1 CORINTHIANS 10:14-332004 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Corinthians 10:14-33

For the last three chapters, chapters 8, 9, and 10, we've been talking about Paul has been dealing with an area of Christian liberty.

He's been dealing with the freedoms and the rights that we have as Christians. And specifically it started, you might remember, as we looked at chapter 8, with the subject of meat sacrificed to idols and whether it was okay for a Christian to eat that meat or not. And we looked at this and we've seen Paul take this issue and really talk about a greater principle, which is the principle of Christian liberty and what that means and how we should use our liberty as Christians. And so he's been talking about that for the last,

three chapters as we looked at 8, 9 and now we'll finish off 10 today. And we've spent the last five weeks studying this topic and studying these portions of Scripture. You know, as I was preparing for this message and studying and getting ready, I began to think, you know, that's a lot of verses, that's a lot of chapters. Five weeks is a long time to be spending on one subject. And I thought, Lord, why...

Would you want the Apostle Paul to spend so much time, to dedicate so much amount of pages and verses to this subject, to the subject of Christian liberty? And the answer, of course, is obvious in that it is important that God wants us to know and to understand the liberty, the freedom that he's given in Christ.

but also the focus and the priorities that we should have. As we looked at chapter 8, you might remember that we looked at the area of eating meat sacrificed to idols and how we should not use our freedoms, our rights,

our liberties to the harm or to the hurt of others in order to cause others to stumble. You can see that in 1 Corinthians 8, verse 9. And we learn that the governing principle that should be involved within our lives is love. We can look at a situation, an action, a thing in our life and say, well, is it love?

As a result of love, does it promote love within my life, within the life of others? And then I can use that test to know if it's something that I should be involved in.

Well, in chapter 9 we saw Paul as the example. We saw him surrendering his rights, laying down his rights in order not to cause others to stumble. We talked about his right to receive support or to take along a believing wife on his missionary journeys and so on and so forth. And how he laid those things down so that he would not be a stumbling block to those around him.

He also gave us the example in the last part of chapter 9 of laying down his rights and his liberties in order to minister more efficiently or better to those around him. He said, you know, to the Jew I become like the Jews. To those under the law I become like those under the law. Or those without the law as those without the law. So on and so forth. He said, look, I run this race to win. I don't want anything to hold me back. I'm laying down these things that I might minister more effectively to them.

We saw in chapter 10, as we looked last week, the first 13 verses, the example as well, not just of the Apostle Paul, but he gave us the example of the nation of Israel. And really it was an example of how not to be. As he looked at Israel's past and Israel's history and said, look, this is what they were doing. They had these religious experiences. They had these things. They had experienced God and the work of God. But they still continued to be involved in

They still continued to be involved in things that God had asked them not to be involved in. And as a result, he was not pleased with them. And most of them are...

All of them but two were destroyed as a result of their sin, as a result of them continuing on. And so he gave us the nation of Israel's example as a warning to us that we might know and understand we need to not continue on in the things that God has given us. As we finish off chapter 10 this morning, I wonder if there are things that God has spoken to you about the last few weeks, but you still haven't dealt with them.

If there's things maybe the Lord has brought up as we look to chapter 8 or 9 or the first part of 10, things in your life that you continue on in and you have not dealt with them, you have not responded to the things that God has been speaking to you, I would ask you,

today as we study the word, as we look through the scriptures, allow God to speak to you, but respond. Respond and do the things that he's asking you to do. You know, it might be a lifestyle that you're living, that God has been speaking to you about. It might be cable TV. It might be your internet. It might be the way that you dress. It might be alcohol or drinking or drugs. It might be a number of things. You know what God has been speaking to your heart.

So are you willing to deal with it? Are you willing to deal with it? If God has been speaking to you, why haven't you?

You know, many times as Christians we get the idea that, oh, you know, I've been a Christian for a long time. I'm a mature Christian and so it's okay. You know, I know it's probably not good for me to be involved in this or that, but I'll be alright. I'm mature. I'm seasoned. I've been around for a while and so I'll be okay. It'll be fine. We get overconfident as we saw the nation of Israel last week. Or many times too, we get apathetic. It doesn't bother me. It doesn't care. We get calloused to the things that are against God.

You know, we start thinking, well, God doesn't seem to be judging me. It doesn't seem to have any ill effects in my life. But Paul would say to watch out. And we need to listen to him. We need to listen to Paul because he's a professional. This is what God has anointed him and called him to do, to speak to our hearts and challenge us to change.

