Will you take your copy of the Bible and turn with me to the book of 1st Corinthians today 1st Corinthians chapter 8 The chapter we're going to look at this morning is one that has been studied and restudied, rehashed, redefined, and used by many people for a lot of different things. We're just going to seek to read it as the Bible gives it, try to understand it as Paul intended, and make some applications to our life this morning. It's a matter of disagreement in the church, and so shock of all shocks, it needs to be addressed. Look with me at 1 Corinthians 8, verse four. We'll read it and then pray and then jump into the message here. It says, as concerning therefore the eating of those things which are offered in sacrifice unto idols. We know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is none other God but one. Let's pray together. Father, now as we look to your word, open our eyes to your truth. We're going to need help today by your Holy Spirit. to understand what this passage is saying, but what you're saying to us. Though written thousands of years ago, your word is living, it's breathing, and you speak to us today through it. Your voice, right now, will speak to us. So help us to hear it, in Jesus' name, amen. What do Christians do when they disagree? What have you seen them do when they disagree? Do they close up? Do they speak up? Do they storm off? Do they scream out? Or do they sit down and seek the mind of God together at a table? What happens to churches when Christians disagree? Many a Christian, many people in our world today, many people who are in churches this morning may be sitting in the auditorium where they've got one foot out the door. On the top of their head and the tip of their tongue is the expression, if this church ever, whatever, I will leave. I'm out of here. I'm gone. Most Christians with conflicting opinions leave. We're gonna find this morning how Christians respond to disagreements will in many ways preach a louder message to a lost community than the gospel we share. My wife recently purchased for pennies, I think it was 50 cents, she bought a cardboard cottage. She bought it thinking of her second graders that she teaches every day. But my daughters were gonna have nothing to do with that. And so this cardboard cottage was collected. And over the Christmas holiday, we had a number of people, while watching TV or a movie, listening to Christmas music, they pulled out pieces of this cardboard cottage and began to color it. Even little Beatrice, my granddaughter, had a hand in the cardboard cottage. sitting in my back room today, and honestly, they did a really good job. It's beautiful, multicolored. A lot of work went into it, a lot of time. I mean, hours went into coloring this, what was once just white cardboard with the drawings of a cottage, and then colored beautifully, and then assembled and put together. My dog has been inside before, as has my granddaughter. It's a little playhouse for kids. Now, in many ways, that cardboard cottage reminds me of the local church. Many hands taking part, coming together to make something beautiful. There's only one problem with a cardboard cottage. It's cardboard. I'm not planning on keeping it forever. In fact, this morning, I was letting the dog out and thinking to myself, it's time to throw that away. It's temporary, it's disposable. And for many a Christian, their view of the local church is no different. This will meet my needs for today, but if there's a problem, I'm done with it. It's temporary. You're gonna find in the word of God, that is not how God views the local church. That is not what you're going to find the Apostle Paul saying about the local church. God offers help. for the discussion of believers who sometimes disagree. It's gonna happen. It's a fact of life. There's gonna be perspectives that you have that somebody else doesn't hold, or doesn't hold them yet, or doesn't hold them anymore. The local church in the New Testament is not a corporation or an organization. The scriptures describe the church like a body, a bride, a temple for worship. a building, a family, and even a flock. Never once does the New Testament define a local church as a grenade ready to blow as soon as the pin is pulled. The word used to describe the church in the New Testament is ecclesia. It's a secular term pulled from the marketplace. It speaks about a group of people who are called out for the purpose of conducting business together. It's a secular term that is sanctified by the Holy Spirit of God who inspired it to be used to describe what we are and who we are, what we're doing today. We are ecclesia, where people called out from an unbelieving world, called unto God, set apart for Him and His glory, set apart to worship Him, to serve Him, to pray to Him, to tell others about Him. Together, that's what church is. That's what the church is to be. So in 1 Corinthians chapter eight, Paul's answering some questions, and he's answering a question that was given to him by a volatile congregation. In many ways, it was like a grenade, right? And how he would answer this question may or may not pull the pin. It may make, or break this body. Would you be surprised though as these people bring Paul this point of contention, this disagreement. Never once does he suggest or counsel that disagreeing members depart, start a new church. Never once does he dismiss this issue as something trivial, something