St. Aidan’s Sermons
Winnipeg, Manitoba
The Rev. Canon Dr. Brett Cane, November 8, 2009
Remembrance Sunday; 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. Act of Remembrance & Holy Communion
Issues Facing Christians Today #7: “Conflict and Conscience”
1 Corinthians 8:1-13 (10:14-11:1); Mark 12:38-44
Opening Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you commended the widow who gave her all; help us now, by your Holy Spirit, in matters of conflict and conscience, to see how we are called to sacrifice our freedom for the sake of others and so follow your example, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Introduction
One of the great benefits of Remembrance Sunday is not only to remember with gratitude the sacrifices that people have made for the sake of others in the past, but also to reflect on how we are called to live out a life of sacrifice in the present. How we do that can take many forms. One obvious way is financially, like the widow in the story we just heard: “She, out of her poverty, put in everything – all she had to live on” (Mark 12:44). Another way is to invest your life in the lives of others at your own cost – something parents do all the time. Yet another is to risk your own physical well-being to protect others, which is what our troops are doing right now in Afghanistan.
Another way of living sacrificially is to restrict your own freedom of action and thought so that others may not stumble morally or spiritually. This is the issue addressed by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 and the subject of today’s sermon in our on-going series in 1 Corinthians, “Issues Facing Christians Today.” What happens when there is a conflict between you and others in matters of conscience? On Sundays, I buy my groceries but my friend doesn’t even allow her children to do their homework – what activities are acceptable on the Sabbath? We serve wine at our house – what do we do when we have our Moslem neighbours over for dinner? Our school in the North End needs funds – is it right for the board to accept money from lottery winnings? As a Christian, should I participate in a sweat lodge ceremony when required as part of my government job? These are questions where we need to know what principles we can apply in such situations. In today’s passage, Paul gives us a way forward in how to approach issues of conflict and conscience in a pluralistic society.
Food Sacrificed to Idols
Paul takes a specific situation the Corinthian Christians were facing – “Now, about food sacrificed to idols” (verse 1) – and uses it to draw out some general principles when it comes to matters of conflict and conscience. In order to understand the issue, we need to know some background. In the ancient world the local temple was also the local restaurant![1] Temple worship was not like ours with a set time and liturgy, sermon, and so on. Instead people came with an animal to be sacrificed to the god with a purpose in mind which was then followed by a meal in the “presence” of the god at which the now cooked sacrificial meat would be the centrepiece. Other people at the temple would also share in the meal, but even then, there was often a lot of meat left over. This meat was then taken to the market place and sold; in this way, most of the meat for sale in Corinth would have been previously offered in sacrifice.
This reality presented a quandary to the Christian believers. First, should Christians be involved in such ceremonies at the temples? To abstain would mean to cut oneself off from much business and social life and also, with emperor-worship growing in importance, to miss a temple meal in honour of the emperor might cause major problems. Second, should you even eat the meat sold in the market as it had been dedicated to pagan gods? Hadn’t the Council of Jerusalem (as recorded in Acts 15) recently decreed that you should “abstain from food sacrificed to idols” (Acts 15:29)?
For some with a rigorous Jewish background eating such meat from the market, let alone in the temple, would have been absolutely abhorrent – not only was it not prepared in the proper kosher way, it was also tainted with idolatry – there is only one true God – all the others are false. Their answer to both questions was a resounding “no.” Then there were the anti-rigorists, who said that such following such scruples was: (a) contrary to the new freedom found in Christ and his deliverance from the ritual law, and (b) too isolating as it would cut off social interaction and greatly restrict evangelism. This is the situation that Paul then addresses.
Paul’s Response
It is to the anti-rigorists that Paul speaks to in depth. We can see their first argument in Paul’s comment in verse 1 (alternate translation) “‘We all possess knowledge,’ as you say.” Here is an echo of Gnosticism – the hyper-spirituality we have talked about before: Christians who have a special knowledge, an “inside track,” on reality that can’t be affected by such a trivial thing as eating food dedicated to an idol. Secondly, “We all know that an idol is nothing at all in the world” (verse 4) – an idol has no real existence anyway, so why would it matter going into their temples to eat? Thirdly, “There is no God but one” (verse 4) – isn’t the true God behind all these otherwise mistaken religious expressions – we can honour him in many ways. Paul response is three-fold – he rebukes their attitudes, he addresses their minds and he challenges their hearts.
- 1. Attitudes. Paul rebukes their attitudes: “Knowledge puffs up, but 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” (verses 1-3). Having the supposed “inside track’ spiritually is not what matters; that can lead to an exaggerated view of your own self-importance (as he has warned the Corinthians before)! As Isabel Allum shared last week – you can have all sorts of spiritual powers and abilities but still have major flaws in your character! Love is what counts – not knowledge – and he will expand on this later in Chapter 13. What really matters is God’s knowledge of you and this is a two-way street that is tied in with your love of him – this relationship “knowledge” is at the heart of the faith, not philosophical or esoteric “knowledge.” Change your attitudes.