You know, this last week I needed to get my brakes redone because they're starting to get real low and I was kind of sensing that they're going to start grinding and I was going to tear up my rotors. And so I was like, oh man, I need to do this and I don't know if I'm going to have time. And so I talked with Tim. Many of you know Tim and he's in Mexico this morning, so keep him in prayer. But

I talked to them and said, hey, do you think if I got the brake pads that you could change my brakes for me because it'll take me two hours or three hours and he'll do it in 15 minutes. And so he said, yeah, no problem. Just make sure. And he said, get the brake pads. But he kind of gave me some specific instructions. He said, look,

I don't want you to go to the national chain, you know, big automotive parts store. I'm trying not to name names so that, you know, I don't do any bad advertisement or anything. But don't go to this one place. Don't go to, you know, the one you always go to, Jerry. But go to this other one in Corona. It's kind of a smaller shop, but they have the good parts. They have the stuff that will really last and really be good for your car and not just kind of the junk that will get you by. And so I say, okay.

And so I'm going, you know, on my way and I'm going through the week. I know in the back of my mind, okay, I got to get brake pads, got to get brake pads, got to get brake pads. And I'm sure just like you, many times it happens where it's so convenient.

to just get them from the other place because they're on every corner. And so I ended up just going and I was like, okay, they got three different kinds. And I'm like, I know Tim told me not to go here, but it's okay. I'll just get the middle one and I should be fine. And I brought him to him and he's laughing at me and he still put them on for me. But he said, you know, you got to listen to me because it's not the good stuff. And, you know, the Lord really convicted me about it. Not so much that I need to put really good brake pads on my car, but that he's the professional.

And here I am, not knowing much, and just saying, well, you know, it's convenient. Or I think it'll be okay. Or I think I'm okay doing it my way. When I don't know anything. And the Lord spoke to me and he reminded me of the Apostle Paul and says, hey, look, when the Apostle Paul speaks to you, when my word brings up things in your life that you need to deal with, you need to listen. Listen.

We can't decide on our own and say, well, I know God's word says this. I know this is what Paul would say or God would say. But, you know, it's okay. I can just do it my way. I should be fine. I'm mature. You know, it doesn't seem to be any negative things happening. But we need to watch out. And when God speaks to us, we need to listen. We need to heed. And we need to put into practice the things that He's saying. So let's read it together. 1 Corinthians chapter 10, starting in verse 14, it says this, Therefore, my beloved...

I speak to you as wise men. Judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body. For we all partake of that one bread. Observe Israel after the flesh. Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?

What am I saying then? That an idol is anything? Or what is offered to idols is anything? Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrificed, they sacrificed to demons and not to God. And I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? Verse 23.

All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience' sake.

Verse 1.

Verse 30. Verse 30.

Just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many that they may be saved. Chapter 11, verse 1. Imitate me just as I also imitate Christ.

Here we see the Apostle Paul in chapter 10, verse 14. He starts out and he says, Therefore, and for those of you who've been around for a little bit, if there's a therefore in the word, you find out what the word is there for. If there's a therefore in the word, you find out what the word is there for. And we know because we looked at it last week. We were talking about Israel's bad example as we looked at the first 13 verses of chapter 10.

He says, because of Israel's bad example, because of the example that they gave us and the warnings that they gave us, therefore, since...

We have their example. He says, flee from idolatry. But not just that. Also in verse 13, as we looked at last week, he says that no temptation has overtaken you except that which is common to man. But God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able. But with temptation, notice this, will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it.

Therefore, since we have Israel's example and the warnings from Israel, therefore, since there is no temptation that's too great, there's no temptation that's too strong, therefore, flee idolatry, Paul said. Flee from it. Flee from idolatry.

