The Liberty of the Lord's Free Man Text: 1 Corinthians 10:23-33
Introduction: The Tyranny of the Scrupulous
We live in an age that is positively swarming with new laws, new regulations, and new pieties. Our secular overlords, having rejected the perfect law of liberty, now seek to bind the consciences of men with an endless series of man-made regulations, all designed to signal virtue and control behavior. And sadly, the church has not been immune to this impulse. We often find ourselves entangled in extra-biblical rules, creating fences around the law that God never authorized. We have our evangelical taboos, our dietary restrictions, our entertainment codes, and our political litmus tests. We have become experts in judging one another in matters where God has granted us freedom.
The Corinthian church was a mess, but it was a very modern mess. It was a chaotic blend of robust, meat-eating faith and skittish, weak-kneed scrupulosity. The problem they faced was specific to their time and place: what to do with meat that had been offered to an idol. Could a Christian buy a steak at the market if it had been part of a pagan ritual earlier that day? Could a believer accept a dinner invitation from a pagan neighbor without interrogating him about the religious history of the roast beef?
Paul's answer to this is a master class in Christian liberty. He refuses to be squeezed into the simplistic categories of "anything goes" licentiousness or "nothing is safe" legalism. Instead, he lays down a series of profound principles that teach us how to navigate the glorious freedom we have in Christ. This is not just about ancient dietary squabbles. This is about how a Christian is to live in a world that is simultaneously God's good creation and a minefield of potential offense. It teaches us that true Christian freedom is not the right to do whatever we want, but the power to lay down our rights for the sake of another. It is a freedom that is bounded by love and aimed at the glory of God.
In our text, Paul gives us the theological foundation for our freedom, the practical application of that freedom, and the ultimate goal of that freedom. He teaches us that a mature Christian is not the one who knows the most rules, but the one who knows how to love the best.
The Text
All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but that of the other person. Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake. FOR THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S, AS WELL AS ITS FULLNESS. If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience’ sake. But if anyone says to you, “This is meat consecrated to idols,” do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake. I do not mean your own conscience, but the other person’s. For why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience? If I partake with gratefulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks? Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved.
(1 Corinthians 10:23-33 LSB)
Lawful is Not Enough (vv. 23-24)
Paul begins by repeating a slogan that the Corinthians were likely throwing around to justify their behavior. But he immediately qualifies it.
"All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but that of the other person." (1 Corinthians 10:23-24)
The Corinthians, puffed up with their newfound knowledge, were saying, "All things are lawful for me." And Paul agrees, but with a massive pastoral asterisk. Yes, in Christ, the ceremonial food laws of the Old Covenant are fulfilled. An idol is nothing, and so meat is just meat. Your freedom is real. But your freedom is not the only factor in the equation. A mature believer operates on a higher plane than simply asking, "Is this permissible?" He asks, "Is this profitable? Is this edifying? Does this build up my brother?"
This is the difference between a minimalist Christian and a maximalist one. The minimalist wants to know how close he can get to the line without sinning. The maximalist wants to know how he can best love God and his neighbor. Paul immediately pivots from the language of rights to the language of responsibility. The governing principle of Christian liberty is not self-assertion but self-giving love. "Let no one seek his own good, but that of the other person." This is a radical, counter-cultural statement. Our world screams at us to look out for number one, to assert our rights, to live our truth. The gospel commands us to lay down our rights for the good of our neighbor, just as Christ laid down His life for us.
Notice the two criteria Paul gives: profitability and edification. Is this action going to advance the cause of the gospel in my life and in the lives of others? Is it going to build up the church, strengthening the faith of my brothers and sisters? If my exercise of freedom tears down another man's faith, then it is not a profitable use of that freedom. It is a selfish indulgence masquerading as spiritual maturity.
The Earth is the Lord's (vv. 25-27)
Having established the principle of love, Paul now gives the practical, default position for the strong Christian.
"Eat anything that is sold in the meat market without asking questions for conscience’ sake. FOR THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S, AS WELL AS ITS FULLNESS. If one of the unbelievers invites you and you want to go, eat anything that is set before you without asking questions for conscience’ sake." (1 Corinthians 10:25-27 LSB)
Here is the robust, world-affirming theology that undergirds Christian liberty. The earth belongs to God. All of it. Every cow, every lamb, every particle of matter was created by Him and for Him. An idol is a theological nullity. It is nothing. Therefore, a demon cannot spiritually contaminate a steak. The pagan ritual is a vain superstition, and the Christian who knows this is free to ignore it completely.
So, Paul says, go to the market. Buy the best cut of meat you can afford. Don't play detective. Don't start an interrogation with the butcher about where this particular lamb chop spent its morning. Your conscience is clear because your theology is clear: God made the meat, and it is good. To start asking questions "for conscience' sake" is to act as though the idol has some power, to grant the pagan worldview a foothold in your mind. It is to have a misinformed conscience, and Paul wants to liberate them from that.
