Tag: Travis Peterson

1 Chronicles 22:11-13 – Now, my son, the Lord be with you, so that you may succeed in building the house of the Lord your God, as he has spoken concerning you. Only, may the Lord grant you discretion and understanding, that when he gives you charge over Israel you may keep the law of the Lord your God. Then you will prosper if you are careful to observe the statutes and the rules that the Lord commanded Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed.
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As I said yesterday, I say again today: God’s word constantly speaks about the importance of God’s word. Here we see the words of David to Solomon. David learned from God that God would not allow David to be the one to build the temple because of the violent life David had to lead. So, David, learning that Solomon would build the temple of God, made complete preparation for the temple’s building.

After David made the preparation for the building of the temple, he charged Solomon with the work and made Solomon king. Notice in the verses above, that central to David’s charge to Solomon is a call to keep the law of God, the scriptures as they are written. David promises Solomon success and prosperity—the blessing of God on his kingdom—if Solomon will simply follow the commands of God as they are written in holy scripture.

This serves as simply one more reminder in a constant string of reminders for me that the word of God is all-important. Everywhere you turn in the scriptures, God is telling you to obey the scriptures. Every place you look, whether it is the writings of Moses, Joshua, David, the other prophets, Jesus, Peter, Paul, or any other biblical author, the command is always the same: keep the commands of God as they are written in the scriptures.

So, today as you read this, ask yourself just once more if you have the kind of love for the Bible that God wants you to have. Do you hear and obey the commands of God as they are recorded for us in the Bible? Do you recognize that the Bible is the inspired word of God? O how I long for the people of God to learn to love the word of God.

Dear Lord, I thank you again for your holy word. I ask that, today, you will use this writing to draw someone’s heart to treasure your holy word. I pray that you will help your church to learn to love your word, to hear and obey your commands. Help us to live in accord with your commands, and not to be swayed by culture or pragmatism. It is time for us to get back to the word of God, so please lead us in that revival.

John 5:39-40, 45-47 – You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. . . . Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. If you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?
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I want to make one short and simple point today. As we look here at the teaching of Jesus, we see our Lord affirm the holy scriptures. Over the past few weeks, my Blog has been overwhelmingly focused on the sufficiency and importance of the word of God. This is partly planned, because the scripture has been the topic of my preaching as well. However, this running topic is also something that is not planned; it comes up in nearly every single day’s reading.

Here, we see Jesus make two separate affirmations. First, in verses 39-40, he points out to the religious teachers that the holy scriptures point to him. Jesus, the Son of God, acknowledges publicly that the scriptures are valid, because those scriptures point to him. Then, in verses 45-47, he points to the writings of Moses, the written Torah, as witness to him.

In Sunday’s message, I pointed out from Jesus’ teaching in Luke 16:31, that the scriptures are sufficient to help people to believe and necessary for salvation. Now, in today’s Bible reading, Jesus makes the very same point in John’s gospel. Jesus lets us know that we will not believe him if we do not believe in the written word of God. Here he was pointing to the Torah, but in general, we can recognize that this is true of all the scripture. If you will not listen to the Bible, you will not and can not listen to Jesus.

Dear Lord, I again thank you for the Bible, your holy word. I ask that you will make your word more and more alive to me each day as I read what you have recorded for me to know you. Your word truly points me to you, and I will never know you apart from your word. Help me to study faithfully, that I might know you and glorify you more and more.

1 Chronicles 18:13-14 – Then he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David’s servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. So David reigned over all Israel, and he administered justice and equity to all his people.
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After God made his covenant with David, we see God giving David victories over all of the enemies of Israel. It is the sentence, “And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went,” which has my attention here this morning. Depending on how you observed this situation, you might take from it different conclusions.

For example, if you watched David over these times, I can guarantee you that you saw a man who worked hard, who planned, and who fought with all his might to accomplish what was accomplished. To many observers, it would have looked like David was winning the battles by strength, cunning, military strategy, and simple hard work. We read nothing here of supernatural looking events, of angels fighting on behalf of Israel, or of the ground opening up and swallowing the armies of David’s enemies. So, to the untrained eye, it would have looked as though David won these victories.

