HANDLE WITH CARE Note

Transcription

1 HANDLE WITH CARE 1 Corinthians 10 Jim Daggs, Executive Pastor October 13, 2013 Note: The following are the pastor s notes used in preaching this message. This is not a complete, word-for-word transcription of what was preached. These notes serve as a companion to the complete message, which is available by listening to the audio version. Bible quotes are primarily from NASB. Finish the following quote for me Give me liberty or. And who is the quote attributed to? Patrick Henry. According to Wikipedia, that fount of all knowledge, the exact words of his speech given in an effort to compel Virginia to mobilize forces during the Revolutionary War were never actually recorded. And apparently, recalling those words was no small feat. I found the following amusing: Ear-witnesses to Henry's hypnotic orations remarked that while they always seemed to be convincing in the moment, they had a difficult time remembering exactly what he had said immediately afterwards. According to Thomas Jefferson, "Although it was difficult, when [Henry] had spoken, to tell what he had said, yet, while speaking, it always seemed directly to the point. When he had spoken in opposition to my opinion, had produced a great effect, and I myself had been highly delighted and moved, I have asked myself, when he ceased, 'What the devil has he said?' and could never answer the inquiry. Lord, protect Your people from that this morning! And while versions vary somewhat, this is commonly regarded as an accurate accounting of the end of the speech: It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! In a sense, our country was founded on liberty. According to the Declaration of Independence, we, as individuals, have been endowed with liberty as an unalienable right. Our Constitution was written, in part, to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. And when we pledge our allegiance to the flag and all that it represents, we declare our belief in liberty and justice for all. These are, no doubt, some of the things that come to mind when we hear the word. We know that liberty has a Statue. It has a Bell. It has a political party. It even has a University. But at its root, liberty is about freedom! This concept of freedom of both the right and the power to do as we please is a part of our American DNA. Liberty is also part of our spiritual DNA, at least for those who have placed their faith and trust in Christ and Christ alone for their salvation. We are no longer enslaved to sin. We ve been emancipated set free...rescued from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of God s beloved Son. And according to 2 Corinthians 3:17, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Truth be told, I suspect we d be hard-pressed to find someone who wasn t pro-liberty. The problem with liberty, however, is in defining its boundaries. Liberty can be easily abused. It can be taken to extremes that were never intended. We see that at a national level and we see that in the church. And we re going to see in our text this morning that the church at Corinth was guilty of such extremes. In the letter we know as first Corinthians, Paul devotes three chapters to the issue of Christian liberty. In 1 Corinthians 8, we re introduced to the primary issue the eating of meat sacrificed to idols, to pagan gods. And specifically, 1 Corinthians 8:10, dining in an idol s temple. In other words, attending pagan feasts and worship services. These often degenerated into times of drunken debauchery. And there were some in Corinth that believed that because there are no other gods besides the One, True God, these feasts were morally neutral and therefore, an issue of liberty. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul talks about his understanding and use of liberty. He would say that to the Jew he became a Jew, to those under the law as one under the law, to the weak he became weak. And he would end likening himself to a runner or a fighter, who disciplines himself with intentionality. In other words, he intentionally limits his 1

2 liberty for the gospel s sake, a concept I m not sure the American church has fully grasped. And in our text this morning, 1 Corinthians 10, Paul makes it very clear that Christian liberty is something to be handled with care. That s the point he wants to drive home and he does so by exhorting them to consider the example of Israel, by instructing them concerning their own ignorance, and by calling them to make the glory of God their chief aim in areas of liberty. That s where we re headed this morning. Let s begin by looking first at I. ISRAEL S EXAMPLE AND PAUL S EXHORTATION (1 Corinthians 10:1-13) Paul doesn t want them unaware he doesn t want them ignorant of the importance of handling their liberty with care. So he turns their attention to one of the greatest liberations of all time and the subsequent misuse of the freedom they were given. He speaks of Israel s