Literally, the word means to flee and keep on fleeing and keep on fleeing and keep on fleeing. We're called to continue to do this over and over, to continue to flee. Now, we know that idolatry is anything in our life that takes the place of God. Any passion, any desire,

in our life that's greater than our passion for God. Anything in our life that's more important to us than God, anything that takes our eyes and our focus off of God, isn't idle within our life. Anything that distracts us and keeps us from Him. And so Paul says, look, there's things in our lives as Christians, always, that we need to make sure, we need to keep an eye out on, and flee from those things which...

will lead to idolatry, which will lead to a distraction or a deviation from our relationship with Jesus Christ. Things that might become more important or have the potential to be more important in our lives to our relationship of God. He says, flee from idolatry. Now, many times as Christians, we...

like to flirt with idolatry instead of fleeing. We flirt with it. We play around with a little bit of sin. It's okay. It's just a little. One drink won't harm anything. One this, one that. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. It's not going to make a difference. It's not a big deal. Paul says, look, don't flirt. Flee. Turn your back and run as fast as you can. Run. You know, we shouldn't be in a situation where

thinking, I can do it this time. I know I can endure. I'm not going to give in. I'm in this bad situation. I'm in this tempting thing, but I'm not going to give in this time. I'm really not. No, Paul says, look, don't try to stand there and endure it, but flee, run, turn, get out of there. Get out of there. In 1 Corinthians 10, 13, as we just read, he says, look, he's going to make you a way of escape.

He's going to make you a way of escape so you can get out of the temptation. You can get out of there. And Pastor Tom used to say it all the time, you know, in the sense that we need to stand against spiritual warfare and against things that are not right and not of God. That's true. We do need to stand up for what the God's Word says. But in the case of temptation, when we're involved, when we're being tempted to sin, we don't stand. We're called to flee, to run, to get out of there.

It's something that's very practical for us to get out of the way of temptation, to get out of the way so that things in our life do not become idols. They don't become passions greater than our passion for God. He needs to be first. He needs to be foremost. Well, in verse 15, he says, I speak as to wise men, judge for yourselves what I say. He says, look, I'm talking to you as to sensible people.

As to sensible people, you should be able to hear what I'm saying and see the examples that I will give you and make a judgment for yourself. You should be able to look and discern and go, yes, you're right. There's things I shouldn't be involved in. There's things and examples that you give, Paul, that really hit home, that make sense and show me that I need to stop being involved with those things. He goes on to give the first example in verse 16. He says,

He says, look, the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion, the fellowship of the blood of Christ?

Now, he's referring to communion and we partake of that once a month here in this fellowship on the first Sunday of the month to remember and reflect on what Jesus did for us. And we have the grape juice and we have the cracker and it's symbols. We look back to what Jesus did as he offered the disciples the cup and said, look, this is my blood. It's the new covenant. This is my body which is broken for you.

And so Paul looks to this and says, look, when you partake of communion, are you not fellowshipping with Christ? Are you not identifying yourself with the body of Christ? With what Jesus did on the cross? You're saying, yes, I believe it. I accept it.

His blood. I accept that it washes me and cleanses me. I accept that His body was broken for me, that I could spend eternity with Him. He says, as we fellowship in communion, as we take communion together, we're partaking that. We're becoming a part and demonstrating that we're a part of the body of Christ. Now,

Some churches, specifically the Catholic Church, but others as well, will teach this verse and they'll say, and the doctrine is called transubstantiation, in case you ever want to look that up or write that down. I don't know how to spell it, it's okay. But they teach that as you take the grape juice and partake, that the grape juice literally physically becomes the blood of Christ.

the cracker that you eat, literally, physically becomes the body of Christ. And that's not what this verse is teaching. That's not what God's word says. But it's symbolic. It shows us. We're identifying ourself as a part of the body of Christ. We're a partaker of what Christ did on the cross.

for your sins and my sins. In verse 17, he says, For we, though many, are one bread and one body, for we all partake of that bread as we partake of it together. And that's why we partake of it as a body. Because we're symbolizing that, hey, all together, we're all a part of the body of Christ. We're all in unity here as we understand and receive the work that Jesus did for us.

But not only that, the mentality of that day, the ideas that the Jewish people had as well as that culture had, is when you had dinner with someone, when you fellowshiped and had a meal with someone,

In the Jewish culture in that time, it was something that was very intimate. It was very special. Because they wouldn't be very formal with the chairs like we have, but they would recline and they would lay down really at the table and eat together. But they didn't have utensils like we did, but they would share. And so they would have bread and different bowls and stuff. And so...

