Chapter 8 Discusses One of the Most Controversial Subjects That the Early Church Had To

Chapter 8 Discusses One of the Most Controversial Subjects That the Early Church Had To

Freedom & Rights: Part I
8:1-13 / I Corinthians: The Church, Then and Now / Session 12

Chapter 8 discusses one of the most controversial subjects that the early church had to deal with: “Is it acceptable for Christians to eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols?” This is not an issue for the church in 2011. However, the wider issue of Christian liberty is definitely a concern to the church now. We face questions that Paul could not have imagined. His teachings provide the principles we can look to for the answers we need today.

Definitions

Knowledge / acquaintance, familiarity or conversance with facts, truths, or principles
Love / a profoundly tender, deep affection or feeling of warm personal attachment for another person that continuously seeks what is best for them
Christian Liberty / the freedom from God to do whatever you wish in any matter the Bible does not address, without fear of persecution by the church. Note: it is not an excuse to break any Bible principle, compromise your conscience, put yourself in bondage, raise arguments in the church, harm the reputation of the gospel, or jeopardize another believer’s relationship with God.
Conscience / the inner sense of right or wrong based on the complex of one’s ethical and moral principles that controls or inhibits their motives, actions and thoughts, impelling them toward right action

V1-3Think Hard, Stay Humble

  • anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn't really know very much
  • human knowledge makes us feel good; Godly love builds the church

V4-7The Problem of a Weak Conscience

  • because we know there is only one true and living God, we know that idols are not gods in reality
  • we know that food offered to an idol is not made sinful or corrupt
  • eating one kind of food, and abstaining from another, has nothing to do with right and wrong
  • weak Christians are unable to distinguish between eating food offered to an idol and worshipping the god the idol represents

V8-13 How to Not Destroy a Brother

  • although a strong Christian may consider something innocent, he must be cautious to not put a stumbling-block in the path of a weak Christian
  • if the weak copies the strong, in defiance to his conscience, to him it is sin
  • the Spirit-filled love all for whom Christ died, and will not cause them to be tempted
  • to lead someone astray is an offence to Christ and endangers one’s own salvation
  • Principles of Christian Liberty
  • Any part of private or public life that God has addressed, we must obey without question or compromise.
  • What God commands, we do exactly and nothing else; what God condemns, we stay away from it.
  • No Christian (leader) has the right to demand their personal preferences, or to condemn those of another.
  • The only truth worth dividing over is clearly and forcefully specified in the WORD of God.
  • Charity/ love (not pride) must rule our interactions with other believers.
  • Application requires (1) a very sensitive spirit to perceive where there are differences that warrant adjusting conduct, and (2) a loving heart that will accept and adjust for those differences.
  • No Christian has the right to cause others to be offended.

Limitations of Christian Liberty

  • Do not get so accustomed or dependent on a thing you could not leave it (I Corinthians 6:12; 9:19-23)
  • Do not argue, debate, declare, or question matters of liberty (Romans 14:1-4,13,22; I Corinthians 13:5).
  • Do not do anything publicly that might cause another to stumble (Romans 14:13,21; I Corinthians 8:9-13).
  • Do not do anything against your own conscience (Romans 14:5,14,22-23; I Corinthians 8:7).
  • Do not do anything that does not edify the church in love (Romans 14:15,19; I Corinthians 8:1; 10:23-33).
  • Do not publicly do or promote anything that another’s conscience condemns (I Corinthians 10:27-33).
  • Practice liberty as unto the Lord (Romans 14:6-9; I Corinthians 10:31).

Discussion Group: Referring to I Corinthians8: 1-13,answer questions 1 to 6.

1 What do these phrases mean?

1a knowledge puffs up (v 1):

1blove edifies (v 1):

2 What is the problem with someone who thinks they have knowledge? (v2)

3 What is the knowledge that Paul says we all have? (v1, 4-6)

4 What is the significance of food to Godliness? (v8)

5 Why must strong Christians limit their own liberty?

5a (v 9)

5b (v 10-11)

5c (v 12)

6 Put verse 13 in your own words.

Take Home: Personal Reflection and Application

7aHow do you react when you know you are right and yet someone continues to openly oppose you?

7bWhat do you need to change so you can be a help and not a hindrance?

8 What knowledge and freedom that you currently enjoy would you be willing to give up to avoid harming a weaker saint?

Take Home: Personal Preparation for Next Class: Freedom & Rights Part II, Chapters 8 & 9

9 What should you do if a Christian brother will be offended if you do a thing, and an unsaved friend you are evangelizing will be offended if you don’t do it?

10 What are appropriate ways for you to accommodate yourself to unbelievers for the sake of the Gospel?

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