Transcription
[Music] The Lord be with you.
Also with you.
If you have a Bible, and I hope you or someone around you does, would you turn with me? We are going to be in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 this morning. We're actually going to uh finish out chapter 10 this morning. And what we find um in this letter at this point is Paul has been addressing these Corinthian Christians that is these Christians who are living in the city of Corenth who have a variety of problems within their church. And so they have been in correspondence with the apostle Paul and they've been asking him a lot of different questions um specifically related to what's been going on in their church. And and what we find is that this church is allowing the culture of the city to infiltrate the church. And so one of the questions that they've been having and asking Paul is is how basically are Christians to relate to culture in the context of meat that is being sacrificed to idols. And so this would have been a very common problem in their local context because there was paganism all around. And in fact, most of the meat that would have been eaten in that city would have typically been um blessed or or sacrificed to these pagan idols. And so when they would go to the market or if they would go to the home of an unbeliever, this was a question that was regularly on many of these Christians minds was, okay, so what do we do about this? Are we in sin to partake or are we free to partake?
And so there's one group that's thinking that it's sin and there's another group that's recognizing what the gospel does for us. And they are basically pointing out that we are free in Jesus Christ. That the gospel gives us freedom, liberty, rights, and because of Christ, all food has been made clean. And so we as Christians actually have freedom to partake of different foods. and we don't have to worry about idols because we know that idols ultimately are are nothing. However, he wants to give us some context and a a very important qualifier for that freedom that we have in Christ. And that what he's been pointing out from chapter 8 on is how we as the church must limit our liberty at times for the sake of love for others. And that is to say that that though you could partake of meat that has been sacrificed to idols, it's not sin to do that. If you have a brother or a sister who has in their conscience that maybe they have a weak conscience or or there's something in them that they they are um stumbling over this issue, maybe they think that they are embracing idolatry. Maybe they feel like that they are worshiping a false god if they are to partake. Or maybe there's they're questioning what that means for that that other brother or sister if they are partaking. What Paul has been saying is if it's going to cause anyone to stumble, you are to relinquish your rights for the sake of your brother or your sister. And so he's been giving a variety of different examples and explanations on why we do that and how we are to do that. That we always allow love to be the lens in which how we demonstrate and how we relate to all people. So though we are truly free in Christ, we are free. All things are are are available to us in one sense as the slogan is they're saying and you'll actually see that repeated in chapter 10 where they say all things are lawful for me right that's true but we have the freedom but we have the freedom ultimately what it's done is it's giving us the freedom to become a slave a freedom to serve rather than the freedom to just do whatever we want and so where we come this morning in verses 23 of chapter 10 and actually We're going to go all the way to verse one of chapter 11. Just a reminder there that our our our Bible verses and chapters, this was not written by Paul. Paul did not actually say this is chapter 10, this is chapter 11. And though I think they're great and they're very helpful for memorization and kind of getting us to navigate throughout the text. Um, we have to just remember that that's not the inspired part. The inspired part is the words, not the where's it put in the chapter and verse. Um, because I actually think verse one of chapter 11 is better suited to summarize and finalize this argument that Paul's been making since chapter 8. But what you're going to find in this section this morning is that this really is Paul summarizing now what we have been looking at for weeks. This discussion about Christians and culture and and meat sacrificed to idols and how we are to have true freedom in the gospel, but we are to love others and sometimes we will limit the that liberty. And so he's kind of just going to give us a very good summary now of this this discussion that we've been having. And so you might notice there's going to be a little bit of repetition for some of the things we've already heard. But I do think that repetition is sanctifying. I think it's so important that we don't just hear something once and then think, "Okay, I got it. Move on. We'll never need to retouch on this or, you know, go over this topic ever again." And so I think it's important that we hear this repetition and we allow it to wash over us and truly take it to heart and apply it to our lives. And so not only what I think we find with this um part of scripture is Paul going to give us a summary of his case from chapter chapter 8 to chapter 10, but I also think he's going to summarize for us what it truly means to follow Jesus. If I were to ask you that question, if you could summarize what it means to follow Jesus in just one sentence, what would you say maybe? And hopefully we would get some similar responses, similar answers there, but I'm sure that you'll notice there might be a little bit of a variety and maybe maybe some people that might not be as certain on how to give a one sentence summary of what it means to follow Jesus. But I think what Paul does here is he gives us that answer in this passage.
