. No charge. No condemnation. We rest not
In our works, we rest in Him. Jesus died my soul to save, my
lips shall still repeat. I just sat there thinking, here's
the throng of the entirety of mankind. Men, women standing
there. And here's the only hope they
got. When he died, he died for me. He had me on his heart. It's like the stones I've told
you before on the breastplate of that priest. There were twelve
stones. Every one of them had the name
of one of the tribes of Israel on it. Two stones. Six names
here and six names here. And when he went in to that holy
place, He went in representing Israel. That's the only ones
he was representing, Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ died for
his Israel. You remember who Israel was,
don't you? That was Jacob, the supplanter, the liar, the trickster. The Lord asked him, what's your
name? Jacob. He said, not anymore. Your name is Israel. You are
a prince with God. Did Jacob earn that? Did he deserve
that? Salvations of the Lord. That's
what we believe and preach here. 1 Corinthians chapter 8. The
Apostle Paul has dealt extensively with the subject of marriage. And now, he continues in this
next chapter with his exhortation upon another subject. Now, let
me tell you what he's actually exhorting, what he's actually
teaching. Here it is. Our attitude toward
each other. That's what he's teaching. Now,
it's manifested in this scripture on whether or not it's right
to eat meat that's offered to idols. That's how it manifested
itself. But what he was teaching was
our attitude toward each other. Now, before I begin reading,
and I'm going to try to go through all 13 verses. I won't look at
them as extensively as we normally would, but I'm going to try to.
It's one thought, and I'd like to touch on it. But one might
ask, you know, you'd say, well, Paul was writing to believers
at Corinth, right? That's right. He was writing
to believers. Well then, this thought, this
question, obviously they'd ask him a question. Is it right to
eat meat that was offered to idols? And Paul is going to answer
that, and he does so for this reason. We need to all remember,
now these are believers. These are believers and they
have a question. Is it okay if we eat meat that
was offered for sacrifice to an idol? Now these people are
converted idolaters just like all of us. And as they had a lot of baggage
with them, so do we. We've got a lot of baggage that
we bring with us from our former way of thinking. I can tell you
for a fact that I do. I still have things that crop
up in my mind that I was taught as a child. that just, I mean,
before I know it, it's there. And something will happen. There it is. So we all carry
doubts, fears, old habits that need to be corrected by the Word
of God. So here's what Paul is going
to be teaching them. He said, let's be patient. with one another. Let us pray
that the Lord would teach us and give us instruction in our
need of repentance, in our need of thinking differently from
the era of our old way. Now, he starts off in verse 1,
he says, now, as touching or as concerning things offered
unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge, Knowledge puffeth
up, but charity edifyeth. Now what he's saying is, he's
acknowledging that the believers at Corinth, all the believers
there, that they had knowledge. He said, I know that you all
have understanding concerning meat being offered to idols. They all knew, at least in their
head, that it was being offered to something that was actually
nothing. Now look at verse 4. He says,
as concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered
in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the
world, and that there is none other God but One. Here's what Paul was saying.
He said, now you've given me a question, you've asked me something.
You've asked me whether or not it's OK, is it right or wrong
concerning eating this meat. They'd go in there and they'd
kill an animal just like they did in the wilderness, and they'd
slay that animal and they'd quarter it up, you know, and the priest
got part of it, and this one got part of it, and they put
part of it on the altar. And then after, whatever was
not used, it would go to the marketplace or something like
that. They didn't just throw it all the way and you could
go over there and you could buy it. He said, now listen, this
meat that was offered to an idol, he said, I want you to understand
that that idol, that block of wood or that stone, It can defile
nothing. Not even the meat that was used
to so-called offer a sacrifice unto it. Paul reminded them that
they needed to realize that an idol is nothing. It's nothing. It is something
created in the mind. But it is actually nothing. I
don't care if it was a formed something. Whatever's formed,
it's nothing, he said, because there's only one God. There's one God. So, he said,
now you've all got knowledge of that. You know that. But,
he was saying, knowledge puffeth up. What do you mean knowledge
puffs up? Well, knowledge without love,
without godly wisdom, without kindness for the brethren, without
consideration for their questions and their fears and their doubts. It does nothing but puff a man
up. It inflates him with a self-righteous
arrogance and conceit. He said that's what he's saying.