inconsequential. What the Apostle Paul does is simply this, okay? In one chapter, 13 verses in our Bible here, he simplifies the issue. And the issue is this. There were those who, before they were saved, had worshiped idols. And they lived in a community of idolatry. A lot of idol worship in Corinth. And there were those who had grown up either bringing sacrifices to these idol temples or a group of families that did that. They participated in festivals or weddings where the meat that had been offered to these idols, some was taken and it was burned up as an offering, some was given to the priests of those temples, those idol temples. Some would be maybe taken home by the people who gave it, and others would be taken to a marketplace and sold, sold in the markets. And there were those who, before they were saved, had worshiped idols. And the thought of eating meat that had been given to these false idols was unthinkable. How could someone who is a believer in Jesus Christ, someone who has been saved by God's grace, saved from sin and saved from idolatry, how could a Christian ever dream of eating that meat? So Paul's gonna answer this question. And to do that, he does two things. He simplifies the issue. He helps us just to, he gives, an understanding of what is really taking place here, and then he sees potential pitfalls. That's a good idea for all of us in debatable issues. Simplify the issue, what is it essentially, and then see the potential pitfalls. But Paul took this issue very, very seriously. Before conversion, Paul was not an idol worshiper. He was a follower of Jehovah God. He was not a believer in Jesus Christ. He was a persecutor of Christians. But what they were doing wasn't something that Paul had done. It wasn't his context, but it was theirs. He took this issue seriously. He took this church, that church there in Corinth, and this church, by the way, the Holy Spirit does, he took that church very seriously. And most importantly, he took Christ and Christ's place in the church very seriously. And so he answers their question. Christians can find solutions, do you know that? We can find solutions and we have for us the written word of God. The revelation of God inspired by the spirit that is profitable for us. God gives us everything we need for life and godliness and he entrusts to us a more sure word, this book, the Bible. Now, Corinthian worship is interesting. I have a book in my office that talks about ancient Corinth, and it has a map in the back page. And as you look over what was taking place in the central district of Corinth, you're gonna find not just one temple for worship, but about a dozen. There was a temple to Aphrodite or Venus. There's a temple to Apollos. There's a temple to Neptune. There's a temple to Atlas, I believe. and maybe one to zoos, I don't remember. But as I was looking through those, they're all over the city. So it wasn't like, okay, here's this one particular area of the city where everybody does their idol worship. No, it was everywhere. It was sprinkled throughout the city. And even their coliseum that was used for theaters and for athletic events, even that was dedicated to idols. When I think of idols, sometimes I think of some rough, scratched out, ugly little thing. Maybe you think of some of the gods that they would worship in Hinduism with 76 arms coming off and all these eyeballs. The gods that were being worshipped in Corinth were actually beautiful, beautiful statues. And you look at Venus, maybe what you're familiar with, the picture of Venus, that was actually, that was what they had carved, and that's where they worshipped. And so these temples were set up, they had beautiful columns, they were there to inspire awe in the worship, there was a statue to be worshipped, there was an altar, but it was sprinkled throughout the city. And then around those temples were markets. Shops would be set up. And in those shops, some of them, They were selling meat. And the meat had been offered to idols. Now, you may not pay attention to it. We don't think much about it probably in Lima, Ohio in 2025. There is a Mexican restaurant in town. I won't tell you which one. But at the cash register, they have a Buddha. Kind of unusual. There's a Chinese restaurant in town. And next to the idols in the top shelf, they have bowls of fresh fruit. They're not serving those. I mean, they are actually, as far as I can tell, offering these gifts to idols in the presence of their restaurant. Now you don't think about that, that probably wasn't your background. There may be those who are here today or those in our community that have grown up in idol-worshiping homes. In 1 Corinthians 10, we're going to get to in a couple of weeks, the Apostle Paul says, you know, idols are not trivial issues. While we know they're just stone or wood, they're made by human hands, many times demons are behind them. and are infusing their worship. So as Paul is writing this letter, he's talking to a people who knew what he was talking about. This wasn't like, what scandal is this? No, they were all familiar with the issue. And so he's writing this letter and he's addressing this question in the presence of those who were Christians who say, there's no problem with me eating that, I don't worship that. In the presence of people who say, you better not, you dare not, how could you do that? And they were all in the same congregation. So as he writes