One of the ways we
might describe this chapter is a warning about the dangers of freedom.
Every parent who has a teenage driver knows of the dangers of freedom.
You probably still remember that first night, after your teenage son/daughter
got their driver’s license, when they said those words you dreaded
to hear, “May I have the car keys please? I want to go out with
my friends.” Although they have been given the freedom by the laws
of the land, by passing their driving test, to drive at night, you never
thought they would actually do it. At least not alone. So you had a
hard time letting them go. And as they walked out the door, after you
said, “Have a good time,” you also had to add, “Please
be careful!” You did that, not because they were a bad driver,
but because you knew that there are real dangers associated with the
freedom to drive.
Likewise, Paul knows that there are also dangers associated to spiritual
freedoms. And what Paul wants to warn us about in this passage is the
danger of coming and worshipping the Lord on Sunday, and then going
out and be part of the world the rest of the week. Paul also knows that
while most of us are not bad people who live to sin, it’s just
that he knows that there are many bad things in this world that Satan
will try to use to pull us away from God. Paul’s basic message
is: Run away, as far and as fast as you can, from anything that might
cause you to put anything else above the one true God, who has revealed
Himself to us through the Bible--v. 14.
Idolatry is an excessive devotion to a person or a thing. Our devotion
should be reserved exclusively for no one other than God Himself. God
said that “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not
make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or
on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down
to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.”
(Exodus
20:3-5)
And the reason why is because idolatry stirs up the Lord’s jealousy.
Perhaps you have never considered jealousy as an attribute of God. We
tend to think of many other of God’s characteristics, such as his
wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, truth, mercy, love, or sovereignty.
But never his jealousy. Yet, the Bible makes it clear that our God is
a jealous God.
God’s jealousy is not the compound of frustration, envy and spite
that human jealousy so often is. But rather God’s jealousy is a
praiseworthy zeal to preserve the love relationship He has with His
people. Interestingly, God’s jealousy is almost always mentioned
in connection with false religion. He loves us so much that his jealousy
is stirred up when we give allegiance to someone or something other
than him.
Please notice that Paul starts off with the connecting word “therefore”--v.
14. Remember when you are studying the Bible and come across words like
this one, you must realize that what the author is about to talk about
is directly related to what he has just got through talking about.
Back in ch. 8, Paul started to answer a question that was sent to him
about what is a Christian’s position to eating foods that had been
sacrificed to idols. So for the past 2 chapters, Paul has been teaching
us how to use our liberty wisely so we don’t become a stumblingblock
to others, or use our liberty as a license to sin.
In the previous verses, Paul taught us how our spiritual ancestors were
severely disciplined by God for engaging in idolatry. Paul wants us
to see that not only is idolatry wrong, but it is also deadly. While
Paul didn’t mention it, the Jewish Christians would have remembered
that it was the sin of idolatry that caused their forefathers to be
taken into the Babylonian Captivity for 70 years. So Paul tells us that
what we need to do is what our spiritual fathers failed to do, that
is to flee from idolatry.
The Jews learned from this mistake, and after they returned from Babylon,
they never again worshipped any false idols. And since the early church
was predominately made up of Jewish Christians, the worship of false
gods during a worship wasn’t a problem. So why then does Paul tell
us to flee from something that may not have been a problem.
Apparently in an effort to exercise their freedom, some of the Gentile
Christians had begun to compromise their new-found faith. They were
doing this by returning to the idol temples and participating in the
worship of the false gods, perhaps as a way of appeasing their family
& friends. In those days this was a legitimate temptation. For if
you cut yourself off from the temples, you were isolating yourself from
weddings, parties, in fact, from most of the social life of the community.
But to Paul this is not a gray area, like eating meat at a friend’s
house that had once been offered to idols, as discussed back in chapter
8. Participating in idolatrous worship services is a non-negotiable
issue. The eating of food offered to idols was up to the individual;
attending a false religion’s worship service is clearly wrong.
Paul would say to us today that we shouldn’t mess around with false
religions, like Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witness, or even some
of the New Age cults that worship crystals, or nature, or play around
with magic and casting spells. I believe that Paul would be shocked
by how many Christians let their kids read the Harry Potter books. Paul
would tell us to not to attend a cults worship services if your friends
invite you. And above all, don’t participate in their religious
rites and rituals.