As touching things offered to idols, we know that we all have
knowledge. But if you have knowledge, it's going to puff you up if
it's not mingled with, mixed with love. He says charity, love. That edifies, that repairs, that
builds and promotes growth and affection one for another. He said, as far as this meat
that you're talking about, you've got knowledge of it, you know
what, but remember something, if the Holy Spirit has been pleased
to teach us anything, if we know anything, Now there's some sitting
here tonight that's been sitting under the gospel a long time. And the Lord has taught you something. Now we're all at different degrees. We don't all know the same thing. None of us know everything. We
all know in part. I preach in part. I only preach
what the Lord is pleased to reveal to me. If I don't understand
what I'm talking about, I'm just rambling. But we all know something. Every believer in here knows
something. But if the something that you
know is not mingled with love, and you use it towards someone
else in a way that's not kind. He said all that's doing is puffing
you up. This thing of looking at someone and
passing judgment. Look at Romans 14.3. Romans 14.3. Let not him that eateth despise
him that eateth not. doesn't have a problem eating
meat that was offered to an idol. Don't despise him that doesn't
do it, and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth,
for God has received him. He said, remember something now,
this piece of meat was offered to nothing, to nothing. That's what it was. And so whatever
that piece of meat was when it was offered is still what it
is after. Look at verse 10, Romans 14 verse
10. Scripture says, why dost thou
judge thy brother? Or why dost thou set it not thy
brother? For we shall all stand before
the judgment seat of Christ. The apostle Paul has said, why
are you finding fault? you know, with a brother that
does or does not eat. It wasn't offered to anything.
It's still just a piece of meat. He said, now verse 2, and if
any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing,
yet as he ought to know, if anyone vainly imagines that he's come
to some spiritual knowledge. Let's say he feels, now I know
it's right to either eat it or not to eat it. Paul said it doesn't
matter, it's just a piece of meat. But let's say a man thinks
that he's come to some knowledge. If a man thinks that he knoweth
anything, He doesn't know anything yet. You know, if he believes
himself to be capable to judge over God's heritage or he feels
that he knows enough, he doesn't need any further instruction
in something. But he doesn't walk in a manner
whereby that knowledge is coupled, mingled with love and kindness
and compassion. If he's not striving after peace
and harmony for fellowship, Then he's not doing it for the glory
of God. The Scripture declares that he doesn't know anything
yet. He's got some knowledge. He's got a little something.
He's just puffed up. That's all it is. He thinks he
knows something. He doesn't know anything. If
he truly possessed godly knowledge coupled with meekness and a quiet
spirit, he wouldn't be trying to please himself. That's what
Romans 15. to three says, don't let a man
just please himself. Puff himself up. You know, we
never want to compromise on the gospel. I had a man call me yesterday
from another state. I'd never spoken to him for the
first time I'd ever spoken to him. And he was telling me about,
he'd been listening to some messages, and he was very, very kind and
very complimentary. And I told him, I said, well,
I appreciate you calling, and we had a great conversation.
But he told me, he said, I noticed listening to you, he said, you
don't patty cake, is the way he said it. You don't patty cake
around, do you? And I said, well, I hope not. I hope I don't. I hope I'm truthful. We don't want to compromise on
the gospel to merely have peace. I don't. I'm not looking for
trouble, but I don't want to compromise if these scriptures
set forth God's glory in Christ, which they do. Let's be truthful. But when it comes to things indifferent,
Things that just don't matter. Meats, drinks, one day over another. Be willing to sacrifice our liberty
for the good and the peace of the assembly. Let's not be setting
ourselves up as judges, which is sternly corrected in God's
Word. Here's what the Word of God says,
Romans 14, verse 4. Who art thou that judges another
man's servant to his own master? He standeth or falleth. Yea,
he shall be holding up, for God's able to make him stand. The believer,
weak or strong, is the Lord's servant, God's servant, not ours,
not ours. I don't have a right to pass
judgment on you. I'm here to preach the gospel.
