Our brother's conscience

1 Corinthians chapter 3 and let's look at verse number 1. I'm just reading this for an expression that is brought before us in relation to all of the different problems that were in Corinth and look what we have in verse number 1. 1 Corinthians 3 verse 1, Paul is writing by the Spirit, and I brethren could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. Now that really shouldn't come as a surprise to us because if you allow yourself to go through the Corinthian epistle, you start to see the reason for divisions. It really sprung from carnality.

A person drunk at the Lord's Supper, divisions between the rich and the poor, all a result of carnality. Carnality is when a Christian adopts the thinking of the world, the attitudes of the world, the ideas of the world, and they start to work out in a person that is saved. So I think we all know what that is all about.

I want to go and look at another thing that is identified in the book of Corinth that we often don't hear a lot of ministry on, so let's go to chapter 8, 1 Corinthians and chapter 8. I've been doing a long study on conscience, our conscience, your conscience, and really I want to focus on your conscience, our brother's conscience. Often we don't consider what I'm going to say or what I'm going to do, how will it affect the person next to me? And this is something that Paul brings before us in this epistle. So verse number 1 of chapter 8, now for those that might not be too familiar with the epistle, they had written to Paul concerning a number of things, and you can really go through the Corinthian epistle and you can really put it in segments.

A question is asked, he answers it. A question asked, he answers it. A question, and so on and so forth.

There is now a new section, chapter 8, verse 1, and he's responding to a question that they have asked him, and I believe we have it right here. Verse number 1 of chapter 8, now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Notice the period.

The sentence is done. Notice how Paul responds to them. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. What had happened here? Here is what carnality will do to you and I. It will make us assume this is not an issue. It's not an issue.

This is what the Corinthians were doing. When it comes to meats offered to idols, it's not an issue. And you know how Paul responds to that? Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing as he ought to know. It's very easy to default to it's not an issue, because then you don't have to think. You don't have to think about what I'm going to do.

Will it affect somebody? It's kind of like an easy way out. You ever heard someone say, well I'm going to do it and then if someone's troubled, I'll ask for forgive me after. That is carnality.

You're going to discover in a few minutes as we read through this little section here, a spiritual person, before doing something, saying something, they first consider the conscience of the hearer or the seer. God puts a tremendous premium on that. Now let's look, I can prove this further.

Look at what you have in verse number seven. We'll read the section in the middle, but look at, just to further back up what I said to you, they assumed that everyone had this knowledge. First part of verse one.

Verse seven, Paul says this, how be it there is not in every man that knowledge. For some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol and their conscience being weak is defiled. So you can imagine the city of Corinth.

You can imagine the Jewish element. You can imagine the Gentile, the pagan element. Corinth was known for all these temples, all of these idols.

There was idols and everything. Corinth was known for, it's really where the idea of unions come from. There was like a carpenter's guild or a plumber's guild or a bricklayer's union or whatever.

And all of these different unions, they each had a priest and they had a temple. And what would happen is, let's say you're a pipe fitter or whatever you might be, you would come together for a banquet. And of course, we want business to be good for the next year to come.

So the priest would come in and he would offer animals on an altar and he would do these sacrifices and they would call upon their so-called pipe fitter God or the bricklayer God. I'm just bringing it down to very simple terms so we understand what it was. And if you were part of this union, this guild, you were expected to be there.

Because if you weren't, you're out. You had no work. So you can see the pressure.

I'm not really going down that road, but you can see the pressure that this would have put upon these believers now in this city. And then what would happen is, the priest, he was allowed to take a section, a portion of the meat, and he would go down into the marketplace, the shambles, 1st Corinthians chapter 10, and he would sell the meat. And he would make money that way.

Now prior to the meat being on the counter out in the marketplace, it was used in this idol's temple, offered to this empty idol. Some people thought it tainted the meat. There was an offense.

There was a conscience against that particular meat. So this is what Paul is going to address. Now let's read at verse number 3. Notice what he says.

But if any man love God, the same is known of him. You know what will help me to be considerate of your conscience? It's not rules. It's just love for the Savior.

That's where the whole thing is going to start from. Communion with your Savior, with your God. Now a few comments from what I said yesterday.

We are affected by our environment that we're in. We are surrounded by a world thinking of what? It's all about you. You have rights.

And you express those rights. And don't you let someone tell you you can't do it. That's all around us.

And if we're not careful, that can start to creep into our Christian life. And then what comes is an attitude. An entitlement.

This is mine. And I can do it. I got the word of God.

