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Transcript

Good afternoon, brethren.

Well, let’s get into the message. Let’s first turn to John thirteen. And we’ll go to John thirteen, thirty-five to start the message off, going directly to a scripture. Let’s go to John thirteen, thirty-five. A popular verse, a memory verse, a verse we all know, or should know, or all have heard in some fashion multiple times, either here in God’s Church, or maybe before we were called it, probably heard this verse as well. It is a very popular verse. Let’s read it. Actually, let’s begin reading in verse thirty-four. “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, and that you also love one another.” Repeating himself. Verse thirty-five. “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another.” An important verse, a crucial verse, a verse that gives us clear instruction on what we are to do to each other, to one another. Well, today, we’re going to learn about what Paul wrote about extensively, about meat offered to idols. Now, I know what you’re all thinking, because I tried this at home and it worked.

Yes, I tried this at home. I ran through this, and the first response I got was, what? What do these two things belong together? How does this verse, verse thirty-five, “By all this, all men know you, that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” What does that have to do with meat offered to idols? Well, we’re going to learn today. They are actually tied together. We’ll learn a certain aspect of how we are to love one another. How do they fit? How do they go together? Well, today, let’s learn.

As I mentioned, Paul was dealing extensively with the brethren, both in Corinth and in Romans, he wrote about it, about the issue of meat being offered to idols. In a different age, in a different time, the Church then, in the first century, was in a completely different society than we are today. If you look into the history of the city of Corinth, Corinth was awash in idolatry, in temples, either Roman or Greek temples, of various deities. It was integral to their way of life, before they were called, those that lived in the city. It was part of your daily life.

You saw it happen. You experienced it. You lived it before you were called. And this idol worship, this involvement with the Greek and the Roman gods, it wasn’t just for worship. It was for work. It was for networking. If you wanted to do business, if you wanted to be in with those that are in, if you wanted to get the jobs with those that had the jobs, you were there at the temple. You were there at the sacrifices. You were there at the banqueting, at the reveling, at the parties. You had to be there if you wanted to have a decent life in the city of Corinth.

So it was close to the brethren, as they were called. They had experienced it. And what Paul eventually was dealing with, we’ll turn to the scriptures and dive into them, and really get to what he was writing about. But as the brethren were called, and maybe it relates to you and I too, when we were called, our eyes are opened. We see the truth. We know what God now wants of us. It’s almost in many ways our eyes are open. It’s between night and day. We didn’t understand. The proverbial wool was over our eyes, and then the wool was pulled up, and we see light. We see day. We see clearly.

And this is how some of the brethren saw it. They saw, all of a sudden, I’m free. These idols mean nothing. These sacrifices are nothing. I’m free. It doesn’t bother me anymore. And then there were a few that still had a conscience, that still were a little bothered by it. We’re in his open. We’re in the same position. And Paul dealt with that. So let’s go to First Corinthians. First Corinthians eight. The first set of verses we’ll read and analyze, and turn to other areas to back up what we’re talking about. But let’s go to First Corinthians eight. We’ll go through the whole chapter.

But here, Paul begins to discuss and work with what the brethren were dealing with. How there were, in some cases, there were two different camps. There were two different sets of brethren in the congregation. One that maybe we’ll read had a lot of knowledge, and they were free. And there were ones that were still working their way through the understanding, working their way to grow in truth. And how were these two brethren working together?

Well, let’s begin reading in verse one of First Corinthians eight. “Now, as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but charity,” the old English word, you can also put love there, but love edifies. Think of the first verse we turn to this afternoon. “Now, touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge, and knowledge puffs up, but charity, love edifies. And if any man think that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.” Paul’s beginning to lay it out.

Paul’s beginning to set himself up, set us up. Ultimately, there’s lessons for us to learn from this. But if any man knows anything, he knows nothing yet, just because he has the knowledge, just because he knows. Is he applying the knowledge correctly? Is he using the knowledge correctly? Well, we’re going to learn. Verse Three, “But if any man love God, the same is known of him.” We open this message talking about that. “But if any man love God, the same is known of him.” So what are we doing? How are we loving God? How are we loving our brother?

