Principles of Christian Liberty: Love and Knowledge I. Introduction A. We believe that the Scriptures have equipped us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17), and we must do all things by Christ's authority (Colossians 3:17) B. This is well and good! C. Yet many of the practices in which we engage and the means by which much of what is done in Christ's name are matters of liberty 1. Functional definition of Christian liberty: "an action allowed or permitted by God that if not performed will not be a transgression of the will of God." 2. Matters of no concern to God-- we can do them to advance His cause, but if they pose difficulties to someone, there is no sin if they are not done D. When someone cannot conscientiously perform a matter of liberty, then it should not be imposed on them, but they should not judge those who perform it (cf. Romans 14) E. Yet there is more that we must consider in terms of liberty F. 1 Corinthians 8:1 1. Knowledge is said to puff up while love builds up 2. There is a proper exercise of liberty in terms of knowledge and love, as Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 8 G. Let us consider matters of love and knowledge based in 1 Corinthians 8 and in other contexts today II. 1 Corinthians 8: Knowledge, Love, Eating Meat A. One of the difficulties in Corinth involves eating meat sacrificed to idols B. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6 1. Paul demonstrates how we who believe in Christ know that an idol is nothing and that Jesus is Lord 2. Therefore, even if meat were sacrificed to an idol, that does not mean that the meat is somehow tainted-- those offering were just wasting their effort 3. Cultural context a. As in Jerusalem, so with the pagans: people would offer sacrifices to various gods and goddesses b. The only times that anyone would bring animals in for slaughter was for said offerings c. After the meat was offered and the priests were satisfied, more often than not there was leftover meat d. That meat would be sold in the marketplace for general consumption-- and it was pretty much the only meat in town 4. Thus Paul shows that for believers who have understanding eating such meat should not be a difficulty-- there is only one Lord and God, idols do not really exist! C. 1 Corinthians 8:7-13 1. The difficulty: some may not yet have this knowledge, still have difficulties 2. They used to serve those idols, and if they were to eat the meat, they would do so in honor of the idol 3. If they stay away from such meat, and have no example of people eating that meat, all will be well 4. But if they were to see a "stronger" believer getting and eating said meat, they would believe that the believers are still honoring the idols, and their conscience would be seared 5. This was intolerable for Paul: liberty being used as a stumbling block for the truly young and/or weak 6. The young for whom Christ died are "destroyed" by this, and it should not be so 7. In fact, the "strong" brother in such circumstance sins not just against that brother but even against Christ! 8. Strong warning-- showing why it is better to avoid such things as opposed to causing difficulties! D. 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 1. Having seen the situation we return to the general principle 2. Why is it that this circumstance causes difficulties? 3. As Paul indicates, it places knowledge over love 4. Knowledge, however, puffs up-- it leads people to think more highly of themselves than they should, and can lead to people thinking they are superior 5. Yet love builds up-- it seeks the best interest of others 6. In the Kingdom, that which leads to love/humility is best (cf. 1 John 4:7-21) 7. This is evident in the circumstances here-- the strong has knowledge that there is no such thing as an idol, but their knowledge is not more important than encouraging their brother in Christ! 8. "Knowledge" must be subjected to love when the circumstances demand it! III. Other Applications A. The principle of love and knowledge in terms of Christian liberty is made evident in 1 Corinthians 8 1. We may have knowledge that a given matter is a liberty 2. Yet others, because of their circumstances and/or weakness, may be tempted to sin through the exercise of that liberty 3. They may think that we approve of a matter of idolatry or sin even though we are not using our liberty for that purpose 4. In such circumstances we must let love triumph and take care to not cause our brother to stumble because of our liberties! B. We can think of some other applications of this principle C. Alcohol 1. We may "know" that every use of alcohol is not necessarily wrong 2. It could be used in cooking, and there is no Biblical condemnation for moderate consumption, as in Bible times 3. But what if we have brethren who struggle with alcoholism, or do not have a nuanced understanding of the issue? 4. If they see us in the alcohol section of the store, or buying alcohol, and they think that they can drink like they used to and be a Christian, have we not done what the Corinthians were doing? 5. If we were to enter a bar, even if we did not intend to drink alcohol, what image would we provide to the brother who used to frequent bars? D. One could make a similar application to gambling and casinos-- even if it is not wrong to go to a casino and not gamble, what happens if someone sees us and believes that we approve of the practice? E. Holidays or practices similar to denominational practices 1. We may be able to make distinctions between spiritual and secular observances of holidays, or be able to do things in ways similar to denominations but not in the same spirit 2. But what if we have brethren who have recently come out of denominationalism? What will they think when they see our practices? Will they understand the distinctions, or will they keep acting as before? F. Distinctions between 1 Corinthians 8 and Romans 14 1. Even though love must triumph in all circumstances, and we must work to promote unity among believers, there are distinctions between 1 Corinthians 8 and Romans 14 2. The "weak" in 1 Corinthians 8 are truly weak-- if they see you practice the liberty, they may be led to believe that you are doing something in a way you are not really doing it, and do the same in sinful ways 3. The "weak" in Romans 14 do not have faith in the given practice-- if they are somehow compelled to perform the liberty, they sin against their conscience, not on the basis of the reasoning behind what they are doing 4. The "strong" must watch their practice of liberty in terms of love and knowledge in order to not cause the weak to act in sinful ways; in terms of disagreement, they watch the practice of liberty to not cause the weak to sin against their own conscience G. We can think of many other examples-- but we need to make a distinction between issues that are more akin to Romans 14 than 1 Corinthians 8 H. We must make sure that we keep our knowledge in check and to make sure that love is preeminent! IV. Conclusion A. We have liberty in many areas-- in some of them, a liberty could be misdirected and it could become sin to a fellow Christian who lacks understanding B. As Christians we must not insist on our own way (Philippians 2:1-4)-- we must think about what will build up our fellow Christians C. If the exercise of our liberty would cause a fellow Christian to stumble, we must not exercise that liberty lest we incur sin! D. Let us serve God and focus on love, remembering that knowledge puffs up, but love edifies; knowledge passes away, but love endures (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13)! E. Invitation/songbook