A. Deliverance and Delinquency The Exodus upwards of 2,000,000 or more Israelites set free from their bondage in Egypt. They were all under the cloud, that supernatural pillar provided by God to lead them. They all passed through the sea, when God supernaturally caused a wind to part the waters, only to have them seal up again on the Egyptians in pursuit. Paul says they were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and sea. It s imagery that helps us understand what happens when we are baptized into Christ. Their past was sealed behind them with the cloud and the sea and Moses became their new spiritual head. They followed him as he followed God. So, too, as we go through the waters of baptism, we are saying that our old life is gone, sealed, crucified according to Romans 6. And we confess that Christ is our spiritual head. They all ate the same spiritual food, manna supernaturally provided by God, and all drank the same spiritual drink, again supernaturally provided by God through Christ. The entire nation, all of them, enjoyed the benefits of God s deliverance. Nevertheless, it says in 1 Corinthians 10:5, with most of them God was not well-pleased - He did not take pleasure in them. How do we know? for they were laid low in the wilderness. When you think about it, over the course of 40 years, their bodies would literally end up scattered all over the wilderness. All experienced deliverance but most were subsequently delinquent in their exercise of liberty and Paul wants the Corinthians to learn from that, as the Holy Spirit does us. In particular, they are examples, 1 Corinthians 10:6, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved. What were the issues? Paul elaborates. There are four: 1. Idolatry His first imperative in this chapter 1 Corinthians 10:7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were His Old Testament reference in 1 Corinthians 10:7 is from Exodus 32:6 describing their worship of the golden calf while Moses was receiving the law atop Mount Sinai. And God judged the people. 2. Immorality Paul s reference here is to their engaging in sexual immorality with the Moabites and their Baal worship and God s judgment was immediate. 3. Trying the Lord In Numbers 21, the people became impatient, not wanting to go around Edom, and they spoke against God and Moses. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people and many died. 4. Murmuring This could have been any number of occasions in the wilderness but likely refers to Numbers 16 and the event following the death of Korah and those who rebelled with him. God would slay another 14,700 as a result of their grumbling and complaining. They could have used Steve s sermon last week. They would have realized that theirs was not a legitimate complaint! 2

3 Israel had been given physical liberty! They had been given spiritual liberty! And they had completely blown it. In pointing these things out, Paul is intimating that the Corinthians were guilty of the very same. Friends, we can be guilty of the very same. We live in a different time than Israel. We are among those, 1 Corinthians 10:11, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. We are in the end times the last days that time ushered in by Christ s first coming and consummated at His second. Those of us who are in Christ do not face judgment in the same way as the Israelites. And yet, our actions may not leave the Father well-pleased. To put other things above our worship of God, to engage in impure thoughts and actions, to buck against God s sovereign plan for our lives, murmuring and grumbling all the while we were not set free for this! We were set free from this! These are the acts and attitudes of the old man and of the flesh. And yet somehow, we can find ourselves sliding (or even, at times, striding) toward these evil things. Paul saw the same in the Corinthian church and issues them a B. Warning and the Way of Escape Given the example of Israel, and the excesses of liberty they took, Paul tells them to take heed. Consider, weigh carefully, take care that you not fall, in particular those of you who think you stand. As I read it, the verse definitely has Proverbs 16:18 undertones to it - Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling. There were some there in Corinth who must have thought they could play with fire and not get burned. There were some who believed they had absolute liberty as a result of their faith. Christ s sacrifice has done it all. When God looks at me, He sees Christ s righteousness. They might not have gone so far as to embrace the heresy of antinomianism, the notion that because grace covers all sin, we can sin all we want. But it would seem their goal was to push liberty to its limit to see how close they could get to the edge of moral compromise and Paul says, take heed. They had a misplaced confidence in their own ability to stand. And that s a dangerous place to be. More confidence in self means less reliance