And so the first thing that I want to draw from the text is that I think that Paul reminds us as the church that we are to seek the good of others. We are to seek the good of others. Once again in verse 23 and then verse 24 we it says, "All things are lawful for me but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's well-being." So once again, what Paul is doing in verse 23 is he's actually repeating a slogan that many of these Corinthian Christians have been using trying to justify their actions in which they would partake of these foods and allow other brothers to stumble. And what he's saying is that though you genuinely are are free, right? All things are lawful. You have you have liberty in Christ, that doesn't mean that everything's going to be helpful. That doesn't mean that everything's going to edify, that is build up other people. And so when we are thinking about our liberties, he's saying you must always think externally, not just simply internally. Not just how does it affect you, but how do you affect others? And so he's wanting them to get their eyes off of themsel. Once again, a very serious issue in the church of Corinth and I think a very serious issue for the church universal is that so often we are looking to ourselves. We're thinking about ourselves regularly. But Paul wants to get our attention off of us and to other believers. And that's why he then says in verse 24 that we are to seek not to seek our own but to seek the well-being or that is the good of others. So Christians in this passage are called part of what does it mean to follow Jesus? Christians are called to selflessness. You are called to be selfless as a follower of Christ. Obviously knowing that when we look to Christ and he calls us to disciplehip. What does he say to do? He says to deny yourself daily to take up your cross to follow me. Self-denial is a part of disciplehip. That is a part of Christian faith. And sometimes when we think about being selfless, sometimes we can think that what that means is you must think um less of yourself. But really selflessness is thinking of yourself less. And there is a difference, right? And I'm sure many of you have probably heard that that quote before. It's not that you don't have to constantly do these mantras and tell you say how horrible am I how you know God hates me. You know that's not what what selflessness means. What it means is you just are so focused on others, seeking their good, their well-being, that you don't have a lot of time to just to meditate and dwell on, well, how does that make me feel? Am I happy? Are they taking care of my needs? Do people, you know, do they do they say I do a good job? Are they praising me? That's the difference. It's not just self-loathing all the time. Rather, it's it's just loving other people. It's looking to other people and serving them. That is what selflessness looks like. And I wonder as we come to a church gathering on a Sunday, a Wednesday, small groups, um other times that we gather together as believers, how often are you coming in thinking about other people? How often are you coming in and thinking, how can I meet the needs of my brothers and my sisters? How can I be on the lookout for maybe those who are maybe not really sure about the faith that maybe there are some lost people that come into our gatherings? How often are you coming in with that mindset thinking about others? So often I think we are coming in and we haven't thought about any other person in the congregation until we walk in the doors and we see someone then we say hi. We should be thinking about others all the time. We should be thinking how can I get to the church? How can I seek my my brothers, my sisters, my neighbors, my co-workers? How can I seek them and seek out their good? And I think a really good test of this is just to ask yourself this. If I were to ask you, what do you do at your local church? What would you say? Now, some of you probably can immediately think of some things that you do at your church, but there probably is going to be some of you that couldn't really give a very clear answer on what do you do at your local church? What do you do for your brothers and sisters on a regular basis? See, if you're just coming here just to hear an encouraging word, to sing some songs that you like, that's your preference in a comfy chair with AC, if that's your goal, then you are thinking all about self. You are not denying yourself. You are not taking up your cross and following Jesus. What you should be thinking about is the preferences of others, the well-being of others. We are to seek the good of others.
Now, once again, this is not to the detriment necessarily of ourselves because we even see that Paul, he quotes Psalm 24:1 twice in this passage as he starts to talk about the meat sacrificed to idols. And what he's explaining there is that he's not saying you can never have meat, you can never have good things. He's actually saying that if you go to a pagan's house and if they give you meat, don't ask questions. You can enjoy it. Eat the food. Enjoy the fellowship. Enjoy the meal. Because in Psalm 24:1, it says, "The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein." He quotes that twice. What he's saying is God gives us good things. As a Christian, as a Christ follower, he's not saying God wants you to be miserable all the time. He has given us blessings. He has given us grace. He has given us all of these wonderful things of this world that we are free once again in Christ truly free to partake in. However, what he's saying is you still wants to always contextualize frame it for other people's good. So he's not saying be selfless and therefore don't care about yourself. But once again, he's saying be selfless because that is the way that we not only bless others, but we are truly blessed. And so we think about the good of others and that is how we are to think of as practical as how you eat and where you eat. It's we're seeking the good of others but we can also understand that God has given us good things. I do think it's really really important though as we say that we are to seek the good of others that it's important that when we say the good of others what that means is not just their their temporary comfort or happiness because what sometimes that might sound like is you got to seek the good of others and what that means is you need to just always say they're right you need to always make them happy make them comfortable you know don't ever critique them that's not what Paul is talking about here when he says their well-being. When he's talking about their good, he means their their eternal good. He's talking about the ultimate good. And so sometimes seeking the good of others doesn't always look like you just give them a hug and say, "A boy." Sometimes it means you have to have a hard conversation. Sometimes it it literally means you got to be like Nathan going to David and saying, "You are the man. You're in sin." So there's a lot of different ways that we seek the good of others, but that must be our intention. When we look out to our neighbors, when when we look out to our church family, we say, "How can I seek their ultimate good that has eternal consequences? That should be what drives us as we come to gather together, as we do life together."