Paul’s tying this in closely. Verse four, “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 there is no other God but one.” Paul clearly stating those idols that were an integral part of the Corinthians’ lives, those sacrifices, he’s saying they’re nothing. Of course, let’s go to Habakkuk two and verse eighteen. You would assume, or you would think that these and similar verses may have been taught in the Sabbath service in Corinth, may have been referenced. They may have heard this before in Habakkuk two in verse eighteen.

So, a little bit, what Paul’s going to get into, the brethren should have heard, the brethren should have known. And I’ll say the brethren on either side of the equation, those that had knowledge and those that did not. But they should have heard these verses, and we’ll go to a few others as well throughout. But here we are over in Habakkuk two in verse eighteen, “And what profits the graven image...” So what profits the idol? What profit is it? “...that the maker thereof has graven it.” So the maker thereof, who makes them? Man makes them. “The molten image and the teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusts therein to make dumb idols.”

So the maker that gravens the wooden image, the maker that melts the iron or the gold or the bronze or the silver, and makes this image, the molten image, and a teacher of lies, the maker of his work trusts therein to make dumb idols. So here we would have heard that. The Corinthians would have heard that. We’ve heard this. They’re just dumb idols. They’re nothing. “And woe to him that says to the wood, Awake, to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach. Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.” So why were some still having trouble if they may have heard this? Or a similar passage in a message.

Let’s go back to Corinthians. They should have known. They would have heard. It would have been explained. Especially as we know that some, with their eyes open, have knowledge. They understand that it is nothing. And Paul is writing and reminding them that those idols, they’re nothing. Those sacrifices, truly, in the end, are to a bunch of stone. There’s nothing there. We’re continuing. We cut off in verse five or we cut off in verse four. Now let’s read verse five. A little more set up.

“For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be gods many and lords many.” Let’s go to verse six. “But to us there is but one God, the Father, and of Whom are all things and we in Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things and we by him.” Both the Father and both Christ integral to who we are, integral to our calling, and integral to our being. What was verse five? There’s many that are called gods. There’s gods throughout the world. Let’s go to Exodus twenty. Go to the Ten Commandments.

All the gods that are out there in the world. What does God remind us? What does Paul remind us? There’s but one God. There’s not many. Let’s go to Exodus twenty and verse three. Beginning of the Ten Commandments. We’re all familiar with it, but it’s just set up. It should be a reminder. The Corinthians would have known it. They would have known the Ten Commandments. Of course they would. We do. They did. This isn’t news. They’re getting tripped up. Sometimes we in a similar fashion can also get tripped up. Exodus twenty and verse three.

Well, let’s start in verse one. “And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me.” We read that in a way over in Corinthians. There’s one God. There’s no other gods before me. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down yourself to them nor serve them, for I, the Lord their God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.”

So it’s our God, for the God we serve. Most mercy and judgment, but we are to have no idols. We are to have no graven images. We are not to bow down before them. Now let’s jump back to Corinthians. You got a marker. You should put it there. So here, again, just the second commandment, no idols. We all know it. The Corinthians would have known. What was going on? What was going on in their mind or what were they struggling with? Yes, many had new knowledge. Those idols were nothing. For them, it was new knowledge as they were called to the truth. And that’s what I mean it as.

They understood that they were free from those idols. They had that knowledge. There were maybe some that looked at the second commandment and held to that as we all should hold to that, and could have nothing to do with anything that came from those idols. Paul explains, and Paul explains the position they had, a position we all should have. Actually, let’s read verse seven. And this is, I find, a little bit fun. Maybe God, in His word and His inspiration to have Paul write this, is having a little bit of fun with us and with the Corinthians.

And I mean fun in a way that He was getting a little bit annoyed. You should know these things. You should understand what’s going on. And this shouldn’t be an issue. Let’s read. Verse seven. “Howbeit...” How is this possible? How are we reading this? Why? Sometimes you come to life, and you ask these questions, “Why are we here? How did we get here? Why are we dealing with this? This should have been dealt with long ago.” This is Paul. This is God writing, inspiring His word to be written this way. “Howbeit there’s not every man that knowledge?”

