TABLE TALK. -1 Corinthians 8:7-13

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1 TABLE TALK 7 However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9 But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11 And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12 Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. -1 Corinthians 8:7-13

2 Psalm 135: The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 16 They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; 17 they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them. Day 1 Reflect upon the worthlessness of any other idol. 4 Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God. - Leviticus 19:4 Paul has officially moved his message to the Corinthians firmly into another category. The first issue about which he wrote was sexual ethics. This second section will pertain to how the Christian views worship, specially regarding the acceptability of eating meat sacrificed to idols. Most meat sold in the town marketplace came from sacrificial animals that had been slaughtered at pagan temple ceremonies. Did these rituals automatically taint the food? Could Christians buy it? Could they eat it if it was offered to them at friends homes? What about the various social events weddings, parties, clubs, and so on which often used the temple dining halls for their festivities? Could Christians participate and eat meat at these events? What about more overtly religious rites in those temples? The issue clearly was not as simple or innocuous as it might at first glance seem to Westerners today. While this is not a major issue for us today we can think of a litany of other hot-button issues that come with a similarly long list of what if questions. When we read passages of Scripture like 1 Corinthians 8-11, we must recognize that while it does influence the way we answer those contemporary questions it is not seeking to give definitive answers to every unique problem in which we find ourselves in the 21st Century. As we study this passage over the coming months let the text influence those grey areas of your life. What might be some issues in the 21st Century that would be comparable to eating meat sacrificed to idols? The world behind me, the cross before me; The world behind me, the cross before me; The world behind me, the cross before me; No turning back, no turning back. - I Have Decided to Follow Jesus S. Sundar Singh There are no other gods above you. All the idols of the people are worthless. Let my worship be found solely devoted to you. Resource: NIV Application Commentary: 1 Corinthians Craig Blomberg

3 Psalm 146:7-9 7 The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. Day 2 Consider the freedom our God brings. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. - Acts 15:28-29 In the first 6 verses of 1 Corinthians 8 Paul made the strong case for the foolishness of not eating food sacrificed to idols. Paul tells us, if the idols are not real then the food sacrificed to them is not actually tainted. However, he is changing gears in verses He has introduced a second factor into this grey area the weaker brother. Paul explains that there may be some Corinthians who have weaker consciences and therefore actually believe they are worshipping other idols by eating the meat. These people are not just offended by the eating of the meat but are being tempted to eat it even though their own conscious tells them it is sinful. These people are likely to imitate a stronger believer in the morally neutral practice but later feel guilty about it. The stronger believer has used their freedom to actually damage the spiritual growth of the weaker. This presents a confusing issue of Christian freedom which is: what s safe for one Christian may not be for another. Charles Spurgeon was a famous British Baptist preacher in the early 20th Century who had a great affinity for smoking cigars. One anecdote goes accordingly. Spurgeon and his students were to meet for an early excursion. The young men gathered around the corner and began to smoke their cigars and pipes but Spurgeon was waiting for them at the gate and jumped out to exclaim, ""What, gentlemen! Are you not ashamed to be smoking so early? All the young men drooped their heads and snuffed out their pipes and cigars. Once they were all out Spurgeon pulled out his cigar case, lit one up, and smoked away. The young men looked at him in surprised saying, "I thought you said you objected to smoking, Mr. Spurgeon? Spurgeon replied, Oh no, I did not say I objected. I asked if they were not ashamed, and it appears they were, for they have all put their pipes away." Their shame in their pipe smoking showed that they believed it was truly sinful. However, Spurgeon had no qualms about it and thus, felt it appropriate to do so. Christian freedom is a tricky subject. What might be some ways to navigate the grey areas in our walk? Oh, we're free, free Forever we're free Come join the song Of all the redeemed - Death Was Arrested North Point InsideOut You are the breaker of chains and the healer of wounds. You have freed me from my bondage to sin. Hallelujah!

