Sermon Brief
Date Written: August 7, 2014
Date Preached: August 10, 2014
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: A Series in 1 Corinthians
Sermon Title: Paul’s Emphasis on Christlike Obedience
Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 10:14-33 [ESV] – read now
14Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? 23“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” 27If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? 30If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? 31So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. [clear screen after finish]
Essence of the Text: Paul used these verses to give direction & guidance to not abuse the spiritual freedoms we have in Christ!
Essence of the Sermon: These verses give us direction & guidance in not abusing our spiritual freedoms in Christ!
Main Question(s) of the Sermon: How do you use your spiritual freedom? What is the focus of your spiritual freedom? Is it what YOU can do or is it what YOU can do for Christ?
Applicable Objective of the Sermon: You will hear:
WORD PROCLAIMED: Paul states a basic premise about spiritual freedom & then gives 3 principles for living out our spiritual freedom.
WORD EXPLAINED: Paul’s premise & 3 principles focus on what we can do FOR the kingdom and NOT so much what can be given to us…
WORD MADE PERSONAL: Am I adhering to this very basic premise from Scripture? Am I applying these 3 principles of God’s word in my life?
Introduction
Basic biblical Premise for spiritual freedom for believers… Paul sets a premise for the people, in v14 he says: 14Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
[read v14 here]
I want us to look at a few words from within this spiritual teaching …to help us in understanding what Paul was saying AND how it applies to believers even today!
Paul uses the term ‘beloved’ which is the Greek word
ah-gahp-ay-toss – this the same word as Paul uses in
4:14 (describing the fellowship) &
15:58 (describing the fellowship)
How special is this term of endearment? It is the same word God used when He describes Jesus after His baptism & on the Mount of Transfiguration. On both occasions God said,
“This is My beloved Son …”
Paul not only loved this fellowship but wanted others to know how deep he cared for them and believed they were useful in the kingdom of Christ! LIKEWISE, this also shows how we must love and care for one another… just as God loved and cared for His Son!
Paul also uses the word Flee here. It is the Greek word –
fyoo-go – this is the same word Paul also used in:
1 Cor 6:18 (describing the what the fellowship must do when faced with sexual sin/immorality – they were instructed to remove themselves with haste from the situation)
How imperative is this command by Paul? Looking at the teaching of Jesus we find that fyoo-goh is the same word Jesus used when speaking about the end of the world in Mark 13 when He said when you see the Abomination of Desolation, you must FLEE from Judea. This was a dire warning to get out quickly because danger was overwhelming …
Paul uses that SAME term in refernce to FLEEING from the idolatry… It seems as if these believers may have had an issue with this OR that they had become comfortable with any idolatry that was going on within the fellowship…
The emphasis Paul makes here is that believers MUST quickly remove themselves from any situation where temptation/danger persists. In other words, temptation = spiritual danger!
Now we looked at this last week, in that we CANNOT do this on our own, but we rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us & guide us…
HOWEVER, we still must make the choice to turn away! We must CHOOSE to turn away and the power of the Holy Spirit enables us to turn away…
This does not mean to simply side step the issue…but rather it means to GET OUT … to remove yourself from the situation!
If we only sidestep the issue, the temptation remains & we are still in danger and will fall! However, if we remove ourselves from the situation the temptation does not have the same hold over us…
Paul speaks of ‘Idolatry’ and he uses the Greek word that is a reference to the actual worship activities of those who worshiped false gods and idols, such as the golden calf, the children of Israel worshiped after they came out of Egypt.
It also refers to any activities associated with worshiping false idols… the one particular idolatrous activity Paul is referring to here is what he has already mentioned, the eating of meat sacrificed to an idol…
Paul did teach that false idols are NOTHING so anything sacrificed to them is not really unclean because it was sacrificed to ‘nothing’… BUT that if eating that meat caused a brother or sister in Christ to stumble… to avoid it at all costs!
In this passage here Paul encourages believers to FLEE from it… in other words remove yourself from the situation, take yourself away from the activity.
Because this activity can bring negative action to the church The reason for Paul’s ultra-conservative approach to this situation was that he was charged by God to watch out for the overall health of the church…and idolatry is a cancer in the church!
FLEE from idols had been a running theme for the Israelites for centuries. Many did listen to God and fell victim to God’s wrath! Paul did not believe this fellowship was seeking to turn away from God… OR it could be that he was giving them the benefit of the doubt. His words are words of a loving leader.
He had established this church & had mentored MANY of these believers & I believe he knew exactly to whom he was writing… Look what he says in v.15
15I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. [read v15 here]
This verse gives us a picture of Paul’s attitude & approach to being their spiritual mentor… We don’t find him to be judging or bashing them!
We don’t find Paul lording over them with his claim of being their spiritual mentor! Rather we find Paul calling to them as a spiritual contemporary… calling out to them as a fellow believer reaching out to others within the body of Christ!