Howbeit not every man has this knowledge that that meat offered to idols is offered to nothing. It’s offered to a rock. “For some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing...” Eat it as something. Eat it as it is unclean. “…as a thing offered unto an idol and their conscience being weak is defiled.” So Paul’s showing a little bit of human nature, you could say, or maybe it’s God’s nature saying, we should be on this already. We should be past this. Howbeit that we’re still stuck on this? Let’s go to Psalm one nineteen. Just who we’re supposed to be. Who you and I are supposed to be.

Why something like this shouldn’t cause an issue as it did in Corinth? Let’s go to Psalm one nineteen, one sixty-five. Here we are in Corinth. In Corinth, you have brethren, we’ll read about it, that are eating the meat and not worrying about how their brother is reacting. And then there are brothers who can’t believe that another brother is actually eating the meat. If we’re following God, and we love all of his commandments, let’s Psalm one nineteen, one sixty-five. Powerful verse and a reminder. “Great peace have they which love Your law.” Great peace we should all have, all of us, that love God’s law, that love God’s instruction, that love God’s commandments, that love all His word.

Great peace, you and I should all have. We’re reading in Corinthians, there wasn’t that peace. Why? Maybe. Because not everyone had love for His law. All of His law, all of His commandments. “...and nothing shall offend them.” We’re going to get into that matter in a little bit. But nothing shall offend them. Explained to some degree. There’s two camps here in Corinthians. Ones that will eat the meat without the conscience and kind of flaunt it a little bit. Ones that will be offended that they’re eating the meat. And I’m pretty sure those that have the knowledge are kind of offended that the others also have offense that they’re not eating the meat, or they are eating the meat. It’s going both ways.

But if we love God’s law, in a similar situation, they come up in our lives, we may be on either side of it. We should have no offense. It should not bother us in any way. And here Paul gets into it. Back in First Corinthians eight. We just read the verse where God is saying, “Howbeit that we’re still on this.” And their conscience, being weak, is defiled at the end. Verse eight. “But meat condemns us not to God. For neither if we eat are we better, neither if we eat not are we worse.” So Paul is calling both sides of the conversation here, both sides of the issue, out in Corinthians.

If you eat, are we better? No. If you eat not, are you better? Are you worse? No. Neither way. This is a matter of conscience. It’s a matter of faith. We’ll learn. Verse nine. Let’s continue reading the chapter. “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block to them that are weak.” So, calling out those that have knowledge. Those that have knowledge that maybe aren’t applying it as well as they should. Maybe not having that love and care for the fellow brother, as we read in John. They’re causing a stumbling block to the weak.

Let’s go to Leviticus. Stumbling blocks. We’ll read a couple of scriptures. But the first one, let’s go to Leviticus nineteen. Notice it’s almost one of God’s physical laws, his statutes. But God hates a stumbling block. You’re causing a brother to stumble. You’re causing a brother to trip up by your actions. It can be on either side. An often case it is. It can be on either side of a situation. Here it’s with the meat offered to idols that Paul is discussing. Those that have knowledge and eat it incorrectly are causing their brother to stumble. What does God say about a stumbling block?

Verse fourteen. “Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind.” Well, if your brother can’t see something, if your fellow member that you go to services with can’t see something, are they not blind? Sometimes that’s the case. We can’t all see the same thing that everyone else sees. We’re not all in the same position that everyone else is. Some of us have been called for years, maybe decades. Some of us, I know, in the room are baptized recently. I’ve only started their journey. They’re only beginning to learn. Maybe their eyes are only beginning to being opened on certain matters. But what does God say?

“You shall not put a stumbling block before the blind.” That’s a command. If we do that, whether literally, and here we’re talking about doing that spiritually, or doing that by our actions, we’re breaking one of God’s commandments. We are, in a sense, we’re sinning. If we do that. It is grave, it is serious. What Paul is addressing here. We want to help our brothers. We want to help those that may not have the experience in the Church, may not have the knowledge. It may not have come to the understanding yet. As here in Corinthians, was that the meat that was offered to idols, it didn’t mean anything anymore.

