"Wild Worldly Christians" Series January 8 & 11, 2015
Two Timing on God
1 Corinthians 10:14-22
David Ward Miller
Rocky Hill Community Church
Exeter, California
[Introduction:]
When the late Charles Kuralt (of CBS’s popular “On the Road” program) died, the last thing anyone would have thought was that he was a two timer. But he was. This endearing man who took America on the back roads and out of the way places in America did not have movie-star looks and seemed like a loyal trusted family man. But his fans were shocked to learn he supported a second lover and her children from a previous marriage on an estate he bought for them in Montana while still married and living with his wife in New York. His two-timing went on for 29 years and did not come to light until he died and his shadow lover sued to get the estate he promised her.
What is a two-timer? Two timers are cheaters.
The dictionary defines two-time as a verb that means "to cheat on one's significant other."
Two-timing is a form of cheating in a relationship where a person attempts to maintain two separate romantic love relationships at once with one or both of the other two lovers not knowing about each other.
Can we two-time on God? Yes!
Two-timing on God is idolatry.
In Jeremiah 3 we learn the Lord gave a certificate of divorce to unfaithful Israel (the ten northern tribes) because of her adulteries, which meant the people worshiped other gods. The two southern tribes did not learn from Israel in the north and also "committed adultery with stone and wood' idols. Idolatry is spiritual adultery. Idolatry is two-timing on God! It is cheating on God.
Paul warns the church in Corinth about two-timing on the Lord by idolatry. This passage is rather confusing when first read, but when carefully unpacked it brings clarity to a serious issue most Christians fail to see in our lives--idolatry!
Follow along as I read 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 (NIV) "Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 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 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?"
To apply God's truth for us from this passage we will answer three questions:
I. WHAT Are My Idol-Loves?
II. HOW Am I to Deal with My Idol-Loves?
III. WHY Abandon My Idol-Loves?
We will intentionally invest much time on the first two points that explained just two words--idolatry and flee. So don't get nervous at the initial slow pace! We will move much faster through the rest of the passage as God's word answers the third question of why?
I. WHAT Are My Idol-Loves?
Simply stated my idols are REPLACEMENTS for God.
The word "idolatry" in the original Greek comes from combining two words, one meaning "idol" and the other meaning "to worship and serve" Idolatry means "to worship and serve idols"
ILLUSTRATION It's easy for us to be dismissive of the problem of idolatry and in our American pride to even mock other countries where idolatry seems more evident. For example, in India there are some 330 million gods, which means in the second most populated nation in the world with over 1.25 billion people there are several gods for each person! But if we are honest and understand what an idol is, we have just as many or even more idols per person in America!
ILLUSTRATION While on one of my Bible lands tours in Egypt I purchased a large carved replica of the black “scarab” known as the dung beetle. I purchased it to put on my secretary's desk to remind her to " bug" any time she felt she needed to. But the ancient the Egyptians worshipped this large beetle that rolls a ball of dung, lays its eggs inside it, and then pushes the ball along the ground! That sounds foolish to us today. Yet what we worship is often just as odd. I've watched guys prioritize their time, money, pasion and energy into knocking a little white golf ball into a hole in the ground in as few hits as possible. Wonder what the ancient Egyptians would think about that?
The great German reformer, Martin Luther said, “Whatever your heart clings to and relies on, that is really your God, your functional savior.”
Augustine wrote back in the 4th century, "Idolatry is worshiping anything that ought to be used or using the one who ought to be worshiped."
A. Generally Today idolatry is at its core temporal pleasure and materialism.
Philippians 3:19 speaks of those whose "god is their stomach." This not about dieting, but the worship of appetites, deifying any craving, elevating any temporal pleasure to that priority and status of a god. John Wesley says that Paul is referring here to those “whose supreme happiness lies in gratifying their sensual appetites.” God gave us appetites, the problems comes when we make appetites gods.
Ephesians 5:5 says a "greedy person ...is an idolater"
Colossians 3:5, the twin letter to Ephesians, similarly says, "greed … is idolatry."
No wonder Jesus warned, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” (Luke 12:15). Jesus knew greed was the worship of idols, possessions worship. Possessing many possessions is not idolatry, it's when possession possess us.
Greed is never having enough. Always wanting more. Believing more money and stuff will fill the hole in our soul. Idolatry pervades America!
B. Specifically in [your and] My Life idolatry can be the worship of just about anything.
In John 21, Peter's idolatry centered on fish. He was called to be a fisher of people for the Lord, but returned to fishing for fish after denying the Lord three times. Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved the Lord more that "these"--that is that miracle catch of 153 large fish he caught when Jesus said toss the net on the other side of the boat. Fish and fishing was and is an honorable way to make a living. But not when it replaces God's calling. Then it's an idol. Any thing we love more than the Lord is an idol.
