This week is an important week of ministry in
our children's area Vacation Bible school begins
in the morning with hundreds of boys and girls
will be coming and The scores of adults will
be coming to help lead and teach and help in
various ways So be in prayer, please for Vacation
Bible school and ask God to give us a wonderful
week of ministry to these young lives Please
open your Bible with me to first Corinthians
chapter 10 This book of 1 Corinthians, I hope
you've noticed as we've studied it together,
speaks to a world like ours. Its context is pagan
and immoral. The pages of 1 Corinthians penetrate
to the very core of the cultural values and the
sensual lifestyle that tempt believers away from
Jesus Christ. Paul speaks about this again this
morning as he writes beginning in verse 14. Therefore,
my beloved, flee, flee from idolatry. I speak
as to wise men, you judge what I say. Is not
the cup of blessing that we bless a sharing in
the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we
break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since
there is one bread, we who are many are one body,
for we all partake of the one bread. Look at
the nation Israel. Are not those who eat the
sacrifices sharers in the altar? What do I mean
then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything,
or that an idol is anything? No. But I say that
the The things which the Gentiles sacrifice,
they sacrifice to demons and not to God. And
I do not want you to become sharers in demons.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the
cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table
of the Lord and the table of demons. Or do we
provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger
than he, are we? All things are lawful, but not
all things are profitable. All things are lawful,
but not all things edify. Let no one seek his
own good but that of his neighbor. Eat anything
that is sold in the meat market without asking
questions for conscience sake, for the earth
is the Lord's and all it contains. If one of
the unbelievers invites you and you wish to go,
eat anything that is set before you. without
asking questions for conscience sake. But if
anyone should say to you, this meat is sacrificed
to idols, do not eat it for the sake of the one
who informed you and for conscience sake. I mean
not your own conscience, but the other man's.
For why is my freedom judged by another's conscience?
If I partake with thankfulness, Why am I slandered
concerning that for which I give thanks? Whether
then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do
all to the glory of God. Give no offense either
to Jews or to 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
the many that they may be saved. Be imitators
of me. Just as I also am of Christ In the ancient
days of old when I played basketball in high
school I remember our coach on many occasions
explaining to us a certain play and how he wanted
it done But it didn't really come across to me
as one of his coach ease Until he demonstrated
it until he went through the motion or showed
us on the floor or did the exercise that he wanted
the rest of us to do. I'm one of those people
who needs an example. The Corinthians needed
an example. They needed a flesh and blood model
of what it means to live out godly conduct in
an ungodly culture. They needed to know what
godly living looked like on the streets of a
place like Corinth. They needed a mentor, a discipler
who would give them a pattern and show them that
it is possible to live a self -disciplined, race
-winning life in a corrupt world. That's why
this book is so important for us. Because we
also need to be reminded that we can live a self
-disciplined, race -winning life in a corrupt
world. And that's the point that Paul raises
in the text, because he had personally lived
among them for 18 months. They knew his life
well. And he wasn't afraid to tell them to imitate
himself, for Paul himself had imitated Christ.
Paul is not here claiming that he is perfect
when he says, imitate me. He is not claiming
he is perfect in every respect. He is only saying
that Christ had taught him, that Christ had transformed
his attitudes and his actions to such an extent
that he could say, imitate me, literally says
mimic me, as I also have imitated Christ. Jesus
was evident in Paul. And that's why Paul could
not hesitate to say, imitate me, because if you
do, you will imitate Jesus. I believe the point
that God wants us to grasp in this text today
is that you will know how to be like Jesus and
finish your race with success if you too mimic
Paul. You say, well what does that mean? Well,
Paul explains it in this text. In fact, there
are four imperatives in this text that are in
the present tense that show us that Paul is telling
us what habits we need to have in our life in
order to mimic him. Indeed, I believe to follow
Paul, to imitate Paul, you must seek to build
four habits into your life. The first habit is
this, to flee idolatry. He talks about this in
verses 14 to 22. Flee continually as a habit
of life, idolatry, he says. Corinth had a long
history as a center of idol worship. There was
a restored temple of Apollo that was originally
built 600 years before Paul was in the city.