4 Psalm 119: Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble. 166 I hope for your salvation, O Lord, and I do your commandments. 167 My soul keeps your testimonies; I love them exceedingly. Day 3 Ponder the connection between these three verses. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. - Leviticus 19:14 My most embarrassing life moment came in the 6th grade. I was getting ready for an academic team tournament (if you re unfamiliar with my academic team prowess refer to previous Table Talks). I was sitting on the top row of bleachers in a gym full of other middle schoolers preparing to take my math test. This was my first district exam and I was nervous, but played it cool. They called for this test first. I eagerly jumped up and started my way down the bleachers. However, I began my trip much quicker and more lopsided than expected. My foot had gotten hung on the top stair and I began my descent head-first and continued tumbling like a springy bag of jello down the stairs. At the bottom (both of the stairs and of my 11 year life) I cried like a baby and quickly ran out. I never lived that down. There are spiritual stumbling blocks that can lead a person down a dismal fall. Paul mentions stumbling blocks here in our passage this week. A stumbling block is something or someone who keeps someone away from their relationship with God. The original term is found in Leviticus as a warning against not placing stumbling blocks in front of blind people, thus causing them to fall (Lev. 19:14). Jesus calls for harsh punishments for those who cause children to stumble (Matt. 18:5-7). The stumbling blocks here in 1 Corinthians 8 are actions which cause people to fall into sin. How mean and hurtful would it be to place a block in front of a blind person? The only purpose in doing so is for them to trip over it. We must recognize the things in our own life that could be our own stumbling blocks and the things we place in front of others that would be their own. What actions might be a stumbling block for you? How can you keep from placing stumbling blocks in front of others? When darkness seems to hide His face I rest on His unchanging grace In every high and stormy gale My anchor holds within the veil - Cornerstone Hillsong Let me find stability in you alone. Keep me from blindness so I may not stumble in pursuit of you.

5 Day 4 Psalm 51: O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Reflect on the types of sacrifice that please God. 15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. - Galatians 2:15-16 There are some people in this world who are rule followers. They cringe at jaywalking and faint at the idea of getting soda in a water cup at a restaurant. Those people keep the gears churning in our society. We need them. There are others who are a little more free, however, with their definitions of right and wrong. Life is not full of rules, but suggestions. They then have the liberty to choose how to act. These people also churn gears (the gears of the court system). Much of our conversation in this passage has to do with freedom that is found in our new life with Christ. We are no longer bound to the Mosaic Law and are free to do certain things in Christ, but to what end. 1 Corinthians 8:8 serves as maybe the most important verse in the entire passage. He has just spent the first 7 verses telling those who are abstaining how they are wrong. There s nothing special in refraining from eating the meat. Being a holier-than-thou teetotaler on grey areas doesn t make one more righteous. However, in verse 8 Paul strips everyone of any pride they may have in their position. He tells the stronger believer that this food does not commend us to God. They gain nothing by eating this food and lose nothing if they don t. They are not some edgy rule breaker living on the cliff of God s grace. They are not receiving anything unique while they eat the meat. Nor are they attaining some new level of wokeness. They are no better off if they eat. It is truly a neutral action. Paul s message to them is simple: You are not special if you can eat this meat. You re special if you can love your brother. What would it look like for you to freely sacrifice something for a brother or sister in Christ? You are hope, You are grace You're all I have, You're everything Here's my heart, Lord Speak what is true - Here s My Heart Crowder Rid me of myself and fill me with you so that I may serve my God and my neighbor.

6 Psalm 145:21 21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. 6 There is none like you, O Lord; you are great, and your name is great in might. 7 Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. - Jeremiah 10:6-7 Day 5 Pause and think about you flesh blessing God s holy name. I have determined that I say, no far too often as a parent. Before you begin to roll your eyes and chalk me up as just another Millennial parent who just wants to be my kids best friend know that you are wrong. If I lean to a side it s definitely disciplinarian. However, I have seen that I need to soften, give more freedom and let my kids enjoy things that are fun. Don t sweat the small stuff. I started practicing this only a few weeks ago. My first test was when my daughter asked for a chocolate donut after she had already eaten her normal breakfast one Saturday on vacation. This is not typical in our house and my gut was, No way! What world do you think you live in? But I paused and considered the short and long-term ramifications of this decision and chalked it up to a fun vacation fling. Nothing horrendously bad could come of this one-time event. So I said yes. The surprise on her face was outstanding. It must have been immediately replaced by greed because without skipping a breath she said, No, two donuts! We ve been given certain freedoms as believers. It is wonderful to live a life full of the Spirit of the Lord in freedom and liberty. But we have no right to demand certain freedoms if they prove detrimental to those around us. If we do this, we are not practicing true love. Love limits one s own freedom. If we love one another we will gladly limit the freedom we ve been given if it leads a fellow believer into sin. We should not live lives of entitlement but of sacrifice. Our response to freedom should not be, how far can I go? But, how can I glorify God? If my motive for pushing into my freedom is anything other than bringing glory to God then it is a selfish motive. Do not look so quickly past the wonderful gift of Christian liberty that you begin to feel entitled to debauchery. What would change if your self-reflective question was not how far can I go? But rather, how can I glorify God?" All the earth will shout Your praise Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing Great are You, Lord - Great Are You Lord All Sons and Daughters Your praise will ever be on my lips. Keep my mind not on earthly pleasures but on your eternal glory.

Did Paul Change Regarding Meat Offered to Idols?

Did Paul Change Regarding Meat Offered to Idols? 2009 the Eternal Church of God All Scriptures are from the New King James translation unless otherwise noted. The conference recorded in Acts 15 was a monumental