7/5/26 “Callous Calories”
“Callous Calories”
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
As all of you are aware, this 4th of July weekend marks an important milestone in the history of our nation...
For 250 years, America has exemplified the virtues of freedom, liberty, and justice to a degree that has seldom been seen in the history of the world...
All of us are truly blessed to be living in a country where we are afforded the ability to chase our dreams...to reside where we please....to live in peace....
...and - most importantly – to worship God.
...the one, true, God.
...The God of the Bible.
...The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
...The God who became flesh and lived among His creation for 33 years
...The God-Man Jesus Christ who willingly went to the cross to pay the sin debt for each and every one of us....
...And who also rose 3 days later, defeating death’s grip on Himself - and by extension - all who believe upon His name...
THIS is why I feel so fortunate and thankful to be living in the United States of America....a place where we are free to gather in this sanctuary today...
A place where millions of other Christians are also gathering in houses of worship all across the country this morning...
From Sea-to-Shining-Sea....in small towns and big cities...right now, believers are lifting up the name of Jesus Christ...
...and the freedom to do that is something we all should be very thankful for.
Many of you have been celebrating our nation’s birthday this weekend...
And a vital component of many Independence Day celebrations has to do with....calories!..right?......Food!
Brats. Burgers. Hot Dogs. BBQ Ribs. Potato Salad. Coleslaw. Watermelon. Apple Pie. Culver’s Cheese Curds....Is anyone else getting Hungry ? 😊
For many of us....when we think about the 4th of July...we also think about what goes into our stomachs as well...
Well....Food is also the main course in our passage of scripture for today as well.
1 Corinthians chapter 8 deals – specifically - with the topic of food that has been sacrificed to idols...
...or, to put it another way, meat that had been consecrated to a pagan god or deity.
If you recall, both Roman and Greek civilizations during the 1st Century worshipped many gods (Small ‘g’)
In Greek Culture, you had gods such as Zeus...Poseidon...Athena...Artemis...Hermes...Dionysus....and - of course – Aphrodite...the goddess of love and beauty who was especially adored amongst the Corinthian people...
The Romans had their own name for many of the same gods....
Planetary names such as Jupiter...Neptune...Mars...Mercury...Pluto...
Interestingly, both the Greeks and the Romans shared the same name for the god of Music, healing, and the Sun....that being Apollo.
So....1st Century Corinthian culture was one of reverence and devotion toward many of these Greek deities....
including certain foods that were sacrificed in the name of some of these gods.
Here’s how it worked:
People would have – say – a lamb butchered; with the meat being brought to the altar of a particular deity...
...And after the portions for the priest – and the sacrifice itself - were used...
....there would almost always be leftover lambchops that would find their way to the public market....
....Where people could purchase the lamb chops & go home with them...
....or...they could eat the meat right there in the Temple Court.
For those of you who went on the trip to Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago...remember the food court we stopped at just south of Gary, Indiana?
We can think of 1st Century Temple Courts in a somewhat similar way....
There would have been numerous vendors selling different varieties of meat....all in one general location....
...with much of this meat coming from animals that had been sacrificed to idols.
So...this practice of purchasing and ingesting meat that had been prayed over in the name of some make-believe deity
...This brought up an important question for the apostle Paul to answer in regard to believers....
...Was it alright for a Christian to purchase and eat food that had been sacrificed to idols?
Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul begins to provide the answer in verse 4 (1 Corinthians 8:4) of today’s passage.
It reads, “So, then, about eating foods sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.”
In other words, the knowledge that Paul speaks of back in verse 1 was the correct understanding that most Corinthian believers had that gods such as Zeus...or Athena...or Aphrodite...
They were not real! They were made up, imaginary beings...
There was only 1 God.... the God of Abaraham, Isaac & Jacob.
The God of David, Daniel, Elijah, and Isaiah
The God of Peter, James, John, and Paul....
...The Trinitarian Godhead comprised of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit....3 Distinct persons united in one Divine Nature.
This is the one true God!
And so – this knowledge concerning the artificiality of these so-called gods and goddesses....
...It allowed many of the Corinthian believers to have a clear conscience regarding the purchase and ingestion of meat that had been used in pagan idol worship...
Since these so-called gods and goddesses were simply figments of people’s imaginations...
....nothing - physically or spiritually - would have actually been done to make the meat unhealthy for consumption.
You see...Many pagan worshippers in the 1st Century believed that not only were mythological gods appeased through animal sacrifice...
...But also, they believed that demonic spirits would be able to enter into human beings through food....and - therefore – if the food was prayed over while in a pagan god’s temple...
...these evil spirit beings would flee...thereby leaving the food free from demonic possession...
Now....There were some Christians in the Corinthian Church – especially gentile believers - who had been delivered from their previous lives of paganism....
People who once worshipped these false deities, who now felt that partaking in such sacrificial meat too closely resembled their old lifestyle....
A lifestyle of sin and ignorance regarding the one true God.
Paul describes these believers in verse 7 (1 Corinthians 8:7) saying, “....Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.”
Paul isn’t saying here that their faith was weak...just that their knowledge of their freedom in Christ was insufficient...
These believers were finding it difficult to accept the fact that they could partake in meat that – at one time - had a very different meaning to them.
If you think about it...there can be situations today that have the potential of planting those same thoughts in our minds...