But, the verse tells us that the Lord gave David victory. This tells me that, regardless of what David did, it is ultimately and finally the work of the Lord that David’s enemies were defeated. Again, David did not sit back, fold his hands, and await God’s making his enemies just fall over or go away. He worked, he fought, he struggled, he strategized, he gave his all to the campaign. But, when the battles were finished, there was no doubt in the mind of God, in the mind of David, or in the mind of this writer of scripture that it was God who gave David the victory.

Now, why would this be a thought worth our time? Simply put, David’s victories over these nations is a good model for us of the process of sanctification in our own lives. You and I have enemies that we must defeat. The sins that so easily entangle us, slow us down, and knock us down must be driven out of our lives. We are called to be like Christ. We are commanded by Christ to be perfect as his Father is perfect. We are commanded to eradicate sin from our outward actions and our inward thoughts and desires. And, like David, we are surrounded on every side by things who want to destroy us.

Also, like David, we are the ones who have to work against those sins. David did not sit back and just wait for God to destroy his enemies; he worked hard to prepare and to fight against his enemies. In the same way, we have to work hard. We have to fight sin with all our might. We have to strive for Christian growth. We have to study God’s word, pray, and discipline ourselves for the sake of godliness. We have to be open with and accountable to others who are growing along with us. We have to fight to the point of blood, sweat, and tears to conquer the enemies that would defeat us, the enemies that are Satan and our own sinful disposition.

Also, like David, when the battle is over and the victory is won, we too will acknowledge that all the victory that we ever achieved over sin was a direct result of God giving us the victory. We will not take credit, even for a single moment, for anything good we have ever done. We will not claim our salvation as our own or our sanctification as our own. We will give all the glory for all the good in us to God, because it is from God that all our goodness came. We will work as hard as we can, and when it is all said and done, God will be the one who accomplished the work in us.

And, let us be very careful not to allow ourselves to become lazy or complacent about our sanctification. Just because God is the one who ultimately is responsible for making anything good happen in our lives, we still have to work. We work with all our might. We work in the power of his Holy Spirit. We can not sit back and wait for him to snap us perfect. Instead, we fight with all our might, and give him all the glory when we win.

Dear Lord, I recognize that it is my responsibility to fight with all my might to become more like Christ. I also recognize that all the glory for anything good I ever accomplish is yours, for you are ultimately the source of all goodness in me. Thus, I am committed to work toward my sanctification, but I pray that you will empower that work by your Holy Spirit. Motivate me and help me to fight the good fight. Grant me the strength, the courage, and the wisdom to do what you want me to do. I will respond to your accomplishing good things in me by yielding to you all glory for anything good in me, because it is all of you anyway.

Zechariah 3:8-9 – Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.
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Zechariah 3 is one of the more famous visions that we read in the minor prophets. In this scene, Zechariah sees one of his contemporaries, Joshua the priest, standing before God being accused by Satan. The Lord rebukes Satan, so that the devil can no longer make accusations against Joshua. Then, God removes Joshua’s filthy clothes, declares that he has taken Joshua’s iniquity away, and clothes Joshua in clean robes.

At the end of the vision, we read the text that is above. In it, God declares that what he has done with Joshua in the vision, he will do for the entire land. He promises to bring his servant, the “branch,” and take away the iniquity of the land in one single day.

The thing that most strikes me in this passage is the phrase “in a single day.” The nation of Israel sinned before God for years. You and I have sinned before God for year upon year. We regularly build up for ourselves a lifetime of mistakes, slip ups, errors, and the occasional purposeful and arrogant sin. To imagine that our iniquity, all the wrong that we have done, could be taken away in a single day, in a single moment, is a lovely, awesome, astonishing thought.

