1 CORINTHIANS 8

“I’m a Christian and I can do anything I want
to do, as long as I consider it to be right.”

Question:
What is wrong with this statement?
    – “I” indicates a self-centered and not a Jesus-centered person.

Question:
Should we consider others when deciding our actions?
    – There are two answers to this question:
          – “Yes”, if it affects them.
          – “No”, if we know we are led by God.
             Note:
                 Sometimes God may lead us to do or say something
                 biblical that others may not want to see or hear.

                Question:
                Why would He do that?
                     – We may not know, but we can guess that it all fits
                        into His plans. He may want to speak to someone
                        else through us. We should never discount the fact
                        that God will use us for His purposes. Sometimes
                        we will immediately embrace and enjoy being used
                        by God, but sometimes our joy will come later,
                        because He has taken us out of our comfort zone.
                        Note:
                            We need to always be kind and gentle whenever
                            we know the other person may resent or
                            dislike what we say, or do.

Question:
What are some reasons we give for
justifying doing what we want to do?
    – What I do is MY business.
    – I can’t help it if people don’t understand.
    – It’s a free country.
    – It’s my life.
    – Others can’t tell me what to do.
    – Someone else did something, so I am justified in doing this.
    – I deserve it.
    – Other people need to get over it.

    Question:
    What is missing from all these statements?
        – Concern for the effect our activity may have on others.

    Question:
    What attitude seems to surface from these statements?
        – Pride
        – Rebellion
        – Selfishness

Question:
How do most people react
when others question their activities?
    – Defensively.
    – Justification of their actions.

Question:
What are some things that, in themselves we may
consider harmless, but may be questioned by others?
    – Attending happy hour (without drinking).
    – Having a drink with a meal (that is not alcoholic).
    – Going shopping with someone other than your spouse.
    – Talking about others (gossip).

Question:
What should be our Christian response to these
examples – preventive action, or justification afterward?
    – If we know that others will misinterpret
      our actions, then shouldn’t we avoid them?
     Example:
         When I worked for one company, every Friday several
         of the employees would go to Bennigan’s (restaurant & bar)
         to unwind for the weekend. I went with them, but would
         order a coke instead of an alcoholic drink. Although I was
         doing nothing wrong, the Lord convicted me one day to stop
         going. Why? Because the others may not have known my
         drink was non-alcoholic and it could affect their opinion of
         my faith. But, there was more – each time someone asked me
         why I stopped joining them, it gave me an opportunity to share
         my faith. I had some Christian friends who told me that since I
         wasn’t ‘drinking’, it was okay….but God had convicted me to
         stop going. I enjoyed our fellowship on Fridays, but it was a
         decision I had to make – either listen to my friends,
         or obey God’s conviction.
         I’m sure we could all share similar stories of how the Lord
         convicted us to do (or not do) something that we felt was
         not wrong, but for whatever reason, He wanted us to change.

Question:
What does the consideration of others indicate in a Christian?
    – Spiritual maturity.
    – Compassion.
    – Concern.
    – Love.
    – Selflessness.

Question:
What would you consider as the differences
between strong Christians and weak Christians?

    Strong:
        – They know where their faith is.
        – They have a one to one relationship to God.
        – They realize that if it is not a sin in God’s eyes, it’s okay
          and if it is a sin in God’s eyes, then it is wrong.
        – Their words and actions are influenced by God;
          they are not under the control of the opinions of others.

    Weak:
        – They are shaky in their faith.
        – They are unsure of their relationship with God.
        – They are concerned and influenced by how they are viewed
          by others; their actions are influenced by the opinion of others.
        – They are unsure of certain “gray areas” of sin.

1 CORINTHIANS 8:
The Corinthians were concerned with:
1. Should a Christian eat food that
    has been offered in sacrifice to idols.
    Question:
    What do you think?

    Question:
    What if that is the only food available?

2. Could a Christian
     eat a sacrificial meal in an idol’s temple?
     Question:
     If a Christian was hungry and passed by a Buddhist
     Temple with a sign saying “FREE LUNCH”,
     would it be wrong for him to stop and eat?

     Question:
     Why or why not?

     Many of the people accepted the reality of idols;
     they believed they existed and exercised power in their lives.

