Ill:
• The great composer Johann Sebastian Bach said, always headed his compositions “J.J.”
• The letters stood for “Jesus Juva” which means “Jesus Help Me.”
• He ended them “S.D.G.” the letters stood for “Soli Dei Gratia”
• Which means “to God alone be the praise.”
• That would suggest to me that Bach was a man;
• Who wanted to glorify God - that was his priority.
• And of course it is (or it should be) the priority of EVERY Christian!
• I want to entitle my sermon this morning ‘Glorifying God’.
• That should be the priority of every Christian – look at verse 31:
• "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
• This morning we will see some principles that will help us to achieve that goal.
Our passage this morning begins at verse 14 with the word "therefore."
• Now every preacher is always taught that when you come across that word;
• You stop and ask the question: “What’s it therefore!”
• The answer is simple;
• It is a link to what has gone before;
• Don’t forget chapter divisions and verse numbers are our idea not God’s.
• They are put there for our convenience;
• To help us find our way around the Bible quickly and more easily.
• Now verse 9 – the verse which you finished off last weeks talk with;
• Is all about temptation.
• Today’s opening verse (10) to our section;
• Which let’s us know what temptations these Christians were struggling with,
• They were struggling with idolatry – the worship of wrong things.
• That word ‘idolatry’ ought to sound very familiar to you;
• Because Paul has been talking about it in chapters 8, 9 and the first half of chapter 10.
• So what follows in our passage this morning;
• Is a summary of everything that Paul has been discussing in chapters 8, 9 and first part of 10.
I want to divide this passage under 4 headings:
(A). The Warning (vs 14-22):
“Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry”
• The pagan world or religion was dominated by idols;
• Idols are of course perceptible, visible, they are physical and tangible.
Ill:
• A little boy went up to a missionary Sunday School leader in a pagan country;
• The boy said;
• “I like what you say about the God of the Bible but I can’t see him;
• But if I go to the temple I can see my God”.
• The missionary said to the little boy;
• “Listen, does your God bleed”.
• The boy said; “I don’t know!”
• The missionary gave him a pin and said;
• “Next time you go to the temple, when no one else is watching;
• Prick him, see what happens”.
• The following week the boy returned to his Sunday School class;
• He said to the missionary: “I did it, I did it, I pricked the idol”.
• The missionary said; “And what happened”.
• The boy replied; “Nothing, my god doesn’t bleed”.
• Straight away the missionary said;
• “But my God did! He bled for me and he bled for you!”
The point the missionary was making was what Psalm 115 teaches about the foolishness of worshipping an idol:
“The idols of the nations
are made of silver and gold.
5They have a mouth and eyes,
but they can’t speak or see.
6Their ears can’t hear,
and their noses can’t smell.
7Their hands have no feeling,
their legs don’t move,
and they can’t make a sound.
8Everyone who made the idols
and all who trust them
are just as helpless
as those useless gods”.
• Having swapped the worship of idols for the living God;
• The Corinthian Christians now faced another problem;
• Before we look at dilemma that let’s pause and apply this warning to ourselves!
Quote:
“Though we do not face a pantheon of false gods like the Israelites did, we face pressures from a pantheon of false values—materialism, love of leisure, sensuality, worship of self, security, and many others. The second commandment deals with idols. This may be something that most of us can’t relate to—unless we include life goals that revolve around something other than God Himself.
What is the object of our affections, our efforts, and our attention?
Where does the majority of our time go?
On what do we spend the greatest amount of our resources”
Quote:
Today’s idols are more in the self than on the shelf
• An idol of course is not just a statue of wood, silver or gold;
• It is anything or anyone who takes the place of God in our lives.
• What is the object of our affections, What is our first love?
• What is the object of our efforts, our labours and our attention?
• Where does the majority of our time go?
• On what do we spend the greatest amount of our resources?”
• “Today’s idols are more in the self than on the shelf”.
• Paul’s warning: “Flee idolatry - run away, escape, take flight, get away from idolatry”.
• In other words; ‘Take action’, ‘do something’
• Don’t be a victim of idolatry be a victor!
• I like the fact that Paul is unequivocal, he is plain and clear in his advice;
• He goes on to say in vs 15: “I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say”.
Note:
• Having been wise and sensible the Christians then faced another dilemma;
• The culture in which they lived placed them in a ‘catch 22’ situation.
• They might not worship idols but the rest of the city did;
• Their unconverted friends, family, business acquaintances etc all did.