Your calling in the Holy Spirit and studying should have shown those in Corinth that didn’t matter anymore. It was fine. But they’re still having a hard time with it. And those that had a clear conscience, and it didn’t bother them anymore, should have been more circumspect. Should have looked around a little more. Should have cared a little more. Let’s read verse nine again. In Corinthians, and back over in First Corinthians eight.

“But take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block to them that are weak.” One thing I want to stress here. Yes, weak in our vernacular can be derogatory. Can feel pretty bad. But let’s look at it. It’s a brother, a sister, a fellow member that you attend services with, that’s learning, that’s growing, that doesn’t have maybe the same experience, or the same purview that you have. Work with them. Help them. They’re not weak in a bad sense. They’re weak in a sense, they’re growing. They’re learning. Let’s continue to verse ten.

Let’s continue reading. “For if any man see thee which thou hast knowledge, sit at meat 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.” Here, Paul and Paul’s writings they’re complicated. There’s a lot of words there. A lot of meaning. He’s trying to cover a lot in one verse. Let’s read it again. “If any man see you which have knowledge, sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to those things which are offered to idols?” To eat those things.

Maybe your good example. Paul hits on this in a couple of ways. Your good example actually causes another member to sin because, for you, it didn’t matter. For you, you may have had to be there for business, and you kept it to that. You didn’t go to worship in the idols there. You had a meal, and you left. But a fellow member saw you there. And their conscience bothers them to do that. And your good action may now cause them to sin. Cause them to break their conscience. Verse eleven. “And through the knowledge shall thy weak brother perish for whom Christ died?”

Christ died for all of our sins. Could you imagine that you could do something that could cause a brother to perish? By your actions? Can you imagine what was going on in Corinth? So much for us to learn. So much to us to apply in our lives. To make sure that our actions don’t. Sometimes we could be at a different place than a brother can be, and that can cause him to sin. A weak brother should perish, for whom Christ died. Can you imagine how serious this was? How serious Paul was dealing with? And verse twelve, “But when you sin so against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.”

How grave that is. Where you may be free, you may have knowledge, but your knowledge may cause a brother to be weak. To sin. You are actually sinning against Christ. Sinning against the one who died so we could live. Verse thirteen. Wait a minute before we get there. Just take a moment to think of the last, go over the last few verses we just read. The last few verses we just considered. How serious of a matter our actions are to our brothers. Let’s make it a little bit, I guess, a little lighter. Let’s talk about an example.

I had a discussion recently. It was a good discussion. It was an iron-sharpening-iron discussion. It was about should you receive Christmas gifts? I know the season has passed. There’s another season before us, the worldly season. That season has passed. It comes up. Should you receive Christmas gifts? And we went back and forward and we discussed it at length. And here’s where it applies. I’m one. In the right circumstance, where maybe the person doesn’t know what I believe, doesn’t know what I keep, doesn’t understand my positions, doesn’t understand what I’ve been called to do.

If he gives me a box of chocolates, let’s say it’s a vendor. We actually do this. This actually happens occasionally here at Headquarters. Some vendor will ship us a box of chocolates around the end of the year. And to me, guess what? It’s good chocolate. I enjoy it. The staff enjoy it. We all enjoy it. No, we don’t send it back. No, we enjoy it. It’s just chocolate. But some vendor wanted to say thank you for the work we allowed them to do in God’s work for the year. Sometimes we’ll meet up, and we’ll talk about it and talk about the year and talk about the next year, and thankful for their service and look forward to working together for another year.

Well, in the discussions I had, where I mentioned where iron was sharpening iron, we were both learning together, it was like, “No, you couldn’t receive that.” Well, the vendor has no idea. But here’s where the verses that we just read. If I’m standing there with a fellow staff member here on God’s campus, and I know that that fellow staff member would have trouble, because we talked about it earlier, it’s that time of year, and he had trouble to receive a gift like this, I would not receive it. I could not receive it. Even to me, that box is just we’re making light of the situation. It’s just a box of chocolates. To me, that’s all it is.

