If Anyone Thinks He Knows Something

1 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. 4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), 6 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. 7 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. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. 9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 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.

"The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought." Recently, I've been studying the Bible more thoroughly than ever before in my life. I've been finding such fascination in the word by searching through the Greek and Hebrew, breaking out commentaries, diagramming sentences, perusing the Midrash and Talmudic writings and consulting the perspective of early Church fathers. I'm loving it. I've found that I really want to be a theologian, and that I love to study and search out the mysteries. Now I want to learn Greek and Hebrew! But I keep this chapter in the forefront of my studies all the time.

When I was younger, or maybe yesterday, and I received what I believed to be a new revelation, I would try and bring it up in every conversation, talk about it at every opportunity, and introduce people who may be unfamiliar to this new concept. But that scripture follows me around, and I'm discovering that the more I learn, the more context I develop, the more accurate translation I have, the more I discover how little I really know.

In the area of Christian freedom, I am so struck that Paul was willing to become a vegetarian if the eating of meat would cause a brother to stumble. Such humility! The normal human response is, "Why should I stop what I'm doing simply because they have a problem with it!" Paul was so humble.

If you are looking for helpful resources for study, the following have inspired me greatly. Chuck Missler's Learn the Bible in 24 Hours is an amazing place to start. You'll get an overview of every book in the Bible, and Chuck throws in these details that will blow your mind and inspire you to search them out for yourself. Chuck's website, Koinonia House is also a goldmine of study-food. Another favorite is Neville Johnson. Sometimes his stuff is hard to get a hold of so I've posted mp3's in the teaching section.