It had been restored. And there was another sanctuary
that had a colossal statue of a god. There are
seven columns of Apollo's temple that still remain
in the ruins of Corinth till this day. So magnificent
and massive was the structure. On the slope of
a nearby hill there was a shrine to Athena. Near
the Apollo temple there was a shrine and a fountain
to Poseidon. Other remains from the Roman period
include a pantheon, which is a temple to all
of the gods. There were also temples to Heracles,
Hermes, and Jupiter. In addition, there was a
temple to the deified sister of Emperor Augustus,
whose name was Octavia. But then on the rocky
pinnacle that was nearby, that was called the
Acro Corinth, that stood about 600 feet above
the plain where Corinth was located. was this
famous temple that we've mentioned several times
to the goddess Venus or Aphrodite. And then on
the north slopes, leading from the top down toward
the city, on the north slopes of this rocky pinnacle
were other temples as well, to the Egyptian gods
Isis and Serapis. And there was Wanda Demeter.
In fact, that particular temple was used from
600 BC for almost a thousand years. In other
words, 300 years after Paul left the city of
Corinth, that temple was still in use and in
the ruins of it they have found large dining
rooms. Perhaps that is the occasion for Paul's
remark here regarding the table of demons that
he tells them not to eat at. And so you see,
when Paul says to these people in Corinth, flee
idolatry, it was a very pertinent command. You
say, well, what does that mean today? Because
we don't have idols all over the place. Well,
it depends upon how we define idols, doesn't
it? We don't have idols perhaps in the sense
of Corinth. We can say this very clearly from
what is is meant by Paul that Christians ought
never to be involved in idol worship or in any
false religious system that leads men away from
God. For that's what idol worship really is intended
to do, to lead men away from the knowledge of
the true God. Christians ought never to be involved
in a false religious system like that. Now Paul
reminds us that an idol is nothing in itself.
But demons, he says, exploit idols for their
own wicked gratification. You say, well so what
if they do? Paul's point here is that believers
are united to Jesus Christ and as such we dare
not fellowship with demons. Someone has said
you can't walk with God and run with the devil.
That's what Paul is saying here. He makes an
allusion in verses 16 and 17 to the Lord's Supper.
He speaks about the one bread, which of course
is Jesus Christ who said, I am the bread of life.
He is the one bread and we who are many have
been made one by partaking of this one bread.
In verse 18 he gives an illustration from Old
Testament Israel. Harold Meir says, here Paul
compares the Old Testament sacrifices with pagan
offerings. When the people of Israel sacrificed
at the altar and ate part of the sacrifice, they
participated in and became a part of the sacrificial
system and worship of God. And so, when the pagans
sacrifice, they do so to demons. And Paul doesn't
want the Corinthians to share in worship having
to do with demons. That is his point. And so
we can say from this part of the text that to
imitate Paul means to avoid anything that compromises
the uniqueness and the completeness of Jesus
Christ's saving work in his death on the cross
for our sins and his resurrection for the dead.
Anything that compromises the gospel message
we are to stay away from. any kind of false religious
system. But there's also more meaning here than
that, I think, for us. Because it also means
if we are to flee idolatry that we must forsake
anything that takes the place of God in our lives.
Any idol, put that in quotes, any idol that interferes
with Jesus Christ's lordship must be forsaken.
The Christian is not ruined by living in the
world, but the Christian is ruined by the world
living in him. What we have today in our culture
is not the worship of idols of stone, but the
worship of attitudes and things and pleasure.
We have idols of fame and idols of relationship
and idols of self -interest, idols of things
that we possess and idols of things that we want
to possess, idols of sports, idols of entertainment,
idols of games, idols of television. We can go
on and on down the list and describe the idols
that are prominent in our culture And I want
to submit to you today. We may not live in a
culture like Corinth where there are temples
to gods and goddesses But we live in a culture
that is filled with idolatry Where there are
many things that can take the place of God in
the lives of people and those things also take
the place of God too often in our lives. And
so let's not think that Paul's words are somehow
foreign and for somebody else when he says that
if we're going to imitate him, if we're going
to run the race and win it, then we have to flee
from those things that take the place of God
in our lives. You say, well, how do I know what
things are taking the place of God in my life?