ILLUSTRATION Soon after I was married while pastoring my first church. I did a series on the Ten Commandments. While preparing the message on Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me," I asked my wife to tell me if she saw anything in my life that looked like a god or I may be treating like an idol. Without a pause she replied, "Your library!" At first was taken back at her answer. But upon honest reflection I realized that I had poured inordinate amounts of money into my library, and found great pride in having one of the finest and largest libraries for a young seminary student. My tools for effective sermon preparation and church leadership had eaten up our funds and consumed far too much of my time getting the best books and organizing them. My wife was right. It was time for some changes.
Do you know what your idols are? Please bow you heads and close your eyes for just a moment and silently ask God to reveal your idols. Consider …
1. Stuff - money - investments
2. Sports - games - hobbies -gadgets
3. Entertainment -TV - games & social media
4. Work - career - ministry - education
5. Body - looks - working out - health
6. Status - clothes - vehicles - house
Don't argue with the Spirit, humbly ask,
- "God, what is pushing you from the center of my life and is taking center place?
- "Lord, what appetite dominates my life over you and controls me more than you?
- "What is determining right and wrong in my life rather than you, God?
- "What is my reference point for meaning and purpose in life other than you, Lord?
Now that we know better what our idols are, we are ready to answer the question …
II. HOW Am I to Deal with My Idol-Loves? God's answer is to …
RUN from them!
"flee from idolatry"
"to flee" means to seek safety by flight because you are in eminent danger!" It's what Joseph and Mary did with baby Jesus to escape Herod's order to kill the male Jewish under two years of age. They fled. Same word here. Let's be honest, we do not see idols as posing a serious danger to our lives, so rather than run, we rationalize or merely consider slowing backing away.
The same Greek word for "flee" here is found back in 1 Corinthians 6 -- "flee from sexual immorality"
How do we flee?
When it comes to idols in our lives there can be..
A. Under Reaction: Deny I have any!
Ask "Did I draw a blank when I prayed and asked God to reveal any idols in my life?" That usually means denial!
1. We can deify Evil things -drugs, porn, affair,
2. We can deify Good things- job, education, civic clubs, family, even church ministry
3. We can deify Neutral things - money, house, hobbies, sports, food
When it comes to idols in our lives there can be..
B. Overreaction: Destroy them all!
Evil things we have deified we should remove, rid ourselves and destroy. Total eradication of drugs, porn, or an affair. Some relationships should end!
However there are many idols we should not destroy. It would be a foolish evil to destroy good things and neutral things we have deified!
- Not destroy your family
- Not quit your job
- Not stop your education
- Not ruin your health or commit suicide!
- Not necessarily sell your house
When it comes to idols in our lives there can be the..
C. Right Response: De-Deify them
ILLUSTRATION To de-deify my library meant major changes in spending and humble confessed of my pride to have the biggest and best library. It was painful. I had to say no to many books I wanted to add to my library. Very few books were added to my library for two years. But then I was called to pastor a church where the former pastor turned his library over to me--a huge quality library he had amassed in over 28 years of pastoral ministry! My library doubled overnight! God was not against me having a great library, but desired me to worship only Him, my great Lord.
ILLUSTRATION To de-deify hobbies I have prayed and dedicated them to God to be used as tools for outreach to unbelievers and to reach those who have wandering away from the Lord.
Riding my motorcycles has opened many doors to reach others for the Lord, literally dozens of men have come to the Lord and returned to church through motorcycle rides. I also love to target shoot with guns. Guns have also proven to be a tool for outreach. Be assured I never point a gun at anyone at tell them they need to trust in Jesus before they die!
Golf clubs, fishing poles, tennis racquets, cameras... For many ladies it can be gardening, knitting, scrapbooking, jewelry-making, book clubs, etc. These can be idols or ... de-deified and dedicated to the living God as tools for outreach.
Ask--how can my fun hobby be used to reach others for the Lord?
Many today have deified their bodies
ILLUSTRATION A teacher asked her preschool students what religious objects they had in their homes.
One boy answered, "We have a picture of a woman with a halo holding a baby and every day my mother kneels in front of it."
The next little girl said, "We have a brass statue of a man seated with crossed legs and a Chinese face, and every day my parents burn an incense stick before it."
Then a third boy piped up, "In the bathroom we have a little platform with numbers on it. Every day my mother stands on it first thing in the morning and yells, "OH MY GOD!!!"
To de-deify our bodies is to exercise and dress to point to the Lord, not point to me.