upon God. Less reliance upon God leads to an attenuation of spiritual sensitivity. This lack of spiritual sensitivity engenders a greater vulnerability to the schemes of the enemy. Temptation has taken the upper hand and one is closer to falling than they think! The writer to the Hebrews sums it up well in Hebrews 3:12-13 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called Today, so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. It is likely that some were being hardened that some were craving evil. They thought they could stand but they had fallen. It s in this context that Paul writes one of the more familiar verses in this letter. Hebrews 3:13 is easily a sermon or two in itself but let s seek to capture the gist of it. I believe there are at least seven things Paul wanted them to understand but let s start with the word translated here as temptation to establish some context. MacArthur helpfully asserts the following: The basic meaning of temptation is simply to test or prove, and has no negative connotation. Whether it becomes a proof of righteousness or an inducement to evil depends on our response. If we resist it in God s power, it is a test that proves our faithfulness. If we do not resist, it becomes a solicitation to sin. The Bible uses the term in both ways, and I believe that Paul has both meanings in mind here John F. MacArthur Jr., 1 Corinthians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1984), 3

4 Paul wants them to understand: 1. That temptation overtakes a man. It seeks to lay hold of, to take possession of, literally, to seize a man. Hence the need to Take heed. 2. That the situations are unique but the temptations are not. Temptations are common to the human experience. The Son of God was not subject to these temptations before His Incarnation. But that changed when He took on human flesh and became a man - Hebrews 2:18 and 4:15 tell us as much. 3. That God is faithful! Here is the key to understanding all of life s trials, tests, and temptations. It all revolves around the faithfulness of God, even in the face of their unfaithfulness. 4. That God sets the limits! Testing and temptation may overtake them but it may lay hold of them no tighter than God purposes. He sets the limits just as He did with Job. 5. That because of those limits, testing will not crush them and temptation will not be beyond their ability to resist. How do they know that to be true? Because God is faithful! 6. That God will provide the way of escape. Literally, He will make to go out. Yes! This is what they ve been waiting for the egress the way of escape! Isn t that what you wish for when testing and temptation come? And what is that off ramp? Look at the seventh point 7. That they will be able to endure it. Bearing up under the weight of something doesn t exactly sound like escaping it. And yet, God is faithful. That s what I believe Paul wants them, and us, to understand. God may bring a rapid end to times of testing. He knows what we re able to bear up under and what we re not. But the way out is generally, if not always, the way through, because that s when faith is proven. Faith is strengthened in the withstanding of attacks not in us capitulating to them not in caving in to them. The opihi is a small limpet that lives along the rugged shorelines in Hawaii. It s considered a delicacy but it is very difficult to collect with the heavy surge of the ocean crashing against its rocky home. Because of its popularity, they attempted to raise opihi commercially, like we might do with catfish. They built vats and tried to reproduce the environment of the 'opihi with rocks, plenty of algae for them to eat, ocean spray, the works. Then they "seeded" the rocks with baby 'opihi and the experiment was an utter failure. Instead of growing into fat, luscious limpets, the 'opihi looked more like flat, little buttons no muscle and of no use commercially. What was the difference? Opihi need the surge of the surf and the crashing of the waves to grow. Each time the waves pound against the opihi, the mollusk grabs its rock. And as it grabs its rock, the muscle is strengthened. It cannot grow without the waves! James said as much, didn t he? James 1:2-3 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. The way out is enduring as you go through. Israel s example and Paul s exhortation. Liberty can be abused and presumed upon, and it can lead to falling and hardening. Take heed and know that God is faithful and His grace sufficient. Next, we re going to see II. CORINTH S IGNORANCE AND PAUL S INSTRUCTION (1 Corinthians 10:14-30) Paul now circles back around to the primary issue and is addressing their seeming ignorance in the matter. He s already told them in 1 Corinthians 10:1 that he doesn t want them to be ignorant and now he sheds additional light to make sure that they get it! He first describes a situation 4