Here we are, we're here to hear the gospel and to learn, but
just bashing, Paul says, you know, Everybody's got some knowledge,
but knowledge, without love, it just puffs a man. Verse 3, but if any man love
God, here now the apostle by the Spirit of God turns the minds
of the believers to the true issue. If any man love God, the
same is known of him. If a man truly has, God Almighty,
love for God Almighty, the God who first loved Him and first
knew Him, the Lord who approved of that sinner mercifully and
compassionately in the Lord Jesus Christ, He who chose Him and
redeemed Him and regenerated Him and kept Him, that sinner,
By the grace of God, we'll follow Him who is His Lord and His Master. That man will, by a new heart
given in regenerating grace, show and manifest his love for
God by loving his brethren. That's what he'll do. But if
a man loved God, the same is known of him. That truth was
set forth by the Lord. By this shall all men know you're
my disciples. How? You have love one for another. You love each other. You fellowship. We're family. We're family. Understand
that? We're family. A believer will,
because of his love for Christ, prayerfully strive to use whatever
the Lord's taught him for the building up of the saints. I
will come here and by and large, be here seven days a week. Seven days. And what the Lord's
called me to do is to come here and study these scriptures. That's
what the Lord's called me to do. Unless I'm gone preaching
somewhere, I would say you pretty, pretty, you know, easily say
I'd be here. But if the Lord has been pleased
to teach me something, What do I have that the Lord didn't give
me? I didn't come up with this, Neil, myself. And what am I to
do with what the Lord has taught me? I am to stand and to preach
to you those things that the Lord's taught me. And I want
you to know, I want to know. I want to be taught. I want to
hear. The Lord told Peter, Peter, if
you love me, feed. I tell you what I did,
I stopped right there and I made sure I understood what that word
meant. Feed. Here's what it is, promote
in every way the spiritual welfare of the brethren. Feed my sheep. Do all that you can to promote
the spiritual welfare. I want us to know Him. I want
us to be found in Him. I want God Almighty to have mercy
and compassion. I know He is. All that He's chosen
to show mercy, He's going to show mercy. And He's going to
do it through this message right here. I want that. I want the
Lord to save me. I want Him to save my kids, my
wife. I want that. Look at verse 4. We touched on this, I'll touch
it in just a moment. As concerning, therefore, the eating of those
things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol
is nothing in the world. And that there is none other
God but one. Pagans, what they did, they offered
these sacrifices to what they called God. They had an idol, that was their
God. And they offered a sacrifice,
like other sacrifices, but The God that that pagan, based on
what this word just says, there's none other but God. An idol is
nothing. He's nothing. The God that the
pagan offered his sacrifice to, you know this. He was no God. Because there's only one God.
There's one God. So they were offering a piece
of meat to nothing. There was no existence there.
There was no life there. There was no power there. There
was no value there. There was nothing. But let me
ask you this. Is it any different today? Now you just listen. Listen to what he's saying. Men
and women are bowing in their heart, in their depraved heart.
And I'm no different than you. I did the same thing. Before
the Lord was pleased to call me out of darkness. Now let me
tell you what I was doing and I'll tell you what you were doing.
