 For chapter 8, as we begin here, I'll just read the first verse and get into an introduction and share with you what I chose to entitle this particular installment in our first Corinthians study, is Liberty in the Lord, and you'll see why I chose to entitle this particular teaching in that way in just a moment. But in chapter 8 here in 1 Corinthians, we read at verse 1, concerning things offered to idols. We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. That's basically what the word edify means, it means to build up. So knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. In this passage, Paul is actually continuing something that he has already begun to do in chapter 7, and that is he's answering questions that have been posed to him by the Corinthians. Now in this particular chapter, one of the things to help us to understand the whole purpose of it is to remember that the Corinthians were formerly idolaters. The Corinthians were Greeks, and they worshiped worthless idols. But now they've come to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, they've come to a knowledge of the true and living God, and they're dealing with questions that would be something that would be familiar to them in their own culture. They're dealing with questions related to food that has been offered to idols. Now here in chapter 8, the heart of the question that they're asking as it relates to food that has been offered to idols, the heart of that question really is something that relates to what we call Christian liberty. In other words, when people speak concerning Christian liberty, the real question they're asking is what is permissible? What is permissible for me to do if Scripture does not specifically forbid it? And there are many Christians who ask that question, they want to know what can I do, what can I do freely? Now sometimes that question is asked really in a different form, it's really the intent of the question is really how much can I continue doing that's wrong and still get into heaven. And so sometimes people ask that kind of question because I wanted to stretch grace to cover their sin lives. But it's a legitimate question, what exactly is it that we are permitted to do in the Lord as Christians? And if the Bible doesn't specifically forbid it, is it permissible for me to continue in it? And over the years, Christians have had various arguments, discussions if you will, over various practices. The arguments that they've had over the years to this day as a matter of fact is a very common argument even as I am seated here tonight would be things like, is it okay for Christians to drink alcohol? You know, what if it's Christian brothers wine, does that make it even better? You know, I mean, people will ask questions like that. Is it okay for me to drink? Can I drink and still be a believer? Sometimes they'll argue or discuss, well is it all right for me to smoke? You know, if I smoke cigarettes, is that a sin? Do you find a Scripture anywhere that says that smoking cigarettes is a sin or smoking cigars is a sin and all? And they'll discuss that over beer. There are those who will argue about things like drinking coffee. You know, I had a brother write me not that long ago, it's been a while now, and he said, you know, Christians drink coffee and that's the Christian drug, you know, caffeine. And there are people who have a real problem with caffeine drinking. You know, they think that it's wrong for a person to drink coffee and perhaps you've heard that before, you may even have had that question, is it a sin to drink coffee playing cards? You know, there have been issues over women wearing makeup. Now the issue is men wearing makeup, that's a different issue altogether. They've had arguments over jewelry. They've had arguments over dancing. There have been arguments over styles of worship music. Some people like a real low-key mellow music and other people like it with a little more, you know, a little more beat, if you will, a little more volume. I happen to like it louder. Part of that is because I'm half deaf now. I need it loud just to hear it. We used to have a lady in our fellowship who was in her 80s. She used to sit in the very front and we used to have our church services in a hall that sat 427 legally. We used to sit 475 in there, but it was legally for 427. And she would sit in the very front row. And I spoke to her grandson. I said, your grandma, you know, I mean, that's loud because the speaker was right in front of her. And he says, oh, don't worry about it. She just turns her hearing aid off during worship. And she's all right. She really did, she would turn the volume all the way down and she was mellow with it. She was all right with that. But people will argue over worship music. Some believe that it's really not anointed if it's loud. Others believe it's not anointed if you play certain musical instruments. And there are arguments that people have over styles of worship. They argue over whether or not you should go to the movies or whether a Christian should ever listen to secular music. There was a time when there were arguments over the length of a man's hair. If you have long hair, for sure you can't be a believer because everybody knows that long hair is really a symbol of rebellion. Some have argued over the way you dress in church. You know, I've had people who think that if I'm going to be preaching the word, I need to wear a suit and tie when I preach the word of God. And because everybody knows that Jesus had a three-piece suit whenever he walked on the shore of Galilee. And it's got to be somewhere in the Bible there, right? You know, they'll argue about things like piercings and they argue over things like tattoos. And it's just like the church has got nothing