Sure is a lot better than the
other version. 1 Corinthians chapter 8. If somebody's wondering what I meant
when I said that's a lot better than the other version, there's
another hymn called I Surrender All. And if you look it up in
the hymn book, that one was just a whole lot better. I've entitled this message. Puffed
up. Or built up. Puffed up. Or built up. And I want to make a statement
that I think is going to be in everything I'm saying this evening. There can be no love without
knowledge. There can be no love, real love,
apart from knowledge. You can't love one whom you don't
know. There can be no love apart from
knowledge, the knowledge of who He is. his attributes, his characteristics. Now, that's just so. But this
is equally true. There can be knowledge without
love. There can be knowledge without
love. Now, there can be no love without
knowledge. But there can be knowledge. You
can know some things. without having a true love. That's
a sobering thought, isn't it? Sobering. And I want us to keep
that in mind as we look at this passage of Scripture. Now, the
church at Corinth had written Paul a letter and asked him about
several things, and one of the things they asked him was whether
or not it was wrong to eat meat that was used for a sacrifice
to a pagan god. And I can understand them asking
that question. Let's say an animal was sacrificed and that it was
sacrificed to some pagan, heathen God. And they said, well, is
it wrong for us to eat that meat? Would we be worshiping that pagan
God by doing that? Was it OK to buy meat or is it
OK to buy meat at the meat market that was used for that purpose? Or is it OK to eat this meat
in the privacy of your own home? Or is it wrong to eat it publicly
where other people can see? And Paul answers that question.
And in answering that question, he really deals with a bigger
issue. Puffed up or built up. Verse one, now as touching things
offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge
puffeth up. but charity edifyeth or buildeth
up. Now, I believe Paul's using some
sarcasm here when he says touching those things regarding idols. We all have knowledge. What he's speaking of is knowledge
without love. Knowledge without faith, knowledge
without wisdom. All it does is fill one up with
hot air and nothing more. Pride and conceit. We all have knowledge. We know some right things. Big deal is what he's saying.
We all have knowledge. All that does is puff one up
with pride, but charity booms up. Charity. is not against knowledge
when he says that. You can't love who you don't
know. You know him, that's why you
love him. You know who he is, you know what he's like, you
know what the Word reveals about him, and you love him. Charity
builds up. Now look what he says in verse
2. And if any man think that he knows anything, he knows nothing
yet as he ought to know If we think we know anything thoroughly,
all we display is our ignorance. Is that so? Truly, the more we
know, the more we see we don't know. Isn't that true? You know, the better we know
the Lord, the better we know Him. the more we see how little
that knowledge is and how small that knowledge is. You know,
regarding any truth of the scripture, the more we understand it, the
more we see just how little we do understand it. Here's an example. I dare say most of us believe
in total depravity. Probably everybody in here would
say, I believe in total depravity. I believe men are totally depraved.
I believe that's what the Bible teaches. How much do you really understand
that? How much do you really understand of your own sinfulness?
You know, it's one thing to believe the doctrine of total depravity,
and it's quite another thing to believe that you're totally
depraved. There's all the difference in the world. The more we know something, the
more we see we don't know. And Paul says, as a matter of
fact, if any man thinks he knows anything, he knows nothing yet
as he ought to know. But if any man loved God, the
same is known of him. Now, this is what God sees. Not
what we claim to know, but if we actually love his person. That's what he looks on. That's
what he looks for. Now, back to the subject, verse
four. As concerning, therefore, the eating of those things that
are offered in sacrifice and idols, we know that an idol is
nothing in the world and that there's none other God but one. An idol is what? It's a visible
representation. Or a mental representation of
something that's supposed to be God. I might have a statue
here and I say that's God. I may have some idea in my mind
concerning what I think God's like. Everybody's quick to give
their opinion. Here's what I think about God.
Here's what I think God is like. Now, Paul says we know that an
idol is nothing. Turn with me to Psalm 115 for
a moment. Psalm 115. Verse 1, Not unto us, O Lord,
not unto us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and
for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen
say, Where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. Now that's our God. Now he says
their aisles are silver and gold. The work of men's hands. They
have mouths, but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see
not. They have ears, but they hear not. Noses have they, but
they smell not. They have hands, but they handle
not. Feet have they, but they walk not. Neither speak they
through their throat. They that make them are like
unto them. So is everyone that trusteth in them. O Israel, trust
thou in the Lord. He is their help, and he is their
shield. So we see an idol. It may look real. It has ears,
and eyes, and a mouth, a statue, and so on. But it can't see. It can't hear. It can't speak. It can't feel. It's an idol. It's a non-entity. And you know,
the God that is preached in most churches in the United States
of America is nothing more than an idol. He's not the God of
the Bible. There's only one God. That's
the God of the Bible. A God that's preached that is
not like the God of the Bible. The God who's absolutely sovereign.