In case you are wondering, the branch is Jesus. He is a branch, a descendant, of the family tree of David (see Isaiah 11). He has the right to the promise of God’s Kingdom forever. He has the right to redeem God’s people. And, he gave his life, a life of infinite holiness and infinite worth, in order to pay the penalty for the iniquity of all who would put their trust in him. Jesus, in one moment, on a single day, took away not only my iniquity, not only your iniquity, but all the iniquity of all the people who will be in heaven in eternity.

Let this account cause you to worship Jesus. If God chose to carry out the punishment that you deserve for your sin, you would never pay the full penalty. You would have to suffer an infinity of infinite punishment in order to repay the debt you owe for sinning before an infinitely holy God. You could not do that without an eternity, a time without end, in hell. But Jesus, the infinitely holy God, took your punishment. He took away your iniquity in a single day. In one day, Jesus accomplished for you what you could not accomplish in an eternity of infinite punishment for your wrongs and infinite good deeds to try to make up for them. This shows Jesus to be worthy of the greatest thanks, the highest praise, the deepest affection, the utmost glory.

Lord Jesus, I offer you my praise. I could never have atoned for my sin. I could never have done enough right deeds to earn your favor. I, on my own, only deserve your wrath. I thank you that you have paid the penalty for my sin and granted me your righteousness. I thank you that you, in one day, took away a lifetime’s worth of my iniquity. I fully trust in you, and you alone, Jesus, for my soul’s salvation. I ask only that your offered mercy be granted to me, for I have no other hope apart from you and your grace.

2 Corinthians 11:3-4 – But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.
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These two verses written by Paul to the Corinthian church are a reminder to me of the fear that many pastors have for their congregations. When Paul was with the people in Corinth, he spoke to them the one true gospel of Jesus Christ. He told them, on the authority of being an apostle of Jesus, exactly what they must do to be saved. He told them how they could be forgiven of their sins by placing their entire trust for their entire souls to Christ. He told them how they, when they repented of their sins and placed their faith in Christ, would receive God’s promised Holy Spirit to live within them. And they seemed to accept this gospel.

However, after Paul was no longer in town, the people of Corinth received some other teachers, men who were more interested in promoting themselves than in Christ. These men preached something to the Corinthians that made them feel more important, that had greater personal experiences, that was simply different than what Paul had preached to them. And, instead of rejecting the words of these teachers as false and deadly, they received it. They actually were willing to turn away from the true gospel to follow the teachings of slick communicators and radical personal experiences.

Let us take warning from the dangerous fall of many in Corinth. Let us remember that there is only one true gospel. There is only one way to God, and that is the way presented to us in God’s word. God is holy. We are sinners who have earned his wrath. Christ died to take upon himself the punishment we deserve for our sin before God and to make a way for us to be made right with God. We must come to him, believe in him, repent of our sin and turn to Christ in order to be forgiven. There is no other hope. There is no other way. There is no religious ritual that will save us, no secret incantation, no radical ecstatic or out-of-body experience that we must have to be saved. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Do you preach the one true gospel? Do you cling to the gospel as it is revealed in the scriptures above all else? Do you rely on the words of the scripture more than on impressive communicators, radical personal experiences, feelings, or new philosophies? Are you willing to cling to the old story of Christ, and to let go of what you hear from television preachers who have left behind Jesus to offer you “your best life now,” or that “something good is going to happen today?” Learn to cling to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to not be swayed by the impressive packages of those who offer you something that may taste sweeter on the outside, but which has no substance, no truth, and no salvation.

Dear Lord, I pray that you will always keep my eyes on the cross of Christ. Let me never take anything away from or add anything to the story of Jesus. Let me preach and believe only in a salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Let me be in line with your word and your revealed truth, and let me never fall for any person’s slick presentation, flashy credentials, or radical experiences. Let me be faithful to the gospel, and help me to lead others to faith in the one true gospel of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:1-3 – Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.
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Without losing heart, Paul and his companions continued on in their ministry. Regardless of setbacks and sufferings, they continued to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with boldness, honesty, and sincerity. And, of particular note to me, Paul refused all forms of dishonesty, of cunning, and of tampering with the word of God.