better to do than to argue amongst itself over various things. And I find that we do that quite often. Many will say these are spiritual issues. Many will say these are moral issues. But often there are no scriptures that are given that can back those views up. You see, for some, to practice any of the things I mentioned or all of those things, that's all sin. And for others, those are issues that are open to debate, to discuss. You see, throughout the history of the church, the church has followed through two extremes, legalism or license, two extremes. When I speak of legalism, let me define it for you for a moment. What is legalism? Legalism has been defined in this way. Every behavior, attitude or habit is either black or white. Rules lead with no room for the spirit. Legalism is a fleshly attitude that conforms to a moral code for the purpose of exalting one's self. Now, there have been times when people have said, well, you're legalistic. That has been said of me, you're legalistic. And I would note very quickly, it isn't legalistic to be obedient to what the word of God says. That is not legalism. Christians are to be Christ's disciples. And as Christ's disciples, we follow his orders and we have an obedient heart and a love for him. That's why we do that. It's been said as the soldier follows his general, as the servant follows his master. As the scholar follows his teacher. As the sheep follows its shepherd, just so ought the professing Christian to follow Christ. And so it isn't legalism to want to follow Christ. Obedience isn't legalism. You see, legalism, when it is exercised, always produces bad fruit. When you look in the ministry of Jesus, there are so many instances that you see him dealing with this attitude. In Matthew chapter nine, verse 11, it says, when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners? So Jesus had the practice of having a meal with people who were not really looked at as being legitimate in the society. And so the legalists would get upset because they actually ministered to them. Or in Mark chapter seven, verse five, how it says the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? Or in Luke chapter 13, verse 14, after Jesus had healed a woman with the spirit of infirmity, she had had it for 18 years. It says, the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. And he said to the crowd, there are six days on which men ought to work, therefore come and be healed on them and not on the Sabbath day. So Jesus dealt with legalism quite often. People were establishing rules and regulations that they thought would help them to get closer to God. Christian morality differs radically from legalism because legalism is obedience to the letter of the law to the neglect of the spirit. But Christian morality is obedience to the spirit of the law as well as the letter. You see in second Corinthians chapter three, verse six, it says he has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the spirit, for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. And so those who are legalistic will always find something wrong with the freedoms that other people exercise. But then you have the other extreme and it's called license. You see, legalism is black or white, but those who live under the regulation of license, well for them, everything is simply white. So when living under license, people cease to care about what the Bible has to say because it really doesn't matter to them. Living according to the scripture is part of the discipline of a Christian life, but for the undisciplined person, Christian living is left up to a matter of interpretation. And for those who live in license, their favorite word that I've heard coming out of their mouth is grace. Everything is grace to them. They take the word grace and they actually change its definition. And instead of it being God's unmerited favor, which gives to me the ability to pursue him and love him and serve him with freedom, they think that grace is really a cover for their sin. It gives them permission to continue in sin and still go to heaven. So the rallying cry is grace. I think we're seeing that today. I believe what we're seeing today is Christian doctrine by vote. Scripture often is interpreted by how people feel about what they hear and how they feel after they hear it. If I feel good, then it must be true. If I don't feel good, then you're a legalist or you're really pushing me into doing things that I really don't feel comfortable with and they don't understand the word conviction. They don't understand that sometimes God's word in his spirit just brings conviction into us. So when people begin to live out their doctrine, by the way it makes them feel, they're not really living as a disciple. Now, how do you define what is permissible if you have no specific scripture to deal with it? Well, in verse nine of this chapter here, and we'll see it in just a moment, you actually see the principle. It says in verse nine, beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. The principle is liberty must never cause a weaker brother to sin. Liberty is never license. Liberty is power of choice. The freedom to do as one pleases in the Lord. And Christian liberty is always tempered by love for Jesus Christ and love for your brother or your sister in Christ. Even as I mentioned recently out of Galatians 513, brethren, you've been called to liberty, only do not use your liberty as an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another, liberty in Christ. We're gonna be looking at that as we go through this chapter here. I was sharing today after services, I was talking to two or three of the brothers, the Katinas, and one of them was mentioning that they had just been reading through 1 Corinthians 