You have to examine your heart and ask yourself
questions like, does this thing receive more
of my time and energy than the Lord does? Do
I make greater sacrifices for this activity or
for this purpose than I do for God. Do I think
about this? Do I desire this more than I desire
God's will in my life? Really all we have to
do to find out what the idols are in our lives
is think back to the last week and see how we
really spent it. to take a look at our checkbook
and see what we're really spending our money
on. And to think through our plans for the future
and what we're focusing on doing in the next
year or the next 10 years or the rest of our
lives. And when we have honestly answered those
questions, then we'll be able to know to what
extent we are idolaters. Paul is writing to the
Corinthians who believed in Jesus Christ, just
like you and I do. But here they are in their
worldliness, with the world living in them, now
going back to their old ways. And the values
and the priorities of God are being forsaken.
And that is as true in the 20th century church
as it was true in the first century church at
Corinth. And so I say to you that if we're going
to mimic Paul, we need to make a life habit to
ruthlessly examine our hearts for idols and to
dump them. And not to do that once on some Sunday
morning, but to make it a habit of life. To examine
our hearts and to say, God, does this thing come
before you? Do I prefer this above being with
you? Am I giving more of myself to this thing
than I'm giving to you? To ruthlessly look at
our hearts and to flee. From those things that
are robbing God of the the preeminence and the
supreme place That he rightly deserves There's
a second command that Paul gives that we find
in verse 24 He says it in the negative, but we're
going to put it in the positive. He says let
no one seek his own good but that of his neighbor
I want to suggest to you that if we're going
to imitate Paul, it means not only to flee idols,
but it means to bless others. Verses 23 to 30
talk about this, and here Paul again introduces
the theme that he's talked about several times
as we've studied the book, and that is this problem
of eating food that has been offered to idols.
He's not talking about going to the idols. temple
and they're participating in something, but he's
talking about food sold in the marketplace that
had first been offered to idols and which was
therefore cheaper, easier to get a hold of. Paul
introduces this problem. Should a Christian eat
that kind of meat? Well, Paul says possibly so.
He says all things are lawful. Remember, that
was the little statement. that some of them were
using to justify their lifestyle. I'm a Christian.
I can do anything. I have freedom in Christ.
All things are lawful for me. Paul says, okay,
you can possibly eat of it, but consider this.
Not all things are profitable. It doesn't bring
advantage to others. Not all things edify. That
is, they don't build up others. And so he suggests
to them, you may want to limit your choices out
of love when that's necessary in order to bless
others, in order to do them good. Paul reminds
them again, let love for others limit your liberty,
if need be, so that your life will be a blessing.
Paul applies this idea in verses 25 through the
first part of verse 29 where basically he says,
hey, he can eat anything. And if you go to an
unbeliever's house and he puts before you food
of any sort, eat it. Unless, unless someone says
to you, that's been awful. Paul says, if you
learn that, then you're better off not eating
it for that person's sake, not your own conscious,
but for his conscious sake, so that he will not
be offended. Then Paul says, why is my liberty
judged by somebody else? Doesn't that sound like
a 20th century question? Why should I limit my
life for somebody else? Paul's point here is
that although he may eat with thankfulness anything,
if his actions create misunderstanding and slander
against him by somebody who's weak in their conscience,
it's better for him to refrain from eating. But
Paul's point, I think, in this part of the paragraph
is this. If you and I are going to imitate him
and thus run a winning race, We need to make
it a habit of life to conduct ourselves so as
to bless others. And sometimes that means putting
ourselves second or third or tenth on the list.
There are things we would rather do or there
are things that we feel free to do that so we
can be a blessing to others we don't do. John
Greenleaf Whittier said, he who blesses most
is blessed. So let me tell you, in living that
kind of a life, this life of love that Paul is
suggesting here, it's not that we rob of ourselves.
We may deny ourselves, but we also bring ourselves
into the place of blessing when we bless others.
So, Paul says, imitate me. And if you're going
to do that, it means Choosing, every day, to
make it a habit of your life, every day, to live
to bless other people. To live to bless others.
There's a third command that Paul gives, we find
it in verse 32, verse 31 rather, where he says,
do all to the glory of God. Do as imperative.
It's in the present tense Paul says if we're
going to imitate him it means fleeing idols.
It means blessing others third. It means glorifying
God In whatever actions you take or the choices
you make You and I are to seek God's interests
Not our own What does it mean? to glorify God
Let me suggest a couple of phrases that I think
encapsulate the heart of it. In the first place
it means to advance his purpose. To glorify God
is to understand what God is about and to advance
his purpose and therefore I make my choices in
whatever I do so that God's purpose is put forward.
