The Love One Another Podcast | Episode 17 - Knowledge Puffs Up, Love Builds Up

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 00 (00:02):
This is the Love One Another Podcast from Beach
Point Church.
Together, we're exploring thefirst letter to the Corinthians
with the hope that we will beformed by the way of the cross
and the love of the one who boreit.
Admitting, as the letter says,that we are nothing without
love.
Love empowered by the Spiritthrough the work of Jesus is an
unstoppable force.

(00:22):
It invites each of us to joinGod in the work of redeeming all
things back to God.
With that in mind, let's openour hearts to God's word today.

Speaker 01 (00:37):
Today's reading is 1 Corinthians 8, 1 through 13.
Now, about food sacrificed toidols.
We know that we all possessknowledge, but knowledge puffs
up while love builds up.
Those who think they knowsomething do not yet know as
they ought to know.
But whoever loves God is knownby God.
So then, about eating foodsacrificed to idols.

(01:00):
We know that an idol is nothingat all in the world, and that
there is no God but one.
For even if there are so-calledgods, whether in heaven or on
earth, as indeed there are manygods and many lords, yet for us
there is but one God, theFather, from whom all things
come and for whom we live.
And there is but one Lord,Jesus Christ, through whom all

(01:21):
things came and through whom welive.
But not everyone possesses thisknowledge.
Some people are still soaccustomed to idols that when
they eat sacrificial food, theythink of it as having been
sacrificed to a God.
And since their conscience isweak, it is defiled.
But food does not bring us nearto God.
We are no worse if we do noteat, and no better if we do.

(01:43):
Be careful, however, that theexercise of your rights does not
become a stumbling block to theweak.
For if someone with a weakconscience sees you, with all
your knowledge, eating in anidol's temple, won't that person
be emboldened to eat what issacrificed to idols?
So this weak brother or sisterfor whom Christ died is
destroyed by your knowledge.
When you sin against them inthis way and wound their weak

(02:06):
conscience, you sin againstChrist.
Therefore, if what I eat causesmy brother or sister to fall
into sin, I will never eat meatagain, so that I will not cause
them to fall.
The goal of truth is to beright, the goal of love is to

(02:37):
build up.
What do you do when yourrightness requires you to tear
down the people around you?
Paul gave us a model here inthis conflict over meat
sacrifice to idols.
Again, a very first-centuryproblem that we have to
understand in our 21st centurycontext.
Most first century people werepolytheists.
They believed there were manygods.

(02:58):
There was often a hierarchyamong these gods, like Zeus
being the supreme god and godslike Pan being the minor god of
shepherds and herdsmen.
There would be celebrations andholidays throughout the year
designed to celebrate andworship each of these gods.
And most involved the processof sacrificing meat to these
idols.
Some of the meat would beburned at the altar to Zeus or

(03:20):
Pan if you were a shepherd.
The rest would be taken home tocook for the celebration or
even sold in the marketplace tomake back to some of the money
lost in the sacrifice.
As we saw in Acts 18, theseGentile polytheists became the
focus of much of Paul's ministryin Corinth.
And they now found themselvesstruggling to figure out whether
they could eat the meatsacrificed to these other gods,

(03:42):
whether served to them atsomeone's house or purchased in
the marketplace.
Some people in this fledglingChristian community knew the
truth.
These idols were statues withno power, no gods behind them,
and no meaning besides beingsometimes beautiful marble
carvings.
There was certainly noChristian concern about eating
meat sacrificed to these idolsbecause they were fake stone

(04:04):
idols.
But others in this community,likely Gentile converts, were
still struggling with thefeeling that their consumption
of these sacrifices was in someway giving their praise and
worship to whichever idol hadreceived the sacrifice.
So what was Paul's response?
Truth to be right or love tobuild up.
Therefore, if what I eat causesmy brother or sister to fall

(04:28):
into sin, I will never eat meatagain so that I will not cause
them to fall.
Paul was ready to go vegan forhis brothers and sisters in
Christ, and that's love.
But how often are we temptedtoday to choose truth that
allows us to be puffed up ratherthan to choose love that allows
our brothers and sisters inChrist to be built up?

(04:48):
Paul wasn't going to endorsesomething that was untrue, but
he was willing to live in a waythat embraced his weaker brother
and sister so that they couldcontinue to experience the life
that Jesus had for them.
Let's take a moment to respondtogether.
Do you show patience andcompassion or frustration and

(05:35):
pride?
If Paul was willing to give upeating meat sacrificed to idols
for the sake of his brothers andsisters, what might you need to
give up so that others canexperience more of the life

(05:58):
Jesus has for them?

Speaker 00 (06:31):
Thank you for taking intentional time to align
yourself with God's love and thecall to love one another.
You can find the Love OneAnother Sermon Series and other
resources at Beachpoint.comslash messages or on the Beach
Point Church app.
May you carry the love of Godinto every encounter you have
today, but I'm not sure.