Obviously Paul is not a politically correct preacher. He is not what
people call today tolerant of other religions. Religious tolerance is
probably the only absolute virtue many Americans recognize. For most
Americans, the only thing that is not tolerated is religious intolerance
by those of us who try to live by the standards of biblical truth.
Paul would not go along with the crazy notion that we must respect every
person’s effort to find God in his own way. He would find it appalling
that even within the body of Christ there are those who have bought
into the lie that all religions lead to God.
Please understand he’s not talking about different denominational
distinctions here. He’s not saying that we have to stay away from
those Baptists, or Presbyterians, or Methodists, or even Charismanics.
But he is commanding us to stay away from the false religions that are
sweeping our nation like a wild fire. And the reason why, as we will
see next week, is because it opens you up to demonic oppression. Before
we look at what was going on in the Corinthian church that caused Paul
to issue this warning, I first want you to notice that he addresses
the people as his dear friends, his beloved ones--v. 14.
That word literally means that despite what we do, we are still Gods
favorite people. This is an amazing word for Paul to use for a group
of people who were so far from being what Paul wanted them to be. He
had led them to the Lord. He had spent time with them so he could help
them grow into spiritual maturity. Now many of them were looking down
their noses at Paul. Many of them loved the preaching styles of other
preachers over Paul. And some of them were even questioning Paul’s
right to call himself an apostle.
If I had been Paul, I think I could come up with other words to describe
how I felt about them. Surely one of them wouldn’t be the word
beloved, or dear friends. Yet Paul uses that word to model for us the
great love we are to keep showing each, despite how the other person
may treat us, or even what is going on in their lives.
Last week I said we needed to learn how to be more transparent with
each other so we can help each other out when we are tempted by sin.
But what are you going to do when you go to someone and say that you
are struggling with such things as anger, hurt, laziness, lust, lying,
pride, rejection, stealing, or unforgiveness, and the person you go
to freaks out and calls you a pathetic loser? More than likely, you
will never again share any of your struggles with anyone every again.
Yet, Paul still loves those who had little regard for him. He still
loves those who were not merely struggling with temptations, but actually
trapped in sin. So even while he is commanding them to flee from the
idolatry they were committing, he wants them to know that the reason
for his concern is because he loves them. I have said it before, but
it’s worth repeating, we tend to listen more to those who show
that they have the deepest affection for us.
I love how Paul makes the transition from principle to practical application--v.
15. I believe that Paul is anticipating what some of you might be thinking
as you are sitting here this morning. Perhaps you are saying to yourself,
“I’m not involved in any idolatry, so why bring it up?”
Paul says in v. 15, that before you completely dismiss what he is talking
about, to please to judge carefully whether or not you have any idols
in your life.
Paul really wants us to think about why he just got through telling
us to flee from idolatry. The word he uses for judging, he uses sarcastically.
For the one thing we think we are good at it is judging. Or at least
we think we are. And in the context of church life, which Paul always
has in mind, we tend to judge our spirituality by who our favorite preacher
is, or what kind of worship music we like, or by the gifts of the Spirit
we have. And we also love to think we are better than others because
they are living sinfully than we are.
So ironically, Paul tells us to put our ability to judge for some good
use for a change. Investigate as to whether or not what he is saying
is absolutely true. Paul, being the good teacher that he was, knew that
the only way to get people to change their behaviors was to challenge
theme to intellectually interact with the instructions they’ve
just heard. Paul said that the only way to keep from being conformed
to the image of this world was through the renewing of the mind. I hope
my sermons challenge you to think about the way you are living. I hope
my sermons challenge you to go home, open up your Bible, and see if
your life as see if it lines it up with how God says we are to live.
King David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me
and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any wicked way in
me.” (Psalm
139:23-24) You will never know unless you ask. You will never know
the truth hear, unless you are willing to listen. And you will never
understand what the Spirit will reveal to you unless you are willing
to think about what he says to you.
Now just because we don’t worship any images made of metals or
wood, nor do we go to the Kingdom Hall down the street on Sunday night,
that doesn’t mean we haven’t allowed other things to become
more important to us than the worship of God. Hopefully none you have
set up any sacrificial altars where you burn incense while you bow down
to some false god. But, have you made false gods out of such things
as wrong relationships, worldly ideas, overworking, wealth, hobbies,
possessions, or sports?