They would be double dipping, which we kind of frown on, but they would be doing that and dipping together in the same bowl and eating off the same piece of bread. And so they saw it as something very intimate, very special, and really they talked about it as...

becoming one in that because you're eating from the same piece of bread they would say and because you're eating from the same piece of meat in a sense we're becoming one we're being united because we're partaking of the same thing and so Paul's referring to this that hey as we partake together we're eating of the same cracker we're eating of the same Lord we're receiving the same sacrifice and so we're being united we're being united together in that work in that identification in that fellowship

He gives us the example in verse 18 of Israel. He says, Observe Israel after the flesh. Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers or fellowshippers of the altar? He says, Look. Look at the example of the nation of Israel as they do their sacrifices. Since we understand now their culture and we understand if you eat a piece of meat and I eat the same piece that we're united, we're identified together. He says, The same thing is true when...

they go to offer sacrifices. As they offer up sacrifices on the altar, some of the meat, as we talked about a couple weeks ago, would be burned.

the other part of the meat would be eaten either by the priest or by the person offering the sacrifice. So if I take an offering to the Lord, I sacrifice a lamb and we burn some of the meat on that altar and then I, with my family, eat the rest of that meat, then I'm becoming one with the Lord because some of it was burned and given to him and the rest...

eaten by me and my family. We became one. There was that fellowship, that koinonia, it was the Greek word, that takes place, that happens at that time in that fellowship.

So Paul says, look, as you are involved in the worship of the Lord, as you offer those sacrifices, there's an identification that goes on. You're becoming a part or partaking of the things that are associated with that sacrifice. It's a union with God.

Well, in verse 19, he says, well, what am I saying then? That's a good question. What is he saying? That an idol is anything or what is offered to idols is anything? Verse 20. Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. And I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. Here's what Paul says.

Look, am I saying that an idol is something or contradicting what I just talked about in chapter 8? No. We already know that. We already talked about...

1 Corinthians chapter 8, that an idol is nothing. It's nothing in this world. It's the wood or gold or silver or whatever material it's made out of. But that's it. There's no other gods besides God. There's no other gods. And so there's no possible way for it to have an effect on this meat that you're eating, Paul would say. So there's nothing really to these idols. There's no power to them.

And if you want to look at that, another good example that the prophet Isaiah gives is in Isaiah chapter 44, verses 9 through 20, where he cries out to those making idols and different things to worship. He says, look, don't you understand? You cut down a tree, you use some of the wood to make a god, and the rest of it you use to cook a fire and eat your bread and...

Does that make any sense to you? How can that be a real God? And Paul's saying, no, it's not. Idols are nothing. I'm not saying that idols are anything, but that in this culture, at this time, to partake of something that's offered to an idol is not just to eat the meal, but it's to be united in a sense. It's to be seen as partaking of the very essence of that sacrifice and of that idolatry.

He says in verse 20, rather that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons. And he says, okay, not only that, not only are you partaking of this idolatrous worship, but he says, I want you to understand too that the things that they sacrifice...

They're sacrificing to those idols and those idols themselves are nothing. But behind that thought, the very act of idolatry is an act against God. It's an act that's inspired, that's created by demons, by the fallen angels. Now, we need to understand, we need to know that demons are real. Spiritual warfare is real. It's very real. And we talked about this on Thursday at the home fellowship in my house.

That spiritual worship is very real and we need to be aware. We need to know that it's not just, you know, hocus-pocus stuff. But it's real. And behind the worship of these idols is demonic inspiration. So he says, look, don't eat at the idol's temple. Don't eat there because we talked about that. Remember a couple of weeks ago that some of the meat would be offered there and you could have a feast there with your friends or family.

and it was a good time to eat that meat and have a great time. But he says, don't do that. Don't eat in that idol's temple because it identifies you with those things, with that demonic activity.

John Corson, in talking about this verse, said that if a place has been dedicated to devilish activity, I shouldn't be there. And that's what Paul is saying. Look, if there's something that's dedicated to things that are not of God, to things that are against God, then we should not be there. We should not find ourselves in those places. And we need to be very careful that we're not identified with those things. He says, you cannot drink, in verse 21, you cannot drink of the cup of

He says, look, you can't partake of one and the other. You got to choose one or the other. You can't do both. You can't live with God and also partake of the things in idolatry. You can't try to serve God but also serve these other idols. You don't want to be united with both. You can't. It's impossible.