But if I have a fellow staff member standing with me, meeting with the vendor, and that fellow staff member’s conscience can’t receive a Christmas gift no matter what it is, I’m not going to receive it. I don’t want him to stumble. You wouldn’t want him to stumble. Because it bothers him if I receive it, I can’t receive it. I can’t take it. Yes, that’s not the case. It’s a theoretical example. Yes, he would also, that member would need to learn. That fellow colleague, staff, in God’s work would need to learn a little bit too. And there’s other ways where maybe it’d be a teaching moment.

I’d receive the box of chocolates from the vendor. We’d have our discussion. He’d be on our way. And then I’d make sure it got thrown out because it would cause offense of someone on the staff. That’s not the case at all. That’s how it could be handled. Now, here’s well, there are certain things. We’ll get to it when we get to the next chapter. From Paul, here’s the case. You all, or many of you, would know I’ve had family who once used to attend with us. The ones who used to participate with us. Living God’s way of life. If they would send me a Christmas gift, could you imagine?

I can’t imagine. But let’s say they did. Let’s say one of my brothers or my sister sent me a Christmas gift. Guess what? It would be sent right back. No questions. No questions. Oh, it would be going back. It may be going back with a note or two. But maybe not. Maybe I’d think the better of that. But it’d definitely be going back. There is no way ever that I’d receive a Christmas gift from them. They know better. They’ve known better. Maybe they’ve forgotten, as often can be the case. But it’d be going right back. There is no way in my conscience I could ever receive that.

There’s a time and place for everything. Here we’re learning with Paul with something that’s actually, for the Corinthians, extremely important. To find the balance, to find the understanding. No matter what side of the equation you’re on, you can go with the Christmas gifts. No matter what side of the equation you’re on, there’s something we can all learn. If you can’t receive gifts, in this message, there’s something for you to learn. If you’re the one that’s willing to receive all those gifts, there’s also something for you to learn.

Let’s continue in verse thirteen. This is, you know, maybe we have our favorite verse after a Bible study, our favorite verse after preparing a message. This is what it is for me. Verse thirteen of First Corinthians eight. “Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend,” Paul is writing. Paul is laying it all out here. Paul is opening his heart to you and I and to everyone who’s ever read this. “I will eat no flesh while the world stands, lest I make my brother to offend.” That’s serious. Let that sink in. I will eat no flesh while the world stands. We know and understand that Paul is not here during the first kingdom.

He will come up at the beginning of the Millennium. But imagine if he was here during that first kingdom. During all that goes on in that time, and all those that are called at that time, he would eat no flesh. He would eat no meat if it caused one brother to offend. Let that sink in. Now let’s go to First Corinthians ten. Maybe it’s over a page for you. We’ll read some more verses from Paul as he lays this out. First Corinthians ten. And here, further into the chapter, verse nineteen. Here he goes, “What say I then? Continuing on the same topic, after covering a few other things in between.

“What say I then? That the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?” It’s rhetorical. Is it anything? He’s already stated that. “But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to God. And I would not that ye have fellowship with devils.” Verse twenty-one. “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of the devils. You cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table and of the table of the devils.”

Let’s go to Revelation twelve [two], verse fourteen. So Paul is laying some groundwork. He’s laying some parameters here. There’s only so far you can take this. I give you a little example that may apply to us in our age. Yes, a Christmas gift from a family. It’s not being received, it’s being sent back. Christmas gift from a vendor. Maybe I’ll receive it, depending on who’s there. If there’s a brother there that doesn’t quite see it that way, I’m not going to receive it. But here Paul is showing, and we know, that certain eras struggled with this. Certain eras couldn’t draw the line, couldn’t see that being the networking went a little too far.

The service or the meal that they had, that they shared with others, went a little too far. We’re going over to Revelation twelve [two] and verse fourteen. Here we go. “...but I have a few things against you, because we’re talking about Pergamos, because thou hast them there, that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel.” Again, the stumbling block coming up. “...before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” Let’s jump over to verse 20, another era.