8, and we began to discuss it just a bit. And I said, yeah, I'll be sharing tonight about having liberty in the Lord. And we began to discuss that, how that God has given us freedoms, but we need to exercise the freedoms that Christ gave to us within the confines of love for other people. And my liberties shall always be and should always be basically tempered by how my liberties affects somebody else. And so as we were speaking about that, I shared with them a story that some of you have heard before, probably more than once, because I've shared it more than once over the years. But I was sharing with them, I said, you know, when I was a young man, a young believer, I was with a friend of mine, and we were at a pizza parlor, and I was seated there, and this friend of mine who was raised in the church, and I wasn't raised in the church, he had been raised in the church, and now he's like 24 years old, and he's discovering freedoms that he has in Christ. So we're in a pizza parlor in Huntington Beach, right off of Pacific Coast Highway. And as we're seated there, he says, let's order a pitcher of beer. Now me, I had an alcohol problem. I didn't want to go back to something I'd left behind a few years before. But as a young believer, I'm seated there, and I'm thinking, this guy's been a believer for a long time, he understands grace in a way that I don't, perhaps it's okay to sit down and have a beer. It wasn't that I wasn't old enough, I was 24 years old. I could have a beer legally. But I remember, and I was sharing this with my friends today, I remember, I said, okay, if you'd like, and he ordered a pitcher, and when they brought the pitcher, they placed it before us, and I had my glass, and he had his, and he poured some beer in mine, poured some in his own, and I had this glass, and I took a drink, and I wasn't planning on getting drunk or anything, you know, as all within the framework of freedoms that I have in Christ. And yet, this older man came and sat right across from us in a table, and he was probably eight feet away from me or closer than that, and he was facing me. And as I was seated there, and I began to drink, the Spirit of the Lord began to speak to my heart, and I'll never forget this, because it was just so uncommon that it would be so clear, and he said, go share my love with that man. And there I am with this pitcher in front of me, and I remember just thinking, you know, within myself, I remember thinking to the Lord, I can't, I said, I can't. And I remember an impression coming back, and the question was asked, why can't you? And I said, because I'm drinking beer, and he just saw me take a drink, and I just undermined my ability to speak to him. And so as I was seated there, as God is my witness, this is true, two people came walking in, two young men came walking in off the street, one sat on his left, the other sat next to him on his right, and they're just a few feet from me, so I can see what they're doing. One young man reaches into his back pocket, pulled out a Bible, opened up the Bible, and began reading to this man, and sharing the Lord with him. And I'll never forget what the Spirit said to me, if I can't use you, I will find somebody else to use. And I've never forgotten that. Now, we can argue all day long, I have young people who want to, on occasion I get letters where people want to correct me and let me know that it's okay for me to drink, but I can tell you this, I discovered a long time ago that if I'm gonna be used by the Lord, I have to get rid of the things that are gonna stumble others. So my freedoms that I might perceive myself to have have got to be put under the blood of Christ so that I'm always usable. And you can argue all day long and say you can be effective minister over some chardonnay, that's between you, your conscience, and the Spirit of the Lord. But I learned a long time ago that if I'm gonna be used by the Lord, I have to be ready at any given moment to be used by the Lord. And my liberties have got to be brought under the love of Christ. And if they're not, then I'm gonna put my liberty above the grace that God gave to me and I'll exercise freedoms to do what I want based on the fact that I wanna pretend that it's okay in the face of the Lord for me to do that. So for me a long time ago, I was 24 years old, a long time ago I began to make decisions that I wanna be usable by God. And so I don't get into arguments with people. I mean, sometimes people wanna argue with me and express to me how my view is too rigid and it's legalistic. But see, I'm gonna be ready to be used by the Lord. That's what it's all about, isn't it? To be used by the Lord? Isn't that the greatest joy that we could have if it's not yet for you? It will be one day, if you decide in that direction, for me I decided in that direction. I wanna be used by Jesus Christ. I wanna be able to be used by Him at any given moment. I don't wanna have to explain to a person, well you know this beer is only one beer and after all I'm a little bit above 21 by now, maybe 41 years past it. I can have a beer if I want. I don't wanna get into those arguments. There's no need for it. If I can't do it openly, why should I do it at all? And so legalism is when I set up rules, I establish rules to live by so that I somehow think I'm gaining spiritual points with God. But then you have the other people who live in license where they say I can do anything I want and it really doesn't matter. What we really need is the love, love, love for other people. By love we serve one another. Now as we look at this passage here in chapter eight of 1 Corinthians, it seems that the Corinthians were living by at least three basic rules. One is they were speaking and concerning their spiritual knowledge. A second is