The God who's absolutely just and will not let any sin go unpunished. The God who is all-powerful.
He has the power to make sure His will comes to pass. Every
attribute of God, whatever you want to talk about, that's the
God of the Bible. And a God that's not like that God is not God. He's an idol. And to worship
a God like that is to practice idolatry. It's not just a lower
form of religion, not quite up to par. It's idolatry. Now that's a solemn thing to
think about. I don't want to be guilty of
idolatry, do you? I want to worship the God of the Bible. I want
to worship the living God. There's only one God. And any
God that is not like this God, the God of the Bible, is an idol. It's a false God. There's only
one God, the God of the Bible. Now look what he says in verse
5. Well, let's read verses 4 and 5 together. 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's none other God but one. We know that for though, verse
5, for though there be that are called, for though there be that
are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be gods
many and lords many. You know, there are a lot of
gods, small g. A lot of lords in heaven, earth,
false concepts of God. You think of the different religions.
All of them got to God. There's a lot of them, aren't
there? You think even within, quote, Christianity. Boy, there's
a lot of different concepts of God, aren't there? There's a
bunch of them. He says there's a lot of gods, a lot of lords, and
so on. A whole bunch of them. Verse
6, But to us there's but one God. I know there's a lot of
false gods, but to us there is but One God, we who are believers,
there's but one God, the Father of whom are all things. Now, what's that mean, the Father
of whom are all things? That means He's the first cause
of everything. He's the absolute sovereign of
the universe. There's one God. That's the only
God there is, the sovereign God. Do you know, it's impossible
to believe God and not believe the sovereign God. That's the
only God there is. Any other God you believe is
a non-entity. It's an idol. It's not even real. There's only one God, and that's
the God of the Bible. Well, how do you know your God's
the right God? Read the Scriptures. Now, when I preach, I say, am
I preaching the Word? Am I preaching God's Word? Am
I preaching the God of the Bible? You judge what I'm saying according
to the Scriptures. Don't just swallow it because I say it.
I want you to try everything I say according to the Scriptures.
The only God there is, is the sovereign, absolute God of the
Bible, as He's revealed in this Word. All other gods are idols. They're false gods. There's only
one God, verse 6, but to us there's but one God, the Father, of whom
are all things. He's in control of everything,
and we in Him. And if you've got a margin, you'll
notice it says, we for Him. We for Him. All things were created
by Him and for Him. And He is before all things,
and by Him all things consist. Revelation 411 says this, Thou
art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for
Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are
and were created. Now, popular religion, man's
religion, presents a God who exists for us. He's just waiting
to bless us. That's what his purpose is. I
actually read this this week. I've never read this before.
One fellow, he was a philosopher of some kind. And they said,
well, do you believe that when you come to die that God will
forgive you of your sins? Do you really believe that? And
he said, yes, I do. That's his job. That's his job,
to forgive us of our sins. You know, that's what a lot of folks
really believe. God does what He does for His
glory. His job is not to forgive you
for your sins. His job is to rule and reign. And whatever He does with us
is up to Him. His job is not to bless us. His job is to glorify Himself.
Now, I pray I'll be blessed in that, whatever it is He does. But God doesn't exist to help
you. He doesn't exist to make things
better for you. He doesn't exist to bless you.
He exists to glorify Himself. Now, that's the God of the Bible.
He said, My glory I will not share with another. There's but one God, the Father
of whom are all things, and we for Him. And then He says there's
one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things, and we by Him. There's one Lord Jesus Christ. I love His name. He's the Lord.
He's the Lord. I don't use that name loosely.
Don't anybody say, oh Lord, oh Lord, in kind of a slang way.
That's cursing. That's cursing. Oh Lord. He's
the Lord. His name is to be used with reverence
and with fear. He's the absolute sovereign of
the universe. He's the Lord. He's the Dictator. He's the one
who's in control. That's his name. He's the Lord.
He's Jesus. His name means Savior. He's the Savior. He's the only
hope I have. He's the only salvation. He's
the Savior. He's the Christ. He's God's anointed
prophet. He's God's anointed priest. He's God's anointed king. He's the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
one Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. There's one Lord Jesus
Christ. There's one Lord. There's one
faith. There's one baptism. And we,
he says in verse 6, by whom are all things. You know, he's the
way the Lord works. Who was it that created the universe?
Jesus Christ. Who was it that said, let us
make man in our own image? It was Jesus Christ. We, by him.