Today, there are many who challenge all Christians to find new ways to present the gospel. While it is wise to communicate the genuine gospel in ways that people can understand—in a language that they have the mental capacity to grasp—, it is never acceptable to dilute, discolor, change, weaken, soften, or otherwise alter the gospel. Neither is it necessary to use cunning or trickery to communicate the gospel to someone. Regardless of how clever the gimmick or how sneaky the bridge-building technique, if it is something less than an open and honest communication of the gospel as it is presented in God’s word, it is not a faithful presentation of the gospel.

Notice that of particular note is the fact that Paul refused to tamper with God’s word. He knew that the scripture is the inspired revelation of God, and that nothing man-made would ever trump that. He refused to change a single truth from the scriptures, regardless of how much he suffered. He did not allow anything, not even sufferings and setbacks, not even the lost refusing to come to Christ, to change the message of the gospel that he preached. Why not? To change anything about the gospel is to present no gospel at all. And, if that gospel is something that people can not see, that is veiled to them, it is only veiled to those who Paul says are “perishing.” While Paul did not desire that anyone perish, he knew that to change the gospel wood be only to present them with an untruth that would never bring them life anyway.

Are you convinced that the gospel as it is presented in the word of God is the only and sure way of salvation? Are you willing to be like Paul and to refuse to use trickery, underhandedness or deceit to present the gospel? Are you willing to cast aside cunning and clever gimmicks for the clearly proclaimed truth of God’s word? Are you willing to trust that the scripture and the scripture alone is sufficient to unveil the eyes of the lost? If so, then go and preach the gospel faithfully as it is written in God’s word. If not, learn from the example of Paul, and ask God to show you in his word how sufficient his word truly is.

Dear Lord, I thank you for your perfect, holy, inspired, sufficient, and powerful word. You have been so gracious to reveal yourself to us. I pray that I will never again fall into the temptation to shrink back from your word, to devise clever ways to work around your word, or to distrust the life-changing power of your word. Help me to have opportunity after opportunity to share the gospel of Christ as it is written in your word with lost people who will see the truth and whom you will save.

Micah 2:11 – If a man should go about and utter wind and lies, saying, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be the preacher for this people!
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In the middle of Micah’s rebuke of Israel, he exposes something in the hearts of the people that is a valuable lesson for us all. He describes how the people would eagerly follow anyone who preaches to them prosperity, happiness, and freedom to sin before God. They would willingly sacrifice following God and hearing truth for pleasant lies.

The question that we ought to ask ourselves is whether we would prefer a hard truth to an easy fiction. Would you rather hear what is really happening to your soul, or would you prefer to be told that everything is OK? No one who is intelligent would want their physician to lie to them, telling them everything is ok if it was not. Instead, when we go to the doctor, we want him to tell us the truth, painful as it may be, so that we can then respond to it with action.

Micah’s indictment of the people of Israel is not lost on our generation. Many churches are filled with people who would prefer not to hear hard truth, but would rather gather for themselves teachers to say what they want to hear. Paul also wrote to Timothy about such people in . . .

2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

So, clearly, the Lord has always known that there will be people who pretend to his worship, but who only desire to hear from him the things that are easy. They will gladly hear about grace, mercy, and love; but they want to hear nothing about holiness, the glory of God, justice, wrath, or sin.

If you catch yourself hearing messages from God’s word, and wanting to skip them to something easier, watch out. Beware being the person who complains that the Bible sounds too negative. It could be that you have fallen prey to the sickness of the people of both Micah’s and Paul’s days. It could be that you are preferring a friendly fiction to the truth about your own soul.