this letter, they're all getting it. So I'm gonna kind of walk through the passage and give some thoughts here. Paul gives three arguments to the Corinthian Christians to consider in regard to meat offered to idols. Let's begin at verse one. He says, now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. If any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing, yet as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the same is known of him. Now, beginning with verse four, we have the first argument. As concerning, therefore, the eating of those things which are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing. in the world, and that there is none other God but one. First argument, number one. Here's what he's going to present. Here's how he's simplifying the issue. Argument number one. Are you ready? An idol is nothing. We know that. It's nothing. It doesn't have inherent power or value. It's nothing. That's what he says. Argument number two. Comes at the end of verse four, and then continues through verse six. He says, There is none other God but one. So argument number two, there is only one God. There's only one. Argument number one, an idol is nothing. Number two, there's only one God. Look at verse five. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be gods many and lords many, but to us, verse six, there is but one God. the father of whom are all things and we in him and one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we by him so simply put number two there is but one God and he addresses Jesus Christ who is the agent that God would use to create all that is all the things that we are still discovering in the universe and in the sea Jesus Christ was the agent by which God the Father created all things. An idol is nothing. There's only one God. Number three, we're gonna find in verse seven. Meat offered to nothing is nothing. He says, how be it? There is not in every man that knowledge. For some, with conscience of the idol, unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol, and their consciences, being weak, is defiled. Meat that's offered to nothing is nothing. Look at verse eight. But meat commendeth us not to God. So here it is, there are those who believe that idols are real, and there are those who believe that eating meat that has been offered to idols is an act of worship. There are those, even those who were believers, who still thought this. Sometimes when we think of idolatry. Now, the city of Corinth, there were those who would go to Neptune because they wanted success in the sea. There's another god for success in harvest. They would go to Venus, the goddess of fertility, to have children. And a lot of immoral practices were happening there. Apollos for strength. They would go to different, just like maybe some, Some churches may have different saints that you would have for different needs, you know, the saint that you stick to your car for safety and travel, or the saint you take in your boat, okay. Kind of the same concept is what, in the city of Corinth here, they had many places for many different reasons. It was a shipping hub, and so there's two ports of entry on either side. It was a place of prosperity, a place of intelligent success, it was a place of culture, It was a place of, by the way, when we think of idolatry, maybe you're thinking of, you know, Elijah and the prophets of Baal cutting themselves. This was a more dignified kind of worship. They were singing, actually, hymns to their idols. I mean, these were high class, highfalutin idol worshipers in this city. So this is taking place all around, and the meat was a part of it. There were some who would bring little idols to bring as their offering, and there were other things that people would do as a sacrifice. But many of them had some kind of a blood sacrifice. Praise God, Jesus Christ is the only sacrifice we need. But there were those, right, who came and they would bring their goats, and they would bring their sheep, and they would bring their cattle to be sacrificed. So we understand meat that was offered to nothing is nothing. So they bring in their cow and it's cut up. It's divided and cooked up. That meat, if the idol is nothing, the meat is nothing. The fourth argument he gives in the second part of verse eight. He says, for neither if we eat it are we the better, neither if we eat it not are we the worse. So eating, number four, eating it cannot defile you. eating meat that's been offered to nothing cannot defile you. Now all of these arguments are true. He simplified the issue. Why doesn't he just wrap it up right here? Because there's still a conflict in the church. Not everybody was on the same page. And not everybody who is hearing this has come to truly understand the significance of what he is saying. For the Apostle Paul saying it will not settle the issue. Maybe for those who were more mature Christians, repeating it over and over again is not going to settle the issue. Shouting it, making it really loud, printing it off and plastering it to the front of the assembly where the people gathered to worship God, that's not gonna settle the issue. Posting it on social media, preaching it, printing it, it's not gonna solve the issue, why? Look with me at verse one. Now as touching things offered to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Perhaps that was included in the statement that they sent the Apostle Paul when