Category: 1 Corinthians

Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.

If some unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. But if anyone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’s sake–the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be judged by another’s conscience? If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because I thank God for?

So whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, or Greeks, or the church of God–even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved (1 Corinthians 10:25-33).

We have, I think, reached the end of the “Food sacrificed to idols” Q&A.

It comes down to a pretty simple message in the end: You have tremendous freedom in Christ. That freedom should be used in such a way that it blesses others and brings them closer to God. If you enjoy the things of this world in a way that causes others to stumble, you have missed the whole point.

Next up–women and head coverings. That should be fun.

Happy Friday, Beloved

“Everything is permissible”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”–but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others (1 Corinthians 10:23-24).

It’s not about you.

Amazing how often this idea recurs in Scripture.

Paul is still talking about the food/idol issue, but really…

Kind of applies across the board, doesn’t it?

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I don’t want you to be participants with demons. 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. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?  (1 Corinthians 10:18-22)

But I thought Paul said it was OK to eat the meat sacrificed to idols.

What gives?

Beloved, Paul makes an important distinction here. He reaffirms that idols are nothing, and so the meat offered to them is nothing. However, that doesn’t mean that the ceremonies are nothing. Just as Christians and Jews who participated in Communion or the Temple worship were pledging themselves to God, the pagans were, in their rituals, pledging themselves to demons. Sure, they called them gods, but we all know what they really were. So, eating meat that you purchased in the meat market was one thing; joining the pagan revelries was quite another.

I’m gonna figure that you aren’t engaging in pagan sacrifice. If you are, we really need to talk. But the message for us is clear: Don’t play with the enemy. Don’t flirt. Don’t see how close to the line you can get. That, Beloved, is a dangerous game, with dangerous prizes.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved

Therefore, my friends, flee from idolatry, I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks the blood of Christ? Because there is one loaf we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf  (1 Corinthians 10:14-17).   

First of all…the Therefore.

Gotta go back to last week for that one.

Last week, we saw that God would not let anyone be tempted beyond what they could bear, but would always provide a way out. Therefore…that’s the fleeing piece.

So what’s this about cups and loaves? 

You’re right, Beloved; Paul’s talking about the Lord’s Supper. Paul is reminding the Corinthians–and us–that taking Communion is serious business. We are partaking in the body and blood of Jesus.

And what, exactly, does that mean?

Good question. I don’t see evidence for transubstantiation–the idea that the bread and wine are transformed on the altar into the actual body and blood of Christ.

And yet, I believe that it goes beyond a mere symbol. There’s more, somehow.

I just don’t know what…or how.

Regardless, Communion is part of what binds us together as the people of God. And that’s a big deal, as Paul will explain tomorrow. In the meantime, chew on the idea that you–yep, you–are a part of the body of Christ.

Forever and always

Happy Tuesday, Beloved

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry (1 Corinthians 10:14).

Not, “Look the other way from.”

Not, “Watch ambivalently, but remain detached from.”

Not, “Move away from at a calm and steady pace.”

Flee

As in, “Run for your life.”

Beloved, Corinth was a Greek city. So, the Corinthians were literally surrounded by pagan culture. Most of Paul’s audience had come to Christ out of some form of idolatry, which he warned them to stay away from at all cost.

Beloved, you may not have worshiped Aphrodite

but 

you are surrounded by idols.

(Now that I think of it, maybe you did worship at the altar of Aphrodite. After all, she was the goddess of love, beauty, and sex.)

When the idols beckon, flee.

When your old life comes calling, flee.

When the sin which once held you captive now seems kind of exciting and enticing, flee.

Sometimes we act like a person in an abusive relationship: we cry out for rescue, but then return, again and again, to our abuser.

Don’t look back, Beloved.

Just flee.

Happy Monday

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it (1 Corinthians 10:12-13).

He will provide a way out.

But here’s the deal; you have to want a way out.

You have to look for it and listen for it and take it when it is offered.

You can’t put your hands over your ears and say “La la la” when the Holy Spirit is offering you strength.

In short…you must want God more than you want the sin.

Do you?

Happy Friday, Beloved

These things happened as examples and were written down as warnings to us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come (1 Corinthians 10:11).

The fulfillment of the ages

I just couldn’t let that phrase go by.

All of history had pointed to Christ, had predicted His coming.

And then…he was there.

Doing all the things: Completing the Law and conquering Death and redeeming Mankind and healing and teaching and loving.

The universe would never be the same.

Beloved, we often focus on Christ’s second coming, which, if I read Scripture correctly, will be pretty wow.

But here, now, we live in the fulfillment of the ages. The Word of God born, crucified, and risen.

Indeed 

As you move into your day, I pray that God will keep that truth at the front of your mind, that you might walk and work and rest and bathe in it.

Happy Thursday, Beloved.

Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to engage in pagan revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did–and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did–and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel (1 Corinthians 10:6-10).

It’s not about the specific sin. 

It’s not about the specific punishment.

It’s about the attitude.

I mean, you can look up all the episodes that Paul is referencing here–they’re in Exodus; knock your socks off. But the common thread in all of them is that God’s people were putting themselves first. They were ignoring God and His commands because they wanted to please themselves.

That’s the heart of every sin.

Including mine

and 

yours. 

So, take the hint, and keep your eyes on the prize.

And the Prize-Giver.

Happy Wednesday, Beloved

For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. (1 Corinthians 10:1-5).

Paul finished Chapter 9 with the admonition to “Run in such a way as to get the prize.” He wanted the Corinthians to take their relationship with God seriously. He continues that theme into Chapter 10 by turning to look at Israel’s history. God’s people have always found strength in the story of the Exodus. We take comfort in the displays of God’s power on behalf of His people. We imagine what it must have been like to witness the plagues, the parting of the Sea, the manna, water gushing forth from the rock…

And yet, the vast majority of them died in the desert.

They never made it to the Promised Land.

Paul’s message is clear–It is not enough to call yourself one of God’s people.

You have to live it.

You can partake of His blessings and still fall short, if your heart isn’t His.

So, heart check: Do you follow Christ because He blesses you, or do you belong to Him, heart and soul?

It’s a matter of life and death.

Happy Monday, Beloved

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

Have you ever studied Olympic athletes?

Have you heard them interviewed, seen their level of commitment? 

It’s intense.

What if you and I lived our lives before Christ with that same intensity? What would that look like?

Because that’s what Paul’s talking about here.

Beloved, I confess to you that my walk is not Olympic level.

It’s more middle school JV.

But the race isn’t over, nor the fight done.

Pray with me:

Father, today is a new day. Thank you for that. Thank you for forgiving my many false starts and failures. Help me get back into training. As I start this day, give me strength and purpose to live today like it is the most important day of my life, because it just might be.

Amen

Happy Friday, Beloved