And so because of that then on the opposite as we seek the good of others that means that we are not to act in ways that harm others. Once again we as Christians especially in America we can we can become very individualistic as Christians. We can think what makes me happy what am I allowed to do that's not sin and that I'm just going to embrace it. But Paul wants us to once again remind us that we are to not only just seek the good of others but also refrain from things we want to do. Not only do we want to do good to them, but we don't want anything to harm others. And we actually see this in verses 32 and 33 where he says, ' Give no offense either to the Jews or to the 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 many that they may be saved. See, this sounds very similar where he says, "I've been all things to all men so that I might in hopes save some." Paul has been showing us that we need to be adaptable. We need to be flexible. that we must make sure that we are able to work and minister to people, meet them where they are, not where we want them to be, who they are, not not who we want them to be. We are to go and meet people and sometimes once again we have to do things to ensure we do not harm them or hurt their weaken their consciences. And so what this is really reminding us then is that the great commission that is the to go therefore make disciples of the nations, baptize them in the father in the name of the father, son, and holy spirit and to teach them all the things that Christ has commanded us. The great commission should inform everything we do. Every interaction you have, every decision you make should be asking how is this going to help others, keep from harming them, and lead to their edification, lead to their salvation. Because that's really every single interaction you have is either going to be one of those two things. It'll be to evangelize or to edify. that is evangelize, get them to know Jesus or edify. That is get them to grow in Jesus. That's every single relationship you should have right now. And I just wonder maybe survey your heart for a second and ask how intentional have you been with every interaction, every relationship you have. Now, once again, that doesn't mean every single conversation I have to preach a sermon to you really quick. Hold on. Let me just read John 3:16 before we talk. I'm not saying that that's what you have to do every single conversation, but your intention, what you're looking, the consummation of that relationship should be leading to does this person know Jesus? And if not, how can I get them to know Jesus? And if they already are a brother or sister, if they already know Jesus as Lord and Savior, how can I help them along their journey as they continue to grow? because as we've already looked in this uh this epistle is that we are called to discipline so that we don't get disqualified in this race of faith. And so we need to make sure that we are helping our brothers and sisters as they are on the same journey as us. And so every interaction is an opportunity to either evangelize or edify. We are to be seeking the good, the ultimate good of others. And one final thing on this point is that sometimes we can hear this and we're like, "Yeah, that makes sense. I'll do that for my family. I'll do that for maybe my my church family. I might even do that for for my for my community or or you know or just the general people that are in my my sphere of life. But it's so important that we also recognize that when we are called to seek the good of others. This isn't just about Christians. This includes pagans. Because once again in the count the account it says if you're in the home of a pagan and then they're giving you a meal and they're saying oh by the way this is sacrificed to idols even though once again we in the back of our mind know we're free we could partake. He says at that point when they're talking about idols don't partake anymore because you want to watch out for their conscience maybe your brother or sister who might be with you their conscience. And so what he's actually saying is that even for the pagan, maybe someone that that wouldn't know Jesus, maybe even your enemies, you need to be seeking their good. And that's exactly what Jesus says in the sermon on the mount. In Matthew 5:44, it says, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you." and persecute you. I know we hear that a lot, but how often are we tempted to do the exact opposite of that? Someone does us wrong, they do evil to us, and we want to do evil to them. But how many of us are doing what Romans 12:21 says, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." How many people do we have? We know co-workers that get on our nerves. People that gossip, people that cause drama, they show up late, that they're lazy at work, people in our churches that cause arguments and divisions. We have our our teachers, our students, you know, all these different people in our life, family members, you know, in-laws. There's a lot of different relationships. And we know that there are certain people out there that really make our life a lot harder. And some of them might be actually out to get us. They they might really want to see our hurt, our harm, our our destruction. But even in these moments, Jesus calls us to love them, to serve them, and to ultimately seek their good. How many people that you know maybe that that you don't like or or don't get along with very well have you been praying for? So often we are praying for our family members. We're praying for for those the people that we like, but we need to be praying maybe even more so for the ones we don't like. Because once again, the great commission is not just for those who are already saved. The great commission is for those who aren't living like Jesus, the ones that are making life hard, the ones that are already hurt and that are hurting other people. So Paul is showing us once again how we are to model ministry is that we are to become all things to all men. We are to seek the good of others even in the smallest details like what we eat and where we eat. So that's the first thing that we see. We are to seek the good of others.