5 A. When Fleeing is Victory (1 Corinthians 10:14-22) Those two words are intentionally juxtaposed. Truth be told, I can think of very few times in life when fleeing is victory. I suppose fleeing during the running of the bulls in Pamplona might constitute a victory. But Patton didn t get his reputation by running away! Schwarzkopf conducted Operation Desert Storm; not Desert Retreat! And yet, biblically speaking, there are times when flight equals might; when fleeing is victory. Fleeing youthful lusts is victory. Fleeing the love of money is victory. Fleeing immorality is victory. Let me ask you, fleeing implies a certain sense of urgency, doesn t it? Bound up in the word itself is the notion of running from danger. People don t generally stroll away from danger, do they? They don t saunter when their life is on the line? No they run! They flee! And here, Paul tells the Corinthians to flee idolatry. Either they didn t realize what they were doing when they attended the pagan feasts or they didn t care ignorance in either case. So he gives them two strong illustrations to help them understand their need to flee: 1. The Lord s Table The subject of much debate over the past 2,000 years, everyone agrees that there is something significant about the remembrance and proclamation of the Lord s death through Communion. We do not hold to, nor do we believe, that the Bible teaches either transubstantiation (that the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Jesus) or consubstantiation (that they retain their physical properties but Christ s body and blood are added to them). Rather, the bread and wine are symbols of Christ s body and blood, sacrificed for sin. And as the church partakes in this ordinance, it is spiritually nourished. It demonstrates its unity its oneness in Christ. It is a sharing in Christ in that way. 2. Old Testament Sacrifices Some sacrifices were completely consumed on the altar but others were eaten. In so doing, those offering the sacrifice shared in the benefit achieved by that sacrifice. Paul appeals to both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant to show them that there is something significant about these sacrifices that identifies them as the Lord s. And that s the point he s driving at. He s already dealt with the issue of whether an idol is, in fact, anything more than an inanimate object. He did so in 1 Corinthians 8 and just mentions it briefly in 1 Corinthians 10:19. The issue is that when they sacrifice their animals, they are in reality sacrificing to demons. Implication: when you attend these feasts, you become sharers in demons. He s not talking about possession, or anything of that sort. Simply that they were exposing themselves to demonic presence and influence. And that kind of behavior was inconsistent with who they were in Christ. It s the kind of behavior exemplified by Israel in the wilderness the kind of behavior that God judged. Provoking the Lord to jealousy really? You wanna go there? Paul would, a chapter later, tell them that their abuse of the Lord s Table was bringing judgment upon themselves it was the reason that some were sick and that some had died. He may have had that in mind when he asked the rhetorical question at the end of 1 Corinthians 10:22 We are not stronger than He, are we? I m not sure if there is a direct corollary for us on this particular issue. Certainly idolatry, in whatever shape it takes, is to be abandoned with haste. It is possible, I suppose, that participating in services or ceremonies of those that hold to a false religion under the notion that we have the liberty to do so in Christ might equate to some degree. At the very least, it s not wise. At worst, it s an offense to Christ and could make you vulnerable to the enemy s attacks. Fleeing is victory. Secondly, we re going to see 5

6 B. When Restraint is Blessing (1 Corinthians 10:23-30) Again, my juxtaposition of restraint (holding back) and blessing (giving out) might seem curious but I believe the reason will become evident. Within this passage, five principles will emerge as it relates to the exercise of our liberty. But allow me to preface this with a brief discussion on what I call, for lack of a better term, the legalismlicense continuum. When we deal with gray areas, it s like we re on a continuum. At one end is legalism, although I m not sure that term is always used as perhaps it should be. Oftentimes, if someone holds real closely to the Bible and wants to do everything it says and wants to hold others to the Bible s standards as well, they re said to be legalistic. Friends, that is not legalism. That s called living the Christian life. Sure, it doesn t negate the need for tact and discernment, for love and kindness. But holding to a biblical standard is not legalism. Legalism is best viewed as the strict adherence to, and the imposition on others of, rules and regulations, specifically extra-biblical ones, with the thought that one obtains salvation and/or that one can only really demonstrate Christian maturity in this