January 28, 2024 Text: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Dear Friends in Christ,
Let’s start with a little background about the city of Corinth, so we can better understand the subject matter in our text. Corinth had temples to pagan gods. Corinth had a temple with 1,000 priestesses who were sacred prostitutes. To live “like a Corinthian” meant immorality and debauchery.
In these temples the worshippers would offer sacrifices. You would bring in your animal, the priest would kill and clean it and then it would be burned. A plume of smoke would ascend to the heavens to influence the gods. Only a small part of the meat was incinerated, the rest was roasted. Everyone knew if you wanted a good cheap meal, you could pick one up at your neighborhood temple. It was the fast food of the day.
Some of the Christians were eating the meat as a matter of Christian freedom. Since the idols were nothing to them it didn’t bother them that the meat had been offered to idols. On the other hand, there were Christians in Corinth who had weak consciences because of their former association with idols. This became a stumbling block and faith was destroyed.
How do we use our Christian freedom? What are some of the issues of our day that can relate to the text? Do we lift up or hurt our weak brothers and sisters? Paul warns,
“DON’T BE A STUMBLING BLOCK”
What is going on in 21st century where-you-are-ville? No one these days is writing e-mails to their Pastor or our Synod’s Theology Review Board concerning “food offered to idols.” But what issues do we face that might cause us to be a stumbling to a weaker brother or sister?
The first one would be alcohol. Again, this falls under Christian freedom. Should we have a cocktail in front of someone who is struggling with alcoholism? Probably not because this might lead them down a path, we don’t want to see them go.
Another one is a more recent phenomenon. It is the idea that anyone can get a license to marry someone. Our family attended a wedding like this, and the ceremony was God-awful. The only way I survived was through prayer and putting my head down for the whole half-hour. Because marriage was ordained by God and has usually been the duty of the Church and the Pastor it is a bad look. It cheapens my ordination and the ordination and education of my brother Pastor’s. It does not build the faith, but it sure does put up a stumbling block to husband and wife under the auspices of their Creator. Yes, again we have Christian freedom but is it the right way to use it?
For Paul and the Holy Spirit my right to exercise some of these freedoms stops when a brother or sister is tripped up. We don’t live in a closed system. We live in a family of brothers and sisters. These are brothers and sisters for whom Christ died.
We get stuck on ourselves and our rights. Stop looking at your belly buttons – innies, outies, things get stuck in there. Nasty. We need something else to look at.
Look to the beautiful. Look to the forgiving. Look to the forever. This something is a someone, and his name is Jesus. From all eternity he has been concerned about you. Two thousand years ago he was concerned about living and dying for you and rising for you.
Today he was concerned about making sure you woke up on time to get here. See, he wants to be sure you know that you are forgiven. He wants you to know that if you have been a stumbling block, you can repent and start anew with better judgment and an uplifting attitude. Today he wants to feed you his body and blood as a member of his family.
The relationship between God and us is always one of grace, pure and undeserved love. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” In Christ, we have been freed from the Law, “but take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.” (v. 9). We are saved by grace alone, for Christ’s sake, through faith, and our love is a love that builds up our Christian brother and sister.
Let’s use our freedom wisely, for Christ’s sake.
Amen.