they asked this question. We all know this, okay? But what does he say? Knowledge puffeth out, but charity edifieth. So the Apostle Paul says having the knowledge, having the facts, having the information is not going to resolve the conflict within the church from among the church people. Just having the right answer at this time isn't going to be enough. Something else was needed. Now, Paul had an opinion on this. Now, he didn't grow up in an idol-worshipping home. About six years earlier, the Jerusalem Council met. We find about this in Acts chapter 15. And they came to some conclusions about several things. And one of those things that they came to a conclusion was meat offered to idols. And essentially, they said, you know, the Holy Spirit has confirmed amongst this group of pastors, don't do it. Don't eat meat offered to idols. Paul had an opinion on the issue. But Paul isn't gonna say, I'm gonna pull my apostle card here, I'm gonna let you all know, this is what needs to happen, it needs to happen right now. Paul is an unusually patient man here. He had a heart for these people, he loved every one of them. His desire wasn't to divide the church, his desire was to unite them around Jesus Christ. And how will he do that? I'm gonna give you three thoughts this morning, I believe that Paul shows here, that we can learn from. Something for us to consider when we're faced with disagreements in the church. When you disagree with another believer. Number one, allow God's word to work. Look what it says in verse six. But to us. The apostle Paul is appealing to those who had been believers, who had come to understand some things about God. He explains, there's one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we are in Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him. Okay, that's the plain fact. He says, we know this. But look at verse seven, how be it? There is not in every man that knowledge. Not everybody completely understands that. Not only was this part of their culture, I mean it was part of their heritage. Long before this was a Roman city, it had been a Greek city. And a lot of the artifacts that we find, we can go back and find artifacts from the Roman era, but we can also go back and find it from the Greek. And some of those old Greek statues and some of those Greek temples for worship had been rebuilt by the Romans. This was a big deal. This was a part of not just their belief system, but it was a part of their culture, right? So there were people who had trusted Christ genuinely. They were born from above. They had new life in Jesus Christ. You say, well, just get over it. Quit thinking that idols are of value. But the Apostle Paul doesn't go there. What does he say? In verse six we find, Allow God's word to work because God is greater. God is God and God will stand the test of time. His truth will prevail. God is greater. But in verse seven, we find that growth takes time. God's work to grow you may be different than his work to grow the person next to you or in front of you or behind you or the one preaching to you. Growth takes time and God has his own timetable. The best truth that you can live is the truth that you grab hold of, that God has revealed to you. You have embraced it, you have tasted it. Many of you were in church long before you trusted Christ. You gathered a lot of head knowledge. And when you trusted Christ, it didn't mean that you forgot all those things, but you needed to build upon those. But even as a Christian, there may be a lot of things that you have heard or been aware of that you haven't completely embraced. The Apostle Paul here is encouraging all the church to remember that God does his work in his way in his time. It's very easy for us to be critical of other people and think that they should be further along than they are until we remember how slow it was for us to grow. Now some of you, maybe you took off and there was, I mean, you grew like nobody's business. You were hungry for the word. You devoured it and you obeyed everything you were given. Other people, you know, flim flammed a little bit. Drifted around a little bit. Number one, the Apostle Paul's giving this explanation. I want you to take this to heart. It's important for you and I to remember this as well. Allow God's word to work. Let God's word do the work. Because growth takes time. And God is greater. Number two, we come to in verse nine. Evaluate your liberty. He says, but take heed. Okay, so he had finished his four arguments. Here are the things you need to consider. But then he says, watch out, okay? Pay special attention to this. Take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak. Idols are nothing. Eating meat offered to nothing is nothing. So what's the big deal? I mean, You go to the store. I mean, my place to buy meat in Lima is Sam's. You may, maybe Meijer for you, or Keystone, or Meat City. I've never been in Meat City, but I like the name, you know, Meat City. And if I go to Sam's Club, and I'm looking, and sometimes as my eyes scan, you know, I see these orange tags, you know, like reduced. I'm like, hmm. That's a pack of three ribeyes, which was $65. And it's reduced to $18. Hmm. You evaluate the color. You're like, it's probably still good, you know. But it's a ribeye, you know. Some piece of choice meat. And you're looking over it, and let's just say there was a section at Sam's Club, and all of the finest of meats was in a