Introduction: Have you been in a situation in which you were absolutely right, but you ended up losing? In American law this is not supposed to happen. You have the facts in hand, you argue the application of the correct law, and if you are competent and logical you win, right? In my experience, the answer is, “Not always.” Biblical arguments can be even more uncertain. First, not everyone agrees on what a Bible text says. If there is no agreement on the law, which is the standard for judgment, how can you have a reasonable debate? Second, being right about what the Bible says does not always lead you to the correct conclusion. How can that be? We need to ask Paul! Our study this week begins with being right on the Bible, but wrong on our conclusion. Let’s dive into this worrisome idea to better understand what Paul is teaching us!
I. The Art of Being Right and Wrong at the Same Time
A. Read 1 Corinthians 8:1-3. Paul writes that knowledge “puffs up” while love “builds up.” Does that sound like a recipe for disaster? Knowledge is bad, emotion is good. Or, is calling love merely an emotion unfair?
1. One main reason the United States is successful is that it is based on the “Rule of Law.” That means we are not supposed to make judicial decisions willy-nilly (meaning randomly) based on our feelings or emotions at the moment. We decide what is right based on established rules. What could be wrong with that?
2. Notice that Paul says that “knowledge” “puffs up.” Is he saying that understanding the truth makes you arrogant?
3. Paul also writes that love “builds up.” Is being loving better than being right?
B. Wait a minute! Look at 1 Corinthians 8:1 again. Is the “love rules over knowledge” idea limited to one small area of discussion? (Yes! Paul limits the subject of discussion to “food offered to idols.”)
1. Does this make you feel better or worse?
C. Read 1 Corinthians 8:4-6. What view about idols is held by a person of great knowledge? (Idols are nothing. There is only one true God.)
1. If you have this solid knowledge, are you “puffed up,” or are you just well-educated about the Bible?
D. Read 1 Corinthians 8:7. What do you think about people who do not understand all the facts? (I would call them “low-information people.”)
1. Does Paul tell us that low information people exist? (Yes. He says, “not all possess this knowledge.”)
2. How does Paul refer to those who do not have a firm understanding about the nature of God? (He calls them, “weak.”)
E. Read 1 Corinthians 8:8. On the issue of eating food offered to idols, does eating that food affect our relationship with God? (Paul says, “No.” High-information Christians know idols are nothing.)
F. Read 1 Corinthians 8:9-11. Is our superior knowledge that idols are nothing the end of the discussion? (No. Eating food offered to idols will harm the weak Christian because he has not gotten over his former belief that idols are, indeed, something.)
1. Should low-information people should control the actions of high-information people?
2. Think again about Paul’s statement that knowledge “puffs up” but love “builds up.” (This illustrates the problem. Even though the person who says “idols are nothing” is exactly right, exercising that knowledge without regard for the struggling believer does not show love.)
3. Why should the weak rule over those who are “strong” in their knowledge of God? And, if eating food offered to an idol means nothing, what is wrong with the weak being encouraged to eat that food? (It is not loving to encourage another person to violate their conscience.)
G. Read 1 Corinthians 8:12-13. Is it sinful to act in a way consistent with your superior knowledge? (Paul says, “Yes.”)
1. Would your reaction be to say to the low-information Christian, “Get over here and let me teach you something?” Or “Get over your uninformed ideas?”
H. Let’s go back and re-examine 1 Corinthians 8:7. Is the problem simply a lack of information or intelligence? (No. Paul introduces us to the concept of a weak conscience, a conscience shaped by a person’s former association with idolatry.)
1. Have you ever considered that your conscience could be mistaken? (This complicates the issue. The debate is not merely between knowledgeable and uninformed people. It is between the knowledgeable and those whose previous experiences have conditioned their consciences.)
II. A Limited Rule Against the Virtue of Knowledge
A. The good news is that Paul limits his teaching to food offered to idols. How difficult would it be to avoid eating in an idol’s temple?
1. Think carefully about this. Is Paul’s teaching limited only to food offered to idols? In my situation, that limited teaching has zero effect on my daily life because nothing I would consider eating has encountered idols.
B. Read Romans 14:1-2 and Romans 14:5-6. Has Paul increased the circle of “love over knowledge” to eating meat and observance of particular days?
C. Read Romans 14:21. Has Paul redrawn the circle to be even larger by including drinking wine and “anything that causes your brother to stumble?”
D. Read Romans 14:19. The early chapters of 1 Corinthians include strong statements against sexual sins. Are we to “throw the Bible away” and pursue whatever makes for peace and mutual upbuilding?
E. Read Romans 14:1. On what topics should we defer to the “weak in faith?” (Paul limits this discussion to “opinions”—matters on which faithful Christians may conscientiously disagree. The limitation in Romans 14 is quarreling over opinions. The KJV calls it “doubtful disputations” and the NIV calls it “disputable matters.”)
1. Is Sabbath-keeping a “disputable matter,” a “quarrel over opinions?” (Keeping the Sabbath was instituted at Creation, reaffirmed in the giving of the Ten Commandments, and observed during Easter weekend when Jesus rested in the grave on Sabbath to celebrate His victory over sin. Jesus and His disciples kept the Sabbath. Indeed, in Mark 2:28 Jesus declared that “the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” There are no, meaning zero, commands in the Bible to keep holy the first day of the week. The question is not a disputable matter based on the text of the Bible.)
a. So what is Paul talking about when he writes in Romans 14:6 about observing a day? (Some older commentaries write that Paul refers to the Jewish festivals. It appears that wanted people to attend church on Sunday rather than believe that all days are the same. See Romans 14:5.)
F. Read Romans 14:22. Is this a call for sanctified hypocrisy? (Paul is not telling the educated to compromise their beliefs on disputable matters. He simply tells them to keep them a secret from the weak folk.)
III. No Compromise
A. Read 1 Corinthians 10:5-11. What happened to those who practiced idolatry and sexual immorality, tested Christ, and grumbled? What warning does this give us? (Their rebellion brought divine judgment, and many died.)
B. Read 1 Corinthians 10:18-21. Does it seem like a different person wrote 1 Corinthians chapter 8?
1. How would you sort this out? (We start with the proposition that idols are nothing. Therefore food offered to idols is nothing to be worried about. At the same time, demons are something. (They are fallen angels.) If you are actively promoting the demonic you are not part of the fellowship of God.)
2. How does the idea of “disputable matters” fit into our understanding of this issue? (Promoting the demonic is not a disputable matter. This is the key to understanding. Paul does not want us to waste time on differing opinions on disputable matters. However, when the question is whether we are serving God or showing allegiance to demons, obedience is expected. Death is the alternative.)
C. Read 1 Corinthians 10:31. What overarching rule governs both out Christian liberty and our concern for others?
D. Friend, one of the things I’ve learned with age is that I do not have to correct everything I hear that is wrong. The Bible puts a finer point on this. If a matter is disputable, show love and do not discourage the uninformed or those with a weak conscience. If the Bible clearly shows that the issue involves choosing between allegiance to God and allegiance to Satan, no compromise is permitted. Will you study the Bible and listen to the Holy Spirit so that you can distinguish between the disputable and the essential?
IV. Next week: Spiritual Gifts.
Copr. 2026, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.