I got liberties. Truth will produce liberties. But always remember, liberties are controlled by conscience of others.

Can I slow that down? When a liberty, I'm thinking now from my perspective, when a so-called liberty becomes something that I must do, it's no longer liberty. I'm in bondage. I want us all to understand that.

I have met many people, Christians, well you show me a verse that you can't do that. Right there I've got the wrong attitude. I've got the right to do it.

You don't realize you're in bondage to it. I'm going to give you an example. It's obvious that I wear a wedding band.

My father was brought up in a generation that they were encouraged not to wear wedding bands. Yeah, that's fine. Nothing against that.

If someone is offended by this wedding band, you just tell me after the meeting, I'll take it off right in front of you. And I'll put it in my pocket. Because I am not in bondage to that thing.

I have liberty to wear it. I have full liberty, full knowledge from the word of God. But I will not insist upon that if it offends you.

You see where I'm going with this? There's lots of things that I want our young people to get a hold of today. This is something that will help us with the cultural divide that we have amongst us. I want our younger people to understand that there is amongst us an older generation that were taught certain things.

Now, I'm not here to criticize preachers that taught things without verses in the Bible. I'm not here. I just default to this.

They were doing things out of a proper conscience. They wanted to preserve what was right. I'm sure all of us have heard stories of, I can tell you from where I come from in the Maritimes, I mean, preachers used to say that you couldn't buy anything other than a black car.

A colored car was considered whirly. Well, no one, no one today would accept that. But there was a time when that was taught.

The same thing was done about white shirts. Where the area I come from, a generation was taught that white was considered to be the best that you could wear. And when colored shirts first came in, a lot of people were horrified.

Some older people were grieved by it. How would you approach it? Well, I'm just going to wear the colored shirt and make sure they get used to it. No.

The Bible would tell us that would be wrong. You see, the whole reason why Paul is doing this, it's not the idea that you stop doing a liberty because someone's offended and then you do nothing. You take them to the Word of God.

And you try to teach knowledge from the Word of God. Do we all, do we not all want everyone to be enlightened by the Word of God? Sure we do. Knowledge is what brings freedom.

So if we can take each other in a calm way to the Bible. Now, is this in the Bible? I'm coming back to something I said in Heightsville. We have got to think today.

We've got to learn to separate doctrinal things from issues. Okay? We've got them all together in a ball of yarn. And we don't know what we're fighting for today.

And a lot of things that we think are doctrine, they're issues. They're doctrine. It's the seed of the unlearned.

An issue is where you put it. Back, front, side, balcony. Just as long as you have it.

That's doctrine. But where you put it is an issue. Now if someone starts to say, no, it is doctrine for to be in the left corner.

No, they've missed something. You've missed something. Did you notice the color of the bread today? It was brown.

Whoa, wait. I said this in Heightsville. Doctrine is bread.

An issue, white, brown, raisin, pumpernickel, whatever. You follow where I'm going. So if we can learn to separate doctrine from issues, and then start to use the Word of God, I think what we'll be able to do, dear child of God, is to bridge the cultural differences, the generational differences that just will exist.

Here's another one. Doctrine. We read from the Bible.

Issue. Which translation the elders decide to allow. That's an issue.

For someone to stand on a platform, now I'm a great lover of the King James, but for someone to stand on the platform and say, doctrine, it has to be the King James. What did they do before the King James? Obviously they had a Bible. Of course.

So see what I'm trying to do. Same thing with suits. Issue.

It's not doctrine. What did they do before suits were invented? Pronouns. How we pray to God.

That's not doctrine, brethren. That's an issue. Leave it with the oversight of an individual assembly to determine, to legislate, whatever words you want to use.

I think what we need to get back to is what this Bible teaches. And the authority, when it comes to issues, does not rest with preachers. I can give my opinion.

But I don't lord it over elders. And I want elders to step up to the responsibility that the Word of God gives them. And to govern in the house of God that they've been raised up by the Spirit of God over.

So I just use those examples to try to show you the difference between doctrinal things. It doesn't matter if it offends a conscience. We stand firm upon it.

But when it comes to issues, now how are we going to address issues? For instance, coming back to what I said. I'm getting ahead of myself. I was going to get into the context of the chapter.

Let's take an issue for example. I'm going to pick on the white shirt, the colored shirt thing. I believe from this book that I have full liberty to wear whatever color I want.

Now that's number one. Number two. If I knew a colored shirt offended you, I wouldn't wear it.

Even though it's a liberty. If I knew it was going to offend you, I wouldn't wear it. Number three.