But this is really a subset of the greater point of what it means to follow Jesus. And that really is found in verse 31 where we are to glorify God in everything. 31. Once again, it says, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." I love that verse. And that should be really that could be a life verse for many of us is whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Well, I think it's important that we understand what does glorify mean or what is glory? Well, glory properly defined is public praise, honor, andor fame. Public praise, honor, and fame. And so to glorify something is to then publicly give praise, honor, and fame to that person or thing. And so if we are then being called in this passage to glorify God in everything, what that means is that the church's mission is to make God famous. The church's mission is to make God praised throughout the world. To give him honor. We want every single person that we meet to see God as bigger, as better, as more beautiful, and more brilliant than anything else. That's our calling. That's what it means to glorify God. It is to make him the thing above all. That everything we do flows through this hope and intention. The glory of God is the mission of the church. And I say glorify God in everything because it's so tempting as Christians to think that we are glorifying God because what we do is we go to church on Sunday. But this is not whether you go to church on Sunday or go to church on Wednesday, do it to the glory of God. It's whether you eat or drink or whatever you do to the glory of God. See, glorifying God is not limited to Sunday worship. Glorifying God is a calling in every day, in every way. And sometimes we don't even think about it like that. But do you recognize that every single moment of your life is meant to be worship? whether you eat. So, some of you are probably gonna start getting hungry pretty soon. You're gonna maybe go out to eat after this. When you eat, you're supposed to be doing that as an act of worship. What you order, who you speak to, who you're sitting with, why you're going there, what you talk about while you're in fellowship as you're eating, all of these things are you worshiping or meant to worship and glorify God. So, with how you eat, are you making God famous? Are you making people see how great and glorious our God is? Or when you you guys came in this morning, what you chose to wear, what time you got here, whether you had a donut or coffee this morning, the conversations that you had, where you're sitting right now, when you get up, when you go to sleep, what entertainment you watch, every single thing you do in your life is a calling to glorify God. That really should humble us a lot with with the decisions that we make. See, this is not just saying don't get too close to sin or or or just make sure you don't sin. That's not the call for Christianity. It's not just get close to sin but but don't sin or just make sure you don't fall into to sin. It's no, it's it's the exact opposite. We're looking the complete other direction. We're not saying how close can we get to the line. We're saying all about God. Everything about God. And so that's why I've said this before. I I want our church to be that weird church that it's not unexpected that Jesus is going to be talked about that if you're telling me at work or or at at dinner that you're having an issue that that we can pray about it right then and there that it's okay that we can do that you can ask a brother say will you pray with me now and then the person would say yes let's pray I want us to be these type of people that we are seeing every moment as an act of worship Sunday worship is great corporate worship is Great. But if this is the only time you're really seeking the Lord in his presence, you are missing out on following Jesus. Cuz God, he created and saved us for his glory. That's what it's all about. You were created for God's glory. Do you want to know what your purpose is in life? It's not for you to be famous. It's not for you to be praised and honored and exalted. See, the Bible is not about us ultimately. The Bible is about God. We don't come here to worship Zach this morning. We come to worship a good and glorious God who is worthy of our praise. Isaiah 43:7 says, "Everyone who is called by my name, whom I have created for my glory, I have formed him." Yes, I have made him. See, God created you with intention, with forethought, and he did it for his glory. That is actually really awesome to think about. We exist for the glory of the one who created the universe. That's why you exist. You get to glorify. And also, by the way, if God does not exist, you have no purpose. You have no reason for being. You are a cosmic accident. But with God in his glory, that actually says you have meaning. You have a a reason for being. You have purpose. And that is to glorify your creator and your redeemer. In Romans 11:36 it says, "For of him and through him and to him in all things to whom be glory forever. You were created and you were redeemed by Christ for the glory of God." And some might be thinking, well, that seems like a little, you know, is that is that maybe um selfish or arrogant of God to to want our praise or for us to to focus on him and glorify him? Well, the thing is if he is worthy of it and if that is the greatest thing that we could possibly ever experience, it's actually the most generous. Think about this. If you were created to glorify God, what better thing to give us than the ability to glorify him? It's like a fish was created for water. So, what is the best thing you can do for a fish? Put it in water. What is the best thing for men, women created in the image of God? To be in the presence of God, to worship God. We are all worshippers. You're going to worship something. Worship the one that you were created to worship. Do the thing that you were created and made to do and to be. And in fact, there's this quote that I love by John Piper where he says this, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." And that's the thing is that when you glorify God, that's where you find satisfaction. The more you glorify him, the more satisfied you are going to be. So the thing is that when we glorify, when we praise, when we make God famous, you're actually going to notice that your life is just transformed. You're going to say, "This is what I was made for. This is where I am satisfied. This is where I am fulfilled." And that's why there's this very uh important motto or slogan for life that our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. That's why we're here. That's what it means to follow Jesus. We are to glorify God in everything. And when we do that, we will be satisfied. God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.