little section entitled, meat that had been offered to idols. And it was the best meat at the best price, and it was fresh, and it was great. And over there, you're not sure how old that pig was before they slaughtered it. And you're not so sure about, ah, that's kinda green. You take it out of the store, and it looks a little different in the sunlight. Oh, what did we just buy? Little nervous about that one. What are you going to do? So for some, there's a sense of economy, like this would be a good deal. Some as a taste for good meat, good quality meat. Most of us here are bargain shoppers. We look for good deals. Some of you make your way on a weekly trek out to Stites to find the deals, right? We have places around where you can, and we do that, right? We alter our patterns of life because we want the best thing for the best price. So not only were they buying this meat from the markets, but there were also those who They would have community festivals, just like we celebrate whatever Memorial Day, Labor Day, Fourth of July, and we have annual festivals, we gather together. The inauguration this past week was for many people, some people got the day off, it was a day of celebration. The Buckeye win came a little later on, you know, those were whoo-hoo, days of celebration. And in this community, in the city of Corinth, they would have community festivities, and part of that was included on a long table with food presented that had been previously offered to idols. If you went to a wedding, it may not be at a neutral venue, it probably wasn't in a church building, because they didn't have them, but they did use those temples. And so you might go to your cousin's wedding, and you're there, and they serve you pate. I don't recommend it, I only tried it once at a wedding when I was a kid. It looked like chocolate mousse, and it wasn't. But you're there, and they serve you, and this is wonderful. Oh, the smell. Oh, how good that looks. It's gotta taste great. And as a Christian, you're like, meat offered to idol? Idol's nothing. Meat offered to nothing is nothing. What's the big deal? And so you're there. You're enjoying your time with your family. You're praying for the conversion of your lost relatives. But you're enjoying this festivity. But there are those, new Christians in the church, In their background, they weren't just visiting that for a wedding, they were there worshiping. That was their God. That God, that false God, usurped view of the one true God. When they came to faith in Jesus Christ and humbled themselves before the cross, they understood that that idol worship had been sin, and that Jesus, by his grace, had given them forgiveness for their sin. They had been set free by the gospel of Jesus Christ, hallelujah. And they're walking through the market doing their everyday business. And there you are sitting at the wedding feast. They're not, surely they're not gonna, they'll probably leave before the food is served, right? Well, it's sitting there at their spot. They wouldn't, they wouldn't eat that. Well, if Joe Schmo, mature Christian, is eating it. Now, for many, idolatry was something they would seek for success. If you've ever been a part of a place or gone to a place in the world where they do worship idols still today, you'll find another truth, okay? I've not found this necessarily in this passage, but just by observation, Those who are a part of animistic religions usually are plagued by fear. And it's not just a good luck charm to give you prosperity. That's not the only reason they're worshiping the idols. They're living in terror and fear of the attacks of darkness. And so, let's just say this person who was watching Joe Schmo over there, Next weekend they're at a funeral for grandma. What am I gonna do? Food comes out and set in front of you. Did they believe on Jesus? Yes. Are they genuinely saved? Yes. But they're wrestling because in their heart, they feel like eating this is gonna keep them from the forces of darkness. Or maybe perhaps they're thinking eating this is gonna ensure some kind of success in my business or my future or my trade. And for them, they don't show up to the gathering of believers next week. And they're wrestling through this like, I don't know. Is following Jesus really worth it? Is that really a thing? Maybe I can just kind of mix together Which, by the way, was a Corinthian tradition. Many of the people in the city were taking pieces of different religions and they put them together in these cults. And maybe we just amalgamize Christianity with this and they find themselves in a spiritual struggle. How do we, as maturing believers, who don't believe in idols and don't believe it makes any difference to eat the meat that's been offered to idols, how do we respond? Well, verse nine, he says, evaluate your liberty. Take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak. You ever tripped? You ever tripped over a stumbling block? I was 13, rode my bike over a elevated section of sidewalk, went over it, scraped my face off, docked my teeth out. I still live with the consequences of a stumbling block. There are those, Christians, who can live their life thoughtlessly of others and say, I have all the liberty in the world to do whatever I want, with no thought to the fact they're leaving a stumbling block behind them that's gonna leave other people broken for years. So the matter of a stumbling block is no trivial