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6.14.20 1 Corinthians 8 Pastor Danny Gardner · HBCWestminster

• 0:00
  Well, our text this morning is 1 Corinthians 8, and I know that we've been going through the Gospel of Luke, but we're going to pause for today because I wanted to address this issue specifically, 1 Corinthians 8, and we're going to look at the whole chapter. It's only 13 verses. If you are able to stand in honor of the reading of God's Word, I would ask you to do that now, even in your homes. I'm going to read those 13 verses, 1 Corinthians 8, and then we'll pray and begin. The text says this, beginning in verse 1, Now concerning food offered to idols,
• 0:30
  We know that all of us possess knowledge. This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know, but if anyone loves God, he is known by God. Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that an idol has no real existence, and that there is no God but one.
• 0:50
  For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth, or as indeed there are many gods and many lords, yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we exist. 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. Food will not commend us to God.
• 1:18
  We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 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? And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ.
• 1:46
  Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. Would you pray with me, church? Lord, we ask for insight and wisdom. God, maybe never before in the history of our country and in the history of the American church have we so needed heavenly wisdom, wisdom from above and not wisdom from below. Lord, give us the ability to see the truth clearly.
• 2:17
  Allow us the ability to see your will in all things and give us the strength and courage and humility to conform our will and our thoughts to yours and not the other way around. God, we will never expect for you to agree with us, but for us to agree with you.
• 2:37
  And so, Lord, as we study your word now, enlighten our hearts, illuminate our minds by your Holy Spirit. May your spirit teach us your truth according to your word, and may your will be done in this church and in our lives. And it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Thank you, church. You can be seated. Well, I can remember a very good friend saying that he often prayed this prayer, Lord, kill me before I bring shame upon the gospel.
• 3:07
  In fact, he said he would say that if he died early, and he did not, but that if he died early, he asked that we not grieve and not pity him, but rather rejoice. He said, the Lord has heard my prayer. If I have in my future anything that would shame the gospel, shame your church, harm your kingdom, then Lord, just take my life before I commit that thing, he said. One verse, and it's verse 12 in our text this morning, sums up the entire sermon.
• 3:37
  And it's verse 12. Thus, he says, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. That's the entire sermon. That's the entire idea. If you just memorize, understand and memorize that one verse, you can take a nap while I preach. We'll wake you up in time for lunch, all right? This one verse, verse 12, represents Paul's point in the passage. Why not rather be wronged, he says.
• 4:02
  Rather than offend our brother or sister in Christ, or why not rather be wronged than to bring reproach upon the reputations of Christ and his bride? I would rather be wronged. I would rather be offended than to bring reproach upon my brother or sister or to bring reproach upon Jesus's name. Well, we are living in an age where people are easily offended and where people have become concerned.
• 4:32
  with demanding their rights, demanding, concerned with what they feel like they deserve. And it seems as though people, whether justified or not, it seems as though people are willing to get into shouting matches, name-calling, mudslinging in order to be heard. Now listen, church, very clear, I am not talking about non-believers.
• 4:57
  Those aren't the ones I'm talking about right now. Of course they're going to engage in those activities. They don't know the Lord. We can't expect that people who don't know Jesus, who have not been enlightened by the Holy Spirit, who do not have the lamp of the Word of God, we cannot expect them to act as though they do. We can't expect that of non-believers. They're not the ones that surprise me. Of course they act like that. They don't have the Holy Spirit governing them. It surprises me, however,
• 5:24
  When believers do, the people of God who have been enlightened must not become guilty of confusing the Constitution and the Bible. Church, be careful. Be careful. The Constitution of the United States is a great document. It's a great document. It is not God's Word. And for us to begin drawing lines,
• 5:55
  And making demands and demanding our rights may not line up totally with what God's word says. We, as believers in Jesus, must think and act differently than other Americans who don't know the Lord yet. Listen to Romans chapter 12 and verses 1 and 2.
• 6:21
  To present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. In other words, the Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter 12, before you draw lines in the sand, renew your mind.
• 6:50
  Make sure, he says, before you do that, that you are thinking like the Lord and not like the world. Before you develop an opinion, renew your mind. Before you take a stand, renew your mind. Before you get angry, renew your mind. Before you post anything on Instagram, before you retweet something somebody else said,
• 7:12
  Renew your mind to make sure that you are bringing honor to the Lord and to your spiritual family. Why? Why? Because we are commanded to think like the Lord, to conform our mind to his, our heart to his. He says, think.