Before the Lord was pleased to reveal to us the error of our
way. We were bowing in our heart. We were praying to or we were
saying that we were praying to a God that didn't exist. Now
if there is and there is, but one God, there's one God. Who is God? Nebuchadnezzar says,
I'll tell you who he is, Almighty God, He rules in the army of
heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one stays his hand. This is
God. This is who God is. According
to these scriptures, God Almighty is the God who chooses to show
mercy. I will have mercy on whom I will
have mercy. I will have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. I'm going to save all my people.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Who am I in
chief? Who are those sinners He came
to save? Call His name Jesus. He will save His people, His
people from their sins. When He died on the cross, He
said, I lay down my life for the sheep. All power is given
unto the Son, John 17, 2. That the Son should give eternal
life to as many as the Father hath given Him. Verse 9 of John
17, I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them which
thou hast given me out of the world. Now let me ask you this,
did the Lord Jesus Christ set forth that God Almighty was a
God who saves a distinguishing people, a distinguished people,
a selected people? I didn't say that, God said it.
God said it. And we're going to take God's
side against our side. His word is going to stand, ours
won't. Now, that's the God of this Bible. So let me ask you
this. If there's any other God, so-called
little g God, that someone is praying to, and it's not this
God. Is He God? Is He a God? No. So you know what I was doing? You know what you were doing
before the Lord converted us? We were praying to nobody. He
did not exist. A God that wants to save but
can't unless somebody lets Him. A God who they say makes salvation
possible but can't atone for sin. There is no God. There's none other God but One. Our God is in the heavens. He's
not trying to do anything. He does. His counsel stands forever. He orders all things for His
glory and the eternal good of His people. That's God. And He's here tonight. And He
hears. And He knows. Exodus 15, 11, who is like unto
thee, O Lord, among the gods? Among the gods, the little g's.
I looked that up, and it means one of two things. It either
means angels, or it means imaginations. Who is like unto thee, O Lord,
among the angels? Or who is like unto thee among
the imaginations? Those imagination, those imaginary
gods, play like. You know, we used to play like.
Let's play like. Let's play like we're cowboys.
Let's play like we're soldiers. He's a play like God. He's not
real. He's not real. Who is like unto
thee? Glorious in holiness, fearful
in praises, doing wonders. There's one God. So Paul was
telling the church at Corinth, if your concern is whether you
should or shouldn't eat a piece of meat offered to an idol. He
said there's nothing polluted in that piece of meat because
there is no God there. You're not offering that to anything.
You could put it down on the sidewalk. And it's the same thing. There's nothing there but a piece
of meat. Just like the false gods that
many worship today. Listen to me. He does not exist. I say again, the God that I worshipped,
the God of my mind, of my imagination, which was really just me, because
I was worshipping my faith, I was trusting in my decision, I was
trusting in my walking, I was trusting in my kneeling, I was
trusting in my works. So therefore I'm trusting in
nothing. For though, verse 5, there be
that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there
be gods many and lords many, but to us there is but one God,
the Father of whom are all things, and we in Him, and one Lord Jesus
Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him. Yes, like we just
mentioned, there's many gods. of the imaginations of the unregenerate. They call Him God. They say that
they pray to a Jesus that is not the Lord Jesus of these scriptures. I'm telling you, you listen to what is preached
when you hear the gospel of God's free grace, and you listen to
another message and you're thinking, you know what? One of these has got to be wrong,
because they're just this way. One of them is going this way,
and one of them is going this way. Or one of them is going
this way, and one of them is going this way. Something's wrong here. There's many gods that the unregenerate
calls God. One that they say can be approached. One that they say can be satisfied.
But always in a different way. It's always a different way of
satisfying. But the Scriptures declare one
God. Father of all, who is above all,
through all, in you all, to God's people. One God in heaven, Father,
Word, Holy Spirit. These three are one. So the apostle
declares in verse 7, How be it? There is not in every man that
knowledge, For some with conscience of the
idol, until this hour, eat it as the thing offered unto an
idol. And their conscience being weak is defiled. What he just
said is this, though all believers know, at least in their head.