issue, it's serious. And so the apostle Paul says, take heed, watch out, be careful, be aware. Ask yourself, am I causing stumbling? Continue on, verse 10. For if any man see that which hath knowledge, sit at me in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols. And the word weak here, don't think of necessarily spiritually weak. Think of somebody who's scrupulous, who's intent, who is examining their life with a pencil and a calculator and they want to make sure that they're pleasing the Lord. That's kind of the idea. They're new Christians and they want to do what's right. They want to please God. And he says in verse 11, and through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died. And that word perish isn't talking about dying and going to hell. He's talking about bringing them to a place of spiritual ruin, difficulty, struggle, because of the choices you made. But the apostle Paul in verse 12 turns their attention to Jesus Christ. Sometimes we talk about debatable issues and we can talk about this point or that point or how we interpret this passage. Everything changes when Jesus Christ comes to the conversation, amen? Because Jesus Christ and what he has done for us is all that matters. And he says, look at these people. You're making these choices and you're causing your brother to stumble. But not only that, he says you're actually causing him to sin, look at verse 12, but when ye sin, so against the brethren, ye wound their conscience, ye sin against Christ. You're causing these people to go against their conscience, but you, in causing them to stumble and slip, you are actually sinning. Jesus died for these people. He loves these people. He wants them to grow. You say, well, they're wrong. They're just wrong. But how do you approach them? They haven't come to what you have come to yet. Allow God's word to work. Number two, evaluate your liberty. Number three, leave room for love. We go back to verse one. As touching things offered to idols, we know that we have knowledge. Knowledge poppeth up, but, notice this, underline it, circle it, highlight it, let it dance off the page at you, okay? Charity edifieth. But charity, edify, love helps growth. Knowledge puffs up. Love builds up. You can be puffed up with all the knowledge in the world and be as hollow as a balloon, but love is solid. It's substantial. It accomplishes God's work. It builds up. other Christians to be more like Jesus Christ. What happens if Christian A wants to disciple Christian B? Christian A knows that an idol is nothing, knows that the meat is nothing. He's come to that knowledge. Disciple B hasn't come to that knowledge yet. Disciple number A is operating from a vantage point of pride. And he comes over here, and he's gonna set him straight. But will it? Will he grow? Is he allowing God's Word to do the work? Is he allowing maturity to take place on God's timetable? Is he operating from an attitude of arrogance or one of love? The Apostle Paul appeals for the latter. You lead through love. Love helps growth, number one, but we also find love lets go. Look at verse three with me. But if any man love God, the same is known of him. You know what? Those of you who are saved today, you've received Jesus Christ as your Savior, God's put in you a love for him. And you know he loves you. You know that. That's what he's saying here. It's a given. And if God loves you, that means he loves me. And he loves other brothers and sisters in Christ. Not just in this church, but anywhere where the gospel of God is preached and true believers gather together to worship him. Guess what? Those people are loved by God. It's good to realize that. It's good to remember that. And so are you. You're loved by him. But look at verse 13 with me, the last verse in this chapter. He says, and essentially, love lets go. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, if I'm gonna cause my brother to stumble or slip, he says, I will eat no flesh. While the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. Paul takes a drastic measure. He says, I will go so far as to say, if me not eating any meat is gonna keep young Christians from growing. If it's gonna help young Christians grow, I'll not eat any meat. Paul was a red-blooded man. He liked meat like many of you men do here. He worked hard and he saw God provide daily bread for him and daily meat for him. But he says, I'm willing to go all out vegetarian if I have to because I don't want, under any circumstance, a choice that I make in my life to trample on the young conscience of a Christian, a young Christian who doesn't understand. When you and I have disagreements, where do we go? How do we seek to solve them? YouTube? Podcasts? Online sermon series? The bookstore? And what are we usually looking for? Well, if they disagree with me, they are obviously wrong. So I need what? Ammunition. I need to show them how right I am and how wrong they are. What are we looking for? We're looking for someone to agree with us, Are we looking for just the right answer to put them in their place? Ha, gotcha, gotcha. Are we looking for a reason to leave our church? When we have disagreements, the very first place you need to go is to the Lord Jesus Christ. And to find him, you go to his word. Paul has given answers to questions and he has pointed them to precept, that's what the word of God says. He's pointed them to principles, it's what the Word of God means, it's