they were speaking of the fact that an idol is nothing. And then third, they're speaking concerning food, not being an issue with God. And we're gonna be looking at that as Paul deals with the Corinthians in those areas. Now again in verse one, he says concerning things offered to idols, we know that we all have knowledge, knowledge puffs up, but love edifies, love builds up. Paul begins first by dealing with things sacrificed to idols. Now just to give you a background, at this time giving food sacrifices was of great importance in Greek idolatry. The Greeks believed demons were constantly trying to invade human beings. The easiest way to enter was through food, generally meat. The only way they could be dislodged from the food was to first offer the food to a God. By offering the food to a God, two purposes were achieved. First, it pleased the God. And second, it cleansed the meat of demons. And so when they would come with the food to offer to the idol, the offering to the idol was divided into three parts or three separate offerings. They had one for the God, which was burned on an altar. They had a second portion for a priest to offer the sacrifice. And then you had the third for the offerer who took the meat home and ate it. Well, there were a lot of offerings that were made, and so the offerings that were made, the priests very often would take and they would actually sell it. They go to the marketplace and they began to sell their meat and it's interesting because they actually had a certified grade. It was certified demon-free. And so people, it's the truth, isn't that interesting? And so people would go to the marketplace and they'd look for the certified demon-free meat. And that's what they would buy. Now, as this is taking place, you have Christians. And Christians who had come out of idolatry were extremely sensitive concerning this issue. They actually stumbled over it because if they were to come to my house, they might want to know, where did you get that meat from? And if I said I went to the shambles, they were called the shambles, I went to the marketplace, to the meat place, and I bought it there and it's demon-free, certified. They might stumble over that. And so you have an issue that's going on. See, they didn't like the memories that were attached to the meat and they didn't want to be associated with that old lifestyle. But there were other Christians who weren't bothered at all about it. For them, meat is meat. I don't have to worry about this at all. It's just a piece of meat. Just, you know, just shut up and eat it. What's the big deal? And that's where their head was at. That was their attitude. And ultimately, it came down to this, which we see today, they had this kind of attitude. If this is a problem, well, it's really your problem. You have the problem, not me, so you deal with it. Now, when you have that kind of attitude, you're not loving that brother who has a weak conscience. When we have that kind of attitude where I begin to say, you know what? I can't live by your rules. I can't live by your regulations. I'm really not caring an awful lot for you. And I'm really not going to minister to you very well. And so Paul is dealing with that. So notice how he said in verse one, he said, we all have knowledge. In other words, we all know better. We all have biblical understanding in this matter. But if we just act on the knowledge, we need to understand that knowledge will make me proud. So knowledge will make me proud, but love, here's your key, will make sacrifices. Knowledge makes me proud, but love puts me in a position to make a sacrifice for you. You see, when he said in verse two, if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet, as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by him. Therefore, concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no other God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on the earth, as there are many gods and many lords, yet for us, there's only one God, the Father of whom are all things and we for him. And one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we live. So Paul begins to deal with that and he says, freedom is not intended to hurt your brother, it's not intended to hurt your sister, but knowledge must always be tempered by love. If you take notes, Romans chapter 14 verses 14 and 15 says, as one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself, but if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother's distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. You may have a particular sense of freedom in the Lord that allows you to do certain things, but if you know what stumbles a brother or a sister in the Lord, restrict your freedoms, restrict them for their sake. Even though you and your own heart of hearts say I don't have a problem with this, the bottom line is if you know something and you don't act on that knowledge, if that knowledge doesn't stir you to act out in love, then you're not helping, but in reality, you're undermining the work of God. Why is that? Well, love seeks the best for other people. And he's saying, the fact is you really don't know God, you're simply informed about him if you're not caring about other people. That's what he's saying. If you don't care about other people and your freedoms are more important than their sensitive conscience, reexamine your heart, reexamine your heart because you may be causing a brother or sister to stumble just because you don't care enough about them to be concerned for them. When he said in verse three, if anyone loves God, this one's known by him. Once again, loving and being loved by God is of utmost importance. Personal intimacy with God is reflected by the way that you live. Now, when he says in verses four