If I was asked by the elders in my home assembly, Scott, we are asking you to wear a white shirt. You want to know what I'd do? Yes, sir. I just would submit.

That's a word we don't hear today. Submit. Aren't you taking the low place if you submit? Let me give you the perfect example of the Lord Jesus.

He went down onto Nazareth and was subject onto them. There is a sinless boy of the age of 12, willingly submitting to sinful parents. Not a word of complaint.

But you know what's crept into us? Don't submit. Demand your right. Do you know what the word of God would encourage us? This is why Paul, this is one answer, he's going to, a carnal mind, says there's not an issue.

There's just not an issue. Do you know what the flesh in me does? I've got an awful wicked thing in here. And it will have no trouble running you under the bus.

I don't care about you. I'm going to do what I want to do. Because I got a verse to tell me I can do it.

That's what the flesh, what would the spirit of God in me want? Consider the conscience of your brother and sister. Dear child of God, you will win. You will.

You show consideration. Here's why I'm on this. I have had conversations with individuals that were so taken up with their liberty, it became a bondage and they didn't even realize it.

And then they didn't even care about the offense they were causing. Do you know why they then left the assembly? It wasn't the issue, it was their attitude that got them. You and I can't handle a bad attitude.

Our brother Brandon was on that yesterday. I have the potential of developing such an attitude. I can be doctrinally, I can be able to cross my I's and dot my T's or whatever.

I got that backwards. But yet an attitude could burn me to such a point that I'm not even leaving over the issue anymore. I'm destroyed by the attitude.

So let's come and look at the chapter and learn a few things from this. Look what we have in verse number four. As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered and sacrificed unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world.

Now think about this for a minute. This is what knowledge is going to do. He's going to try to take this weaker brother that thinks this meat which was offered to this so-called idol has been contaminated by the idol.

And he's starting to teach, listen, the idol is nothing. It's nothing. And the temple is nothing.

Okay, keep going. And that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be gods many and lords many, but to us, the Christian, the believer, there is but one God, the Father of whom are all things, and we in Him, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.

Now that particular knowledge that we just read about, here's where this verse seven comes in. How be it there is not in every man that knowledge. So try to imagine in the city of Corinth, let's not pick on a Jew for a minute, let's pick on a Gentile who was brought up in a home where they worshipped the sun god.

And in his little mind as a child, and as a teenager, and now an adult, he was absolutely convinced that the sun god was something. And all of a sudden, he comes to the faith, and he gets saved. And all of a sudden, he's brought into the assembly in Corinth.

And he's brought over to a Christian's home, and they got a nice piece of steak on the table. Where'd you get that? Oh, we bought it down there in the market. And you can see the new convert, the Gentile.

Ah, what part of the market did you get it from? Oh, I don't know. Some guy had a booth there Do you not know that that came from the sun god? How can you as a Christian, how can you actually put that before me on the table? See, this Gentile converted, he doesn't got the knowledge yet that there's only one god. It doesn't matter if people are on there saying there's thousands, millions of gods.

There's only one god. That so-called sun god that you were brought up to believe, doesn't even exist. He's nothing.

Absolutely nothing. See, that's knowledge. But now you and I have a problem.

How do we handle that? You see, I was thinking of my brother Larry. Let's say Larry's a vegetarian and I'm a meat. I love steak, okay? If you ever want to make me happy, invite me for dinner and just have a nice piece of fillet.

Oh man, cook it medium. Love it. Love it.

I just would die for it. When I'm out preaching with Maria, I always take him out to Texas Roadhouse on Saturday night. So don't ever try to invite me out on Saturday night if there's a Texas Roadhouse nearby.

Because I wait all day to sink my teeth into that piece of cow. All right. So here we are.

My brother Larry, he's a vegetarian. He's got all these issues because he doesn't know the word of God. And here I am, I'm a meat lover.

And where we find ourselves, I'm in the marketplace in Corinth. And I'm in the front of that window. And there it is.

I'm picking out that nice piece of meat. My mouth is watering right now as I think about it. And all of a sudden, I'm just about to bite and Larry comes up and says, What are you doing? Well, I'm hungry.

I'm going to have a steak. Don't you know that that was offered to an idol? Don't you know that the idol is nothing? No, no, no, no. No, that was... What am I going to do right there? Like I could run him under the bus.

Oh, don't be crazy, man. Don't be a wimp. See, that's what happens when you eat vegetables.

You're a wimp. I could ridicule him. I could.

And I've got a heart in here that would love to do it. But the Spirit of God would want me to say, Just leave it. Oh, I'll go over to Larry's house and have a salad.