applications of truths that cover topics that aren't addressed in Scripture. He points them to the purposes of God, or last week I mentioned passion. But again, always rooted in Scripture, okay? It's not for you and I to dream up what we think God would do. Well, I just think God would, oh, no, no, no. What does God's word say? What are the purposes of God? But lastly, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Where do we find out about the Lord Jesus Christ? We go to the word. And the Apostle Paul is appealing to this group of believers of varied beliefs, and he ultimately is pointing them to Jesus Christ, to the gospel. Okay, all right, Pastor, 2025, are you gonna tell us? So what is the meat? Some of you have been taught something before. It was this issue or that issue. Some have said, well, obviously he's talking about drinking, or obviously he's talking about Christian music. No, you know what the meat is? It's meat. If you want to best interpret what the Bible has to say, you know what meat is? It's meat. You're gonna find in your Christian life the greatest blessing is other Christians. The thing that you'll experience day by day I was talking to a nephew of mine this week. I was chatting with him for his birthday, and he said, they're in a location where they're a church that just meets one service a week, and he has to work every other Sunday. And he said, I just, I feel so removed. I'd like to be more engaged with the church family. They just don't have anything offering where we can gather together. It's important for you and I to understand, hey, being with other Christians is a blessing. It isn't just something we show up to. We show up and shine. We gather. We call this a church, but it's a community. It's an ecclesia. It's more than the structures, right? It's us, it's the saints. And as we gather together, you're gonna find some of the greatest blessings you'll experience in your own personal Christian life are other Christians, as well as some of the greatest challenges. The thing that might cause you to leave sleep or give you knots in your stomach might be the choices of other Christians. How a disagreement has divided you in another saint. I wanna give you three principles as we conclude here this morning. Number one, men were the issue, not the meat. The issue wasn't the meat in this passage, it was the men. Paul was turning the eyes of the Corinthians to Christ first of all, but then to people, to see them as they are, who they are before the Lord. Men were not the issue, excuse me, men were the issue, not the meat. Number two, Christ died for those you disagree with. Christ died for them. They're part of your body, your flock. They're part of the same temple we learned about earlier in chapter three, it's to worship God. Christ died for those you disagree with. Number three, Christian liberty gives freedom to love. You have Christian liberty in Jesus Christ to recklessly love one another. Isn't that great? You're free to love. You're free to live your life in such a way to demonstrate God's love to one another. And everybody's at different stages, right? We don't all know the same things. Some people know a lot, but there's not a whole lot going on today in their heart. They learned it once upon a time. But they're not walking with Jesus much right now. They're not talking to him in prayer. They've got all they need. I've got sufficient knowledge. I just bring my Bible to church and open it there. I don't need it any other time of the week. I know enough. There's not much of a spiritual pulse going on. You've got one, but it's barely beaten. There's others who are brand new Christians. They don't know anything. but they love Jesus, and they are excited, and they want to gather with God's people whenever they meet. I mean, they come on Sunday night. They show up on Wednesday night, like, I'm here to pray. Who's here? Because I'm serious. I'm serious about God. I don't know anything, but I want to grow. And you know what? God gives each of us the liberty to demonstrate love to people who have all different statures spiritually. Is there an attitude that you carry towards Christians who are on a different page than you? Is there an attitude you carry towards Christians who are on a different page than you? Could I suggest by Paul's words that that might be because of pride? Do you spend your time as a secret agent, scrolling surveillance? Aha, I knew that's what they did in their free time. And all of a sudden, your head swells. Your holiness exudes. I'm so godly. They are so wicked. Does that draw you closer to Jesus Christ? Or does what you see sometimes with other Christians break your heart? Does it give you a greater burden for Christ and what He can do by His gospel? Are there Christians who are struggling today with some things that you think, Get over it, come on now. This is what the Bible says, just do it. And they're not there yet. They're trying to figure it out. Do we have time in our church schedule, in our Christian life, to lovingly talk to people, answer questions? Kind of the unstated thing that's happening in the Church of Corinth is these people have spent enough time with each other to know each other. To know what they did outside of the church fellowships. It's kind of taken for granted for us, but what they have of church was not just a performance on a weekly basis. These were people who were integrated in