To de-deify my body is to care for my body to glorify God, not to get heads to turn or be seductive.
Here is a de-deifying prayer:
"Lord, anything in my life that you wish to take away, that you believe will help me love you more, I release. There are many things I love much, but I want none to be objects of worship, only you. That includes… [list a few specifics]"
Such a prayer is at first frightening and painful, but then brings a new freedom from the bondage of idolatry and a new deeper trust in God.
We have intentionally invested much time on the first two points that explained just two words--idolatry and flee. New we'll move much faster through the rest of the passage as we answer ..
III. WHY Abandon My Idol-Loves?
Because REASON Demands It!
"I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say"
"sensible people" is one word in the Greek that is often translated "wise," as in …
Matthew 7:24 (NIV) Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock
but has a fuller meaning of "shrewd"
Matthew 10:16 (NIV) “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."
and in Luke 16:8 (NIV) “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light."
Frankly, as I read about the wild and worldly church of Corinth, I am surprised Paul calls them sensible or that they have the capacity to have good judgment! But they are mostly believers who have the mind of Christ and Paul knows that the reason for fleeing idolatry are so compelling that they will be convinced by the Spirit of God. The Sprit of God can speak to the most messed up believers!
The concept that all idolatry is unreasonable is nothing new. Isaiah 44 makes me smile each time I read about the man who cuts down a tree and uses half the wood to cook his meal and the other half to make an idol that he prays to saying, "Save me!" The idea is clear that the man cannot help but wonder if he used the wrong wood for the wrong purpose. What if he burnt up his god and is worshipping fire wood for a BBQ!
Faith in the infinite living Creator God is the only reasonable faith!
Now let's look at why reason demands we abandon our Idol-Loves…
A. Idolatry is Disconnecting.
Idolatry disconnects us …
1. From communion with Christ.
"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?"
the key word in this section is "participation" which is the Greek word "koinonia", meaning a sharing, to have in common, a communing, a close fellowshipping.
Unfortunately, communion with Christ using the bread and the cup has been misunderstood and misapplied.
- It is not transubstantiation- the juice and the bread do not turn into physical blood and body of Jesus Christ after a clergy person does some sacerdotal act over the elements. There is no re-crucifying of Jesus at communion.
- It is not consubstantiation- the blood and body of Jesus Christ are never physically present "alongside" the elements of the juice and the bread, nor as some hold do the bread and juice become spiritually the blood and body of Christ.
The elements are symbols that we are to partake in remembrance of the cross of Christ.
The Cup symbolizes and remembers the blood of Christ shed on the cross, that is his death.
The bread symbolizes and remembers the body of Christ, that is life of Christ. Jesus is the bread of life.
Communion is more than just a symbol, more than a mere picture or object lesson.
Communion is also more than a memorial feast, more than a time to just reflect on the cross of Jesus.
Communion is a rich spiritual participation with Christ and the church!
There is no special magic in communion, but there is spiritual mystery in communion!
There is a profound spiritual nourishment found in the communion-participation of the bread and cup.
I believe John Piper is on to something when he explains this passage as follows:
"The Corinthians …saw eating the bread and drinking the cup as a kind of sacramental antidote to any ill effects that might come from tasting the poison of idolatry. And so they overestimated the power of the Lord's Supper.
And they failed to see that the purpose of eating the bread and drinking the cup was to share in the life of Christ and to fellowship with him as one body. And so they underestimated the purpose of the Lord's Supper, and thus its true power in the fight against idolatry and sin."
COMMUNION REVEALS THE DANGER OF IDOLATRY …why we must "flee!" For idolatry is a sugary sweet candy poison that takes us away from the nourishing fellowship in Christ that has as its highest form communion.
1. The Cup points to the death of Jesus, and no idol died for me to save me from my sins! In fact, idols pull us into more sin and away from serving God!
2. The Bread points to life in Christ, the bread of life, and no idol can give me eternal life. In fact, idols pull me into thinking only about this temporal life and get me to avoid thinking about my eternity, about heaven and hell. Idols try to make a heaven on earth and fail miserably.
Idolatry also disconnects us …
2. From community with the Church.
"Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf."
The idea is that there is one loaf of bread from which we all break off a piece when we take communion. Jesus broke the bread from one large flat bread that had no yeast (yeast represented sin). The one bread points to the unity in the church. We are the one body of Christ.
As a church we are to gather as a body with a unity in Christ. Rocky Hill Community Church is our name.
I like to say we COME in Christ with UNITY in Christ, that is our ComeUnity! And communion is vital to that unity.