- 2. Mind. But having said this, Paul then addresses their minds: “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” (verses 4-6). Yes, there is no reality to idols (whether heavenly such as Zeus and Athena or earthly such as Caesar) but people submit to these “nothings” as gods and lords in their lives. The true God stands over against these false gods and “you can’t simply assume that…all worship offered to imaginary gods and lords somehow counts as worship offered to the true God.”[2] This true God that we worship is different – he is the creator honoured in other faiths, but he has been revealed through Jesus as both Father and redeemer – he cares for us and has called us to be his people. This true God releases us from our bondage to false gods. Paul wants the Corinthians to apply their minds to God’s word to grasp reality from God’s perspective and that will then allow them to rightly think through difficult issues for themselves.
- 3. Hearts. Paul then challenges their hearts as he moves on to the specific issue at hand: “But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled” (verse 7). Conscience, like a compass, is a sensitive instrument, but it can be faulty and lead you astray. For example, some people, because of perfectionist or legalistic upbringings can be so pre-conditioned that they misread the gospel as rules and regulations. Those consciences need to be re-educated but this takes time and patience. For Paul, an orthodox Jew, he had learned that “Food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do” (verse 8). However, on our journey to maturity, our consciences serve to help us maintain responsibility before God. “If one Christian behaves in a way which shocks or distresses another, or leads them to do something their own conscience is telling them is wrong, they are taking away their responsibility, and forcing them to disobey what they are convinced is God’s will for them. At that point, the ‘stronger’ Christian is actually making the ‘weaker’ one sin.”[3] So Paul cautions those who are more “mature” – “Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak” (verse 9). For many young Christians in Corinth whose previous experience of temple worship had led them into degrading practices and lifestyles, anything that reminded them of their old life might lead them back into it. So, if that meant others around them needed to abstain from certain practices or food – though neutral in themselves – it was worth it to help a weaker brother or sister remain on the right path. A modern day example might be viewing certain movies. Some films have sex scenes which are integral to the plot, not gratuitous and honouring to the Biblical view of sexuality. For many, this does not harm them. However, to a person who has just recently been freed from addiction to pornography, such a depiction might be an occasion to stumble – so don’t show certain movies when certain people are around. Paul concludes, “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” (verse 13). Christian maturity is not exercising your freedom to the uttermost but knowing what degree of freedom will be the most liberating and life-giving. This is not a matter of superior knowledge but a matter of a compassionate heart.
Double Dangers
But things are not quite finished. In Chapter 9, Paul expands on giving up rights for the sake of others, which we will look at next week. But in chapter 10, he returns to the themes of chapter 8 to conclude his discussion with the dangers of compromise and the dangers of legalism.[4]
1. The Dangers of Compromise. In spite of the breadth Paul has allowed, within the limits of compassionate concern for the consciences of others, he does say that in some areas, there can be no compromise. Following a discussion about warnings from Israelite history, he says, “Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry” (10:14). Just as he told us to “Flee from sexual immortality” in chapter 6 (18) and told of “no-go areas” in that department, so now he tells us of “no-go areas” in this. There are some things we must just turn from and run. Idolatry is one of those.
Paul bases his argument on the Holy Communion, the Eucharist. “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?” (verse 16). In our Christian worship feast, we share “together in the spiritual reality behind all that happens”[5] – union with Christ. “To share food is to establish fellowship.”[6] He then goes on to show that, though idols and their sacrifices are nothing, there is demonic activity involved. “Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons” (verses 19-21). In other words, the place of pagan worship is off-limits. Don’t play around with the demonic. Are you tempted to be involved in spiritual practices that clearly involve other spirits (e.g. a sweat lodge invoking animal spirits) or are firmly grounded in pagan religious roots (e.g. serious Yoga) – flee from them! There is to be no compromise.
2. The Dangers of Legalism. But then, Paul immediately balances what he has said by citing the dangers of legalism. “Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.’ If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience” (verses 25-27). Going to the temple is out but eating the meat from the market is in. One recent writer has said “It’s the difference between ‘venue’ and ‘menu’.”[7] Using examples from spiritualities I have just cited, using sweet grass or certain physical movements are components that are spiritually neutral and are not harmful.
However, as Paul stated in chapter 8, even if such neutral elements cause offence, we are to refrain from them for the sake of others who might stumble. “But if anyone says to you, ‘This has been offered in sacrifice,’ then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake – the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours” (verses 27-28). If my using sweet grass is going to offend someone who has been previously entangled in the harmful aspects of native spirituality, then I will not use it. But neither am I going to be limited by someone who isn’t in danger of being led astray just because they have different standards – as Paul says, “Why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?” (verses 29-30).
Beware of both the dangers of compromise and the dangers of legalism.
Conclusion
The final verses of chapter 10 are a fitting conclusion to the whole discussion:
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God – even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ” (10:31-33, 11:1).
A “rule of life” for all of us as we are challenged by contentious issues:[8]
- I do all for the glory of God – not to establish my own freedom
- I try to please everybody in every way – not claiming my rights
- I seek the good of many…their salvation – not my individual fulfilment
- I imitate Christ – giving up my freedom for others
This is how you handle conflict and conscience!
[1] With thanks to Bishop Tom Wright for many of the insights that follow. N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone – I Corinthians. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), pgs. 98ff.
[2] Ibid., pg. 100.
[3] Ibid., pg. 103.
[4] With thanks to David Prior for the outline of this final section. David Prior, The Message of 1 Corinthians. (Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1985), pgs. 172ff.
[5] Ibid., pg. 173.
[6] Ibid., pg. 174.
[7] Quoted by Wright, pg. 137.
[8] Adapted from Prior, pg. 177.