Let us devote ourselves to hearing the word of God in all truth. Let us never settle for the easy when the hard truth is there too. Let us learn as much about God’s wrath as about his love. Let us be open to hear both where we have done well and where we have failed. Let us make it a point to hear the whole counsel of God as given in his holy word, and let us receive nothing less than the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Dear Lord, I recognize that the human heart tends to shy away from hearing what is true in your word. I know that it is easy to hear compliments, and it is very difficult to hear criticism. However, I pray that you will lead me to your truth in your word, whether it be easy or hard. Help me to speak your truth to others, in love, for the glory of your name. Help me to hear your truth in your word and from others who have studied your word so that I might better honor you. I do not want my ears to be tickled. I do not want to follow any teacher preaching a false and deadly prosperity gospel. Instead, I want to hear your revealed truth, which is far better than any fanciful fiction.

*** The following is taken from a sermon I preached on Jonah 1 in the summer of 2003. (Notice that I no longer use the NIV translation for teaching, but have left it here as I originally wrote it.) ***

Jonah 1:1-2 (NIV)

1. The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai:
2. “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”
. In this opening call of the book of Jonah, we see that the LORD calls Jonah to speak out in the same way that he calls all of his prophets. The language is very much the same. The word of God is given to a particular man. That man is called to go and preach a particular message of God to a particular people.

God calls Jonah to perform a simple task: get up and go preach. We know that God tells Jonah to get up and preach against Nineveh. We know that Nineveh is the capital city of Assyria, a brutal foreign empire that will eventually become the Bain of the Northern Kingdom. We know that God wants Jonah to preach against Nineveh because of the greatness of the wickedness of that city. However, in reality, this is not a great deal of detail.

The major point here is that God calls, and Jonah should obey. It is a simple and unmistakable call. Jonah ought to listen. This truth is as true for us as it is for Jonah. When God calls us to do something, he expects our obedience. For those of us who are his children, we have no right to do anything other than obey. Why is that? It is because he is our God, and if we are saved, we have been purchased by Christ for him. Paul says it this way in1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

Obedience is the appropriate response of the people of God to the commands of God. I understand that at times the commands of God appear difficult or unsavory to us. In this instance, we will discover that the command of God was unpalatable for Jonah. However, our opinion about the commands of God is irrelevant. What is relevant is that obedience is a primary tenant of being in relationship with God. Let us look at a few verses of scripture that will spell this out for us:

1 Samuel 15:22 But Samuel replied: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”

Psalm 103:17-18 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children–with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

John 14:15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”

I think that this short list of verses makes it clear to us that when God commands, his followers obey. Obedience is a critical element to a relationship with God. Without it, there is no relationship. God calls Jonah. Jonah should obey. When God calls us, we too should obey.

2 Kings 5:10-12 – And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
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Naaman, a Syrian military commander, had leprosy. After hearing about Elisha, the prophet in Israel, Naaman came seeking healing for his disease. When he arrived at Elisha’s door, Elisha, as we read above, sent a simple message to him about how he would be healed. But Naaman was very angry, because the prophet simply sent word for him to wash in the Jordan instead of coming out to perform some sort of ritual over his diseased skin. Later in the chapter, Naaman’s servants do convince him to follow the prophet’s instruction, and Naaman is healed.

But something interesting strikes me about Naaman’s anger. He is upset, because he could not imagine that the gracious healing of God could come by such a simple. Means. Naaman just knew in his heart that, if he were to be healed, it must require some sort of spectacular ceremony, incantation, potion, or sacrifice. Surely healing could not come by such a simple means. Surely the Jordan River is not the best source of water. Surely there must be more.

Naaman almost stumbled over the stumbling block of faith. In the New Testament, the cross of Christ is called a stumbling block to the Jews (1 Corinthians 1:23). Why was the cross a stumbling block? It was for the same reason that Naaman almost turned and left Israel in a huff. The Jews, and very many others, will not believe that salvation from sins can come by such a seemingly simple means as faith. Throughout the New Testament, the authors argued time and time again against people who could not believe that salvation would come via such a simple means. They called people to faith, with no religious rituals, fancy ceremonies, or outward deeds of penance. The New Testament authors preached a salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and such a preaching actually caught many of their hearers as too good to be true.