way. It s the mandating of moral neutrals. Colossians 2 gives some examples of legalistic rules and regulations do not handle, do not taste, do not touch. And over the years, the church has had its share movies, tattoos, alcohol, cards, piercing, etc. Legalism is one end of the spectrum, restricting almost all liberty. On the other end is license. Absolute freedom, as one understands freedom. I do what I want, when I want, because I want, and because I can. This is the direction in which liberty tends to take us. Again, it s in our DNA as Americans. And it s in our flesh. Whether it s because we re loathe to become legalistic or simply because we love pleasure, we tend to slide toward license with our liberty. At least, that s one man s humble opinion. Certainly, that s what happened with the Corinthians. So let s look at the principles Paul gave them and the Spirit gives us. First is the principle of profitability. All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. Paul used the same phrase (all things are lawful) back in 1 Corinthians 6. It is likely a slogan or saying that the Corinthians were fond of using. He would not, of course, be referring to those things that were, in fact, unlawful, so we can safely assume he s talking about issues of liberty. And as it relates to personal liberty, not all things are profitable. Not everything we can do is helpful or beneficial to us or to others. It would seem that it s not enough to ask whether something hurts someone. We should more importantly ask whether it helps or benefits someone. The second principle is that of edification. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Not everything we do builds up or promotes growth. That should factor into our thinking when wading through gray areas and whether to participate in or partake of something. Some things can, in fact, make a weaker brother or sister stumble. So let s get practical, shall we? There are a lot of things we probably do on a daily basis that are neither particularly profitable nor edifying. My son and I watched the USA-Jamaica soccer game the other day. Did we have the liberty to do so? I believe so. Did it profit and/or edify us, or others? It probably wouldn t fall into the same category as say street evangelism or volunteering at the rescue mission, but it had been a rigorous week of study, teaching both on Wednesday night and preparing for this morning and it was a welcome break mentally. It was also something my son and I could share in together. I would certainly see this within the acceptable bounds of Christian liberty. But the profitability and edification filters should be active as we ponder these things. Third, is the principle of the other s good. Yes, it s a bit clumsy but that s the essence of 1 Corinthians 10:24. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor. Paul had the same message for the Philippians, didn t he? Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as 6

7 more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. As hard as it is for us to grasp sometimes, life is not all about us! We ve been bought with a price and our lives are not our own. They re a stewardship given us by God and he wants them used for the benefit of others: Husbands leading but laying down their lives for their wives. Wives respecting their husbands Children honoring their parents Older women training younger women One man sharpening another Fourth is the principle of conscience. Paul returns to the issue of meat sacrificed to idols but takes it out of the realm of the pagan feast and into the personal realm. At some level, this is the first knockout factor. Does it provoke your own conscience before God? Meat sacrificed to idols is, in reality, nothing more than meat. If they re selling it in the marketplace and you re in the mood for a good rib eye, go for it. No need to even ask about its origin, because you know that Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord s and all it contains... Now, let s say you re invited to your pagan friend Joe Corinth s house for dinner. If you d like to go go, and eat whatever he serves you. Again, there s no need to even question it. You re not there to impose your morality on him but to love him with the love of Christ. This is well within the bounds of liberty. Fifth, almost as clumsy as the other s good principle, is the other s conscience principle. While at Joe Corinth s house, someone at the dinner party asks or mentions that the scrumptious flank steak just set on the table was sacrificed to idols. Now what? Simple limit your liberty. If it s a fellow believer, you don t want to cause him to stumble or violate his conscience. If it s an unbeliever, he might be testing the measure of your commitment, unaware of your freedom to partake. So, don t eat the meat. You re not doing it for your conscience sake you re doing it for the other man s. It doesn t alter your freedom. You are simply letting go of that freedom