I have titled this sermon, “How to Handle 50 Shades of Grey”. But I hope you don’t get the wrong idea. Is it alright for a pastor to talk about fifty shades of grey from the pulpit? Well, that question itself deals with a grey area, doesn’t it? I wonder how many more jokes about grey I can get out of one sermon. Well, I don’t want to be accused of being “off color” so I think I will move on!
In this next section of his letter, Paul deals with how to handle grey areas of life. I think we can all agree that there are certain things in Scripture and in life which are either black or white. There are certain things that we know are always wrong and there are other things that are always right. But at some point, even two well-educated Christians may disagree about what actions fall into the black category and what actions fall into the white category. Thus, we talk about grey areas—areas where it is not always clear what course of action we should take.
Some people find this very uncomfortable—so much so that they want to eliminate all grey areas; they want to have rules about everything. We call such people legalists. Fundamentalism in all religions moves in the realm of legalism.
Then there are other people who seem to not be bothered at all by the grey areas of life. “No big deal,” they say, “If, in the end, such and such turns out to be a sin, don’t worry about it. God will forgive you. That’s what he’s there for.” These people we call the liberals or maybe even “the progressives”—whatever that means. The people at the extreme end of this perspective will permit almost anything without a qualm. We call that “antinomianism” which simply means “anti-law-ism”.
In the passage we are going to look at today from 1 Corinthians 8, we are going to see Paul, once again, steering a middle course between two extremes. In this chapter he sides neither with the legalists nor the permissive folks. Let’s see what he has to say. And as we do so, listen for God’s word to you from 1 Corinthians 8…
Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. But whoever loves God is known by God. So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.
The cultural context:
food sacrificed to idols
Before we say anything else about this chapter, we must understand what was going on in pagan worship in first century Corinth and throughout the Roman Empire. Animal sacrifices were made in the temples of various pagan gods and goddesses. Part of the meat from the sacrifice was burnt on the altar of the temple in question. A second part of the meat would be eaten in various temple ceremonies. And the rest of the meat would be sold in the marketplace for eating at home.
In the past, many of the new Christians in Corinth would have worshipped in a pagan temple of one sort or another. Eating meat sacrificed to the pagan gods would have been a common occurrence in their former life. Many trade guilds held banquets in pagan temples where they would eat meat sacrificed to pagan gods. And so naturally, the Corinthian Christians asked Paul: is it alright to eat meat sacrificed to these other gods?
Now of course, we are not faced with this problem as Christians in the United States today. However, the principles Paul lays out can, I believe, guide us regarding other issues. So let us look at these principles one by one…
The overriding principle: love builds up (8:1-3)
In verses one to three Paul is responding to another Corinthian slogan, just as he has responded to other slogans earlier in the letter. Some in Corinth have apparently said to Paul, “We all possess knowledge.” In other words, we know that these idols, and the pagan gods they represent are not really gods at all.
The Corinthians prided themselves on their knowledge. We have already encountered this in our study of this letter. They thought they had wisdom. Here Paul questions the value of what some in Corinth prided themselves on. Knowledge, he says, puffs up. In other words, knowledge makes us prideful.
Was Paul, therefore, against knowledge, against learning? I do not think so. Throughout his letters he commends learning from Scripture. Paul himself was a learned man. So, what I think he is saying here is that knowledge alone is not enough. If all we have is knowledge, then we will be prideful.
So, what is the solution to this problem? Paul says that love is the solution; love builds up whereas knowledge merely puffs up. If one must choose between seeking knowledge or loving others, then it is best to love others. Of course, it is good to have both love and knowledge, but love is the most important. Paul will exalt love as the greatest virtue when we get to 1 Corinthians 13.
Paul says, “Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know.” In other words, we need to be careful of thinking that we have life all figured out. We don’t.
I think one of the hardest things for educated people to do is to admit what they don’t know. But to make such an admission is a sign of true Christian humility.
How about being willing to say, “I could be wrong.” Such an acknowledgement is consistent with the fact that our human knowledge is not exhaustive. Only God knows all. And one of the things God knows is us.
Paul makes an amazing and beautiful statement here… He says, “But whoever loves God is known by God.” In other words, what matters is not so much our knowledge of God but his knowledge of us.
The fundamental truth: there is one God (8:4-6)
In verses four to six Paul gives us a second principle to guide our lives; it is the one fundamental truth that there is one God.
In these verses, Paul is, once again, responding to a slogan he has heard from the Corinthians. They have said, “An idol is nothing at all in the world.” And they are also saying, “There is no God but one.”
Paul agrees with them on these points. He says in effect, “Of course there are many entities which non-Christians believe to be gods or lords. But for us there is only one God.”
Paul then goes a step further. He makes an amazing statement about this one true God. Paul says that God is our Father. This was a unique Christian statement. No Jew before Jesus ever addressed God as “Abba”—Daddy. Jesus not only addressed God in this way, but he also taught his disciples, he taught us, to do the same. That is radical.
Furthermore, this God, who is our Father, is the One from whom all things came and for whom we live. This is basic theism. God is the creator, preserver, and governor of all things. He not only created the universe, but he continues to be actively involved in that universe. And so, it is for him that we live. In him we find our purpose, our meaning.
As if this were not radical enough, Paul goes on to make an even more distinctly Christian confession. He says, “and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.”
Not only do all things come from God the Father, but all things also come through God the Son. That title, “Lord”, given to Jesus by the first Christians, was the same title, “Adonai”, used in place of the personal name for God, “Yahweh”, by the Jews.