He's the one who created Everything by whom are all things and we
buy him what that means is if I'm saying he saved me By him,
you know when he did it this this is by somebody that means
they're the one who wrote it If a book is written it was by
so-and-so. Well, if I'm saved I'm by the Lord Jesus Christ
He's the one who saved me and there's one Lord Jesus Christ
and we buy him number seven how be it and There is not in every man that
knowledge. For some, with conscience of
the idol unto this hour, eat it as a thing offered unto an
idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled." Now, there
are different levels of understanding. There are different levels of
knowledge. There's one believer who has
much more understanding of the gospel than another believer.
And you know what? I understand the gospel a whole lot more clearly
today than I did five years ago. Well, were you preaching the
gospel five years ago? Yes, I was. Yes, I was. But I understand the gospel more
clearly now than I ever have. And I hope in five years or ten
years, I'm going to understand the gospel a whole lot more clearly
then than I do now. You hope the same thing for yourself.
Aren't we called upon to grow in grace and in the knowledge
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? There are different levels
of knowledge. And he says there's not in every man this understanding,
this level of knowledge. And he tells us exactly what
he's talking about in verse 7. Howbeit there's not in every
man this knowledge, for some, And here's what demonstrates
how they don't have a clear understanding of things. And he looks at them
as brothers, too. For some, with conscience of
the idol, unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an
idol, and their conscience being weak, is defiled. Some genuinely
believe it's sin to eat meat sacrificed to an idol. Now, he
calls this weakness. It's weakness on their part.
It comes from a weak conscience, but if they believe it's a sin,
if they do it, it is a sin. That's what he said. If they
believe it's a sin, if they eat that food, that meat that's sacrificed
unto an idol, it is a sin. Turn with me to Romans 14. I
want you to see this. Paul says in verse 14 of Romans
chapter 14, I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there
is nothing unclean of itself. Is there sin in things? Is there
sin in alcohol? Is there sin in tobacco? Is there
sin in the use of drugs? They're a blessing. I tell you what, I'd be dead
if it wasn't for drugs. I'm thankful for the medications
that the Lord has given us. Is there sin in those things?
No. There's nothing unclean of itself.
There's nothing. Sin's not in things. Sin's in
the heart. That's what sin... You know what
the best definition of sin is? Me. Me. Now, if you want a good
definition of sin, there it is. Sin's a little word, S-I-N, but
boy, what's the biggest word in it? I. I. See, there's not
sin in things. There's nothing unclean of itself.
Our Lord said it's out of the heart that proceeds evil thoughts,
murders, blasphemies, adulteries, and so on. It comes from the
heart. Sin's not in stuff. It's not in things. It comes
from us. There's nothing unclean of itself. But, he says, to him
that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. That person defiles himself in
eating that meat if he thinks it's wrong to do it. He is sinning. Now hold your finger then Romans
14 and turn back to our text. We're going to come back to Romans
14 in a moment. He says in verse 8. But meat
commended us not to God. For neither if we eat it are
we the better. Neither if we eat it, not are we the worst.
This is a matter of indifference. And and we all ought to understand
this. Now, turn back to Romans, Chapter
14, I want I want to keep that in mind, we've got to look at
this whole chapter, let me just read it to you. Romans, Chapter 14, deal
with the same thing. He says him that is weak in the
faith. You know, there are people who
are weak in the faith. Weak, they don't have the same understanding,
they don't have the same conviction. They're weak in faith. That's
not a good thing to be weak, but there are those who are weak
in the faith. Got some folks who are weak in the faith here
right now. Do you think you're strong in the faith? I'm strong,
are you? Well, you prove even saying that
you're not. He talks about weak in the faith. Him that's weak
in the faith, receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
For one believeth that he may eat all things, another who's
weak eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise
him that eateth not. Now, Somebody thinks, well, any
idiot knows that there's no sin in things. He says, don't have
that attitude. Don't despise that person who
has scruples, who feels like they can't eat those things.
Let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth, for God
hath received him. Let's say you think it's wrong
to touch alcohol. It's wrong. It should never enter
your lips. Then it is wrong for you, and
you ought not to do it. But if somebody else does it,
don't you be looking down your nose at them and judging them.
You're wrong in doing that. Don't judge that person for that.
You've got enough to deal with yourself. He says in verse 4,
Who are you to judge another man's servant? To his own master
he standeth, or falleth, yea, he shall be whole enough, for
God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above
another, another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully
persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth
it unto the Lord, and he that regardeth not the day, to the
Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the
Lord, for he giveth God thanks. And he that eateth not, to the
Lord he eateth not, and he giveth God thanks. For none of us lives
to himself, and no man dies to himself. For whether we live,
we live unto the Lord. Whether we die, we die unto the
Lord. Whether we live, or therefore whether we die, we're the Lord's.
