A Sermon I preached at a nursing home in Bay City, MI

“Knowledge Puffs Up, But Love Builds Up”
1 Corinthians 8:1-3—1/29/06 (4th Sunday after the Epiphany)
1. Grace mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The message for this afternoon comes from 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 and is entitled, “Knowledge Puffs up, but Love Builds up.” Dear brothers and sisters in Christ. Pastor Jim Moss recently wrote about a time when the children’s choir at his church presented a dramatization of the Gospel parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (tax collector). He says that they fleshed out some humor with contemporary references. In the rehearsals, one of the children read the Pharisee’s prayer as follows: “O, God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people—a liar, cheat, nasty, dishonest or worse—like that Republican over there.” We know that not all Republicans are like this and not all Democrats either. God is neither Republican or Democrat, but there are times in our lives when we as Christians may look down on others that are around us. Maybe you’ve been looked down upon by others.
2. Sometimes as Christians the devil often tempts us to think that we’re better than other people because we’re more devout in our Christian living than those around us. Maybe we think that we’re better than someone else because we’re not as lazy as they are or because we know more than they do. There are many times in our lives that we may feel we’re superior to those around us. But, the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians tells us that as Christians we’re not to think of ourselves more highly than those around us. We don’t want to offend anyone so that they may not be able to hear the message of the Gospel. He writes in 1 Corinthians 8:1-3, “Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2 The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3 But the man who loves God is known by God.”
3. The Apostle Paul was speaking to the congregation in Corinth and many of them had just converted to Christianity from their pagan beliefs. They didn’t feel right in eating meat that had once been used for sacrificing to the idols they had once worshiped. In their time the meat of an animal was brought to a Greek temple for sacrifice and it was divided into several parts. Part of that meat was used for the sacrifice on the altar, the other was given to the priest in the temple, some was given to the person who was sacrificing the animal to an idol and another part was given to a merchant in the marketplace. These Corinthians were worried about purchasing some of this sacrificial meat in the marketplace and offending the one true God by eating it. It’s understandable that some Corinthian Christians who were recently rescued from idolatry would feel uncomfortable about contact with any aspect or reminder of idol worship. The strong Christians in Corinth knew that God didn’t forbid the eating of the meat that was bought in the marketplace, because it didn’t belong to an idol, but to the Lord.
4. It’s here that Paul is speaking to the stronger Christians. He says that knowing something doesn’t always make us feel right about doing it. Sometimes knowledge can stand in the way of our relationships. As in the parable of the Pharisee and Publican, when the Pharisee thought he was better than “sinners” like the Publican. Those who “know” look down on those who don’t know. Those who are proud of their superior knowledge lack love for those who have less knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The strong Christians in Corinth were forgetting that love is more important than knowledge. This is how the Lord would have us live our lives. He wouldn’t want us to offend anyone in our Christian walk, causing anyone to sin or fall away from the faith. That’s why He wants us to live our lives carefully following Him in all that we do and making sure that we don’t harm anyone’s conscience, especially those who are new Christians. In the end of this section of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he questions whether the strong Christians who were so sure of their knowledge really had as much knowledge as they claimed. He does this because he saw that their knowledge was lacking in love and understanding.
5. Martin Luther writes about enabling our Christian brothers and sisters to have a clear conscience in the way they live their lives so that none of them may fall into sin. He says, “In heaven and on earth there is nothing more tender than the conscience, and nothing less able to tolerate abuse. It is said that the eye is tender, but the conscience is much more tender and soft.” How true this is. We as Christians need to be careful in how we interact with others and to not think of ourselves more highly than we ought. This is why Christian humility is so important. When we think of others first and get to know their needs it can be easier for us to serve and encourage them in their Christian walk with God. We can also know the things that we shouldn’t do around them so that we do not harm their walk with our Heavenly Father.
6. Author Ken Langley talks about how we as Christians are called out by God only by grace and not because of something special we’ve done. After worrying for half an hour that we wouldn't get on an overbooked flight, my wife and I were summoned to the check-in desk. A smiling agent whispered that this was our lucky day. To get us on the plane he was bumping us up to first class. This was the first and only time we've been so pampered on an airplane--good food, hot coffee, plenty of elbowroom. We played a little game, trying to guess who else didn't belong in first class. One man stuck out. He walked around the cabin in his socks, restlessly sampling magazines, playing with but never actually using the in-flight phones. Twice he sneezed so loudly we thought the oxygen masks would drop down. And when the attendant brought linen tablecloths for our breakfast trays, he tucked his into his collar as a bib. We see misfits at church, too--people who obviously don't belong, people who embarrass us and cause us to feel superior. The truth is we don't belong there any more than they do.
7. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. Ken Langley found this out very quickly after he played the game of who didn’t belong in first class. We as Christians realize that we don’t deserve God’s grace, because of our sins. But, God sent Jesus into this world to suffer and die in our place so we all can have the hope and joy of eternal life. Knowing this as Christians we’re able to show love to others, because we know it’s through God’s grace that we’re able to do this. When we’re empowered by the Holy Spirit we’ll be able to encourage one another in the faith. Remember that when your conscience may feel weakened by someone else or you may feel inferior to them don’t lose heart. God still loves and cares for you no matter who you are. He died for each one of you. We’re all united in Christ into one body and each one of us is special to God. May He enable us to encourage one another in the faith, especially when we may be feeling sad, lonely or depressed. May He give you the strength to live through each day for Him, serving Him in all that you think, say and do. May you know that the acts of service that you do for one another are very special to God. Amen.