He says you need to be united with one. Pick one or the other. In very much the same situation, Joshua stood before his people in Joshua chapter 24 and said, Look, nation of Israel, I'm getting old. I'm getting ready to pass away. You need to choose for yourself this day, right now, right here, who are you going to serve? Either you're going to serve the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the God of all creation,

Or you're going to serve these other idols that are in this land, or the idols that your fathers worshipped, or the idols of the surrounding areas. Who are you going to serve? God or these false gods? God or these idols? And Paul says the same thing here. Look, you can't have both. You can't partake of the cup of one and the cup of the other. You've got to choose who are you going to serve. As Christians,

we find ourselves many times in a place where we're trying to live in sin and serve God. Trying to be involved in things that are not right, that are not good, and also serve the Lord and have a relationship with Him. And we find that it doesn't work. It doesn't work. Paul says, look, you're causing yourself trouble here. You're causing yourself harm. It doesn't work. You can't partake of both. And so that's why I ask, if God has been speaking to you about an area, deal with it. Allow God...

to make a change there, to make a difference. This last Friday, as we were studying at the men's study, we were looking at the character of the Old Testament that you are probably very familiar with, and that's Samson.

And Samson was a Nazirite. He had made a covenant with God from his birth, according to the angel that appeared to his parents. And so they made this covenant that he would not touch a dead animal, he would not partake of the fruit of the vine, any kind of grape juice or wine or anything like that, and that he would not cut his hair. It was part of his commitment, his relationship with God. Well, as we saw Samson on Friday, he...

disregarded all of those things. The very last thing to go, you might remember, is his hair. And as he continued on, you know, at first he partook of the vine and was partaking of it and nothing seemed to happen. He didn't seem to be judged by God. He still had his great strength and so he went on his way. He just, I guess, you know, it's not a big deal. It doesn't really matter. Then later on, we know situations happened and

There was the carcass of a lion there with some honey inside and he goes, hmm, some honey. And so he defiles himself, again, breaks the covenant, touches a dead thing which he's not supposed to do and partakes of the honey. Again, nothing seemed to happen. He still had a great victory, still had his strength, still was able to go on and felt like the Lord was doing things. So, well, great. Well, then lastly, in the cutting of the hair, you remember the story, Samson and Delilah. And he's toying around, he's playing around in these things.

And the danger is, guys, when we play around with sin, when we say, well, it doesn't seem like God is judging me. It doesn't seem like anything's really happening. What's really going on behind the scenes is we're becoming bound. We're becoming afflicted. We're putting ourselves in bondage to things that are not of God. And the end result, like Samson, is bondage. It's death. That's what happens. Sin brings death. And so when we play with it a little, and a little, and a little, and a little,

We continue on, it brings death. It brings destruction into our life. And so we need to be careful. We cannot have the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. We can't have the life of a Christian and the life of sin at the same time. Choose this day, Joshua said. Who will you serve? Verse 22, Paul says, Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?

Are we stronger than He? He says, do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? God's a jealous God. What does that mean? Why does He want us to choose Him? Well, He does want us to choose Him. He does want us to have our full devotion, our undivided attention. He wants us to live for Him. Why? Because He's a real big demanding God and He just wants people to serve Him and that He can have power? No, no, no.

God knows something that we many times forget. And that is, when we serve God, that's when we're blessed. When we serve God, that's what's best for us. When we serve God, that's when our life is satisfied. That's when we're doing what God has called us to do. That's what happens. When we completely give ourselves to Him, that's when, like Jesus said, our life is abundant. It's a full life. It's satisfied.

But it's when we continue to live in sin, it's when we are involved in things that are not of God, that harm comes to us. That our soul is destroyed. That sin brings that destruction into our life. And so we need to be careful. Paul says, don't provoke the Lord to jealousy, man. Give Him your undivided attention. Give it to Him. Surrender to Him completely. Let Him have you. Are you more stronger than He? More stronger. Are you stronger than He? No, of course not.

So just surrender to Him. Allow Him to control your life. Well, going on in verse 23, He says,

All things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. He says, look, all things are lawful. And we've seen this already in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 12. He said something very similar, but he was quoting the popular term or phrase of that day that as the Corinthians were going around there saying, look, all things are lawful for me. I can be involved in this relationship. I can be involved in this idolatry. I can be involved in this or that because all things are lawful for me. I'm free in Christ.

And that's what they would say. And Paul says, yes, that is true. But what's your focus? What's your priority? Because he says, not all things are helpful or literally expedient. Not everything speeds you on your way into a closer walk with Jesus Christ. Not all things edify or build up

not everything in your life builds you up in your relationship with God. We need to commit to be active in things that help us in our walk with Jesus and not things that take us away. All things are lawful for me. It doesn't mean I should be involved in everything, but I should be involved in those things which help me grow as a Christian, which help me understand God better, and I should get rid of the things in my life that take me away, that distract me, that keep me from Him.