For to this end Christ both died and rose and revived, that he
might be Lord both of the dead and the living. But why dost
thou judge thy brother? Why dost thou set it not thy
brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
The weak brother is going to stand before the judgment seat
of Christ just like the strong brother, and he's going to be
accepted just like the strong brother. When he's saying we're
all going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, he's
not going to be talking about, well, you did this wrong or you did that.
No, we're all going to stand. We're all going to be justified.
We're all going to be accepted at that time. We'll all stand
before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live,
saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall
confess to God. So then every one of us shall give an account
of himself to God. Let us therefore judge one another, not judge
one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put
a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
Now I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that there is
nothing unclean of itself, but to him that esteemeth anything
to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved
with thy meat, If he thinks it's wrong, should you just say, well,
that's his problem. He's a weak brother. That's his
problem. Why should I have to live up
to his scruples? Why should I even have to worry
about his wrong views? Should I have that attitude?
Now, if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, and walkest thou
not charitably, destroy not him with meat for whom Christ died.
Let not then your good be evil spoken of. Now, what I see from
this, is that God looks more at the attitude of our hearts
than what we do. God looks more at why we're doing
what we're doing than what we do. He looks at the motive. He looks at the attitude of the
heart. If I think it's a sin, even though
it's not a sin, if I think it is, it is. It is. The Lord looks at the motive.
He looks at the actions. Now, back to our text in First
Corinthians, Chapter eight. He says in verse nine. After he makes this statement,
we're no better off if we eat or we don't eat, it just doesn't
make any difference. It's a thing of indifference. One thing doesn't
commend us to God, he says in verse nine, but. You take heed,
lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block
to them that are weak. Now it's so liberating to see
that there's no sin in things. Sin is not in the meat, and it's
liberating to see that. Sin's just not in things. But
you be careful that your liberty doesn't become a stumbling block
and a cause to see it in somebody else, somebody that's weak and
doesn't have the same understanding as you. He says, you take liberty
or you take heed, lest by any means this liberty, this understanding
of yours becomes a stumbling block to them that are weak.
Verse ten, four. If any man see thee which hath
knowledge set 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 thy
weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? Now Paul gives us
a scenario of what it is for this to be a stumbling block.
You have knowledge. You understand, if I eat this
meat, it doesn't make any difference. I can go into the idol's temple,
and I can buy that meat, and it's just like any other meat.
It may be filet mignon. I love that. I mean, I'm going
to get that. Maybe I can get a good price
for it. I'm going to enjoy my steak. I'm going to go into the idol's
temple, and I'm going to get that meat, and I don't care what
anybody thinks, because I know there's nothing wrong with it.
If somebody's got a problem with that, it's their problem, not
mine. I don't need to worry about them. I'm not going to worry
about their scruples. I'm not going to subject myself to their
silly beliefs. I can eat that meat if I want
to. That's what a good attitude that is. I can eat that meat
if I want to. There's nothing wrong with it. But what does
Paul say? If any man see thee which has
knowledge, said it 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? He says, well, If he can do it,
then I can do it. He just steps on his conscience. He just says, I'm going to do
it anyway. If he can do it, I can do it. And he goes for it. He
goes ahead and eats that. And look what it says in verse
11. And through thy knowledge... You know this stuff. But knowledge
without love. Knowledge without concern about
your brother. Through thy knowledge shall thy weak brother perish
for whom Christ died. You were the cause of their sin.
And you look at the language of this. It says your weak brother
will perish. He'll perish. Now, you know as
well as I do that that does not mean that he'll eternally perish.
You know that from the rest of the Scriptures. If Christ died
for that fellow, he's not going to perish. And you're not going
to... You think of all the sins you've committed since you've
been a believer. You can't count them, can you?
You couldn't even begin to count them. You couldn't count the
sins of one day. But you're not going to perish because Christ
died for you. He's not saying that brother
is going to hell. But he's saying he's going to
perish, and it's not talking about eternal perishing, but
oh, what trouble and grief he brings on himself by that sin.
And through your knowledge, your understanding without love, he
says, your weak brother is going to perish for whom Christ dies. Now, what this does is this shows
what knowledge without love does. There's nothing wrong with eating
that meat. The problem's with the weak brother. It's not with
me. I'm not going to order my life around his silly scruples.