It's advanced, it's promoted. Secondly it means
to enhance his reputation. That whatever I do
I'm concerned about how others view God. I want
to enhance God's reputation in the world. Sometimes
God gets a pretty bum rap in this area by Christians,
doesn't he? Because the way that we choose to
live or to talk or to act Actually detracts from
the glory of God and God's reputation is smeared
Now God himself is still all glorious, but the
fact is his reputation can be smeared And so
that's why Paul says if you want to imitate me
and run a race that will win in the end Then
you need to make it a habit of your life to promote
God's reputation in everything you do. Make that
a habit of your life. The Westminster Shorter
Catechism says that the chief end of man is to
what? Not too many Anglicans here today. To glorify
God and enjoy him forever. The chief end of man.
One man wrote, To lift up the hands in prayer
gives God glory. But a man with a dung fork in
his hand, or a woman with a slop pail, give him
glory too. He is so great that all things give
him glory, if you mean that they should. I was
talking the other evening to a student at one
of our Christian colleges nearby. very involved
in athletics in the past, at least, and now majoring
in what he needs to major on as a college student.
And he said, you know, God has taught me in the
last few months that when I'm out playing basketball
or I'm playing sports that I should not do that
for my reputation. And he said, the reason I'm
studying now hard in college is not to glorify
me, but he says, I'm doing it to glorify God.
Hallelujah. He's made a huge step of maturity
in his life. And that's what Paul is saying here.
Whatever you do, be it eating or drinking, the
course of life, the routine things of the day,
whatever you do, make it a habit of life to advance
and promote God's reputation in those things.
And then there's a final word of command that
Paul gives in verses 32 and 33 where he says,
give no offense, give no offense, present tense,
it's to be a habit. He says, if you're going
to mimic me and Jesus, and thus win the race
of life and receive the reward at the end, then
what you need to do is to win the lost. For he
says, give no offense that they may be saved.
What he's saying here is that we must live not
to create harm or injury to anyone He is not
saying that we should become men pleasers But
that rather we should not be self pleasers He
says that we don't want to put a hindrance in
the way of anyone being rescued by Christ And
so he says if you're going to imitate me then
you must live to win the lost. You must make
it a habit of life to be concerned about them.
Make it a habit of life to help others come to
Jesus. And so live your life to be a blessing
and not a blight, a stepping stone to Him and
not a stumbling stone. Live your life to be a
builder, not a destroyer. The secret of evangelism
is allowing the love of Christ to overflow every
action and every thought and every word in your
life. The most successful soul winners are those
whose lives are just flooded with God's love.
And they make it a habit of life to live in such
a way that the lost are one to the Savior. Godliness
is found in imitating Jesus and Paul, because
Paul imitated Jesus. It means fleeing anything
that challenges God's preeminence and supreme
place in our lives. It means conducting ourselves
so as to bless others. It means making it a habit
also to promote God's reputation and to help
others find a relationship with God. He who lives
like Christ will win others to Christ. What Paul
says here to these Corinthians in the midst of
their culture are words that come to you and
me in the culture of the late 20th century. and
how the world today is crying out to see examples,
to see models of what a Christian is. Paul says
that's what you need to be, folks. He says imitate
me. Imitate me. And as you do, you will imitate
Jesus. Will you choose today to make that a habit
of your life? to imitate Paul in these four areas,
will you choose today to seek to add these four
habits to your life? If you do, those around
you will be touched by God. Hearts that have
remained closed to you will begin to open up.
Doors that you have sought to go through but
have been closed will begin to crack open if
you will imitate Paul and thus Jesus. Let's pray
together. Lord, I pray as did that man of old
who said, Make me more like yourself and less
like myself. Jesus, we need today to be convicted
of the worldliness that has overtaken us. Thank
you for this wonderful model that is set before
us. I pray that we will forsake all that robs
you of your rightful place in our lives. And
that we will seek to add these four habits this
week and that it will make a difference in how
we live and how your gospel is advanced. I'm
going to give you just a moment now in the quietness
of this moment to say something to the Lord yourself
about these four habits. Father, I pray that
you will hear our prayers and answer them in
Jesus' name. Amen.