• And the meat sold in the market place or in a restaurant or served in a friends home;
• Would have been meat that was first offered to idols.
Ill:
• A few months ago the tabloid newspapers ran a front page story that;
• Caterers were secretly dishing up halal meat to thousands in hotels, restaurants, schools,
• Top hospitals such as Guy’s - and at sports venues Ascot, Wembley and Twickenham.
• The problem was customers are not warned;
• That their meals came from animals that were slaughtered;
• By having their throats slit without being stunned – according to Islamic law.
The Corinthians faced a similar problem – only worse:
• Their food was always first offered to idols;
• And then eaten by themselves, their family, friends, guests etc.
• In chapters 8 onwards of this letter;
• Paul has already made it clear that meat sacrificed to idols was morally neutral.
• You can eat it in a home or a restaurant with a clear conscience.
• But now he says there is an exception!
• In these verses 16-22 he says:
• To eat this food in the context of explicitly pagan worship services is always wrong.
• Note: The command; “Fleeing from idolatry”.
• Literally reads; “Keep on fleeing from idolatry”.
• It was a temptation these Christians would face over and over and over again,
• Because there were a thousand temples and idols scattered around Corinth,
• As a loving father, he was warning these young Christians;
• Not to get drawn back into anything associated with idolatry in those temples.
Ill:
• As you saw in your last message (chapter 10 verses 1-13);
• Paul gave the illustration from the history of the nation Israel,
• The point he was making was simple;
• Just the fact that you’re one of God’s chosen people;
• Is no guarantee that you’re not going to fall back into idol worship.
• The pursuit of false gods and their worship was a constant temptation to Israel,
• And Paul says it would be a constant temptation to the believers in Corinth,
• And when we recognise our modern & sophisticated idols of the western world;
• Idolatry will always be a problem to us Christians as well.
(B). An analogy (vs 16-20)
“Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a PARTICIPATION in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a PARTICIPATION in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all SHARE (or PARTAKE) the one loaf.
18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices PARTICIPATE in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be PARTICIPANTS with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?”
Notice: The word ‘Participation’ it is used six times by Paul in these verses:
• ill: Paul says in verse 18 that in the Old Testament;
• The nation of Israel did not just make sacrifices – they participated in them.
• ill: In verses 16-17 that Christians in the New Testament;
• Don’t just take the elements at the communion table - the bread and the wine,
• We are not onlookers but we are participators;
• The Lord’s supper involves a sharing, a ‘koinonia’, an involvement, an association.
• It is a time when we experience spiritual fellowship with the Lord Jesus;
• As well as with our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.
Here is the point:
• Jews under the old covenant and followers of Jesus Christ under the new covenant;
• Are defined in terms of spiritual identity by what they eat together.
Ill:
• In the culture of the Bible:
• Eating with somebody was always much more than meeting a physical need.
• It was a sign of oneness, a sign of reconciliation, a sign of unity.
• Everyone in the first century knew:
• That you did not eat with your enemy;
• You did not have fellowship with your enemy!
Notice how intimate this ‘fellowship’ is (verse 16b-17):
• “And is not the bread that we break a participation in the BODY OF CHRIST?
• Because there is ONE loaf, we, who are many, are ONE body, for we all share the ONE loaf”.
• Verse 17: Reminds us that our ‘fellowship’ is because in Christ we are one!
• Jew & Gentile, slave & master, rich & poor, black & white = all reconciled together in Christ!
• Verse 16: takes that idea even further:
• So much are we ‘in Christ’ that we are his ‘body’!
• We are forever joined to him in a living mystical relationship.
Now with that in mind:
• Paul now contrasts eating at the Lord’s table;
• With eating meals in the pagan temples.
• Paul clearly says in verse 20 that all idolatry is driven by demonic evil.
• The point he’s making is that which Jesus pointed out in Matthew chapter 6 verse 24;
• When he said that we cannot serve two masters.
Ill:
• Mark Twain once debated with some Mormon’s that polygamy was wrong;
• Polygamy is a form of marriage in which a person has more than one partner at the same time,
• When asked to prove it from the Bible Mark Twain Quoted Matthew chapter 6 verse 24;
• When he said that we cannot serve two masters.
More seriously:
• It’s not just that we shouldn’t serve two masters;
• It is impossible to do both at the same time.
• It’s got to be one or the other - in the words of Jesus
• “Either you will hate the one and love the other,
• Or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.”