“Notwithstanding, I have few things against you, because you suffer the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants, to commit fornication, to eat things sacrificed unto idols.” So two eras may have went a little too far, didn’t hold the line. Yes, it is nothing to eat sacrificed idols. Yes, a meal is just a meal, until it becomes beyond that, until it is more than that. Some of the brethren struggled with it. We just read in Revelation two eras that struggled with it, that may have gotten a little too much involved with the partying and the banqueting that all went on, and had to change course.

It is a hard thing. It was a hard thing for them. In this day and age, back in Corinthians ten, let’s read verse twenty [twenty-two]. “Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?” Are we stronger than God? Do we provoke Him to jealousy? Let’s go to Exodus thirty-four and verse fourteen. But just, if we go too far, if we start blurring the lines, that it wasn’t just a meal, it wasn’t just a piece of meat we bought at the store, we went too far. That is where things couldn’t go any further. We need to do the same in our lives. We know that. We see that each and every day in our lives. Wherever we work, there are certain things we can do, and there are certain things when it is time to quietly find the exit and go home.

In Corinthians, we read in Revelation, struggled with it. We, also in God’s Church, I am sure we do. There are certain parameters. And our God, He is a jealous God. He wants us only to serve Him. He doesn’t want us to mix our fellowship, our worship, with others. Let’s go back to First Corinthians ten, and verse twenty-three. “And all things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.” If you have knowledge, and all things are lawful. And not all things is in the way in the world. The world will take this scripture and give us license. That is not what Paul is saying.

He is talking about a specific issue. He is talking about certain things that we can see a little differently or have not come to understanding yet. But what does he say? “But not all things are expedient, and not all things edify. Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s well-being.” So I have written beside this verse, I have wealth scratched out. Let no man seek his own. That’s what God is stressing through Paul here. Let no man seek his own. Let no man show off his own freedom. Look after each other’s well-being. Look after each other’s care.

Let’s continue reading in verse twenty-five. “Whatsoever is sold in the shambles that eat, asking no question for conscience’ sake.” It’s our understanding here. A little instruction. Don’t ask, no matter what. Just don’t ask. Go to the market, buy the meat, order the meat, and eat it. Don’t ask. Don’t let it bother your conscience. “For the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.” Verse twenty-six.

We are going to continue reading in verse twenty-seven. “If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and you are disposed to go, whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience’ sake.” So ask no question for conscience’ sake. It is put in front of you. If you are asked to ask for a dinner, you are asked out. And as someone that is not in the Church, here in the Corinthians, you ask no for conscience’ sake.

“But if any man say unto you, this is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shows it, and for conscience’ sake. For the earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof.” Now, if your host says, “Yes, this was sacrificed to idols,” and he knows you’re a believer, and he knows you’re in the truth, you can’t eat it. Because you don’t want him to wonder about you. Are you in the faith? Are you sure about your beliefs? Because he may not understand why you can eat it. He says, “Well, maybe there’s other guests there, other guests that are members.” And now you know, and now you can’t.

Verse twenty-nine. “Conscience, I say, they not thine own, but of the other. For why is my liberty judged of another man’s conscience?” Verse thirty, “For if I by grace be partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that which I give thanks?” So my knowledge, Paul’s knowledge. Why would he want to be evil spoken of? Why would he want to cause either his host to doubt his beliefs or a fellow member to sin against Christ? He didn’t want that. We shouldn’t want that. When other examples fit with us in this age. “Wherefore, you eat,” verse 31, “Wherefore, therefore, you eat or drink, or whatsoever you do, you do all to the glory of God.”

And here in verse thirty-two, Paul expands it. “Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God.” So when I’m receiving that gift at the end of the year, I don’t want to give offense towards the church of God. I don’t want a vendor to think badly about us. I just want it to be a normal day. Don’t want to give offense to him. Why? “I just wanted to say thank you for the work you allowed me to do with you.” In a sense, he’s saying thank you for the money he made. We don’t accept it. No, we don’t want to bring that offense to the Church of God. We don’t want to bring the offense to the Gentiles, or to the Jews, or to fellow brethren.

Verse thirty-three, “Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.” Ultimately, to make sure that all of our actions, how we get to making sure we love one another, is that all of our actions are to the profit that all be saved. That we cause none of us, each other, to stumble, and how we react to certain things. Let’s go to Romans. Romans fourteen. The last passage where Paul addressed this in detail. Romans fourteen. Verse twelve. We’ll begin in this.