So, Paul speaks of Jesus as divine. Furthermore, Paul says that as God, the Son was involved in creation. John has a similar confession at the beginning of his Gospel…
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
Then a few verses later John tells us that this Word became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth. Jesus is the Word, the Logos, the reasoning power behind the universe. This is essential Trinitarian doctrine—that the Son of God has always existed and even participated in creation. Then, at a certain point in history, he took on human flesh in Jesus of Nazareth.
Not only that is true, but through this same Jesus—we live! The words that Paul quotes in Acts could be applied to Jesus… “In him we live and move and have our being.” If you want to know what real life is, life abundant and everlasting, then come to Jesus Christ in faith.
The supreme consideration: the person for whom Christ died (8:7-13)
This distinctly Christian confession on Paul’s part leads to a third essential thing that he tells us in verses 7 through 13. He tells us that our supreme consideration in life should be for the person for whom Christ died.
Just when the sloganeers in Corinth think they are safe, Paul turns the tables on them. I believe Paul was very good at doing this in his rhetoric. I don’t know where he learned this technique, but he has it down!
The sloganeers think, “Paul agrees with us! We are safe! All is well!” And then Paul turns things around and asks, “But have you thought about this?”
“Not everyone possesses knowledge,” Paul says. “You may understand that an idol is really nothing. But there are some people in Corinth who are so accustomed in their past life to idols that when they eat sacrificial food, they think of it as having been sacrificed to a real god, and since their conscience is weak, they are defiled.”
In other words, there are some supposed strong people in Corinth who flaunt their freedom by willy-nilly eating food sacrificed to idols wherever they want to do it—whether that be in a temple or in their own homes. And these supposed “strong ones” are egging on “the weak” to do the same. But when the weak violate their conscience, they think they are sinning, and they do spiritual damage to themselves.
Paul agrees with the sloganeers in Corinth that eating food sacrificed to an idol is not sinful, in and of itself. Food does not bring us nearer to God, nor does it keep us away from God. Jesus said the same thing. However, Paul is also saying that if one thinks it is sinful to eat a certain food, then for that person it is. Paul would always encourage us to follow our conscience. And he would also encourage us to educate our conscience. As Martin Luther said, “My conscience is held captive to the Word of God.”
In the Congregational Church, as with many other Protestants, liberty of conscience is a very important principle. That principle was summed up in the Westminster Confession of Faith written in the 1600s… “God alone is Lord of the conscience; and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men, which are, in anything, contrary to His Word; or beside it, in matters of faith, or worship.”
So, we are free, as Christians to follow our own consciences. But we must be careful that the exercise of our freedom does not cause our brother or sister in Christ to stumble.
Let me give you an example. Some Christians think it is always wrong to drink alcohol. Other Christians, like C. S. Lewis, do not think it is wrong to drink alcohol. But C. S. Lewis had an alcoholic brother named Warren. Even though Lewis knew it was ok for him to drink alcohol, because he could do it in moderation, he also knew it would be a problem for his brother. Both Lewis and his brother were members of a literary group called The Inklings. This group met in Lewis’s college rooms every Thursday night and they would read their works in progress to one another. It was a normal thing for this group to drink alcohol at such meetings. But when Lewis knew his brother was going to be present, he served tea instead of beer. He did not want to use his conscientious freedom in such a way that would cause his brother to stumble. Lewis knew quite well that what is safe for one person to do is not always safe for another.
This leads me to pose the question…
What about contemporary grey areas?
I can imagine what you have been thinking throughout this entire sermon. The whole question about whether it is ok for Christians to eat food sacrificed to idols seems like a mere matter of historical curiosity. What does 1 Corinthians 8 have to do with us today?
Well, as I suggested at the beginning of this message, even though we are not dealing today with the question of eating food sacrificed to idols, we do have some grey areas of our own to contend with. And perhaps Paul’s principles can guide us in our own struggles.
For example, consider these questions… Is it alright for a Christian to drink alcohol? Or gamble? Or buy a lottery ticket? Or get a tattoo? Or watch an “R-rated” movie? Or how about what used to be called an “X-rated” movie? Or what about smoking—either cigarettes or marijuana?
I could go on and on. To give you an example… when Becky and I got engaged, she wanted to have our wedding ceremony in the Presbyterian church where she grew up. I, of course, supported her in that choice. But when we decided to have our wedding reception in the fellowship hall of that same church, I was disappointed to discover that they did not allow either alcohol or dancing. I had grown up in a family where every wedding was a big celebration. What was a wedding without drinking and dancing? If we had our wedding reception at an Episcopal Church, I imagine we could have had both drinking and dancing!
Now, I can imagine how some of you have felt in your heart of hearts as I have mentioned each one of these “grey areas”. Some of you are thinking, “Well, I don’t think that area is grey at all. That is always wrong for a Christian.” And others of you have been thinking, “What’s the big deal?” So, you see, we tend to the same extremes in our day. And we probably can’t even agree in this friendly group about what all the black, white, and grey areas are.
So, what are we to do? Paul tells us. LOVE—that’s the most important thing we are to do. No matter what. Love the person you disagree with most vehemently.
Secondly, remember what is most important. “What’s that?” you ask. Well, it’s the fact that there is only one God. All other issues are secondary at best. I think I have told you before about my friend in seminary who had a poster in his dorm room. The poster said: “There are two principles of enlightenment. #1: There is a God. #2: You are not God.”
And the third thing we need to keep in mind as we navigate the grey areas of life is this: what is best, not for me, but for others? What is best, especially for the other person for whom Christ died? If we focus on doing that, then we will be fulfilling the most important law there is: the law of love. And we will be pleasing the God of love revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ.
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