He was talking to those that had come out of idolatry. They
were carrying a lot of baggage. I mean, they were raised like
this. I told you, Mark and I came up
in Roman Catholicism. And I'm telling you, you have
no idea the indoctrination. This was a long time ago. And I mean still to this day
I can remember. I mean there's baggage, but these
believers, they came out and they knew at least in their head
that an idol was nothing. They knew that. But still, they
found in many there was a weak conscience. And they'd been delivered
from the bondage of that idolatry, but they still struggled. There's
something still wrong with food that was offered to an idol. And to eat that meat would cause
their conscience to be injured. They're struggling with it. But
Paul says in verse 8, But meat commendeth us not to God, For
neither if we eat are we better, neither if we eat not are we
worse. The type of food that we eat
will not be the reason for our acceptance with God or our separation
from Him. I tell you, it may not be as
good for us. You know, always try to eat really, really healthy. Bacon, a lot of bacon. I know it's not good for me. You know, I like a lot of red
meat. I like red meat. Someone says, you know, you shouldn't
eat a lot of red meat. Okay. I still like it. But I can tell you this, abstaining
from it is not going to be the basis of my acceptance with God.
Eating it will not be my rejection from the Lord. This is what Paul
is telling me. Just realize that meat doesn't
commend us to God. He said you're struggling with
something that there's no issue over. So let's make sure that
care is taken, that our liberty. If you don't have a problem eating
something, here it was meat offered to idle. It could be anything.
I mean that just happened to be the issue then. I mean it
might be, whatever the issue is. If you don't have a problem
with it, wonderful. Great. Whatever, you don't have
a problem with this meat or this day. Wonderful, wonderful. But don't let your liberty or
your understanding of that thing become a hindrance or a cause
of stumbling to a weak brother. And why should we be so careful? Why should we be so careful?
Look at verse 9, 10, 11. Take heed, lest by any means
this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block to them that
are weak. For if any man see thee which hath knowledge, sit
at meet in the idol's temple. Shall not the conscience of him
which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered
to idols? And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish
for whom Christ died? Now let me tell you what he just
said. Let's say that I don't have a problem. I don't have
a problem. It doesn't bother me if I was,
you know, to eat the meat that was offered to idols. Or whatever
else it is. I just, you know, don't have
a problem with it. I know that a lot of times it
just, well, I'll tell you what just popped in my mind. I'll
go ahead and use it. OK, Sunday. Man, there was a time when I
grew up that, man, you couldn't do anything on Sunday. I mean,
you couldn't do anything on Sunday. We didn't do this. I mean, in
fact, I tell you what, it got to a point to where I was taught
that if somebody is working at a restaurant, on Sunday. And
we ain't going to no restaurants on Sunday. You know why? Because
those heathens, those heathens that are over there is working
over there. And you ain't supposed to be working on Sunday. And
you don't think I'm going to go support them, do you? I mean,
that just, you know, and so, I mean, it got to a point to
where, I mean, it was just, it came right back down. Let me
tell you something. Let me tell you what Sunday is. If there
is something that you need to do, if I were you and you need
a day of rest, I would take it. Sunday is a wonderful day to
sit down and take a long, nice nap and rest. It is wonderful. But I'm telling
you, If something comes up and you need to do something, don't
beat yourself up as if your acceptance or rejection before God is whether
or not you did. The Sabbath day was a picture,
it was a type. And I'm not taking anything away
from rest because I'm going to tell you something. Six days
is a lot of days to work. And Sunday is a wonderful day
to rest. I would give my body rest if I were you. I would highly
recommend it. But don't think that your acceptance
before God is going to be based on whether or not you did or
you didn't. The Sabbath was the day set forth for the rest that
we find in Christ. Resting from our labor to earn
our salvation before God. That's what the Sabbath pictured. Now, if you have some liberty,
And you don't mind if somebody needs some help. Somebody's got
a box that they're going to have to move. And Marvin, can you
come over here and help me move this thing, put it in my garage?