“So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” We go before God. “Let us not therefore judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block on our occasion to fall in his brother’s way.” Sounds a lot like the first verse we read. Don’t cause a brother to stumble. Don’t cause a brother to fall.

Matthew eighteen and verse six. Here we’ll read. We just read, causing your brother, again, just a different version of causing your brother to stumble by your actions. Here, verse six of Matthew eighteen. “But whosoever shall offend one of these little ones, which believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

If you cause a little one to stumble, if you cause a little one that’s young, that’s learning, Paul wrote about, that’s weak. If you cause one of them to stumble, if any of us do, it would be better for us to be cast in the sea and drowned. It makes it serious. We want to make sure our actions are understood. We want to make sure our actions appear correctly, or maybe withhold from something that we may be at liberty to do, that someone else may not understand.

Verse seven, “Woe unto the world because of offenses, for it must needs be that offenses come.” Offenses will be there. We’re humans. We’re in this age. Offenses do come. But we should not be offended. We read about it. If we love God’s law, nothing shall offend us. Offenses will come, but how do we react? If we were in Corinth’s time, we may see someone eat meat, and we may not be ready for that. Are we offended by that? We research out how we can learn from that on either side, but we make sure we withhold. And the rest of verse seven. “...but woe to that man by whom the offenses comes.” Something is instructing us. Woe to our actions that offenses come.

Let’s go back to Romans fourteen. Romans fourteen. And let’s jump down to verse twenty-one. Neither expands out, “It is good neither...” And this is where it applies to all of us today. “It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak.” So, we’ve been talking about meat sacrifice to idols. But what does Paul say here? He expands it out. It’s not just the meat. It may be the drink. Whether we drink or don’t drink. How much we drink? How little we drink. Nor anything, anything, that may not be, a brother may not be at liberty to do as it comes to these things, receiving a Christmas gift, celebrating birthdays.

As we know, we now could, can, and should. We’ll all do it differently. And how one does it differently than the other, we shouldn’t cause offense. We shouldn’t cause offense on either side. If we’re at liberty to do it one way and the other isn’t, maybe they shouldn’t be there. Maybe how we keep the Sabbath. What do you mean how we keep it? We all keep the Sabbath the same, do we? I mean, on the little things. We all have different traditions. In our own households, we all have different traditions. I know, I heard a story. Mr. Armstrong would start the Sabbath wearing a suit. He would greet the Sabbath sunset wearing a suit. Should we all do that?

No, but there’s a principle behind it. So, some may greet the Sabbath in different ways. We shouldn’t hold, we shouldn’t judge them on either side of that. That’s an example. That’s a thought. How Mr. Armstrong may have done it. How others do it. Let’s continue reading. Paul just expanded it in verse twenty-one. “Have your faith,” verse twenty-two, “Have you faith? Have it yourself before God. Happy is he that condemns not himself the thing which he has allowed. And he that doubts is damned if he eats, because he eats not of faith, for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

So if it’s by your faith that you must have a shirt and tie on while you’re awake on the Sabbath day, I exaggerate, then by faith you must do that. You cannot not do that, because it is sin unto you. We all have those things that have choices we can make, and others will make other choices. We are not to be offended on what either side, any of us, may make. Let’s go back to First Corinthians eight. As we come to a conclusion. I gave you some examples. We talked about meat offered to idols, largely throughout this message. There’s modern day examples.

We’re coming to deleaven in our homes. Some of us will deleaven our homes a little different than others. Again, Paul’s writing an instruction to us, and I leave it with you today. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend,” I’ll put in there, if wine, if drink, if anything make my brother to offend, cause my brother to stumble, Paul’s writing, “I will eat no flesh. I will drink no wine.” I’m not saying not to drink wine. I will do nothing that I know causes my brother to offend. “I will not do it while the world stands, lest I make my brother to offend.” Brethren, will you and I, would you have that love for your brother, for your sister, for your fellow member, each and every day?