one another's lives. That's a beautiful picture for us of what God has called us to be. We're to work at that. We're to interject ourselves in each other's lives. If they don't answer the door when you ring the doorbell, keep knocking, keep ringing. Show up with a casserole next time. Love them. The church is called to sing, to pray, to serve, to struggle together. Our calling card to our community is not what we're against or what we're for, but who we're for. His name's Jesus and how he infuses our family with his love. Let me just share what Jesus said in the matter. John 13, 34 says, A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. And then he says in verse 35, By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another. You may be here this morning, you say, okay, you're talking about Christians, you're talking about church. I don't know much about that. I know I have a need spiritually. I know I'm not perfect. And I do understand today that I have failed God. To you, I'd remind you today, I wanna encourage you, God loves you. He sent Jesus Christ to die for you. You say, I'm at fault, I'm in the wrong, I'm not the person I should be. I have done things that I don't want anybody to know. God loves you and he sent Christ Jesus to die for you. And God offers to you today forgiveness, not just for one failure or two, for all of them. The ones you have not yet committed. God offers forgiveness through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is inviting you, perhaps even today, Look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, as there is none else. Are you looking to God? Are you looking to Jesus? For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We have all failed God. There is none righteous, no, not one. But we're told, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. You can be forgiven. You can find salvation today. You say, I've seen some Christians like you're talking about. I'm not so sure I want to become one. Don't let the failures of God's children hinder you from becoming somebody who is redeemed, forgiven, saved forever. You're right. Christians aren't perfect. Sometimes we're hypocrites. Sometimes we know what we believe and we know it so much that we act out of pride and not love. You're right. Christian, you know, you know the truth. There's gonna be differences, aren't there? H.C.G. Moule, Bible commentary said this. To the Christian, every other man is either in Christ or maybe. How do you view other people? How do you view other believers? People who are in Christ with you? How do you view the lost as those who may be in Christ with you? What a great perspective. What needs to change this morning? My attitude? My attitude towards others who differ from me? Maybe from those who aren't as far along as me spiritually? For some this morning, that's what needs to change. It's just an attitude issue. Lord, I need to understand your love for me and the love I need to have for others. Maybe you've been proud and you need to ask God's forgiveness. Forgive me for being proud and being critical of others. For some, there's actions that might need to change. Maybe you have been running roughshod in your life, not thinking at all that the choices you make in your liberty may be leaving a trail of damage behind you. You've not been acting out of love. And maybe this morning, maybe it's your attitude, but maybe it's actions. Like maybe I need to evaluate my life in light of this. Are the things that I am doing as a Christian that might hinder people who are young Christians or scrupulous Christians, weak Christians. Maybe I need to change. And maybe this morning you just say, My response to this text is I need to appreciate what God has done to me. Praise God for his grace. Maybe you didn't bow down and worship a idol of stone, but maybe before you trusted Christ, you did worship a lot of other things. The map of Corinth isn't much different from the map of Lima or Columbus or New York City. We may have different names for our temples, but make no mistake, we live in a world of idolatry. Satan is yet at work in the world. And maybe in a more powerful way, because it's so subtle. John 15, nine, Jesus said, as the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you. Continue in my love. Then he says in verse 12, this is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you. You can live a godly life and you can love at the same time. That's God's plan. He wants to use us. And he calls us to himself. Verse 13 says, wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh. While the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. There may be some sacrifices that you need to make. Some choices that you need to make this morning. Again, an attitude, maybe an action. Maybe an appreciation. But I do believe God speaks to us today. What's the issue? What's the meat? What's the matter with meat? Meat wasn't the issue to begin with. It was men. Born again men and women who are at different places in their Christian life who need love. Father, thank you for your word and I thank you for speaking to us from it. Thank you for your Holy Spirit. I pray that today we would take serious these verses that we would Let your word do the work in other people's lives, giving you time to do the work. I pray that we would be aware of our liberty. And I pray, Father, that we would be willing to show sacrificial love, in Jesus' name, amen.