• 7:32
  differently. Renew your minds. We are commanded to think like the Lord. And then our text this morning says, beyond that, we are commanded to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, even above ourselves. My son, Zach, my middle son, who is now 15 years old and growing into a man, was once a toddler, about two years old, 18 months, two years old. He used to play this little game. He'd say, I love you, daddy.
• 8:01
  And I'd say, well, I love you too. And then he'd say, well, I love you three.
• 8:07
  I'd say, well, I love you four. He'd say, I love you five. And we'd continue going until he'd run out of numbers, right? As an 18-month, two-year-old, he didn't know that many numbers. He'd get up into the teens or so, and then everything would derail, and the smoke would start coming out of his ears, and he would just go to whatever he thought was the biggest number, the biggest number that he knew. In fact, he believed at the time it was the biggest number in existence. He would finally just end with, well, I love you 65.
• 8:34
  I love you 65, he would say. And that was like, and I'm done. As soon as he said that, tiny little Zach, little dude, you know, a couple feet tall, after he said, I love you 65, he'd just turn around and walk away. The argument's done. I beat you to the highest number. There is no number above that. It's like his little mic drop. I'm out. We've just celebrated June 6th, just last week. We celebrated the 13th anniversary of the passing of my dad. He was...
• 9:03
  taken from prostate cancer, and is now with the Lord. You know, the last thing little Zach ever said to my dad was, I love you, 65. That was the last thing he ever said. It was the biggest number he knew. Church, is there a way to quantify our love? Can you measure it? Is there a standard of measure? Is there a number that you can attach to it? I think according to Scripture, the answer is yes.
• 9:31
  You can quantify the love you have for your brothers and sisters in Christ. I hear people ask sometimes, and I myself am guilty of thinking, what am I allowed to do according to Scripture? What freedoms do I have? I'm concerned about my freedoms. How far can I go before something becomes sin? And what 1 Corinthians 8 does is it flips it around.
• 9:52
  Instead of asking, what are my rights? What are my freedoms? What am I allowed to do? Instead, the apostle challenges us to ask, what am I willing to sacrifice for my brothers and sisters in the church? What freedoms am I willing to forego for the sake of their spiritual well-being? I'm not demanding my rights. I am willing to lay down my rights for the sake of you who may be offended. In fact, I think that he says that the greater the sacrifice we are willing to make,
• 10:21
  the greater proof of our love. Let me say that again. The greater sacrifice you are willing to make for your brothers and sisters in Christ, the greater proof of your love. If something we do, which we are allowed to do in Christ, we have been set free, freedom, absolute freedom in the gospel. But that does not mean that we can just go out and act however we want. The greater sacrifice we are willing to make in order to honor our brother or sister in Christ, the greater proof of our love.
• 10:50
  for them now beginning a sermon in chapter eight of a book is not our norm as you know normally we go verse by verse through a book as we are doing with the gospel of luke it's not even necessarily recommended in order to set proper historical context but since this chapter right now seemed so relevant to the state of the american church today i think
• 11:11
  it would really be fitting for us to jump straight into the middle of the story. So let me just set some context. Let me just catch us up in the book of 1 Corinthians. The city of Corinth was incredibly promiscuous. It had a reputation for licentious and immoral behavior. The church at Corinth, to whom this letter was written, was being spoiled, if you will, by being in the same barrel as a bunch of bad apples.
• 11:37
  And rather than being salt and light, rather than having a sanctifying influence on their world, they instead, the church, were being influenced themselves by the city in which they lived. And so instead of Westminster looking more like Jesus, the church began to become more like Westminster. They thought like the world instead of thinking like Christ. They were not renewing their minds and being transformed. Rather, they were being conformed to the image.
• 12:04
  And for this reason, the Apostle Paul began his letter to the church addressing some of the big issues that he had heard were going on in the church. In chapter 1 of 1 Corinthians in verse 11, he describes a woman named Chloe. Chloe had apparently, one of the members of the church at Corinth, had written him a letter saying, here's all the stuff that's going on in the church. And 1 Corinthians was his response back to her letter.