And the final thing that I want to draw from this passage is not only are we to seek the good of others, glorify God in everything, but I think we can perfectly do this when we follow the example of Jesus. And in chapter 11:1, once again, I I noted that this kind of really ties in and finalizes this final thing that he's saying on this point. But he says, "Imitate me just as I also imitate Christ." Now Paul is not being arrogant and say, "Look to me, look to What he's saying is where you see Jesus in my life, I want you to be like that. The good in me is Christ in me. And I want you all to live and love like Jesus. Why do we do that? Why should we follow Jesus? Well, to the question, what does it mean to follow Jesus? Well, following his example would be a really good start to follow Jesus, I think. But Jesus, he perfectly loved his neighbor for the glory of God. So what Paul is talking about here, Jesus is the model. Jesus is the example. He has shown us in John 13:15 it says, "For I have given you an example that you should do as I have done to you." So how did Jesus live? How did Jesus treat people? How did he meet them where they were? Whether they they were Jew or Gentile, whether they were they were slave, they were free, whether they were rich, whether they were educated, whether they were poor and uneducated. How did Jesus live life? How did he love people to the glory of God? That is our example. And it's so important that we hear and see this as we've been reading this letter is that the call of a believer is not just to believe in Jesus. That's not all we're called to do is just believe in Jesus. We are actually called to live like him. We trust in him and then we follow his footsteps. We walk in his ways. We move to his rhythm. There's this really popular question or phrase that was on wristbands in in the '9s. WWJD. What would Jesus do? Do you want to seek the good of others? Do you want to glorify God in everything you do? One of the best ways you can do that is ask that question. What would Jesus do? And maybe to just to make it a little bit more precise, what would Jesus do if he were me? Because we're not the Lord. We're not the Savior. But that can really contextualize how we are to look at other people, how we are to look at circumstances is if we just simply ask that humble question, what would my God do? What would my Lord, what would my Savior do in this moment? What would he say? How would he look at this this human being, this soul right here in front of me? What would he do with this food or drink, this entertainment, the school work, with just normal work, all of our labors, all of our endeavors? What would Jesus do? But the thing is, to live like this, to live like Jesus, you have to know Jesus. To live like Jesus, you have to love Jesus. And so it's not ever going to happen if you don't get that part straight. To follow Jesus is to know him and to love him. Because by the way, if if we just read this sermon and I didn't give you this piece right here, then it becomes a moralistic teaching of of Christians dos and don'ts. And that's not the gospel. That's not Christianity. That's not following Christ. Rather, imitating Christ is impossible apart from the spirit's work in our own lives. And that's why Jesus came in the first place. Jesus came, died, rose from the dead, and he gives us his spirit, so that we actually have the capability to look like him, to be shaped, and to be conformed into the image of God's son. So we have if you are in Christ right now, if you are a Christ follower, you have the Holy Spirit of God living in you and he will teach you and guide you. He will help you. He will advocate for you and he will conform you into the image of Christ who will seek the good of others and who will glorify God. So if if we could summarize what does it mean to follow Jesus in one sentence, what would I say based on what Paul's words are here? I'd say glorify God and do good to others. That's what it looks like to be like Jesus. I pray that we would glorify God. That we would do good to others. That we would live like Jesus. that we would love like Jesus.