through six, concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing. He's simply saying that an idol is nothing, so we have nothing to fear from them. They're made of stone, they're made of iron, they're made of wood, and all of that is real, but the God itself isn't. It's simply deception. In Jeremiah 16, verse 20, it says, shall a man make gods unto himself and they are no gods? Yeah, the wood, the steel, what it's made out of, yes, that's all real, but the idol itself has no power. There's an interesting passage I'm gonna turn you to. It'll take you a moment. Isaiah, turn with me for a moment, please, to Isaiah 44. I wanna show you something. Kind of highlight this by looking at Isaiah 44. Isaiah 44, beginning at verse nine. Isaiah 44, beginning at verse nine. Those who make a graven image, all of them are useless, and their precious things shall not profit. They are their own witnesses. They neither see nor know that they may be ashamed. Who would form a God or cast a graven image that profits him nothing? Surely all his companions would be ashamed, and the workmen, they are mere men. Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up. Yet they shall fear, they shall be ashamed together. The blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with the strength of his arms. Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails. He drinks no water and is faint. The craftsman stretches out his rule. He marks one out with chalk. He fashions it with a plane. He marks it out with a compass and makes it like the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house. He hues down cedars for himself and takes the cypress and the oak. He secures it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a pine. The rain nourishes it. Then it shall be for a man to burn, for he'll take some of it and warm himself. Yes, he kindles it and bakes bread. Indeed, he makes a God and worships it. He makes it a carved image and falls down to it. He burns half of it in the fire. With this half, he eats meat. He roasts a roast and is satisfied. He even warms himself and says, ah, I'm warm. I've seen the fire. The rest of it, he makes into a God, his carved image. He falls down before it and worships it, prays to it and says, deliver me, for you are my God. They do not know nor understand, for he has shut their eyes so that they cannot see, their hearts so that they cannot understand. No one considers in his heart nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I've burned half of it in the fire. Yes, I've also baked bread on its coals. I've roasted meat and eaten it and shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood? He feeds on ashes. A deceived heart has turned him aside and he cannot deliver his soul nor say, is there not a lie in my right hand. You take this piece of wood, you use some of it to cook some food with it and the other half you make into a God and you pray to it and you say, deliver me. It makes no sense at all and that's what God is saying. This thing is just a tree. It's just carved with man's hands. It has no power to deliver. I have some guys in the church who gave me some little figurines. I forget what they're called. I wish I could remember. Some of you might know them. It's been years since they gave them to me. I have a whole basket full of them. They're a bunch of, they're just little guys, you know, like homies. That's it. All right, homies. Homies, yeah, you guys know homies, right? Yeah, I don't know why they gave it to me but I think they're cool. I actually have a whole family of them. I took one out and said that one looks like Korean and that one looks like little David. I have a Josiah figure. Homies and I think it's really funny. And yeah, I could take a homie with me in my pocket and if I were walking down the street and somebody pulled a gun I could pull out the homie and say, save me homie but I don't think it's going to. I don't think it's going to because they can't, right? I mean, it's the whole point that he's making. When Marie was, just before she got saved, Marie used to have a statue of St. Joseph and she had it on the dashboard of her car and it was facing traffic and his hands were over his face. No, oh no. And it melted in the sun so it's like, oh, bent over like that, you know? Have these little statues that are supposed to be significant to us because they give us a sense that God somehow is part of it. That's a form of idolatry and that isn't something that we as believers practice. So that's the point he's making. He's saying, look it, he said you have these idols that you carve out of wood but they don't have the ability to save you and Psalm 115, the Psalmist speaks about that. They have eyes but they can't see. They have ears but they can't hear. They have mouths but they can't speak hands but they can't touch feet but they can't walk. And those who make them are like them is what he says. They have no life in them either because a person who is involved in idolatry is spiritually dead and that idol can't save you. It can't deliver you. No matter what you say to it, help me, save me, deliver me. It obviously can't do any of that and that's what Paul is speaking about here. He's speaking of the fact that an idol is nothing. It's made out of stone. It's made of iron. It's made of wood. All of that's real but the God isn't. It's a deception. You see, like he says in verse six there are so-called gods. These so-called gods are those that are made up by man but the God itself is inspired by devils. But he says, but we know there's only one true and living God. Like it says in Isaiah 45, 22 where the Lord says, look to me and be saved all you ends of the earth. I am God. There is no other. Isaiah 46, 9, I am God. There's none else. I am