• 12:29
  She described to him factions. People are following different men instead of following Jesus. There was lack of spiritual growth and discipleship. There was immorality rampant. There's spiritual cowardice, lawsuits among believers, sexual promiscuity in the church. And he addresses each of those things in chapters 1 through 6.
• 12:49
  In chapter 7, the apostle kind of shifts gears. The remainder of the book, starting in chapter 7, was Paul's addressing of specific questions which were being asked by the church. And each of his answers begins with the phrase, now or now concerning. And so if you look really quickly at 1 Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 1, just flip over to verse 1, chapter 7, now concerning the matters about which you wrote. And so he is now going to answer all of these questions. It's like we're listening in.
• 13:19
  One-sided on a one-sided conversation right we can only hear one side and so by his responses we can assume
• 13:27
  The questions being asked. And so he just goes through each of these. You see that phrase, chapter 7 and verse 1, now concerning. You see it again in chapter 8, verse 1, now concerning food. You see it again in chapter 11 and verse 2. Now I commend you because you remember in everything and maintain traditions. See it again, chapter 12 and verse 1, now concerning spiritual gifts. You see it again, actually, in chapter 15 and verse 1. I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached. You see it finally in chapter 16 and verse 1.
• 13:56
  Now concerning the collection for the saints. And so he's just going to go through and answer all of these questions. What's funny is the question in chapter eight is kind of an odd one. What about meat sacrificed to an idol? Well, that's kind of a weird question for us to ask, right? I mean, how is that relevant to today? Can I eat it? Like, I don't even know where you would get meat sacrificed to an idol, honestly. Costco doesn't carry it. You know, there is no idol meat there.
• 14:24
  They'd be saying, what about that? Can I eat it? Some people in the church have a problem with me partaking in it, but I don't see anything wrong with it. Maybe a modern equivalent and one that is very relevant for our church right now, today, and what will be very relevant church as we regather next Sunday, June 21st. What about my freedom in Christ? Should I abstain from certain things because there are people at my church who have a problem with it? Like what?
• 14:54
  If I can really make the rubber meet the road, what about social distancing? Can they force me to do that? If I come to church, do I have to do it? Isn't my freedom in Christ, doesn't my freedom in Christ allow me to stand as close to people as I want to stand? Doesn't my freedom in Christ allow handshakes? Doesn't my freedom in Christ, do I honestly have to wear a mask to church? Can you force me? Do I honestly have to wear the mask to church? Pastor Danny, I don't buy the hype.
• 15:19
  I know that there are people who believe that masks are the key to conquering COVID, but I'm not one of them. Pastor Dan, are you really going to make me wear a mask? And the simple response will be this. Church, don't practice social distancing at the church because I said to. And don't wear a mask because the CDC or the Colorado Department of Public Health or the City of Westminster or the Board of Highland asks you to wear one. Sport the mask because you love your brothers and sisters in Christ. That's why you're going to do it.
• 15:49
  It's not because I say to. I have no interest in being the social distancing police. Believe me, I am not going to do that. I have no intention of being the mask cop. That's not what I'm going to do. The sanctuary church, and this is where we even get our title today, the sanctuary must not become the battleground upon which cultural wars are fought.
• 16:14
  It must not, the sanctuary, I'll say it again, the sanctuary of God must not become the battleground upon which social wars are fought. It is not the mask war or the social distancing war that will be fought in the sanctuary. The sanctuary of God is for worship and worship alone. In the end, who cares about social distancing and masks? Those things do not matter for eternity. But listen, church, the souls of your family members in Christ, those matter.
• 16:44
  Those matter, and we need to approach every controversial topic with humility. We need to take up the belief that to be wronged personally is better than to offend our brothers in Christ. And church, if I can just be very honest, I love not wearing a mask. I love it. But honestly, I love you more. I love you more. And for your sake, I will wear it.
• 17:12
  When you come on June 21st, this beautiful face will be covered with a mask. It will. I'm going to cover it. And some of you might be thinking, you know, a mask might be a better look. And you can keep your comments to yourself. Scripture is clear that we have complete freedom in Christ to do anything that does not offend the Father. That's what the Bible says. However, that does not mean that all things are okay according to the Father.