Paul challenged us to consider whether or not we have any idols in our
life. Let me ask you if you spent more time watching TV than they did
worshipping God this week? Did you spend more money this week on junk
that will one day end up in the trash then they did on things that have
eternal value, or on causes that will help advance the kingdom of God?
Most American Christians have a worldly view of life instead biblical
view of life.
Did you spend more time cleaning up your home then you did cleaning
up your life? Were you more interested in developing a relationship
with another person than you were on developing your relationship with
God? Are you more concerned with having all the luxuries and materialistic
things of this that show you are a success then you are in growing contentment
with the things God has already given you?
Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m not saying these things
are sinful in and of themselves. Most of them are legitimate things
that God wants us to have. God is not against you have a nice home to
live in. Our relationships with other people are important to God, especially
our relationship with our spouse and kids. Never forget that marriage
is God’s idea. Why God doesn’t even care if we have a lot
of toys to play with.
But if you are spending more time or money in the pursuit of these things,
then you are on the Lord, then more than likely these things have become
an idol. And God is very concerned with who or what has our primary
concerns and loyalties. Just like oil & water don’t mix, neither
does trying to mix the worship of God with the worship of idols. As
Jesus said, “You can’t serve two masters: for either you will
hate the one, and love the other; or else you will hold to the one and
despise the other.” (Matthew
6:24) You can’t come in here on Sunday mornings, raise your
hands in worship, nod your head in agreement with the sermon, then go
back into the world and live like a sinner the rest of the week, and
honestly be able to say that you have made a wholehearted commitment
to following the Lord Jesus. John tells us to “Love not the world,
nor the things that are in the world. If you love the world, then the
love of the Father is not in you.” (1
John 2:15)
And that is exactly what the Corinthian Christians were doing. They
were living like sinners 6 days of the week, but thought they were all
right as long as the came to Sunday worship. So Paul focuses on the
central act of worship in the Corinthian church, the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s Supper is one of the most powerful sacraments of the
church. Like baptism, communion is a way of acknowledging who we belong
to--v. 16.
The word participation shows us that when we take communion together,
we are engaging in something that goes far beyond the action of eating
the bread and drinking the juice. When we drink from the the cup and
eat of the bread somehow we participate in what the Lord Jesus Christ
did when he died on the cross. And this is what the Corinthians had
forgotten.
The Corinthians saw the eating of the bread and drinking from the cup
as a kind of spiritual antidote to any ill effects that might come from
tasting the poison of sin. They felt that they were safe and secure
in their relation with God, and that as long as they took communion
on Sunday, then nothing could threaten that relationship. They believed
they could participate with old friends in the feasts offered up to
the false gods of the day. They believed they could commit all kinds
of sexual immorality. They believed they could come to worship service
and worship God while they had ill feelings towards each other. And
they believed that as long as they took communion, that everything was
all right between them & God. But in doing so, they actually had
the Lord’s Supper an occasion for sinning. That is why later on
Paul tells us that “He who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner
eats and drinks judgment to himself.” (1
Corinthians 11:29)
Since the overall principle Paul is talking about is worship, in today’s
context we can’t view coming to a worship service as a means to
protect us from the consequences of sin. We can’t live like we
want Monday through Saturday, and come in on Sunday and feel we are
spiritually okay just because we took sang a few songs, and listened
to a long sermon! The reason we come to worship, is the same reason
we take communion. And that reason is because we now belong to Jesus.
The reason we frequently take communion is to continually remind us
that we no longer are the master of our own lives. Instead, when we
take communion we are saying that our old self that was centered on
fulfilling its own desires, died with Jesus on the cross. The primary
purpose of eating & drinking is to sustain life. So when we eat
the bread and drink from the cup during communion, we are saying that
we have found a new source of strength, which is Jesus Christ.