ILLUSTRATION "According to medieval legend, before King Arthur sent his knights [to defeat evil men and to help the helpless], he would call them together at his round table, where each knight could see the face of the his king and the faces of his fellows. Shall the followers of the King of Kings do less?" (John Frederick Jansen. Guests Of God. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1956, p. 81). This legendary story reminds us of our dual commitment when we come to the Lord’s Table for Communion, it is not just to commune with our King Jesus, but also to community with His body the church.
Private communion is foreign in God's Word.
I am not advocating a hard legalistic standard that forbids taking the bread and cup to a dear saint that is a shut-in or bed-ridden. But our meeting together and sharing in the Lord's table together nurtures our unity and is helps protect each other from idolatry.
The early church gathered in unity to break bread together, a likely reference to communion.
- In Acts 2:42 the newly birthed church "devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."
- Luke records in Acts 20:7 "On the first day of the week we came together to break bread…"
- Here in our present passage note the plural "we" 'Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we [plural] give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we [plural] break a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16)
Communion is not about me, but about we!
Reason also demands we abandon our Idol-Loves because…
B. Idolatry is Demonic.
"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."
Satan gets worship through idols, rarely is Satan worshipped directly. Even the church of Satan denies the existence of a real Satan!
We all worship something, whether we know it or not. And anything that takes away worship of God ends up the worship of Satan. Think of it, Paul warns--we Christians can be Satan worshippers!
The Corinthians were attempting to do both! Take communion and worship idols. Two-timing on God.
Perhaps they thought Communion would undo the worship of Satan in idols during the past week.
This brings us to the third Reason we must abandon our Idol-Loves, because…
C. Idolatry is Deluding.
"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."
It is impossible to sit at two tables at once.
ILLUSTRATION In the movie Ms. Doubtfire, Robin Williams plays a divorced man that dresses up as an English nanny in order to see his kids every day while hiding his real identity from his ex-wife. Ms Doubtfire is invited to two dinners at the same restaurant he must attend. At one table sits his ex-wife’s new boyfriend and the children where he must be dressed Ms Doubtfire. At the other table is his T.V. producer where he must look like the man he is. He tries to go back and forth from each table, changing from his disguise to himself. It is a hilarious part of the movie, and he cannot pull it off. Neither can we sit and the Lord table and the table of demons. The Corinthian Christians were deluded into thinking they could sit at the Lord's table and the table of idols. That's not loving God, that's two-timing on God.
This leads us to the fourth and final Reason why we must abandon our Idol-Loves:
D. Idolatry is Disloyalty.
"Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?"
Idolatry is the worst form of disloyalty, because it is infidelity against God.
There are two types of jealousy, (1) unhealthy petty jealousy and (2) healthy protective jealousy.
ILLUSTRATION When my daughter comes to visit she brings her dog, Tootsie who gets along well with our dog Roxy. However whenever I pet one dog the other noses into get my hand away to get the petting. Neither dog can stand to see the other get petted without attempting to get the loving rubs for herself. Petty jealousy!
(1) 1 Corinthians 13:4 teaches “love is not jealous”
This is the unhealthy unloving controlling jealousy. It is counterproductive. It seeks to get closer and more intimate, but produces less real intimacy in relationship. It lacks trust and wrongfully accuses.
(2) In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul writes, "I am jealous for you with godly jealousy." Here we have the healthy kind of jealousy, a loving jealousy that protects and safeguards a relationship against evil threats. It is evidence of a commitment to the relationship.
ILLUSTRATION While in college and dating Sandee who is now my wife, I had what I thought was brilliant idea. Since we were getting serious, I thought it would be good to date others for a while to see if we were right for each other. Sandee was open to the idea and she had a date the very next weekend with friend of mine. When I saw them together, That bothered me big time! . I was jealous with what I was sure was a "godly jealousy! " I wanted to protect her from my friend (ha!) knowing I was the best person for her, so I quickly asked her out again and ended the experiment. I won her back for life! We began engaged and married. We have a healthy jealousy in our love for each other. There has never been any two-timing.
The passage closes with the rhetorical question "Are we stronger than he,
[that is, are we stronger than God] ?" The obvious answer is NO!
Our loving God with His holy healthy jealousy will not be overpowered by our idolatry or idols.