But still, there's a problem. Because as I'm walking away from my piece of steak, I could be walking home with him going, I wish he never showed up. Oh, man, he ruined my meal.

And I could get bitter at him. You see how careful you have to be? God can see into our hearts. And God knows whether I have a genuine consideration of your conscience.

It's easy to put on, isn't it? Just from the mouth out. But friend, what about our hearts? One to the other. Think of the problems that happen in assemblies.

Think of them. How many of those problems would not exist if we were considerate of one another? Just willing to step back from your liberty. To say, I don't have to do this.

I don't have to do this. Do you know what you're going to discover when you... You can look at this in Romans 13 and 14. And in the chapter 15, you can touch on it in chapter 10 of 1 Corinthians.

He touches on it in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Do you know what he does in Romans chapter 14? He says, the kingdom of God is not meat and drink. It's not about liberties. That's not what Christianity is all about.

My liberties. Me, myself and I. Christianity is about me caring for you. And wanting to build you up.

Do you know what's interesting? If you take all those sections that I said. Do you know what you're going to notice? He's going to use about 12 different Greek words To show a progress of a conscience that starts out hurt. Grieved.

Cut. Damaged. And he just starts going through all these different words.

And then the very last thing is, that weak person stumbles. They fall. Do you know what could happen? Come back to the glass booth with me and my brother Larry, my vegetarian.

I could put so much pressure on him right there in the moment. Because I am so determined to eat that piece of steak. I could get him to go ahead of his conscience.

And do it. And then after he does it, his own conscience smites him. Why did I do that? Do you know what the word of God says? I have sinned against Christ.

Oh, he did too. He sinned against his own conscience. But I have sinned against Christ.

Because I caused him to stumble. God, listen to this carefully now. God doesn't want him doing something because I said it.

I'm not his Lord. God wants the knowledge coming from the word of God. Him.

Me giving him time to see the liberty in the Bible. Wouldn't that solve a lot of our issues today if we took that approach? Wouldn't we still have a lot of young people in our meetings? If they got a hold of this? Because how many have left over attitude? Didn't start out as attitude. Let's finish reading the chapter.

Verse 8. But meat commended us not to God. For neither if we eat are we the better. Neither if we eat not are we the worse.

So Paul is simply saying this. This liberty, the exercising of the liberty or not, it doesn't matter. That liberty, doing it or not doing it, is not what commends me to God.

It's my consideration of you. Notice what he says in verse 9. But take heed, take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which has knowledge, sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols? And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died.

But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. So practically, what does this mean? Dear young person, let me come back to a few things.

I'll end with this. And you say, praise the Lord. Well, just hold on.

What about a suit today? What's wrong with dressing down? That's what the Oversight are allowing? Nothing. But if I know, if I'm somewhere, and I know the elders prefer a suit, just do it. Just do it.

You'll actually grow spiritually. Do it with the right attitude. If you're in doubt, just ask the elders.

What's wrong with that? It's carnality to assume it's not an issue. I prefer carrying a Bible, reading from a Bible. Okay? I see people use an iPad.

Now, I use an iPad for notes. Personally, I will not read from an iPad from the platform. I like to have a Bible.

But I would never assume that the elders here in Blue River think it's okay for me to come up here with an iPad and read from it. I would ask them first. And if they said no, not a problem.

I can tell you of preachers. Now, we're supposed to be the ones that are examples. That we're told, when you come to this podium, read from the King James because that's what most people have.

And they've come up here with a whatever and just did it anyway. You elders need to take that preacher to the woodshed and beat him bad. That's a bad attitude.

That's wrong. We need to be able to show submission to authority. When it comes to pronouns, how we address God, young people learn both ways.

So that when you're in a place that prefers this way, just do it. Or they allow this way, just do it. When I taught my children how to drive a car, you know the number one thing I taught them? Situational awareness.

Situational awareness. Where am I? What's around me? Do you know what I wish we would get a hold of as believers? It's not about me. Where I am.

Me, me, me, me. Who's around me? Where am I? And just conform. Won't that near kill you? Just submit.

Go along. And when an opportunity comes to come aside with somebody, show them the word of God. Try to educate them.

Give them knowledge. And that way their conscience can be enlightened. And you're not offending anyone.

So I trust it's been a help to you. It was a tremendous eye-opener to me. Separate doctrines from issues.

Issues. I got all these different liberties. Conscience of others.

Almost like they're check valves. And if we follow what the word of God, see how relevant the word of God is? Right today, 2017. I think we would have great interactions, one with the other.