Meat, Idols, and Freedom – February 1 Sermon

Like many churches in the Dubuque area, St. Peter cancelled worship services today due to weather. Fortunately, I did get to preach yesterday at our Saturday afternoon service, so at least there were a few people who got to hear this sermon. Anyway, here’s my sermon for the 4th Sunday after Epiphany, February 1, 2015. The text for this sermon is 1 Corinthians 8:1-13.

Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. For today’s sermon text, I’ve selected the epistle reading from 1 Corinthians 8, and I’m going to focus on the issue of whether or not we as Christians are permitted to eat meat sacrificed to idols.

So, I want to start with a quick survey. In the last week, how many of you have eaten meat sacrificed to idols?

None? Ok, how many of you have made a deliberate choice to not eat meat sacrificed to idols?
Still none.
Well, this ought to be a  good sermon!

You might be wondering what the big deal is. Well, the background here is that the town of Corinth is a very pagan town, and there are lots of religious rituals going on, including sacrifices. And when an animal is sacrificed, you need to do something with the meat. Meat is valuable, too expensive to waste, so the meat from these pagan sacrifices is sold in the market, for people to buy and eat.

Obviously, good Jews and Christians knew they should be worshiping only God. It’s the first of the 10 commandments: Do not worship idols. You shall no God before me. So some of the Christians in the Corinthian church are concerned that if they were to eat this meat that’s been sacrificed to idols, then they’re participating in worshiping other gods. They don’t want to break the commandment to worship only the one true God.

But there are other good, faithful Christians who don’t see what the big deal is. They don’t see eating this meat as worshipping idols or going against God. If they phrased it like we do in the church today, they might call it good stewardship!

They’re buying perfectly good, affordable meat, taking advantage of what’s available. Or they’re going to dinner parties, and they don’t want to rudely ask if the main course is idolatrous. So, they write to Paul to ask what to do.

Of course, Paul knows that the idols this meat is sacrificed to are just that. Idols, not gods. They have no power. In verse 4, he writes, “we know that ‘no idol in the world really exists,’ and ‘there is no God but one.’” So really, the question, “Should you eat meat sacrificed to another god?” is academic.

As long as you know that the idols don’t exist and you’re just eating meat, as long as it’s not a spiritual thing for you, then Paul doesn’t see any problem.

Now, some of the stronger Christians might hear that it’s ok and think everyone should eat meat to make a point. Sort of, look what we can do without wavering in our faith. They might think they’re even making a point about how much they believe in grace, so they know they can do anything and still be forgiven. As Martin Luther famously said, “Sin boldly!”

But Paul’s not a fan of that idea either. Paul is clear that food will not bring us closer to God, so we’re no worse if we do not eat and no better off if we do.

And then Paul gets to his more important point. Even though eating meat sacrificed to idols isn’t in itself a problem for those who don’t see it as worship, it could be a problem for other Christians, the ones Paul describes as “weaker.”

For those people who until recently believed in the idols, eating sacrificed meat is too much for them. If I, knowing as I do that the Lord is the only God, eat this idol meat, someone else could see it and think I, as a Christian, am worshiping the idols.

As Paul puts it, “By your knowledge, those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed.”

The Message paraphrase puts it like this: “For instance, say you flaunt your freedom by going to a banquet thrown in honor of idols, where the main course is meat sacrificed to idols. Isn’t here great danger if someone still struggling over this issue, someone who looks up to you as knowledgeable and mature, sees you go into that banquet? The danger is that he will become terribly confused – maybe even to the point of getting mixed up himself in what his conscience tells him is wrong.

Christ gave up his life for that person. Wouldn’t you at least be willing to give up going to dinner for him – because, as you say, it doesn’t really make any difference? But it does make a difference if you hurt your friend terribly, risking his eternal ruin! When you hurt your friend, you hurt Christ. A free meal here and there isn’t worth it at the cost of even one of these “weak ones.”

I’ve always liked this story because (believe it or not) it seems so real life, so practical. I don’t know about you, but I actually find it encouraging that people in the church has always struggled over what seem like silly issues. Even though today, we obviously don’t have the exact issue Paul is writing about here, I think we can draw some good points from this story.

It’s not the individual rules or issues that are important here, but the principle of supporting each other.  As a church, our job is to support each other, and not just each other here in the building, but others in our world and community.

If someone struggles with an issue, we ought to be doing what we can to support them. I’m not from Dubuque, so I don’t know how dangerous an illustration this is here, but if someone goes to the casino to gamble for fun and responsibly chooses how much money they can afford to spend, that’s probably ok.

But if I went gambling and took a friend who I know has problems with gambling, then I’m causing them to stumble. That’s not lifting each other up. Same for alcohol.

There are churches that have beer and theology nights, and for some people, that’s great. For people who struggle with alcoholism, though, going to a bar for Bible study would be a terrible idea.

I also like this story because it demonstrates that conflict in church is not a new thing. People with good intentions are on both sides of the issue, asking Paul what to do.

I think we can learn from Paul’s response. Look at what he does. Although he agrees with one side, he ends up deciding in favor of what will benefit others. He agrees that the people have the freedom, the right to eat meat that’s been sacrificed to idols, but he asks them to limit their freedom for the benefit of others. We do this as a church all the time.

On a practical level, when we give money in the offering, we know those who give are supporting those who don’t give. We have many who give more than their “fair share” to support their sisters and brothers who don’t or can’t give.

As a congregation, we donate our building for the benefit of other groups who use it. That’s a way of limiting our freedom, seeking the benefit of others, rather than ourselves.

One of the things I love about this congregation is the commitment to live out the mission statement of sharing the Good News of Christ by reaching out in love, even when it means sacrificing some of our own freedoms and resources.

And of course, we inevitably miss chances to support others. As we said in the confession, “We cause others to stumble.” But God keeps giving us new opportunities.

On another level, we as the church lift each other up by being present with each other in worship. I heard Pastor DeWayne give the illustration – and I honestly don’t remember if it was in a confirmation lesson, a newsletter article, or a sermon – but I heard him give this illustration that when someone can’t sing in worship, the rest of congregation sings on their behalf.

I experienced that last week at my aunt’s funeral. I was too emotional to sing, but the congregation around me lifted me with their songs. I’d never thought of a funeral quite that way, but it was a powerful illustration to me of other people sacrificing their time, their freedom to do something else, to choose to come support those mourning. That’s church.

If we really believe we’re forgiven by God’s grace, if we really believe that we are free in Christ, then we are free to do all things. Nothing can separate us from God’s love. We’re already forgiven.

But in our freedom, we choose to follow God, to live in ways that serve others. As God chose to sacrifice, to be limited by coming to live with us as a human in Jesus, we give up some of our freedoms, what we could do, for the benefit of others.

So what freedom will you give up for the sake of another, for the sake of the church? As Paul asked the strong Christians in Corinth to give up eating meat sacrificed to idols for the sake of the weaker ones who needed help, what will you give up to help others?
To what is God calling you?