I recently had the opportunity to preach at my church (Good Samaritan Anglican in Summerville) and we are in a series working through 1 Corinthians. This sermon was based on chapter 10 and verses 23–33.
If something doesn’t hurt anyone and it’s not illegal, am I free to do it? That’s a morality or ethics question people wrestle with growing up. We live in a country that values freedom and it also values the rule of law. Without either, we would be miserable. In fact, our founding fathers were miserable under the tyranny of King George back in 1776 and wrote a declaration of independence that reflects these values. We just celebrated that event five days ago.
But questions of freedom come up for Christians that need to be wrestled with.
One of the issues the church in Corinth was concerned with is similar to what young or new Christians in America wrestle with. It is the question of how much can we get away with and still be Christians. It is the issue of how much freedom do we actually have and how do we balance that freedom with the perception of unbelievers that Christianity is about following rules?
Paul comes back to the question of eating meat that may have been sacrificed to idols. In the previous section, he explains why eating meat in a pagan temple, specifically meat that has been sacrificed to idols, is wrong. He compares it to taking communion, an act that represents unity with Christ and fellow Christians. Likewise eating meat sacrificed to idols in a pagan temple represents communion with idols or demons even.
Now we come to this final part of chapter 10 and Paul speaks to another aspect of the question about eating meat sacrificed to idols: what about eating the same meat somewhere else? Now I realize that the apostle could have saved a lot of time spent writing these tricky explanations if he just told people to become vegetarians. That would have simplified it all. But Paul actually uses the issues around meat to teach some important principles.
The first principle we find here is this: don’t just avoid what is harmful but pursue what is good.
Verses 23-24: “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
The Corinthian Christians focused on their freedom and knowledge. As a result, they were concerned with the question: “What’s the harm to me?” Paul wants them to focus on “What good can this be for others?” Just because something is permitted doesn’t mean it is beneficial. The Corinthians were not thinking about the things that would build up others. Essentially, they wanted to know how much they could get away with and still be Christians. That’s the immature approach that I mentioned early on.
The second principle we find is this: All of God’s creation belongs to God.
Verses 25-26 : Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.
Paul has previously argued that idols are not anything of real truth, nor is there any significance to food offered to the idols. Now he is going further to explain that such sacrifices lost their religious character when sold in the meat market, so it’s okay to eat meat that may have been sacrificed to an idol at a private table. It is the context of the pagan temple that gives significance to any food offered to it. Fellowship at a pagan temple is to be avoided, not the food outside of that. The issue of conscience when it came to meat bought in the market was not a universal concern for Christians. A gentile Christian would not be concerned with the origin of meats in the market. But the Jewish Christian would be concerned and would have conscience issues about the possibility of meat having been offered to idols. Jewish rabbi’s taught that when Jews bought meat in the market, they not to buy any meats that were involved in offerings to idols. What Paul is doing here is making a case for why all believers need not worry when shopping in the market.
He then quotes Psalm 24:1 the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof which was used as a Jewish blessing at mealtimes. The earth is indeed the Lord’s and everything in it is His. That truth is so important for people to focus on in this chaotic culture that we live in.
Verses 27-29: If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience—I do not mean your conscience, but his.
Here Paul is providing more specific guidance on what to do in particular circumstances. The underlying principle here is one we see often in his letters to churches. Paul wants to go out of his way to remove any issues that might cloud the opportunity to share the gospel with unbelievers. So, if an unbeliever invites you over for dinner, go and eat what they put on the table without raising a fuss. This is common sense advice. Yet he gives another possible scenario of what to do if someone at the table tells you that the food was offered to idols. In that case, Paul says not to eat it because the fact that was mentioned suggests that the person perceives that Christians don’t or should not eat sacrificial meat. He specifies in this instance that it is for the conscience of that person that you don’t eat it.
Next Paul makes some confusing statements but where we find another principal. Reading on…
Verses 29-30: For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
There are times when I just wish Paul had written a simple statement rather than asking questions to make a point. What he is getting at here though needs to be understood based on the things he wrote about freedom in previous chapters. The principle here is that Christian freedom must be guided by love for God and love for neighbor. There are times when we don’t exercise our freedom because to do so might get in the way of people understanding the gospel.
Why should my liberty or freedom be determined by someone else’s perceptions or conscience? Well, if we are going to serve one another in love, if we are going to seek the good of our neighbor as a priority over our freedom, then we set aside our liberty when it will best serve others.
Paul adds to that the second question “why am I denounced?” He is actually making a simple point in a complicated way. If he were to give thanks for a meal that contained sacrificed food and knows that someone in the room will be offended, shocked, horrified, or even just confused, then Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving is ineffective. This is why he would be denounced.
We have three principles so far from this passage.
1. Don’t just avoid what is harmful but pursue what is good.
2. All of God’s creation belongs to God.
3. Christian freedom must be guided by love for God and love for neighbor.
And the last principle is found in the final verses of chapter 10. So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.
Whatever you do, do for the glory of God. The Westminster catechism which originated in the Church of England, and some Presbyterians still teach, starts with this question. “What is the chief end of man?” To put that in more modern language the question is “What is the ultimate goal/purpose of a person’s life?” The answer is “To glorify God and enjoy him forever”.
Paul is summing things up here and using his own ministry as an example. Seek what is good. Keep in mind that the earth is the Lord’s as is everything in it. Be guided by a love for God and love for neighbor. Why is this important? What motivates him to put others ahead and to set aside his freedom in Christ for the sake of others? The gospel. Paul wants people to hear the gospel proclaimed and to see the gospel lived so that they may be saved. He wants nothing to get in the way of that ultimate purpose.
God is glorified by the work of Jesus on the cross and by people receiving the free gift of salvation. This is what drives Paul’s life and ministry. So, he holds himself up as an example to follow. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. For some reason that is the first verse of the next chapter but it’s really the final words of the arguments that Paul has made thus far.
We found 4 principles here to help us.
1. Don’t just avoid what is harmful but pursue what is good.
2. All of God’s creation belongs to God.
3. Christian freedom must be guided by love for God and love for neighbor.
4. Whatever you do, do for the glory of God.
Now, we don’t face issues about eating meat sacrificed to idols, so how does all this possibly impact our lives? What Paul is teaching in his first letter to the church in Corinth, specifically the guiding principles are helpful for us to use as we make decisions in our lives.
What guides these decisions is pursing what’s good, seeking to love God and others. Seeking to glorify the Lord. We don’t always get these things right. I am sure I have made many a wrong decision but hopefully by God’s grace I have lived thus far in such a way that others see Jesus.
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