I believe this shares where Paul’s focus was & what his heart was about… it was focused on serving God & not anything else! His basic attitude seems to be:
“Hey guys, I know you know what is right from wrong, you have spiritual discernment within you… I trust your judgment on this issue so it is up to you to decide how you are going to respond…”
I am telling you to GET OUT when temptation comes your way & I know you are smart… I know I am not speaking to spiritually IMMATURE belivers, but to maturing believers who know what they should do…
However, even though Paul trusted them and believed them to be mature believers… Paul wanted to make it clear how dangerous idolatry was for them…[read v16-18 here]
16The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?
Here Paul is laying out his reasoning for his premise about idolatry…
Basically, Paul had said he trusts their judgment, but here he stresses the importance of the matter to them!
Paul makes the comparison between the worship of God and the worship of false idols. Basically he tells them: “Don’t dishonor Christ by lumping Him in with all those false gods and idols!”
In other words, “…you are free in Christ… you are free to eat meat sacrificed to idols but when you KNOW it has been sacrificed to an idol, why would you do it? Why even risk the appearance of idol worship?
He believed he knew that was NOT what they were doing because idols are ‘nothing’…BUT he wanted them to know that beleivers cannot act in any way that causes the world to associate Jesus with idols!
He uses the illustration of the Lord’s Supper to challenge what looks like a complacent & lackadaisical attitude toward their personal holiness in Christ.
He asks them some very basic questions that ANY believer would be able to answer… and IN answering those questions it revealed how they should approach their spiritual freedoms!
The questions are found in v16-19: [read v16-19 here]
16The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?
The cup of blessing he refers to is the communion with Christ through the Lord’s Supper Jesus established to remember what He did on Calvary!
Basically what Paul is asking is:
When we partake of the Lord’s Supper aren’t we participating it the ‘blood of Christ’? Referring to the cup…
When we partake of the Lord’s Supper aren’t we participating in the ‘body of Christ’? Referring to the bread…
Paul says that our communion in Christ is a communion of ONE body partaking in ONE bread… or celebrating ONE savior… the inference here is that we should NEVER add to this by offering sacrifices or honor to any other ‘god’ or idol.
In other words what Paul is doing here is making the point that eating the bread and drinking the cup of the Lord’s Supper identifies us with Jesus and a community of believers who worship One God through His son…
In v18 he argues that the current day Israelites had become a nation of those who identified with the sacrifices of the Temple and thus shared in the altar worship of the Temple.
Jesus taught that this was no longer how to worship, but that a new covenant had come… A covenant based on His ultimate sacrifice on Calvary! Hebrews puts this into perspective:
Heb 10:11-14 [NLT]
11Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 13There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. 14For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.
Paul is urging these believers to NOT fall back into those Old Covenant ways…the ways of the Jewish nation! But instead seek the way of the New Covenant set forth in Christ Jesus!
Paul clarifies his position on idolatry. Once again he makes the statement and teaches that false idols are NOTHING & things sacrificed to them are nothing…HOWEVER:
19What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
HOWEVER, Paul IS saying that as believers we cannot mix our worship, even if it is unintentional… false idol worship has NO place with Christ!
We cannot mix the two… to do so invokes the jealousy of God and His wrath… and we do NOT want to do that!
So what Paul is saying here is that things sacrificed to idols really are not unclean (per se) because these idols are ‘nothing’ BUT as believers we are to put our worship of Christ & our service to Him & our witness FOR Him before our spiritual freedom!
In v23 Paul continues to clarify his stance on this issue…
23“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.
Hey you are free to eat whatever you desire because God created it all and it is all GOOD! However, Paul reveals a NEW covenant principal here & it applies to us today as well:
New Covenant Biblical principle:
Just because you are free to do it
It does NOT mean it is wise TO do it!
Paul’s implication here is that our spiritual freedom is not for our desire or pleasure, but it has a greater purpose!
It allows us to serve God without the burden of guilt that the Law brings… Through God’s grace granted in Christ we no longer are bound to OT/Old Covenant boundaries, but we are free to do ANYTHING to see others come to know Christ!
However, our freedom must be put to use for the glorification of Christ & the advancement of His Kingdom. It cannot be used for our own personal pleasures or desires!
This is why he says that although we ARE free, that not everything is profitable or helpful for us. The Greek word used here for profitable is soom-fehr-oh which carries a meaning of contributing to a team effort in reaching a goal. In other words what Paul is asking here is, “If our actions or efforts take away from the team effort, should we be doing them?”
He also states that all things are lawful… BUT that all things do not build up.
The Greek word used here for ‘build up’ which is a term that references the building of a building… can you imagine a group of carpenters who are NOT working from the same house plans? How do you think that house is going to look?