He says in verse 24, Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being. Well, you might notice if you have the New King James Version or the King James Version, that very last word there, well-being, is in italics. And what that means is that in the original language, in the Greek, that word is not there. So really this verse should read, Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's.

Now the question is, well, the others what? Well, you fill in the blank. Let no one seek his own blank, but each one the other's blank. Let no one seek his own gain, well-being. Let no one seek his own wealth or health. The point is, Paul is saying, look, whatever it is in your life, don't seek it for yourself.

but seek it for others. The world will tell you, look out for number one, man. No one else is going to take care of you. No one else is going to get your back. So do whatever you got to take. Get to the top. Cover your back and your tracks and cover yourself and do whatever it takes. Look out for number one. Now, we know that not to be true from God's word. This is not what God's word teaches us. But I would encourage you, yeah, look out for number one. Just realize that you are not number one.

The person next to you is. Your wife is, your husband is, your kids are. Look out for their benefit and not your own. Philippians chapter 2 verse 3 tells us, Hey, let nothing be done in selfish ambition or vain conceit just for yourself or your own ambitions, but in humility to esteem others as better than yourselves. That's a hard thing to do. It's a very hard thing to do. Why? Well, I was listening to Bob Coy this last week and he was talking about an area like this.

He says, look, you need to understand that I'm always on my mind. When I wake up, I'm on my mind. When I go to bed, I'm on my mind. All throughout the day, I'm on my mind. That is my natural tendency. That's your natural tendency. We're very self-centered and we're always on our minds. But Paul says, look, don't seek your own. And I like, as he said in Philippians 2, verse 3, and I quoted this part and I put it down in my notes and this is what I'll remember.

I need to esteem others better. That's what I need to do. I need to value others around me as more than myself. And I need to learn to esteem them better. That I would not look out for my own interests. That I wouldn't just seek my own whatever. But I would seek it for them. That they would be blessed. That they would benefit. That they would profit.

In verse 25, he goes on to say, eat whatever is sold in the market. I'm sorry, in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience sake, for the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness. So he now talks about the meat markets. First, he dealt with the area of eating the meat in the idol's temple.

Now he deals with the meat market. And you might remember as some of the meat was sacrificed and some was eaten there in the idol's temple, but some would be sold to the marketplace and you could pick it up there and usually it would be for a better price. It'd be a good deal because it had already been sacrificed. And so...

He says, look, as you're shopping in the meat market, as you're going through the rows and you see a nice steak or carne asada or something that you want, don't ask any questions about it. Don't worry about if it's been offered to an idol or not because again, idols are nothing. They don't matter. They don't make a difference.

So just get it. If you want it, just get it. Don't ask any questions. Don't be freaked out about it or worried about it or all fussy about it. But he says, just get it. For the earth is the Lord's and all its fullness, he says. Just enjoy what God has given to you.

He goes on to say in verse 27, if any of those who do not believe invite you to dinner and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience sake. Again, asking no question. If you are invited to dinner, you know, Pastor Sisko invites you over to dinner and they set something before you, don't go, hmm, was this sacrifice to an idol? Or, you know, hey, how did you prepare this? Did you, you know, do the right this or that? Or don't...

He says, don't worry about it. Don't ask any questions. Don't be freaked out about it. Idols are nothing. It's okay. Don't worry about it. Just eat whatever is put in front of you. And Jesus said something very similar in Luke chapter 10, verses 7 and 8. You might remember when he was sending out the 70 disciples to go into the different surrounding areas and share the gospel. And he said to them, whenever you go into a city, stay wherever whoever opens up their home to you, stay there.

And he says, as you stay there, don't go from house to house, but just stay where you are. And he says, eat such things that are set before you. Whatever is set before you, eat that. Just eat it. It's okay. Just receive it with thanksgiving and eat it.

And so many times if you've ever gone on a missions trip with us, you know that we apply this. As we go to Samoa, as we go to Okinawa or Mexico, which Mexico is a little bit easier for us, but we eat such things that are set before us. Unless sometimes they tell us what it is. Then we go, okay, well I don't want to eat that.

You told me what it is now, and so now my conscience is defiled, so I'm not going to eat that. But just to eat such things that are set before you, and it's an interesting thing, man. You get a lot of interesting food, and especially in Samoa, as they do their Fia Fianga, which is like a festival, and they cook all this, you know, it's stuff that they've cooked for years and had for years, and for us it's like, looks like some kind of weird, you know, banana leaf thing. I don't know, it's weird, but he says, eat such things as are set before you.