God. There's none like me. And this one God that we worship has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ who the word made flesh. God took upon himself human flesh. And even as it says in Hebrews 1, 3 the Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being sustaining all things by the word of his power. Now as he's speaking about that, notice verse seven, however there is not in everyone that knowledge. For some with consciousness of the idol until now, eat it as a thing offered to an idol and their conscience being weak is defiled. Some new Christians still believe that idols were real. Their conscience was weak and it would be violated if they ate that kind of meat. So what is he saying? Don't stumble your brother. Don't defile his conscience. This is offensive to God because it causes a weak believer to be offended. I am telling you, there are numbers of people who boast of their spiritual maturity but violate the core of maturity by not caring about somebody who has stumbled. It is very important for us to love people enough to take into consideration their weak consciences. It is so important for us to do that. I do the best that I can. Again, there are some things that people may have a difference with us about. They don't like it. They don't think we minister the way that they want ministry to take place. I understand that every person has their own desires and all and some things are just personal choices. I remember somebody who told me they were not gonna be in our church anymore because they really didn't feel that they were in a church because there's no stained glass windows. And for them, stained glass windows was church. Now, I understand that. I don't agree with it quite obviously. I have reason not to. But at the same time, I understood that. But notice, we didn't go out and put some stained glass windows in so this person would feel comfortable because we frankly can't do that. You can't do that for everybody who has a simple kind of thought you ought to do things this way and that. But there are things that I can do something about. And if my liberties is gonna cause somebody to stumble, then I'm gonna take my liberties and bring them under control so that I don't stumble somebody else. Notice what he said in verse eight here. Food doesn't commend us to God for neither if we eat, are we the better nor if we do not eat, are we the worse. But beware less somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple will not the conscience of him who was weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols and because of your knowledge, shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died? But when you thus sin against the brethren, you wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore if food makes my brother stumble I'll never again eat meat lest I make my brother stumble. Food does not commend us to God for neither if we eat, are we the better nor if we do not eat, are we the worse. I've shared this with you again. It's one of those old illustrations but again this is when God began to move in my heart and to lay principles down. And some of you have heard this again more than once. I was in the army, I'm going through chow line. As I'm going through the chow line I noticed that one of the guys who is serving the troops when he's dropping this meat onto their plate he's saying something to them and I'm watching people in front of me and you can actually see them looking at him and then shaking their head and walk and I'm thinking, he's saying something to each person. I wonder what he's saying. And so eventually I got there and this is what he was saying. We were being served pork chops and he dropped the pork chop on my plate and he says, if you eat that you're going to hell. That's what he said. If you eat that you're going to hell. You know after eating army food you feel like you've been in hell but you're not going there. But he says if you eat that you're going to hell and I stopped. I mean I was a Christian of less than a year. I was a new believer. And I said, what? You know, and the child line just stops for a moment. And I said, what? He said, if you eat that you're going to hell. And I looked at him and I said, why? Because you're not supposed to eat pork. Pork is forbidden. I said, really? Idiot? What do I know? I'm only like eight months old in Christ. So I can't eat carnitas anymore. I can't, what? What are you talking about? So I go, I ate it. I'm in grace. So I ate it. But I thought, there's something wrong with this. I went to my Bible and I opened up 1 Corinthians 8 and I read verse 8 because I actually was learning to study. Food does not commend us to God for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse. And I went to him the next day. I'm going through the chow line again. I said, I ain't going to hell. I'm not going to hell. I ate that pork chop. I'm still going to heaven. You know why? Because 1 Corinthians 8 says, meat commendeth us not to God for neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we eat not, I memorized it in the King James, are we the less. The scripture does not teach that. See, Jesus said in Mark chapter 7 that it's not what enters into the man that defiles the man. It is that which comes out of the man that defiles the man. And so it's the nature of man that is defiling, not the food that you eat. Because he said, because you eat and ultimately eliminate. And it's gone. It doesn't stay permanently within you. But it's the heart. It's the corrupt nature that the Lord has come to deal with. There are those to this day. I can have discussions like this with people to this day who are professing Christians who will argue with me that you can't eat pork. Those who are in the seventh day of Adventist