ILLUSTRATION In 1 Samuel 5 we read "After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. 2 Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. 3 When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. 4 But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained. 5 That is why to this day neither the priests of Dagon nor any others who enter Dagon’s temple at Ashdod step on the threshold. 6 The Lord’s hand was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity; he brought devastation on them and afflicted them with tumors"
-- God likes to dash our idols, break our false gods, knock them over to show who is really God
ILLUSTRATION Allow me one more personal illustration. I had an idol that I did not see. It was my reputation. I wanted to have this pristine reputation. So I lived by the motto "don't touch the women, don't touch the money and don't touch the glory". I also worked hard to be productive and fruitful in my ministry. I did nothing unethical or immoral. My reputation was unspoiled ..., then I had some leaders do all they could to ruin it. I felt deeply betrayed by men I thought were friends, who were now spreading lies about me. I had no idea how to get the truth out. Finally, believing I had no other recourse I made a standing offer that we do a public polygraph allowing any questions to be asked. They refused, of course. I had to move on. During this painful time, I read from Philippians 2. I don’t know why I was reading the old King James, but it spoke of Jesus' humility that he "made himself of no reputation" Why would Jesus do that? Empty himself, make himself nothing? That included his reputation being smeared and slandered. He was called crazy by his own family. The top religious leaders of his day said he was a minister of Satan. Jesus did not have a pristine reputation. In fact, he was so maligned that they nailed him a cross. I can honestly say that the most difficult idol for me to de-deify was my reputation. It took time for me to pillow my head at night, and that although far from perfect, be confident God knows my heart and my character. God knows the truth. While I seek to shine a bright light of a testimony in the world, at the end of the da, what God thinks of me is that all that matters.
God saw my idol of reputation and he toppled it over.
Has our strong almighty God toppled any of your idols? He does so out of love. He knows that the two-timing of idolatry robs us of His best and even unknowingly gets us to worship demons!
Conclusion: The rediscovery that cleans out rampant Idolatry is God's Word.
ILLUSTRATION Josiah became king at age 8. His predecessors, Amon and Manasseh were wicked to the extreme. At the age of 20 Josiah began his campaign to end the pervasive idolatry in the nation. At age 26, Hilkiah discovered the book of the law and Josiah repented with torn robes and led his nation to an unprecedented revival. 2 Kings 23:24-25 reports "Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord. Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses
What happened on a national sale with Josiah's reign can happen on a personal scale in our lives when we rediscover the word of God and apply it!
KEY: Time in the word reveals our idols and what are becoming idols.
- Without the word we become blind to our idols.
- With the Word, our idols become evident and ugly. We no longer want to two-time on our beautiful Lord.
Now we will close our worship by coming to the Lord's table partaking the bread and the cup. It is the Lord's table. We come by His invitation to profoundly commune with him as our only God. And we come-in-unity, community with each other as His body.
Bow with me in prayer.
"Wild Worldly Christians" Series January 8 & 11, 2015
Two Timing on God [program insert with blanks]
1 Corinthians 10:14-22
Introduction: Two timers are …
Two-timing on God is ...
I. WHAT Are My Idol-Loves?
______________ for God. "idolatry"
A. Generally _____________
B. Specifically _____________
II. HOW Am I to Deal with My Idol-Loves?
_____________ from them! "flee from idolatry"
A. Under Reaction: _____________ I have any!
B. Overreaction: _____________ them all!
C. Right Response: _____________ them painstakingly!
III. WHY Abandon My Idol-Loves?
______________ Demands It.
"I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say"
A. Idolatry is Disconnecting
1. From ______________ with Christ.
"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?"
2. From _________________with the Church.
"Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf."
B. Idolatry is ______________.
"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."
C. Idolatry is ______________.
"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."
D. Idolatry is ______________.
"Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?"
Conclusion: The rediscovery that cleans out rampant Idolatry is ...
(2 Kings 23)
© 2015 David W. Miller
"Wild Worldly Christians" Series January 8 & 11, 2015
Two Timing on God
1 Corinthians 10:14-22
Introduction:
Two timers are cheaters.
Two-timing on God is idolatry.
I. WHAT Are My Idol-Loves
REPLACEMENTS for God.
"idolatry"
A. Generally Today. (Exodus 20:3, Ephesians 5:5, Colossians 3:5, Philippians 3:19, 1 John 5:21)
B. Specifically in My Life.
II. HOW to Deal with My Idol-Loves
RUN from them!
"flee from idolatry"
A. Under Reaction: Deny I have any!
B. Overreaction: Destroy them all!
C. Right Response: De-Deify them!
III. WHY Abandon My Idol-Loves.
REASON Demands It.
"I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say"
A. Idolatry is Disconnecting.
1. From communion with Christ.
"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?"
2. From community with the Church.
"Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf."
B. Idolatry is Demonic.
"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."
C. Idolatry is Deluding.
"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."
D. Idolatry is Disloyalty.
"Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?"
Conclusion: The rediscovery that cleans out rampant Idolatry is God's Word.
(2 Kings 23)
© 2015 David W. Miller