Paul says the same thing. Look, whenever you go to someone's house, don't worry about it and don't freak out about it if it was offered to an idol or not. Again, idols are nothing. But in verse 28 he says, but if anyone says to you, this was offered to idols, well, then don't eat it for the sake of the conscience, or for, I'm sorry, for the sake of the one who told you and for conscience sake.

He says, okay, look, so now you're at a house and you're getting ready to eat and you're about to take a bite and someone says, hey, you know that was offered to an idol, right?

He says, well, in that case, then don't eat it. Well, why not? Well, because you don't want to offend them. They wouldn't have brought it up if it wasn't an issue. They wouldn't have brought it up if it wasn't something that bothered their conscience. So don't eat it. Don't eat it if it was offered to an idol, if someone's worried about that, because you don't want to offend them. You don't want to defile their conscience. Or if they're concerned about your conscience, then don't eat it either, because it is something that is important to them. It's something that they value.

So he says, don't eat it, if that's the situation. He says in verse 29, he says, conscience I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged by another man's conscience? Again, Paul says, look, I know that the meat is not defiled. I know that there's nothing to the theory, or not the theory, but the...

I lost the word. The idea that they had at that time that demons inhabited the meat. He says, I know that there's nothing to that. I can eat. I can freely eat from the meat market. But if someone else is worried about it, then I won't do it. I won't cause myself to offend them or cause them to stumble because I'm hungry and I want to eat some meat. He says, I say this not from my own conscience, but for theirs, that I would be careful not to offend them to take care of them.

He says in verse 30, but if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for the food over which I give thanks? He says, look, this is the important thing. Not whether it's sacrifice to an idol or not, but whether I receive it with thanks. If I recognize God and that He has given it to me and I receive it with thanksgiving, then it's okay. It doesn't matter if the food was offered to an idol or not or how it was prepared. I just receive it with thanks.

Paul told Timothy something similar in 1 Timothy 4.4. He said, look, if it's received with thanksgiving, nothing is to be refused. Just eat it. It's okay. Enjoy yourself, man. Have some good grub. It's okay. Just receive it at thanksgiving. You know, there's many people who say, well, you know, Christians shouldn't have this or that or they shouldn't be, you know, able to enjoy this or, you know, it's junk. We just need to enjoy and receive at thanksgiving the things that God has given us.

Well, he says in verse 31, Therefore, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. This is really the key. This is the center verse of this whole idea and subject. He says, look, whatever you do, whether you're eating, whether you're drinking, whatever activity you're involved in, do all to the glory of God. This is the real issue. This is the test that we need to apply. We saw the test in chapter 8 of love.

But here we also see a test of does it bring glory to God? Anywhere we're at, anytime we're there, no matter what we're doing, we can look and say, am I supposed to do this? Does it bring glory to God? And there's your answer. If it does, then do it. If not, then don't. What if you say, well, it's kind of in the middle. It doesn't really do one way or the other. Then does it bring glory to God or not? Is it in love? Is it motivated by love?

Those are the things that we need to be involved in and not being involved in things that don't bring glory to God or worse yet, things that bring shame to God.

Things that bring shame to the name of Christ. He says in verse 32, Give no offense, the things that bring shame, give no offense, either to the Jews or to the 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 many, that they may be saved. He says, give no offense. Don't offend people. There's things upon people's hearts that are important to them, that God has given them.

He's given them a conscience for a reason. He's given them those things, those convictions for a purpose. So don't go out of your way to offend them. Don't trample on their beliefs and their convictions.

But try to please them. Like Paul said, to the Jews, be as a Jew. And to those without the law, be as without the law. Try to please them that you may win them to the Lord. Now, some people would be offended by anything. And they can make up all kinds of reasons why you're offending me because I don't like Hawaiian shirts or whatever.

But we got to understand the culture at that time sincerely believed that the people were, it was common knowledge that demons inhabited meat. And so it was a very common link. And so there would be serious issues with that within people's hearts. The culture now is different, but we still want to be careful not to trample on people's beliefs or their convictions. We don't just disregard them or offend them by doing whatever we want or whatever is most important to us.

