Sunday School Lesson for July 13, 2014: Exercise Freedom with Caution (1 Corinthians 8, 9)

1 Corinthians 8:1
[ Concerning Food Sacrificed to Idols ] Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.

Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.

          Envision a large clear glass jar or vase filled with rocks that vary in size and shape. Okay, this is not ‘that’ analogy, this is a different one. Bear with me. A large vase filled with rocks of various sizes and shapes. Each one fills an individual space within the vase and, while the jar is full to the top with these rocks, there is quite a bit of empty space within the jar that the rocks can’t completely fill in. That is what a church divided looks like, people from various educational, social and economic background all brought together by a common belief in a loving Savior, Jesus Christ. The very best we can aspire to as a local fellowship of believers is to be part of a body that includes people of different ethnicities and circumstances. In that scenario, everybody brings something different to the table. In doing so, we enhance the corporate experience with our individual background.

          Some of the big rocks in our jar at Corinth, correctly perceived that there was no harm in eating meat sacrificed to idols, but they incorrectly argued that if they could do so, so could their brothers and sisters of weaker conscience. Beloved, when next you attend church, look around you. In most cases, you see polished people wearing their Sunday best. However, you can’t possibly know what they’ve been though, what exactly they’ve been delivered out of. Subsequently, you can’t know where their ‘stopping point’ is. How much of any one thing can they stand, when it may have been that very thing that tormented them in their life before Christ?

          A moment of transparency: The Lord delivered me from alcohol. I used to like to drink…a lot. When Jesus saved me, He literally took the taste of alcohol out of my mouth. I may struggle with various kinds of sin, just like any believer. However, I don’t struggle with alcohol. I haven’t had a drink in twenty seven years. Thank you Jesus!

1 Corinthians 8:10
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?

Proverbs 17:9
Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

          I know as well as anyone that an occasional drink in social settings would not be harmful, but you know what? How would an occasional drink in social settings affect a brother or a sister who has struggled with alcohol before coming to Christ? Especially if they’ve heard my testimony, “I was delivered from alcohol”. Can you see how I might cause a ‘weaker’ brother or sister to stumble be cause of my ‘freedom’ in Christ? What would be the better response?

1 Corinthians 8:12
When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.

Matthew 25:40
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

          Beloved, we absolutely hold on to the promise in Matthew that ‘ what we do for least among us, we do for Christ. Are you aware, that when you cause the least regarded among you to stumble, you sin against the Lord? How then, ought we to treat those among us who aren’t as strong as we?

1 Corinthians 12:31
Now eagerly desire the greater gifts. And yet I will show you the most excellent way.

1 Corinthians 13:4-5
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

          Back to our ‘vase’ analogy. Jesus desires to fill in all the gaps in our vase. He wants to close the gaps between us. He pours Himself into us and around us. We are filled with His Spirit and His love. What if, at every opportunity, we build one another up, we encourage one another, we defend one another? How much more powerful would our churches become if we concentrated our focus and effort on what makes us one with Christ, instead of allowing our differences to divide us and cause us to devolve into mere humanness? I can envision a dynamic vibrant church that the lost will flock to, looking for the eternal hope that Christ promises. Jesus envisions that too. A church fueled by His Spirit and driven by His love. Selah.

1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

.wb

See the video at: http://youtu.be/LamU5DgiMms