The Lord’s Supper is precious because not only do the bread &
juice remind us of the body and the blood of Jesus Christ, but they
motivate us to grow more in our love for the Father, as we reflect upon
His expression of love for us as seen through Jesus’ death on the
cross. Since the elements remind us of God’s great love for us,
the Spirit can use the Lord’s Supper as an occassion to rekindle
our passion for the Lord. Therefore, when we take communion, please
don’t treat the bread and the juice lightly! For they are holy
things that the Spirit uses to produce something spiritual in our heart
that doesn’t happen at any other time. Spiritually, when we take
communion , we enter into a level of intimacy with the risen Lord that
nothing else, not even prayer or worship produces.
So while taking communion is not a substitute for holy living, these
elements sure serve as symbols to help us remember that real life is
only found only in living for Jesus Christ. In reality, communion really
does help protect us from destruction by making us want to flee sin
& idolatry, not by making us secure in our sin & idolatry. The
bread helps us to remember that Jesus gave his body to be beaten so
badly that he was beyond recognition, just so we could gain an entrance
into throne room of the Father and be recognized as one of his children.
The juice helps us to remember that his blood was shed so that not only
could our sins be forgiven, bust we can continually go to the Father
and seek his forgiveness when we sin. Truly, through the bread &
juice we are reminded that “In Him we live and move and have our
being.” (Acts
17:28)
Not only is there a vertical participation with Jesus Christ, but there
is also a horizontal participation with each other. The purpose of the
Lord’s Supper is also to remind us of our unity in the body of
Christ--v. 17. When we gather together for corporate worship, we are
not just a church, but we also form the body of Christ. When we gather
together for corporate worship, we show to the world that we are all
created equally in the sight of God. While the person who stands behind
you in the communion line may be radically different from you on every
other level, for instance, they may live in a different kind of house,
they may have a different educational background, or they may even have
a different color of skin, but the bread to eat, and the juice you are
about to drink was given and shed for all. The only level ground on
the face of this earth is at the foot of the cross. For the Spirit of
God declares that “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory
of God.” (Romans
3:23)
What makes communion so unique is that we all share in the elements
that remind of us Jesus Christ. In the first communion service each
one of the disciples touched the bread as the loaf was passed around
so each person could break off a piece to eat. Each disciple drank from
the same cup. In doing so they understood that none of them was more
important than the rest. Jesus didn’t just give the bread and the
cup to his Peter, James, and John. Yes, there were times when he took
just these 3 with him. But when it came to communion, each of the disciples
were permitted to eat the bread and drink from the cup.
These are good words to heed if perhaps you have been thinking that
you are a little bit more special to God than the rest of the body.
Or perhaps you don’t like someone who is a member of this fellowship.
If that is you, then let Paul’s words remind you that we all are
equal parts of the body of Jesus Christ.
Please remember that compared to God, you have nothing to boast about.
Even at your very best, apart from being in Christ, you’re not
very great. The only thing that makes any of us special is whether or
not we were joined by faith with the Lord Jesus. I want you to look
around and remind yourself that God loves every person that is in this
room, just as much as he loves you.
I want to conclude this morning with communion. But before we take communion,
I want you to make sure that everything is all right between you and
God. Most importantly, make sure you have a personal relationship with
Jesus Christ. If you can’t honestly say that Jesus is your Lord
then don’t ever take communion. If you can’t honestly say
that you are a member of the body of Christ, and I’m not talking
about being a member of some church, then please don’t take communion.
You first of all have to belong to Jesus Christ in order to be united
as a member of the church.
If you can’t say that you are a Christian you have 2 choices. One
is to get saved, the second is to not take communion. I pray you will
invite Jesus to come into your heart so you can take communion. But
I also want to warn you to not take communion if you are not saved.
Secondly, I want you to make sure that no one or nothing else has seized
hold of your heart. If you have any idols in your life, get rid of them
before you take communion. If you have allowed a sin to become a habit
in your life, confess it to God, and tell yourself that you want to
turn away from that sin. Otherwise, don’t take communion.
And finally, I also want to you to make sure that things are right between
you and the rest of the members of this fellowship. Perhaps you are
here this morning, and you are mad at someone, to the point that you
don’t like, much less love that person.
If that person has done something to offend you, even if they haven’t
asked for your forgiveness, forgive them. If you know that there is
a rift between you and any other member of this fellowship, while the
music ministry is playing, please go and reconcile yourself what that
person before you take communion. Otherwise, please don’t take
communion.
Let’s
pray
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