     Much of the meat that could be purchased in Corinth
     had been offered in sacrifice to an idol;
     the priest received part of the sacrifice
     and the remainder was sold in the market.

     Many believed something happened
     to the meat when it was sacrificed;
     it was changed so that in eating the meat,
     a person was in some way entering into a close
     relationship to the one whom it had been sacrificed.

     Question:
     Why would someone feel that way?

VERSE 1:
Question:
Definition of knowledge?
    – An acquaintance with facts.
    – Range of information, awareness, or understanding.
    – Well informed.

Question:
What type of person does knowledge “puff up”?

Question:
Definition of charity?
    – Love of God for man, or man for his fellow men.

Question:
Who does love build up?

Question:
Definition of edify?
    – To instruct or improve morally or spiritually.

Question:
What is Paul saying about the danger of knowledge?
    – It can create an unhealthy, arrogant pride.

Question:
Are you intimidated by others who appear
to be much more intelligent than you?

Question:
If you feel superior in intelligence to someone,
do you have a tendency to “talk down” to them?

Question:
Why ARE some more intelligent than others?

Question:
Should we feel bad about ourselves
if we are on the short end?

Note:
The world may want us to feel bad about ourselves,
but God certainly doesn’t;
He made us the way we are for His purpose.
Intelligence does not increase our value in God’s eyes.
Look at the scriptures and see how He used people of
all kinds to reach people all over the world.

Question:
What does Paul say is the best way to instruct
and help improve the spiritual state of others?
    – Include love.

      Note:
           A friend of mine met a cashier at a store who looked
           sickly and not ‘all there’, but he talked to her the same
           as he would if she had been gorgeous – he benefited
           because he felt good about himself after seeing how
           she responded to kindness.
           If we all would adopt an attitude of trying to bring a
           little sunshine into the lives of others, imagine how much
           better the world would be – more importantly, imagine
           how much better we would feel about ourselves.

Question:
Can one person have both love and knowledge?

    Question:
    Which should be the stronger of the two? Why?
        – Love; because it allows us to
          use our knowledge in the right manner.

VERSES 4-6:
Paul says that as strong Christians, we know that idols
are nothing; even though there are many gods, we as
Christians, know that there is only one true God Who
created all things, including us.

Note:
    God – “FOR” whom we live.
    Jesus Christ – “THROUGH” whom we live.

VERSE 7:
Paul says that some are not as strong in their faith,
and as a result, they feel that eating meat offered
to idols will defile them in some way.

VERSE 8:
Meat does not affect our relationship to God
(“commend” – to put in the care of another);
we are not put in a different light whether we eat
the sacrificed meat or not – it is merely food
in God’s eyes, with no attachments of any kind.

VERSE 9:
However, we must consider the effect on weaker Christians.

If they feel it is wrong, and if they view us as strong Christians,
then if they observe our eating of the meat, it could have an
adverse impact on their spiritual life.
We would in effect cause confusion for them.

VERSE 10:
Paul explains the danger:

If the weak see the strong in an idol’s temple, they will
feel it is okay for Christians to partake, however they
still feel something is not right.
In their own eyes, it could still be viewed as a sin and
now they are willfully participating in sin….this could
have a negative impact on their relationship with God,
and lead to a spiritual decline and more sinning.

VERSE 11:
The spiritual decline of another Christian (or someone
under conviction, or lost) could be a direct result of our
spiritual strength (if we see nothing wrong with something
that they consider as wrong).

We could be in direct contradiction to the purpose of
Christ’s death: He died to bring the lost to an everlasting
life, and our actions could possibly push them away from
salvation (or spoil the witness of a Christian).

VERSE 12:
To have this effect on another Christian is a sin;
not only is it a sin against the person, but it is
also a sin against Christ and His purpose.

VERSE 13:
Paul sums it up:
    If we see no wrong in what we are doing,
    but we are aware that others may see
    it as wrong, then don’t do it.

SUMMARY:
– Behavior that is harmless in itself becomes sin
  when it causes others to do what they consider to be a sin.

– We are to be sensitive
   to how our actions may be perceived by others.

– Love for others should influence our choices.

CHALLENGE:
Identify an area in your life that might have an adverse
effect on other Christians (or lost people), and resolve
to change it (pray for God’s help in identifying any areas
and in helping you to change your actions).