• 17:38
  If they offend our brothers and sisters. And so I've divided our text this morning into two main parts. The first part is the axioms. The axioms. And the second part is the attitude with which we must walk. And so let's look at them. The axioms and the attitude. An axiomatic statement is one that is universally accepted as true. And in fact is so universally accepted that it needs no defense. Like the United States is the greatest country on earth. It is.
• 18:07
  There are some who disagree with that. You can't disagree with that. It is the greatest country on Earth. Another one here is an axiomatic statement, universally agreed upon. The Denver Broncos are the greatest football team in the NFL. They are the greatest. And that doesn't mean they win every game. In fact, they win very few. But that doesn't make them not the greatest football team on planet Earth. Maybe one more.
• 18:32
  In-N-Out Burger makes the best $3 cheeseburger on the planet. And there are all kinds of In-N-Out haters and whatever. But listen, for $3, Five Guys is great. Go there and order a cheeseburger, fries, and a drink, and it's like $16, okay? For $3, you will not buy a better cheeseburger. And listen, Claudia, don't even try to pitch McDonald's at me, all right? It is not okay, right? In-N-Out makes the best $3 cheeseburger on the planet.
• 19:01
  So the apostle, those are axiomatic statements. And here the apostle gives three axiomatic statements, simple axioms. You find the first in verses one to three. He says, now concerning food offered to idols, we know that all of us possess knowledge. There is the axiomatic statement. Everybody knows something, okay? This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known.
• 19:29
  By God, all, he says, possess knowledge, and there was a feeling of superiority among many Corinthians. Each felt as though they possessed some special knowledge that others may not be privy to. They felt like they knew that in Christ they had freedom to partake in anything they wanted, even at the expense of their brothers in Christ, and so that's exactly what they did. Their attitude was, I can, and therefore I will. Even if that causes you to stumble,
• 19:59
  I am allowed to do it, the knowledge that I possess in Christ. It is sound doctrine. I can do anything I want in Christ. That knowledge, he says, puffed them up to the point that they were willing to do things which caused their brothers to stumble. He even says knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Paul issues a rebuke. The only thing they really knew was how to hurt God's kids, which is not what God...
• 20:29
  You see in verse 3, if anyone loves God, he is known by God. So that's the first one. Second axiomatic statement, we know he says that an idol has no real existence. Look at verses 4 to 6.
• 20:41
  Therefore, he says, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that an idol has no real existence and that there is no God but one. So here is an axiomatic statement. The statue, whatever it is that you're worshiping, the stars and the moon and the sun and whatever else, all these people were worshiping animism and pantheism and polytheism and all of these other things, mythology and everything else. He says, we know they're all fake.
• 21:04
  There's no God. So just because you're offering this meat sacrifice to an idol doesn't make it any different than regular old meat. That idol is nothing. It's a block. It's a brick. There's nothing to it. Continue in verse 5. For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords. So we know that people call them gods. He says that doesn't make them gods. Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist. And one Lord, Jesus Christ.
• 21:33
  through whom are all things and through whom we exist. The Apostle's second axiom, I think, is pretty straightforward. There's only one God, which by definition excludes the existence of other gods. Therefore, he says, since there are no other gods, food sacrificed to an idol is actually food sacrificed to nothing. Do you hear his statement? Yeah.
• 21:56
  There's nothing to it. You lay it down in front of a brick. That doesn't make it different than the food that had not been. And although he says many people may call them gods and lords, they're really just serving and worshiping the air. There's nothing behind him. Now, I like the verbiage here in verse 6. And in fact, chapter 8 and verse 6 is actually used by one very prominent cult in our country, a false religion, according to God's word, that would say that there is...
• 22:24
  an almighty God, the Father, and that Jesus, God's Son, is not equivalent with the Father, but a lower form of God. They would say that Jesus is a mighty God, the Father is almighty God. That cult, obviously, is wrong. That is a blasphemous statement. But they will use verse 6 to support that argument, where it says there is one God, the Father.
• 22:49
  And then it says, and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, that appears to separate them. But I actually think the verbiage of the text here actually does the exact opposite. This proves that they are equal because look at how it describes them both. The Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist. That's how he describes the Father. Uses the exact same wording of Jesus. Jesus Christ, he says in verse 6, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
• 23:18
  This verbiage actually equates the Father and the Son using the exact same wording. The Father and the Son, the apostle here gives them equal honor, equal authority, equal praise. He says, from whom and for whom and through whom we exist. Our existence is from and for and through the Father and the Son. It sounds very similar to Romans chapter 11 and verse 36, describing God for from him.
