Sunday, November 20, 2011 - Straighten Up and Fly Right
Things have sure changed over the years. I know, that sounds like something an old person would say – well, I guess
the shoe fits! But things sure change – let me give you a few examples.
Snoopy – 40 years ago, Snoopy was a favorite cartoon character only – now he is a spokesdog for what company?
Metropolitan Life Insurance
Telephone – it wasn’t even that long ago that all telephones were used for was talking to people far away. Now you
can do almost anything from your phone – pictures, internet, texting, games, music, video, books – I even use mine to
get the temperature before I go outside – let’s see, is there anything else you can use a phone for? Oh yeah – talking to
people far away!
When I was growing up, there was a word that was rarely used, but it meant something totally different than it means
today. The word “gay” has taken on a completely different meaning. Over time it has actually taken on this added
meaning of homosexuality when it originally meant “happy.”
By the way, speaking of “gay,” it is our practice of the faith of Jesus that everyone is welcome in the life of our church.
So if you are or have thought or know “gay” people, they are welcome here. We will not sugar coat or ignore what
God’s Word says about that particular sin – just like we will not sugar coat or ignore what God’s Word says about
ANY sin. Someone had a Facebook thing this week that kind of ticked me off, but Connie said something that helped
me with it. “We’re all the same” – yeah, we’re all sinners in need of a Savior, who is Jesus. I didn’t repost it.
The point about all these changes over time is that if we start to consider that something is different than it was originally
– and if enough people catch on – the thing actually changes. We could give many more examples. As we get into 1
Corinthians this morning, we will see a specific example of this happening in Corinth years ago – and we will seek to set
some guards in place for our day so that we avoid the pitfalls that happen in some areas of life.
We are in 1 Corinthians in a series called “Straighten Up and Fly Right.” We share things in common with the people in
the church in Corinth that need attention and change and improvement according to God’s standard. We have been
looking at these difficult things and seeking to apply what we’re learning – at least I hope we’re seeking to apply these
adjustments and changes. If we merely HEAR what ought to be done, but we don’t DO anything about it, we are
wasting our time and our lives.
I do want to remind you, before we get to 1 Corinthians 10, that the book of 1 Corinthians is actually a letter written to
this church by the apostle Paul. When it was delivered to the church family there – not by a mailman, but by one of
Paul’s trusted friends – it would have been read in its entirety on a Sunday gathering. We have been in our “Straighten
Up” series since July 17th of this year and we are only on chapter 10. When this letter arrived from Paul in Corinth,
they would have just read it beginning to end on the same day.
I bring this up, because an issue that we looked at several weeks ago returns today – eating food offered to idols.
What we are looking at today in chapter 10 would have been read within a few minutes of reading chapter 8. And Paul
is a very logical and well-organized writer and thinker, so everything we have seen in chapters 8, 9 and 10 relates to this
issue of eating food offered to idols. We will also find direct application for ourselves today, too, for areas of our lives
that are out of whack. I do encourage you to take some time in your further studies to read chapters 8 – 10 in one
sitting out loud and follow the thinking and encouragement.
Before we go any further, let’s PRAY.
This morning, after the message, we will be sharing the Lord’s Supper together. This is available to anyone who is a
follower of Jesus Christ – people who have trusted Him for forgiveness and restoration to God. If you have not put
your trust in Jesus Christ, I encourage you to listen carefully to what we see in 1 Corinthians today – to respond by faith
in Jesus and receive the forgiveness and restoration God has made possible through Him. Following Jesus brings life
into focus and fulfills the reasons we are here.
In 1 Corinthians 10:14, the first word is “therefore.” When we see the word “therefore,” as Kay Arthur says, we need
to see what it’s there for. As I mentioned, Paul has been talking for 3 chapters about how to deal with eating food
offered to idols – should we followers of Jesus eat it, should we demean people who don’t think they can or should?
All that Paul has been saying is about to be brought to a close at the end of chapter 10.
1 Corinthians 10:14-22. READ. OK, my dear friends, since temptation is common to every person and since God is
faithful and since God has allowed temptation to show you His faithfulness and gives you a way to escape it – since all
that is true and everything I have said since the beginning of chapter 8 is true, FLEE from idolatry.