Today, we still live in a world where people can not receive the grace of God because they refuse to believe that it is that simple. They can not imagine that God would truly forgive anyone simply based on whether or not that person has placed their trust in Jesus Christ. Some turn away from Jesus completely because of their trouble with this. Other groups attempt to add the necessity of certain rituals, sacraments, or good works to one’s faith in order for it to be saving faith (this is the Roman Catholic error). But the fact remains that the only means that God has ever given whereby the souls of men might be saved is by his grace through a simple faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Now, let me make one more application of the Naaman story to our modern age that is a little different. It is not merely the lost who fall into Naaman’s error. There is a way in which Christians look like Naaman too. God has given us his holy scriptures, fully sufficient and inspired—breathed out by God with no possibility of error. God’s holy word contains in it everything that we need to know and do his will. His word contains in itself either explicitly or implicitly, everything we need to make every moral decision. It contains everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3) so that the people of God can be equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17). But very many who claim Christ reject the sufficiency of the Bible. These people are out there looking for a mystical experience where God will reveal to them some new portion of his will that he did not record in scripture, because, like Naaman, they think that things just can’t be that easy. They think there should be some magical feeling, some spiritual experience, some secret formula to discerning the will of God. They think that the more flashy looking tools of secular psychology or psychiatry are what we need to use to solve our problems instead of God’s word. They turn to the opinions of men, lost men, to determine ethics regarding sexual morality or the sanctity of human life, because they think that the Bible is outdated. But all such errors look just like Naaman, rejecting God’s way for one that is more flashy, more modern, or more of the way they want things to be done.

So, how do you fall into Naaman’s error? What part of Christianity is too good to be true in your mind? Is faith in Christ not enough to save your soul? That is what God says will save you. Is the word of God not a sufficient means for you to learn his will, solve your problems, or determine what is moral? God said it is enough. Is God not enough to satisfy your soul? He claims to be enough. Today, turn from seeking something extra flashy, and follow what god has said that you need for salvation and for godly living.

Dear Lord, I thank you that following you is not all bound up in mystical experiences and ostentatious ceremonies. I recognize and acknowledge that salvation is your gift that comes to me by your grace through faith in Jesus Christ. I know that I can add nothing to faith for my salvation, and that faith is a gift from you. I pray that you will make me aware of any way in which I try to add something to faith and so dishonor Christ. I also pray that you will help me to live, as a Christian, by your all-sufficient word. Let me not turn to things outside of your revelation to determine how to live or to help others with problems. I trust that you have given me, in your word, everything I need. I do not need some extra mystical experience, because such an experience will not give me anything more than what is already recorded in your holy word. I pray that you will guide me to your truth as you have revealed it in your word, and keep me from seeking something extra like Naaman nearly did.

1 Corinthians 8:1, 11-13 – Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that all of us possess knowledge. This knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.. . . And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.
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There are numerous difficult topics of debatable “freedoms” over which Christians disagree. The use of alcohol, watching certain movies, or shopping at particular stores are all examples of such issues. In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul addresses an issue of a similar ilk from the first century. His handling of that issue back then speaks volumes to how we should handle such issues today.

In Corinth, many in the culture had come out of an idol worshiping background. Part of worshiping an idol involved “offering” food to your false god. The food would be taken and set before the statue. The idol worshiper believed that the god received sustenance and pleasure from the food, though the actual piece of meat did not disappear (a belief that can still be found in many cultures today who offer food to idols or to ancestors). The meat that had been “offered” was then sold—presumably at a reduced cost—to be eaten by those who were willing to do so.

Now, it is interesting that Paul begins his argument with the issue of knowledge. He points out that we all have knowledge, but warns that there is a danger to that knowledge that we will address later. For most of the chapter, he then explains how there is nothing wrong with meat that had been offered to a statue. He declares without hesitation that there are no gods; there is only one God. Thus, the meat that is supposedly offered to a statue or to dead relatives is simply meat that has been set out. Nothing has changed about the meat. Since the false gods are nothing and since dead ancestors can not receive nourishment from food from this world, Paul argues that there is nothing wrong with eating that meat. Thus, he declares that, by knowledge, Christians have the right to eat such meat.