• 23:46
  And through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. St. Augustine, many centuries ago, said Jesus Christ is not honored at all if he is not honored above all. And I believe verse 6 supports that statement. If you're interested in more reading, and I know that I recommend books often, but if you're interested more on this topic, on the deity of Jesus Christ.
• 24:12
  Is Jesus equal to the Father? Are the Son and the Father the same? I would recommend this book, Putting Jesus in His Place. The subtitle is The Case for the Deity of Christ. Putting Jesus in His Place. The author is Ed Kamaszewski.
• 24:29
  And so I would recommend that book. It is fantastic. What he does, and I've actually used his argument in here to defend the deity of Christ to cultists who have come to my door. He uses a simple acronym. He says, just remember hands, hands, H-A-N-D-S. They receive, Jesus and the Father receive the same honor. They've got the same attributes. They receive the same names. They do the same deeds and they sit on the same seat.
• 24:54
  Remember those things? That's what the New Testament says. They are equal to one another. The third axiomatic statement that he gives, he gives in verses 7 and 8, and then he follows up in verses 10 to 12. He says, we know that food will not commend us to God. Look at verse 7. He says, however, not all possess this knowledge.
• 25:16
  Not all understand, he's saying, that an idol is nothing. When people are saved out of idol worship, he says they were really convinced in their heart that that idol was real. And so as they cross over from death to life, they may still struggle with that idea. Was that all for naught? Was it really air? So he says they may struggle with that idea. Not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really sacrifice to an idol, offer to an idol. And their conscience...
• 25:44
  being weak, is defiled. So he says, when you go out and then eat the meat that was sacrificed to the idol that only a day ago they were worshiping, he says, that is a stumbling block for them. That's hard to accept. And then he says in verse 8, food will not commend us to God.
• 26:02
  You are not holier for eating certain things. You are not more sinful for eating certain things, he says. It doesn't matter. Food is for sustenance, not for worship. We are no worse off if we do not eat and no better off if we do. Now, I know that just a couple of chapters later in 1 Corinthians 10, it says, whether you eat or drink, do so to the glory of God. You can certainly eat to the glory of God, but it's not about what you eat.
• 26:26
  It's not about what you eat. He says, don't assume that just because you take the magic pill that now suddenly God loves you more. That's not how it works. He says in verse 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? And so by your knowledge, this weak person is destroyed. The brother for whom Christ died, thus sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin.
• 26:56
  against Christ. Anyone who has read scripture, I think thoroughly, knows that all food is meant for us to consume. You can choose to be a vegetarian. You can choose to be a vegan, a fruitarian, whatever other million different versions there are. You can choose to be anything you want. But honestly, church, you cannot make an argument from this book that you are making that choice on religious grounds. I believe it is a sin.
• 27:23
  not to eat, not to eat like I do. You can't make that argument from God's word. Ever since Acts in chapter 10, the Bible says nothing for food that is unclean remains. There is no unclean food, but that does not mean that we have the right to eat whatever we want and however we want. In verse 7, he even says, not all possess this knowledge. Now, Paul illustrates with an example. There are some in the church, he says, who didn't grow up in the church.
• 27:51
  Most people's testimonies at the time this letter was written, most people's testimonies did not begin with, I grew up in a Christian home. I know that many of our testimonies do, but theirs didn't. The church is a hundred generations old as we are all sitting here in 2020. But many of the Corinthians were pagans, idol worshipers before they became Christians. Many worshiped false idols and sacrificed to false gods before they came to know Christ.
• 28:20
  Can you imagine if one of those people was invited to your home for Sunday lunch and what you served them was food that only a few short moments ago had been offered to their former God? I mean, how insensitive and uncaring.
• 28:36
  Would that be? And he continues in verse 10 when he says, if anyone sees you doing this, their conscience will be defiled. And Paul would say, because we don't know every person's spiritual history, we must therefore be vigilant to care for their souls by caring about what we eat and how we act in their presence. Otherwise, he says in verse 12, by sinning against your brother, you sin against Christ. Well, those are the axioms.