This is all still related to how they think about food offered to idols. If you are tempted to give credence to the idea that
the food offered to idols has some magical or evil power in it – then that means you are agreeing that the idol itself has
some kind of power. And if people think that way long enough, it takes on credibility. But there is NO credibility in
that thought. Paul is warning the Corinthians to not allow this wrong thinking to become ingrained.
Flee idolatry, Paul says. Run away from that kind of thinking. He says that he is speaking to them as if they were wise
– I’m not sure if this means he doesn’t think they are – kind of a slam against them. It could be – he has been very
honest with them about their immaturity several times already. Put wisdom into action and judge for yourselves what I’
m talking about and how it affects you. Are you giving any credibility to the idea that idols actually have some power?
And then he brings up the Lord’s Supper – communion. That’s interesting. And there are some interesting things we
can learn about it from this passage. Paul is not really talking about the Lord’s Supper directly, but brings it up as part
of this discussion to help us see what he is talking about. And it could be that in Corinth the food they used for sharing
the Lord’s Supper may have been actually offered to idols at some point – and people felt funny about that – feeling like
eating that food for communion would take away something from Christ. In other words, giving the idol more credit
than it deserves (it deserves none).
As we go through the end of chapter 10, we’re going to see that Paul kind of lays out both sides of this discussion – it’s
OK to eat this food and it is OK to not eat the food, but our thinking about it has to be correct, whatever we do. Here’
s the correct way to think about it no matter what your practice is.
The cup we drink as we remember the death of the Lord has been blessed and we have given thanks for it to the Lord.
The bread we eat is the same – we have acknowledged that it came from the Lord, so it is pure. Let’s not allow any
credence that demons or idols have any power over that cup or that bread. If we give any credibility to that thought,
we are polluting the purity of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus – sharing the table of the Lord with demons. Not that they
actually DO have any part, but in our thinking we GIVE them a part. Don’t do it – flee from idolatry.
This particular thought is actually going to be brought up again in chapter 11 – eating in an “unworthy manner” in verse
27. We’ll look more at that and refer back to this when we get to chapter 11.
Verse 22 – provoking the Lord to jealousy. Let’s talk about that a little bit. Obviously there is something about this
situation that would cause the Lord to sense a second place position. For those who follow Jesus, He gives no room to
be second place – and He guards His primary place rigorously. To take communion and to consider the food as being
offered to idols and to be thinking about that as you’re eating it is offensive to the Lord who blessed it and is the focus
of it. He wants purity in our worship.
Let’s think about this and relate it to areas of our lives. Do you really want to put your God and Savior in the position
of having to deal with demons to have a relationship with you? Jesus set me free from sin and the devil, but I like the
stuff sin and the devil give me, so I’m going to keep messing around with it. Isn’t that kind of arrogant? Do we think
we are stronger than God? As we have asked before – why try to get as close as you can to sin, when God has set
you free from sin? Why not stay close to Him and as far from sin as you can get?
Well, because God is boring, sin is fun, people will think I’m a prude, I won’t have any pleasure. Be honest with
yourself – have any of those thoughts gone through your mind when confronted with staying away from sin? If they
have – and you have given in to them – it is obvious that you do not know the Lord Jesus very well. I’m sorry – I don’t
want to burst your bubble, but it is true.
There is certainly some pleasure in sin – no argument there, but it does not last or fulfill. The Creator of the universe
cannot possibly be boring – He made EVERYTHING that is – get to know Him! People might think you’re a prude –
I guess your prudiness is really up to your willingness to believe God – to trust Him and do what He says. God is not
interested in producing a bunch of prudes. He made us the way we are for His eternal and thrilling purposes. If we
attached ourselves to His things, and allowed Him full access to us, there is no comparison of His life with mere human
life.
So where do you let idols and/or demons have an entry? It’s the same list of suspects – TV, movies, internet,
magazines, music, books, entertainment of other kinds. These are things that feed our thought life. What are we
“sharing” with the indwelling Spirit of God that causes Him to puke? I can’t point out to you and determine what you
are putting in place of God. Only the Spirit can do that – and truthfully, He is trying. Are you listening? And if you’re
listening, are you responding – are you willing to forsake the false for the real? Or do you think you’re stronger than
God?