If we take our spiritual freedoms to the extreme and use them for OUR own desire or pleasure, we are venturing out from the team effort of the Kingdom and we are NOT building up, but we are actually tearing down or preventing the building up of the Kingdom…
Do you want your freedoms to hinder the work of Christ? When we use our freedom in Christ for our OWN desires, we hinder the witness of Christ, not only in OUR lives, but in the lives and witness of those we associate with, such as our family and our church fellowship!
So what you do with your spiritual freedom is important, because if you abuse that freedom you are going to hurt the cause of Christ and damage the witness for you, your family and your fellowship!
Paul says we cannot look at our spiritual freedom as OUR benefit, but as an overall benefit for the body! Look what Paul says in v24:
24Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.
Seek to improve the service of yourself, your family and the fellowship where you worship…
Seek to improve your witness and the witness of your family and fellowship for Christ…
Seek to bear up your brother or sister in Christ… helping those who are weak in the faith thru standing firm in Christ!
Do NOT use your spiritual freedom for selfish gain or desire!
Paul then offers a scenario where you can exercise Spiritual freedom, but when it harms others or the fellowship, you must defer FROM your freedom and seek to lift up your brother/sister in Christ!
25Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26For “the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof.” 27If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? 30If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?
What Paul is saying here is that there will be times when you can exercise spiritual freedoms and it will not harm anyone or harm your witness in Christ… when that happens then you are free to do so!
However, when something arises and you know that the choice you make in exercising your spiritual freedoms is going to harm the fellowship or hurt the faith/spiritual growth of a fellow believer, then you MUST defer from it!
Paul is clear here in that you defer from YOUR spiritual freedoms to help others… it is not that your conscious has been violated, but that the conscious of another would be damaged toward Christ… the witness of the body would be damaged because of your actions.
Paul does acknowledge once again that whatever we do in thankfulness is fine with God, but his implication here is that it may not set well with other believers or the outside world looking in… so when in doubt, defer to the good of the body over your desired freedoms:
Paul states that WHATEVER you do… it is to be done to glorify God, look at v31 with me:
31So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Once again we have Paul revealing a Spiritual Principal for believers:
Whatever you do (your actions, your words, where you go, who you associate with…) MAKE sure it brings glory to God!
This does NOT mean we shun the lost and stay away from areas where the lost congregate… BY NO MEANS! But what this does mean is that our actions among them cannot be focused on our own pleasure but they must be focused on glorifying God.
When we seek to glorify God in all our actions, then our priorities and approach to ministry changes… in v32-33 Paul sets out a process for the believer to follow in regard to this issue.
32Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved.
He says here to give NO offense to the Jews or Greeks… in other words seek to live so as NOT to offend them by your spiritual freedom or your willingness to forgo your spiritual freedoms.
v33 states that we are to ‘…try to please everyone…’ I believe this to be a terrible translation because we cannot serve God and try to please everyone. But here is what Paul meant when he wrote these words.
The Greek word used here for ‘please’ is ah-res-koh which does mean to seek to please or accommodate others, but the implied direction or focus of this term is to accommodate others in the completion of a set task… to elevate, to raise or to lift up those around you and the Christ you serve!
We are to seek to live in peace with each other and bear each other’s burdens for the advancement of the kingdom and NOT for our own selfish reasons!
So what have we learned from Paul’s perspective on Spiritual freedom this morning?
First we learned the biblical principle that just because we are free to DO it, does not mean it is good for us or edifying our fellow believers! Just because we are free TO do something does not mean we SHOULD do it! Our focus must be on serving Christ and pleasing Him NOT our own selfish desires!
Second we learned another helpful biblical principle… If you do ANYTHING do it for the glory of God! This applies to every single part of our life… all we do must focus in on bringing glory to God!
Finally we learned that we are to strive to live in peace with each other and to seek to elevate or lift up our brother in Christ… to be an encourager, to be a servant who’s main focus is the Master’s work!
How about you this morning? How is your approach to spiritual freedom? Is it all about meeting YOUR needs OR are you ready to serve God and give HIM glory and you not worry who gets the credit?
Our goal and desire must be to bring glory to God and to not harm the walk of those around us by forcing our spiritual freedoms upon others…
Today you may have a situation in your life where you are battling something you KNOW God wants you to lay down… You KNOW God wants you to lay it down and step away from it for good, but you just cannot seem to do it!
Your focus is more centered on what is in it for you and what you have the ‘right’ to do… This is what Paul spoke about in the previous chapter when he wrote about his rights as an apostle… but that he was willing to lay those aside to see people won to Christ!
Believer, where are you this morning? I am opening up this altar for you to come and lay down your offering of prayer and petition… to ask God to forgive and cleanse you of your selfish approach to His connection.
Give Evangelistic Invitation…