The same principle applies to social engagements. If your unbelieving neighbor invites you for dinner, go. Be a good neighbor. Be salt and light. And when he serves the meal, eat what is set before you. Don't insult your host by cross-examining him on the provenance of the pot roast. To do so would be rude, and it would again be acting out of a faulty conscience, as though the food itself could be defiled. You receive it with thanksgiving to the true God who provided it, and that act of gratitude sanctifies the meal for you (1 Tim. 4:4-5).
When Liberty Must Yield (vv. 28-30)
But then Paul introduces the great exception. The principle of love must sometimes override the principle of liberty.
"But if anyone says to you, 'This is meat consecrated to idols,' do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for conscience’ sake. I do not mean your own conscience, but the other person’s. For why is my freedom judged by another’s conscience? If I partake with gratefulness, why am I slandered concerning that for which I give thanks?" (1 Corinthians 10:28-30 LSB)
The situation changes dramatically when new information is introduced. You are at the dinner party, about to enjoy the meal, and someone, perhaps a weaker Christian brother who is also a guest, or even the pagan host trying to make a point, leans over and says, "You know, this was offered to Zeus." The meat hasn't changed. Your theology hasn't changed. The idol is still nothing. But the context has changed. The act of eating has now been invested with new meaning.
In this scenario, Paul says, "do not eat it." Why? Not for your sake. Your conscience is fine. You know the idol is a block of wood. You must abstain for the sake of the other person's conscience. If the informant is a weaker brother, eating the meat could embolden him to violate his own conscience, which is a grievous sin (Romans 14:23). He might see your freedom and try to imitate it, but without the corresponding knowledge, he could be sucked back into the idolatrous mindset he just escaped. You would be using your liberty to destroy someone for whom Christ died.
If the informant is the pagan host, eating the meat after he has identified it as a sacrifice would be to participate in his idolatry in his mind. He would see your action as an endorsement of his god. Your eating would no longer be a simple act of enjoying God's provision; it would become a confession of faith in a false god. Your witness would be compromised.
Paul then anticipates the objection of the strong Christian: "Why is my freedom judged by another's conscience?" This is a good question. It feels unfair. "If I give thanks for it, why am I slandered?" Paul's answer is that love trumps fairness. The goal is not to win a theological argument over dinner. The goal is the salvation and edification of others. It is better to go without steak than to cause your brother to stumble or to confuse a lost person about the gospel.
The Ultimate Standard (vv. 31-33)
Finally, Paul zooms out from the specific issue of meat and gives us the all-encompassing principle that must govern every area of our lives.
"Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense either to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God; just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit but the profit of the many, so that they may be saved." (1 Corinthians 10:31-33 LSB)
Here is the ultimate litmus test for all Christian behavior. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, and that applies to everything, from the most momentous decisions of life to the most mundane acts of eating and drinking. How can I glorify God in this situation? That is the question that must discipline our freedom.
Glorifying God means we must be careful not to put a stumbling block in anyone's way. Paul lists three categories of people we must not offend: Jews, Greeks, and the church of God. This covers everyone. We are not to needlessly offend the legalistic Jew, the pagan Greek, or the weak or strong within the church. This does not mean we avoid preaching the gospel, which is itself an offense (1 Cor. 1:23). It means we are not to let our personal liberties become a barrier to someone hearing that gospel. We are to be all things to all men, not in a way that compromises truth, but in a way that removes unnecessary obstacles.
Paul sets himself up as the example. His goal was not his own profit, his own comfort, or the exercise of his own rights. His goal was "the profit of the many, so that they may be saved." This is the heart of a mature, gospel-centered man. He leverages all his freedom, all his knowledge, and all his rights for the salvation of others. He would rather never eat meat again than have his diet be the reason someone rejects Christ.
Conclusion: Freedom for the Sake of the Gospel
The principles here are timeless. The specific issue may be meat offered to idols, but for us, it might be the use of alcohol, the kind of music we listen to, the movies we watch, or the political positions we take. In all these areas, we have tremendous freedom in Christ. But that freedom is not a license for self-indulgence. It is a tool for ministry.
We must first be grounded in the truth that the earth is the Lord's and everything in it. We must not be enslaved by the scrupulous, ill-informed consciences of others. We are free men and women in Christ. But secondly, we must be governed by a cruciform love that is willing to set aside that freedom for the good of a brother or the salvation of a neighbor. Our freedom should make us more sensitive to others, not less.
So, in all that you do, whether it is posting on social media, choosing your entertainment, or having a neighbor over for a barbecue, ask the apostolic questions. Is this lawful? Yes. But is it profitable? Does it build up? Will it glorify God? Will it adorn the gospel and help lead others to salvation? May God give us the wisdom to know our freedom and the love to know when to lay it down.