• 29:01
  Right? Universally accepted truths. Now let's go to the attitude with which we are to care for our brothers and sisters' souls. Look at verses 9 and 13. They're the only two verses I haven't read yet. Verse 9, first, what attitude are we to use as we come back to church? And honestly, church, as we gather next Sunday, many of us will come. I know not all of us will, and that is totally okay, but many of us will come next Sunday, June 21st, to worship together in person with the body of Christ.
• 29:31
  What two things should we employ? Number one, verse nine, take care, he says. What attitude should we have? We should have a caring attitude. Look at verse nine. But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. Take care. And church, we are, I am careful with a lot of things. I'm careful with my truck.
• 29:55
  Careful with family keepsakes. I'm careful with investments. We are careful with our homes. I'm careful when I'm helping people move. I'm more careful with other people's things even than I am with my own. I'm careful when I'm carrying a baby. I mean, obviously, right? There are things you're careful. I'm careful when I'm drinking hot tea. I don't want to spill that on my lap. These days, especially, we are careful what we touch, where we go, what we eat, right? Disinfectants and everything else. We're careful.
• 30:25
  amazed at the care that I can show to my fly fishing equipment. Tapered leader, tip it, right? I mean, these thin spider-like lines, fly line, one tiny knot in that fly line, almost invisible fly line, cuts its strength in half. And so I'm careful, delicate, I'm slow, I'm methodical when it comes to this worthless little two-foot section of fly line. I'm careful with it, meticulous. And yet when it comes to my kids,
• 30:56
  My wife, my brothers and sisters in Christ, there are times that I am a verbal wrecking ball. I get angry. I spout off. I call it venting. You know, whatever it is. But man, my words are just swinging. I'm careful with worthless fly line, but I'm a wrecking ball when it comes to people that I love. Church, ask yourself honestly, are we careful with the souls of our brothers and sisters in the church? Are they less?
• 31:28
  valuable than fly fishing leader? How can I be careful with my car whose value diminishes every day? Every day my truck is worth less. How can I be careful with that and then be reckless when I'm caring for members of my church whose souls will last for eternity? Do you see the Apostle Paul's argument here? Take care. Why am I delicate with temporal things or wrecking ball with eternal things? It's no coincidence, I think, that the fruits of the Spirit
• 31:56
  include gentleness and kindness, gentility, delicacy, care, are attributes that must be ever-growing if we would fulfill this command of Scripture. And so first, he says, take care. Notice second in verse 13, and with this we end. Take action. Take action. He says in verse 13, Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat again, lest I make my brother stumble.
• 32:23
  So don't just say you care and do nothing. He says actually change your action. And Paul knew that he was allowed to eat meat sacrificed to idols. He was. He had that freedom in Christ. He could eat whatever meat he wanted. He knew that just because it was sacrificed to an idol didn't make it unclean. And yet, for the sake of his brothers, he was willing to swear off meat altogether. The apostle Paul says, I'm willing to become a vegetarian. Now listen, I don't believe that he did become a vegetarian because he said all food is clean.
• 32:53
  All food is clean, but he was careful around whom he did those things. You may ask, well, was he really saying, Danny, was he really saying that he loved people more than bacon? Yes, that's exactly what he was saying. First John chapter three and verse 18 says, my dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with action.
• 33:21
  and in truth. Don't just say you love people. He says, change your life to prove it. You know, everyone always says they love the people at their church. And I don't doubt that statement. Church, we really do. We love each other. There is a way to quantify our love. Do you prefer brothers in Christ over your freedoms in Christ? Are you willing to lay down things which you have a right to? Are you willing to lay those things down in order to prove your love for the brothers? And the greater sacrifices we make for our brothers, the greater proof.
• 33:53
  of our love could you with a clear conscience say june 21st when we all come back i love my brothers and sisters at highland baptist church 65 let me pray god thank you again for your word thank you for the clarity of it thank you for the usefulness and relevance of it god here we have a chapter on eating meat sacrifice to idols which seems not to apply at all and yet it applies perfectly
• 34:21
  to North Denver in the year 2020. God, may we be a people willing to forego our rights, to lay down our demands and our wants and our desires, and even willing to lay down our own freedoms in Christ, freedoms that we know we have in your Son, in order to honor our brothers and sisters in Christ. Make us a humble and willing people. Lord, we pray all of these things in your name. Amen.