I'll be right there. I'll be right there. Now, if
I've got some liberty to do that, and it doesn't bother me, then
be careful. If somebody is bothered by it
and they don't, they don't feel there's something wrong with
going over there and moving something on Sunday, don't do anything
to be offensive to them because of your liberty, is what the
Apostle Paul says. Here's what he's saying. He's
talking about those that were eating meat. He said, now if
any man, verse 10, see thee, which has knowledge, sit at meat. Now listen where they're sitting.
In the idol's temple. They weren't somewhere discreet. They were sitting in the idol's
temple. They were sitting at meat. And if the one that's weak sees
you doing it, and you don't have a problem with it, shall not
the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened? emboldened
to eat those things which are offered to idols, and through
thy knowledge, through the liberty that you got, that he was weak
about, shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died."
Here's what he said, suppose a weak brother, one who has no
clear understanding concerning the liberty that we have in Christ. He sees you sitting and eating
meat in the very temple of the idol. And you, who the Lord has
taught and settled your conscience concerning this matter. Now,
if they see you doing what you're doing, and by your example, you're
doing it in an open way. You weren't at your house, they
were sitting in the idol's temple. to be seen by all men. Now they
see you and their heart is questioned about whether that's right or
wrong. They decide now, well I saw Marvin doing it. Well,
I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to go ahead
and do it, too, because I see Him doing it, feeling that if
I'm doing it, it must be okay. But if they do it, the Apostle
Paul is saying in that Scripture, and they do it against their
conscience and their understanding, then they may feel that other
things that they struggle with are okay, too, and in so doing
may wound or hurt their conscience, one that Christ has died for.
They're going to be saying, well, if that's okay, I guess everything's
okay. A man, a woman must be taught
concerning that which is right or wrong as far as the Scriptures
sets forth. And why is that a harmful thing? Well, look at verse 12. But when
you sin so against the brethren and wound their weak conscience,
you sin against Christ. When we by our actions and actions
perform with such an insensitive attitude because this weak brother
is placed in a situation where his conscience or principles
are compromised or grieved and he's seeing us do something that
he's just not settled on, then when we knowingly do something
that's questionable or possibly offensive, Something according
to their judgment or understanding that's wrong. Something that's
not concerning the gospel. We don't only sin against them,
but against the Lord Himself. We've done something to please
ourselves and not out of the love for the brethren. There's
so many things that I or you probably don't have any problem
with. Something that's not unlawful. If it's unlawful, that's pretty
obvious. Don't do it. If it's against the law or if
it's immoral, That's pretty obvious. But if it's a thing that's, whatever, then if you know that
a brother or sister has a problem with it, and it doesn't bother
you, but they have a problem with it, and it's not an issue
over the gospel, don't do something in front of
somebody else to cause them to be struggling and grieving over
something. Paul says don't do that. Look what he said in that last
verse. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will
eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother
to offend. If eating something or drinking
something, anything, whatever it is, If you know there is a
cause of stumbling for a brother, it's offensive to him. Paul said,
for the sake of that brother, for the glory of God, for the
peace of the gospel, for the peace of the assembly. He said,
for a piece of meat? for something to drink or something. He said, I'm not going to do
it. I'm not going to do it. Numberless things that are truly
questionable to God's people creep in. A lot of things come
up. Things that are stumbling blocks
to the peace and joy of God's church. And we're all susceptible
to stumble because of the weakness of our flesh. But to the taught,
aged believer, Those that the Lord has settled some things,
take heed to be sure don't be a source of offense to someone
else. Don't do that. Don't do that.
If the Lord has given you some liberty, wonderful. Wonderful. I'm glad for you. But don't take
that knowledge and use it to puff yourself up. Well, I'll
tell you one thing. If you were as spiritual as I
would, you wouldn't be doing that. I can tell you that right
now. There's no grace in that. Don't do that. May the Lord teach
us all. Pray for one another. Encourage
one another. Edify one another. For Christ's
sake and for the peace and comfort of the assembly. Amen.