• If we want fellowship with the Lord Jesus,
• We must realise that involvement with idols cuts us off from the life of Christ.
Notice: Verse 22:
• “Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy?”
• In other words: ‘we’re going to have to deal with God if we pursue idolatry.’
Ill:
• A husband and wife got into a lift with a crowd of people;
• Just in front of the husband stood a beautiful young blond woman.
• As other people entered the lift the beautiful young blond got closer & closer to the husband;
• In fact she was very close!
• And his wife could tell that her husband was enjoying this encounter far too much.
• As the lift went up one or two more floors the beautiful young blond woman;
• Turned around and slapped the husband on the face!
• She said: “That will teach you not to pinch my bottom!”
• As he and his wife left the lift, stunned and red faced he said to her:
• “Darling I did not pinch that lady’s bottom”
• She replied; “I know dear…..I did!”
• Point: If we humans get jealous and take action;
• Let’s remember that God in his wisdom and understanding will also act!
So what we have in these verses are three warnings:
• Idolatry contradicts our identity in Christ.
• It is driven by demonic evil.
• And it provokes the holy wrath of God.
(3). A principle (23-30)
• In these verses Paul talks about the opportunity to use our freedom;
• For God’s glory and for the good of other people.
Notice:
• Paul refuses to lay down rules for practice;
• That will apply to every Christian in every cultural setting, under all circumstances.
• Instead he summarizes spiritual principles;
• That we must work out in our own setting where God has placed us.
• In life there are many grey areas;
• Paul gives us some insights into making decisions about and certain issues.
• The apostle Paul gives us four principles (not fixed rules);
• As a kind of guide for using our freedom in Christ for God’s glory.
• Therefore I will give you the principle;
• You go home think about it, pray about it and make your own application!
PRINCIPLE NUMBER 1 (VERSE 23):
• Edification is more important than our personal gratification.
• “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial.
• “I have the right to do anything” - but not everything is constructive”.
PRINCIPLE NUMBER 2 (VERSE 22):
• Our freedom is going to express itself in serving other people.
• “No one should seek their own good, but the good of others”.
PRINCIPLE NUMBER 3 (VERSE 25-27):
The good news is that liberty in Christ will always triumph over legalism.
• Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
• 27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience.
PRINCIPLE NUMBER 4 (VERSE 28-30):
• Self-sacrifice on our part will triumph over any kind of condemnation,
• Either self-condemnation or judgment by others.
“But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. 29 I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?”
Ill:
• The great British preacher Charles Spurgeon.
• Was the Pastor of the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London at aged twenty-two years old.
• Over the next thirty years the church grew to more than five thousand people.
• Spurgeon was a giant in nineteenth-century expository preaching and evangelism.
• He was a prodigious writer.
• He developed a seminary and Bible college.
• He was an amazing man of God.
• But one thing Spurgeon loved was cigars,
• And that unsettled some Christians.
• (This was 120 years ago, when nobody knew the dangers of smoking).
Ill:
• There is a story about how one of his students came into his study,
• And there was Spurgeon with his Bible and Greek lexicons,
• Just immersed in studying the Bible,
• While puffing on a great big cigar.
• The sight was obviously unsettling to the young man,
• Spurgeon looked at him and said,
• "My young friend, can you smoke a cigar to the glory of God?"
• The young man couldn’t say anything, and Spurgeon said,
• "Well, if you can’t do it to the glory of God, then leave them alone."
• But when the British tobacco industry;
• Took Spurgeon’s picture and used it to advertise tobacco,
• He stopped smoking and never smoked another cigar again!
• Because he didn’t want his freedom to affect young people.
• To me, that’s a wonderful example of the balance,
• The freedom that is controlled by love for the other, seeking the good of the other.
(4). A motive (10:31-11:1)
“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— 33 even as I try to please everyone in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ”.
Paul’s motivation in life, his daily purpose was threefold:
• Verse 31: To glorify God.
• Verse 32: To encourage and not stumble other Christians.
• Verse 32: To win the lost!
LISTEN:
• If you take nothing else away from my message this morning;
• Don’t miss this!
• When you get out of bed in the morning;
• You will not find anything better than this to motivate you!
• Verse 31: To glorify God.
• At work, home or Church – that’s your goal!
• Verse 32: To encourage and not stumble other Christians.
• That’s you example.
• Verse 32: To win the lost!
• That’s your mission, that’s your objective!