But we need to seek the best for those around us to help them and encourage them and lift them up. Paul says, look at me. Do my example. Don't give offense to the Jews, the Greeks, to the church. Don't give offense to these guys. He says in verse 33, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit. Try to please them in all things. Not seeking my own profit, Paul says, but what? But the profit of many that they may be saved.

Seek the profit of many. Seek that they would be saved. Can that phrase be attached to your life? It's Mario, that they may be saved. Eddie, that they may be saved. Blaine, Jerry, Gene, that they may be saved. Is that our life statement, our life mission? Well, why do you work there? That they may be saved.

Why do you go to school there? That they may be saved. Why are you at that grocery store? That they may be saved. Everywhere we go, Paul says, look, don't give offense, don't trample on people's beliefs and convictions, but set aside those things. Lay aside those things for the profit of many that they may be saved. Make that the focus.

That people around you will come into contact with Jesus Christ. And we've seen this in Paul before, his priority on this, his focus. He's given himself as the example. And he does so again in chapter 11, verse 1. He says, imitate me just as I also imitate Christ. Imitate me just as I also imitate Christ. It's a bold statement by the Apostle Paul. He says, look, if you follow me, you'll never find yourself in a compromising situation.

Can that be said of you? Paul says, if you follow me, you'll never find yourself in a place that would offend your conscience. Can that be said of me? Paul says, if you follow me, you'll be following Christ. Follow me as I follow Christ. Follow me. That is a statement that we should be able to make to those around us. If you want to know how to live the Christian life, if you want to know how to not offend and how to walk uprightly, follow me.

It's a difficult one, but the root issue, the thing that we've got to start with is what are we involved in? That's not right. What has God been speaking to us? We need to follow Paul's example and flee from idolatry. Flee from those things within our life that God has spoken to us against. Not flirting with them, not playing or toying or, you know,

Just having it within our lives maybe for a little time or you think you have control. Not any of that. But flee from idolatry. Those things that God has been speaking to you, flee from those things. Whatever it is. Man, there's so many areas that we could talk about. But you know what God has been speaking to your heart and so I'd rather let Him do the work. Let Him speak to you rather than me. Flee from those things. Flee from them. And whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Do it all for God's glory. That His name would be known. That people around you would know how much He loves them. That people around you would know how much He cares for them and that He died upon the cross for their sins. Are you involved in things right now that are not of God? If so, you need to repent. You need to change your ways to make a 180 turn and follow Him again. You need to commit those things to the Lord and restore your fellowship with Jesus Christ.

Or maybe you're here this morning and you've never had fellowship with Jesus Christ. You don't know if you're saved. You've never been born again. You might not even know what that means. And I would tell you, hey, Jesus Christ is real. He died on the cross for your sins. He loves you so dearly. He has a plan for your life. And there's nothing complicated about it, but all you do is you receive Him and you say, yes, Lord, I believe you died on the cross. I can't get to heaven without you. Jesus, I need you. And you can say that in your heart. You can pray that prayer.

And God will hear you. He will touch you. He will change you. He will save you. Remember that Jesus said, the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. And we looked at that last week. If we disregard the warnings of Israel, if we continue on in the things that God has spoken to us about, we need to be careful because the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. That's what's going to happen in our life. But if we allow Jesus Christ to reign, he says, I have come.

that you may have life and have it to the full, abundant, overflowing life, that you would have a blessed life, a life of peace, a life of joy, a life of love. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, God, and we thank you for your spirit who has been speaking to us, Lord, about those things in our life, Lord, that you want to take care of, that you want to weed out. And Lord, we do right now give them over to you.

God, those things that you've been speaking to us about, Lord, we ask that you would help us. Lord, we repent. We ask that you would change our hearts, Lord. Keep us from things that distract us, that take us away from you. Heavenly Father, restore our fellowship with you, we pray.

Lord, help us to understand our liberty. And yes, you've given us freedom, Lord, but I pray that you would help us to walk with you in that freedom, to do things and surround ourselves with things that build us up, that encourage us in our relationship with you. So Jesus, work in each and every one of us. And God, if there's anyone here that's not of you yet, that has not received you as their Savior and Lord, God, I pray that you would speak to their hearts, Lord, that you would show them how much you love them and how much they need you.

Jesus, minister to their hearts, we pray. Lord, we ask that you would be glorified in all of us. And Lord, help us in everything that we do, whether in word or deed, whether we're eating or drinking or whatever it is, that we would bring glory to you. Thank you, Jesus. It's in your name we pray. Amen.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.