movement will argue dietary law with you. And they'll say, you can't eat pork. But the fact is, Jesus taught us that it is the nature that defiles and not the food. Paul is making the same argument. Meat does not commend you unto God. So if you like pork, enjoy. If you don't, then don't. And that's just the bottom line to it. And so he's saying the real concern is not the food. It's the attitude of the heart that you have to be concerned about. So that's what he's speaking about. The third thought was food doesn't make us better. Because food doesn't commend us or bring us nearer to God. Because food is food, eating food is simply that. It makes no difference. In 1 Timothy chapter four, verse four, it says, everything God created is good and nothing's to be rejected if it's received with thanksgiving. But he said, verses nine through 13, beware less somehow this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block. Beware less somehow your liberty stumbles somebody else. Never influence someone to violate his or her conscience. Don't do that. You see, he uses as an example, verse 10, if anyone sees you have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, in fact is as people will follow your example. So mature believers use their influence to good and not to stumble. I was mentioning today that there are those who go to church and then they see somebody who's supposedly mature and do something that bothers them and they never come back to church again. And they'll point to him and they'll say, this hypocrite undermined my faith. He did something, she did something and I don't ever wanna go back to church again because of what I've seen them do. And I was mentioning that human beings by nature have a tendency of stumbling others. We just do that because no matter how spiritually minded we may be, we still are weak and we still stumble others, we just do. And it's not that you wake up in the morning saying, I wanna go for a new record in stumbling people today. How many can I stumble today? Let's start with my wife, hey, stupid. And then we'll go from there. I mean, you don't do that. You don't wake up saying I'm going to stumble people but let's face it, sometimes we do. I as a pastor teacher, I know, I cannot count how many people have been stumbled by me over the years. I've been teaching 38 years. How many people do you think I've stumbled over the years? I don't even wanna guess, so many. Did I intend to do something different? No, not necessarily. No, I didn't want to. But did I? Yes. My liberties, therefore, the liberties God gave to me have always got to be exercised with concern for other people. The freedoms that I have in Christ have always got to be tempered by concern for other people. And the longer you walk with the Lord the more sensitive to that you become. It's not legalism, it's love. And you wanna be an example. He asks the question in verse 11, because of your knowledge shall your weak brother perish. When he speaks of the word perish, shall your weak brother be caused to sin? It's literally what he's saying, be ruined by you. He's simply saying Christ died for him. Christ set him free. Don't be stumbling him in his walk. Verse 12, when you thus sin against a brethren you wound their weak conscience. By sinning against this brother you're sinning really against the Lord. And that's something no mature believer will ever really want to do. What he finally says, therefore, in verse 13, if food makes my brother stumble I'll never again eat meat lest I make my brother stumble. He's simply saying I'm gonna restrict my perceived liberties if it means my brother can grow in his faith. In 1 John chapter 2 verse 6, he who says he abides in him allowed himself also to walk just as he walked. Ephesians 5 too, walk in love as Christ also has loved us and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma. Walk in love. Walk in love. Concern yourself for your brothers. Concern yourself for your sister. Don't use your liberty as an excuse to continue in sin. Mature in the Lord to the point that you actually care about others and how you're impacting them. Be aware of the fact that you're never gonna be perfect this side of heaven and there will still be those who can be stumbled by you but don't go out of your way to be a stumbling block to somebody else. Do the best that you can to evidence Christ and his love for others. If you know that somebody has a particular weakness in a certain area, then don't try and convince them that it's okay for them to continue in that because in reality what you're doing is emboldening them in an area that they feel weak and vulnerable in. Somebody says to you, you know I had an alcohol problem. Don't sit down all day long arguing with them how they're free in Christ and you can have self-control and you can drink just one. Just recognize the fact that they have an alcohol problem. It's one of the things in their life that you shouldn't be encouraging them in. Encourage them to the love of Christ, love of Christ, the freedom that Jesus gives. But don't argue people with people about their perceived freedoms and your perceived restrictions. That really doesn't edify anybody at all. Keep your mind centered on the things that matter. Knowledge does embolden us, puff us up, but love will always build us up. Make the choice to love people. Make the choice to restrict the things that you find yourself free to do so that others might be able to grow and mature in the things of the Lord. And again, there may be things that I feel totally free in my own spirit to do, but I have to be sensitive because I don't live for myself. No man lives for himself. We're living for the Lord and we're living to encourage others. And if we keep that in mind, we'll be just fine.