Let’s go on. 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1. READ. We have heard the beginning of this before in chapter 6. Go back to
1 Corinthians 6:12. READ. Very similar to 10:23, but a little different. It kind of seems like 6:12 is more self-focused
and 10:23 is more others focused. And I think that is ultimately the point – it is not always good for you to do whatever
you want, and it certainly may not be helpful to others if you do whatever you want. Do what you do to show love to
others.
We can break it down – based on verse 31 – to this: Whatever we feel like we have a right to do or to participate in,
we need to run it through the LOVE FILTER. Does this express love to and for those around me who may not have
the same freedom I do? I do not want to cause another brother or sister to sin against their conscience because
demean or ridicule their convictions – that’s not love. In fact, go back and read Paul’s heart for fellow believers in 8:
31. READ.
There seem to be two motivations for our actions as followers of Jesus:
(1) the good of others, and
(2) the glory of God
Notice who and what is missing in those two motivations – ME AND MY RIGHTS. There are notes in your further
study materials on how to view yourself and others – please take time to study those intently.
Verses 29 and 30 seem a little confusing sometimes – let’s look at what those might possibly be saying. If someone
tells you in midst of eating something at an unbeliever’s house that it was offered to idols – not the host, but some other
believer – don’t eat it out of consideration of them and for their conscience’s sake. The next two phrases are the
confusing part in many Bibles. 1 Corinthians 10:29b,30. READ. As you read Paul’s writings, you see over and over
that he seems to anticipate questions that people might bring up in circumstances. I think that’s what is happening here.
Right after saying to not eat the food offered to idols because some other believer – a weaker brother – objects to
eating it, listen to how the NCV puts the next phrases – “But why, you ask, should my freedom be judged by someone
else’s conscience? If I eat my meal with thankfulness, why am I criticized because of something for which I thank
God? The answer” – verse 31 – “is if you eat or drink or if you do anything, do it all for the glory of God.” The GNB
also has what I think is an accurate translation of this passage.
The reason you should not eat the food or watch the TV show or the movie or go to the casino or whatever is to allow
God to be glorified by the other person. God’s glory is the basis of our actions – read Ephesians 1. Seek to not cause
a weaker brother or sister to stumble and you will glorify God. How and why? Because it is love that motivates that
kind of living. And that’s what we are called to.
Paul ends this part of his discussion with a reminder of what he had said in chapter 9:19-23 – he becomes all things to
all people so that he might allow the salvation of some. Give no offense to Jews or Greeks or even to the church of
God. Instead of offending them, become what they need to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. Is it possible to “give no
offense?” Is it possible to not offend some people? If verse 33 of chapter 10 is the basis, if we are seeking the good
and profit and salvation of others, we are doing what’s right. We are not to seek our OWN rights – that would be
offensive. Seeking their good and profit and salvation gives others very little to complain about.
And Paul encourages the Corinthians to live this way – in fact, to imitate him as he lives that way. He is not saying he
never fails in this. He is saying it is the driving principle of his life – to live like Jesus, to allow Jesus to live His life in
Paul. This is the same thing all of us are called to – Christ in you, the hope of glory. As we yield ourselves to Christ
living in us, He will be glorified – whatever we do will be for His glory.
Are you trying to live with one foot in each world? Are you seeking to enjoy the pleasures of this world and the
blessings of life in Christ? God is not interested in sharing you with the world. He knows that this world is passing
away and the lusts of it – He knows the world cannot deliver forever like He can. He knows the plans He has for you
– plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. He knows the straight paths He wants for you.
If we allow ourselves to think that these other things have some power or eternal value, we are not living according to
the truth. We have redefined things that God has clearly defined for us. We need to straighten up and fly right – think
and act correctly in these areas. God promises good for us and joy and richness and full life. And, whether we can
relate to it at this moment or not, we glorify Him – the very thing we were created to do. Let’s DO IT!