For instance....just last weekend....Lisa & I attended a wedding reception of a family acquaintance – the bride went to school with one of our daughters...
She’s Catholic....her Husband’s family is Hindu...
Talk about an unequally yoked marriage....but that’s for another sermon...
And – before the dinner meal was served – the thought crossed my mind that if this food is prayed over in the name of a Hindu god such as Brahma...or Vishnu...should I really be eating it?
Well....Yeah...I would have....
For the same reason Paul tells us here in our passage for today...
Food is food....no matter what make-believe god one might invoke in a prayer.... or in a service of some kind...
You might as well pray over the food in the name of Mickey Mouse...or Donald Duck... or Superman....they are not real entities!
Verse 8 (1 Corinthians 8:8) speaks to this when it says, “...Food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.”
Well....Turns out....the food at the wedding reception last weekend was not prayed over in the name of any Hindu god....
Unfortunately...there was no prayer whatsoever...a sad trend that we’ve seen gain more & more traction at wedding receptions these days....
So...these Corinthian Christians who felt they needed to abstain from sacrificed temple food are the believers who Paul speaks of as he writes the remainder of chapter 8....
....and how the more mature believers in the church were to limit their freedom and license....
They were to withhold their Christian liberty for the benefit of their weaker brothers and sisters....
Those who felt the need to abstain from food that was sacrificed to idols
Verse 9 (1 Corinthians 8:9) reads, “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.”
Paul is writing here that just because we CAN do something....doesn’t mean we SHOULD do it...
ESPECIALLY....if it is going to have a negative effect – spiritually – upon other brothers and sisters in the faith.
Paul elaborates on this theme in the next few verses...
He’s teaching mature believers that callousness toward less mature believers can easily result in them being tempted to act in violation of their Holy Spirit-led consciences...
...and this – scripture says – can ‘destroy’ a fellow believer’s spiritual life...
That word ‘destroy’ in verse 11 (1 Corinthians 8:11) doesn’t mean a loss of salvation...
...but it does carry with it the idea of a loss of joy...a loss of contentment....a loss of peace in one’s heart.
Maybe some of you remember a couple of years ago, we went through the book of Romans....anybody remember that?
...and in Romans chapter 14, we see a very similar warning levied upon mature Christians...
....those who properly understand what Christian license looks like from a biblical perspective...
The warning to refrain from participating in an act that – although not technically sinful –
.... may still cause less mature believers to stumble in their own Christian walk.
Listen to the sobering words of the apostle Paul as he writes to the believers in Rome, “Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.” (Romans 14:20-21)
In other words....don’t just think about the ramifications of your actions vertically (between you and God)
....but think about how your actions will be perceived horizontally by fellow believers...
Speaking of wedding receptions....a few years back, we were at an out-of-town reception where I was standing behind the pastor who officiated the service...
We were in line to get something to drink and I noticed that the pastor ordered an alcoholic beverage...
This was the pastor of a Bible-based church....
I was quite surprised....and - if I’m honest – a bit disappointed.
Now...to be fair....scripture does not condemn the consumption of alcohol when it does not lead to drunkenness.
....but - after witnessing this - Romans chapter 14 immediately came to mind...
Why would this man – who ought be very familiar with Romans 14 & 1 Corinthians 8 –
....why would he partake in an action that could cause other believers to stumble in their faith....
To me, this was – at the very least – a case of very poor judgement...
And – at worst – a violation of God’s command to not participate in causing another believer to sin.
Think about it....If a Christian at that wedding reception had recently come out of an alcohol addiction....and they see a pastor – someone looked up to in the faith – sitting there drinking a beer...
Think of how that action could easily cause that brother or sister to let their guard down....and possibly slip back into their old life of addiction....
I believe this is what Paul means when he talks about destroying another believer....
If we don’t prioritize love over license....caring over callousness....we can unknowingly cause great harm to other believers...
So...brothers and sisters...let’s think before we act.
Let’s not make decisions that could negatively affect our brothers and sisters in the faith.
Paul has some very serious words for those who fail to adhere to this command.
Look with me at verse 12 (1 Corinthians 8:12) it reads, “When you sin against your brother in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.”
Do you see what’s being said here?
This isn’t just a suggestion to refrain from doing things that may cause a fellow believer to stumble....this is a command.
...and if we do not act accordingly, Paul calls it a sin...
...A sin against Christ!
Jesus himself had some very strong warnings for his followers when it comes to dealing with less-mature, child-like Christians...
In the gospel of Mark, he says, “...If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck.” (Mark 9:42)
Those same words are repeated in Matthew’s gospel as well.
Do you think God takes the welfare of His children seriously....?
Absolutely, He does.
...And - whether we realize it or not - we are actors in the drama of other people’s lives.
Paul wraps up 1 Corinthians chapter 8 (1 Corinthians 8:13) by declaring, “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.”
We are not only called to look after our own lives....
....But we are also called to look after those around us...
Especially...our brothers and sisters in Christ.
If we are guilty of causing someone else to sin....it means that we are double-guilty....
...We are under twice the condemnation....
...and that is Not where any of us wants to be.
The Apostle Peter sums it all up like this, “Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.” (1 Peter 2:16-17)
Let us honor the King, indeed....
And let us honor each other....
Let’s Pray.