in that instance so that you don t violate another s conscience. Put in a modern context, albeit without the religious overtones the drinking of alcohol. Personally, I think it s nigh unto impossible to make a biblical argument for complete abstinence. The Bible prohibits drunkenness, not drinking. I can think of a lot of reasons why someone might advocate abstinence but I believe it to be a liberty issue. When Jamie and I were younger, we would occasionally purchase a wine cooler or something to that effect on special occasions. On one such occasion we were shopping with our then five year old son, who we noticed was not his usual precocious self. We asked him what was up and he said he was sad because we were buying drugs. I did what every good Dad would do. I busted out 1 Corinthians right there in the market and started explaining the legalism-license continuum. No, I didn t do that. Instead, we put the wine coolers back, much to the chagrin of Sirs Bartles and Jaymes, and that was the end of that. In fact, I think I can count the number of times I ve had alcohol since on one hand and none in probably the last 20 years. My son doesn t have the same conscience issues now with alcohol but I haven t had any compulsion to drink alcohol since socially, privately, or otherwise. And at the time, restricting my liberty so that he didn t stumble was both the biblical and the loving thing to do. Hopefully you can see that this kind of restraint brings blessing. It s profitable and edifying. And it s all to be done with a two-fold motivation, as we ll see in the last three verses. III. GOD S GLORY AND PAUL S GUMPTION (1 Corinthians 10:31-33) 7

8 Above all else, God s glory is to be the driving force in everything we do! Whether we re talking about eating or drinking or whatever, which, in essence encompasses the whole of the Christian life, we re to do it for the glory of God. We re to do it with the aim of pleasing Him. Exercise your liberty for the glory of God and with thankfulness. Enjoy what God has graciously provided. But don t use it as an excuse for license. Don t use it as a means of seeing how close to sin you can get without actually sinning. No, I wasn t buzzed just a little tingly. Lord, I wasn t lusting. Yes, I did take a long look at that woman for the third time but I was just appreciating the beauty of Your handiwork. Trust me, God sees through that kind of stuff. By the same token, I believe we ought also to limit our liberty for the glory of God and the good of others. Paul says as much in 1 Corinthians 10:32. We re to do our best not to offend those unbelievers we have relationships with, as well as our brothers and sisters in Christ. They might take offense to our message, because the gospel is offensive. Paul told this church earlier in the letter that to the Jew it s a stumbling block and to the Greek it is foolishness. But in areas of Christian liberty, we should seek to please all men, just as Paul did. This doesn t mean that Paul was fickle. To the contrary his motivations were always the same; God s glory and others good. Warren Wiersbe likens him to a weather vane. 2 The fact that the weather vane points in one direction one day and the other direction the following day doesn t mean it s fickle or dysfunctional. It s doing what it was made to do show the direction of the wind. So, it is too with Paul. He would go in whatever direction he needed in order to point people to Jesus. And we see here in this last verse what I m calling Paul s gumption his initiative and resourcefulness. He will do whatever it takes and limit his personal freedom to whatever degree is necessary so that others might be saved! What best promotes the cause of Christ and His gospel? What detracts from it? What best equips and helps other believers walks? What might cause me to be a stumbling block? Does it cause me to grow closer to Christ or is it taking me as close to enemy lines as possible without actually leaving the camp? These are the questions Paul asks. And according to the 1 Corinthians 11:1, they re the questions that the Corinthian people were to ask themselves and the questions we should be asking are we imitators of Paul and Christ? When it comes to our liberty in Christ, Paul has made a compelling argument that we must handle it with care. Let s learn from Israel s example and not be ignorant like the Corinthian church. And let s live for the glory of God and the sake of others, and so fulfill the Great Commandment. QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION 1. What are some things that come to mind when you think of liberty? 2. What were Israel s excesses and how can we avoid them? 3. What is the key to enduring temptation and testing according to 1 Corinthians 10:13? 4. What does it mean to live for the sake of another s conscience? 5. How do you maintain liberty s proper balance on the legalism-license continuum? 2 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996),