This type of “right” is what many Christians cling to who demand to be allowed to indulge in their freedoms. They argue, and often quite strongly, that the Bible does not forbid a particular activity. They point out that, while the Bible forbids drunkenness and sexual immorality, that standard does not preclude responsible drinking or movies that do not explicitly portray sexual immorality. So, these Christians, from their knowledge, declare themselves free to responsibly partake of these pleasures. (And let me honestly admit that I have most certainly been in this camp in times past, even writing a lengthy paper on the topic in my seminary ethics class.)

However, let us look again at the warning that Paul makes about this knowledge. Paul never denies that the knowledge is true. In fact, he affirms the truth of the statement that meat sacrificed to idols is no different than any other meat. However, he also points out that this knowledge can puff us up, make us arrogant, instead of building us up in love. Paul acknowledged the rightness of the argument of certain groups, but then said that it is more loving for them, in their particular setting, to avoid indulging their freedom for the sake of Christian love and unity. Because the exercise of freedoms by one person can have a devastating impact on the life and conscience of another believer—one whose conscience may be admittedly weaker—, Paul declares that he will willingly give up his rights and freedoms in order to build up the body in love.

The question about alcohol, movies, and certain other “freedoms” actually ought not be a question of knowledge. Instead, the question needs to be one of Christian love. If you consider yourself to be a mature believer, you need to recognize that no simple pleasure here on earth is worth doing harm to another believer, even one who might have an overly strict view of a topic in your opinion. How could you ever argue that you are behaving in a way that honors God is you, for the sake of earthly pleasure, do something that tears down the fellowship of the local church or hurts another believer? The fact is, Christian love and kindness is far more important than food, drink, entertainment, or clothing. We ought not hesitate to give up things that might be OK in our opinion in order to make sure that we can be as loving as possible toward others in the church with whom we disagree.

Let me also add that the solution to this problem is not to simply choose to indulge your freedom when you think others are not looking. This leads to a life of sneaking down the aisles in your local grocery or video rental store, hoping that no other believer with a weaker conscience happens to see you. I’m sorry, but there is no way that you can do that out of Christian love.

As my parenthetical statement above indicates, I have not always taken the position here spelled out about issues of Christian liberty. I admit that freely, and I honestly have since had to repent of my attitude. My former position was one of selfishness rather than community, of knowledge instead of love. I Argued on behalf of pleasures and perceived rights instead of on behalf of unity in the body of Christ. Part of that argument came from a deep and right desire to call people away from legalism and to a biblically informed standard of living. I still make such a call. But I also make a call for Christians to live out of love, even when that love forces you to give up what your knowledge tells you may be OK. I am sure of this: no person will ever give up a freedom here on earth for the glory of God and the sake of his church who will not be rewarded with an infinitely higher pleasure in the kingdom of God that is coming.

So, ask yourself if you allow your knowledge to do harm to the body. Are you so smart that you hurt people? Do you swing your education or scriptural understanding around as a club, desiring to bash in bad beliefs? Do you indulge in freedoms that you actually have to hide in order to not offend others? Is your driving force for how you live knowledge or is it love and the glory of God? It is time to live for God’s glory, guarding with all your might the church, the bride of Christ. If that means that you or I get rid of things which give us temporal pleasure in order to better love others, let us do so with joy, looking forward to a far greater reward from our God.

Dear Lord, I confess to you that my attitude has not always been love before knowledge. I pray that you will forgive me for any moment in my past where I have flaunted freedoms or damaged others through what I would approve. I recognize that such living is not out of love. I thank you for showing me this in your word, and I ask that you will help me to always live for your glory and for the betterment of your church. Help me to willingly give up unnecessary freedoms if that will better help me to love others in your name. Also, please help the rest of your church to learn to live out of a God first and others next before self mentality. Help us to live lives of openness, feeling the need to hide nothing from one another because all we do is loving and glorifying to you.