Dear Christian Friends,
We all have heard and we have read it countless times. Eat healthy foods. Eat smaller portions. Eat more vegetables. Don’t eat so much red meat. Eat more whole grains. Eat less sugar. Eat more fish. Eat more green vegetables. Eat less fat. Eat no transfat. The list could go on and on. At other times I think a little common sense and moderation in most areas is not going to be a bad guide.
It certainly is true that in the area of diet and food at times one medical study seems to contradict the other and perhaps you feel like I do that one doesn’t quite know what to believe. But when it comes to our spiritual diet, there we can’t go wrong; we can’t be misled when we turn to our Lord and his Holy Word. As we study this section of Paul’s inspired letter to the Christian congregation in Corinth today, we focus our attention on the theme, GOD’S WORD MAKES A HEALTHY DIET
1. It’s light on proud knowledge
2. It’s light on careless freedom
3. It’s heavy on Christian love
The city of Corinth was quite a place. Personally I have never been to Las Vegas. I have never been to San Francisco. I have never been to Los Angeles or New York City. I have never been to New Orleans. While I don’t like large cities, I also don’t like what I have heard and seen of these cities. While they have their culture, they have their beauty, they have their history, and they also have their filth, their immorality and wickedness as they tolerate the kind of sinful behaviors that God condemns in Scripture.
Corinth was a city like that. It also had at least a dozen different temples to false gods and led to the problem that Paul speaks about here. Typically a person would bring an animal to be sacrificed to the false god. Part of it would be offered, another part given back to the donor for a cultic meal, a third portion was given to the priests and whatever the priest didn’t want, he would have sold in the public meat market. So here was the problem. How did a person know if the meat they bought at the public market had been sacrificed to an idol or not? If they ate some meat that had been sacrificed to an idol, were they taking part in heathen worship? For the Jews, eating meat sacrificed to an idol was strictly forbidden. Was the same true for Christians?
Paul told the Christians in Corinth; maintain a healthy diet of God’s Word by eating a light portion of proud knowledge. He says plainly, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.” Then Paul carries this thought over to the false gods. An idol is really nothing because there is only one God. Therefore there would be no reason to even be concerned with meat sacrificed to an idol. But the heart and the head are not always in agreement within the same person. While the head knows the idol is really nothing, the heart sometimes still is troubled by the thought that the meat might have an association with a false god.
When we talk to people about the Bible we need to be careful about speaking to both the head and the heart. We cannot simply speak the facts assuming that the other person will automatically be moved to believe them first of all, or secondly to immediately change his or her behavior to conform. Knowledge in and of itself can be dangerous. We need to be careful that we do not think of ourselves as better than others because we think we know the Bible better than someone else because we know part of the Bible.
2. Remember go light on proud knowledge and also go light on careless freedom. Paul knew that some people were eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols without any concern, while others were deeply concerned. Since an idol really is nothing, one would think Paul would tell the weaker Christians to just get over it, and not worry about it. But instead he speaks to the stronger Christians and tells them to go light on the careless freedom.
Paul tells of a situation that no doubt happened repeatedly in Corinth. A knowledgeable Christian accepts an invitation to a meal knowing that the meat had been sacrificed to an idol, but after all, an idol is nothing. But then a weaker Christian sees the other Christian there and is troubled by it. This truly is a problem for the weaker Christian. If he or she takes part in such a meal, it may be sinful, because they believe that such an action is sinful. On the other hand, they may condemn the stronger Christian for doing something that really is not sinful.
Now while the weaker Christian is the one who is troubled, it is because of the stronger Christian’s careless use of freedom that such a situation arises. We need to remember that other people see us every day. They are making judgments about us and also about what we are saying or what we are doing. Some of those judgments are based on facts and others are not. So be on your guard, Christian, go light on careless freedoms.
3. But fill your life with a heavy portion of Christian love. Paul concludes this section by saying, “Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.” Paul says, “I would become a vegetarian before I would cause someone to fall into sin over a piece of meat.” This shows us to what extent a Christian should be willing to go when he or she knows that his or her actions will have an impact on another believer.
We all have made the mistake. We all have at some time or another caused another person to sin, or to stumble in their faith. We have a Savior who calls us to repentance and offers and gives us forgiveness. That does not mean that we can go on our merry way without concern for others. Christian love moves us to be concerned about others. It moves us to eat a healthy spiritual diet. One that is light on proud knowledge, light on careless freedom, and heavy on Christian love. As you come to the Lord’s Supper today, be assured of our Lord’s forgiveness, and find in his word and sacrament a healthy meal to nourish and sustain you as you serve him who died for you. Amen.