I'm not responsible for what he does. I'm not my brother's
keeper. And look what happens as a result. Now, this is the
knowledge that puffs up. All it does is fill people with
hot air, pride, and self-conceit. And in reality, it's not true
knowledge at all, is it? It's ignorance in reality. It's
ignorance. It's not true knowledge. This
is the knowledge that puffeth up. And this is exactly what
Paul was talking about when he said, knowledge puffeth up. If
it's knowledge without love, if it's knowledge without wisdom,
if it's knowledge without faith, if it's knowledge without a true
love for your brother, it's not. It's not knowledge. It's just
hot air and nothing more. If my knowledge doesn't make
me love the Lord Jesus and His people, a love that proves itself
by self-denial, I'm not going to eat that meat to keep my brother
from being offended. That doesn't mean just him getting
mad at you, but embolden him to sin. If my knowledge doesn't
make me love my brother, It's useless and it's pointless
knowledge. So much for our knowledge. Knowledge
puffeth up, but charity edifies. Look what he says in verse 12.
But when you sin so against the brethren. See, he calls these
weak brothers brethren. When you sin so against the brethren
and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. That
one you sin against and treat with such indifference is somebody
that Christ died for you. And when we sin against them
and wound their weak conscience and give them encouragement to
go against what their conscience tells them to do, what we're
doing is sinning against Christ Himself. Now, this is how real
union with Christ is. If I sin against you, I'm sinning
against Jesus Christ. He said, inasmuch as you've done
it to the least of these, my brethren, you've done it to me. And he didn't say, it's just
like you did it to me, or he said, you did it to me. Inasmuch
as you did it not to the least of these, my brethren, you did
it not to me. Now, if you sin against Aubrey,
you can be sure I'm going to take it personal. You can just
bet on it. I'm going to take it personal.
But Christ takes it infinitely more personal because every believer
is united to Him. Now all that knowledge does is
puff up. He says in verse 13, Wherefore,
if meat make my brother to offend, I'll eat no flesh while the world
standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. There isn't anybody
that enjoys meat more than me. I love meat. I like it for breakfast,
lunch, dinner. I like it for dessert. I like
it for snacks. I'm a meat person. Meat's my
favorite food. Nothing comes close to meat.
Paul says, I won't even touch it. I'll deny myself that liberty
if it's going to cause my brothers to stumble. Now what that's called
is love. Knowledge puffs up with pride. Charity builds up. Knowledge that does not produce
this love is not knowledge at all. A knowledge of grace that
does not produce graciousness is not a true knowledge of grace
at all. You know, it's one thing to believe
that salvation is by the mercy of God. I believe salvation is
by the free, sovereign mercy of God, don't you? I believe
that. It's one thing to believe in
sovereign mercy, and it's another thing to be merciful. If you
really believe in God's mercy, you will be merciful. And if
you personally are not merciful, you don't really believe God's
mercy. That's what's being taught here.
There's a knowledge that puffs up and there's that charity,
that love that builds up. Let's close by looking at 1 Corinthians
chapter 13. We're going to be getting there
in a few weeks, but. Paul says in verse one. Do I speak with the tongues of
men and of angels. If I can preach the gospel so
eloquently that I can outdo an angel, and if I can use such
pathos and enthusiasm in my preaching that I can melt people and I
can do all these things, Paul says, if I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels and have not charity, what am I? I become as a sounding brass
or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of
prophecy, and that's a gift I want, the gift of preach, and understand
all mysteries. I can tell you what everything
in the Bible means. I can give you the right definition. I don't
care if you go into Leviticus or 1 Chronicles or whatever passage
you want to deal with. I can tell you just what it means.
I understand all mysteries and give the right answer and have
all knowledge. And though I have all faith so
that I can remove mountains, I've got mountain moving faith. What faith? And have not charity,
I am what? Nothing. Nothing. And though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, I sell everything I got and use it to feed the
poor. And though I give my body to be burned, I won't bow down
to error. I'll die being burnt at the stake
before I'll give in to Arminianism and free willism. I'm sold out
to the truth. Though I give my body to be burned
and have not charity. Love to God, love to His people. Love that will cause me to deny
myself for their sakes. If I give my body to be burned
and have not charity, it profits me nothing. Nothing at all. Chapter 14, verse one, what we
looked at, I guess, was last Sunday night. Follow after charity. Make this your aim. Make this
your pursuit. Make this your ambition. Make
this your goal. If you're going to ask the Lord
for something, ask Him for this. Ask Him to give you the grace
to have this charity spoken of in our text. Now, I ask myself
and I ask you to ask yourself. Puffed up? or built up? Puffed up or built up? Now, the
answer to that question is seen in how I treat the Lord's children,
especially His weak children. May God give us grace. Oh, may
God give us grace to be men and women of charity. Let's pray together.