Do All For The Glory of God

O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth. You are the Lord; Creator, Sustainer, and the Ruler of all things. You are our Lord, the God who gave His own Son for our salvation; who has called us out f darkness and into your marvelous light. Come, O God, inhabit the praises of your people. Send the Spirit that we may worship you in spirit and in truth. Receive our worship, as you receive our prayer.

†OPENING HYMN OF PRAISE #277

“Before the Throne of God Above”

†CORPORATE CONFESSION OF SIN

based on Psalms 25:6-8, 11, 16-18; Jer. 33:8

“Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord! Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.” (Psalm 25:6–8, ESV)

Take a minute of silent confession

TIME OF SILENT CONFESSION

Minister: Let us confess our sins before God and one another –

Congregation: Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for your goodness sake, O Lord!

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore you instruct sinners in the way. For your name’s sake, pardon our guilt, for it is great. Turn to us and be gracious to us, for we are lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of our hearts, and bring us out of our distress. Consider our affliction and our troubles, most of all, our sin.

Minister: Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;

Congregation: let your face shine, that we may be saved. Amen

Minister: Hear the assurance of God, and know that your sins are forgiven: I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sins against me, and I will forgive (Jer. 33:8).

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE Exodus 9.1-12

Paul Mulner, Elder

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

†PSALM OF PREPARATION #24B

“The Earth and the Riches”

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

Heavenly Father, may you grant us to comprehend your holy Word according to your divine will, that we may learn from it to put all our confidence in you alone, and withdraw it from all other creatures; moreover, that also our old man with all his lusts may be crucified more and more each day, and that we may offer ourselves to you as a living sacrifice, to the glory of your holy name and to the edification of our neighbor, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. — Zacharias Ursinus

SERMON 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1 "“All For the Glory of God” Pastor Austin Prince

TEXT: 1 Cor. 10:23-11:1

1 Corinthians 10:23–11:1 ESV

23 “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. 24 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” 27 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— 29 I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks? 31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. 1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

AFTER SCRIPTURE

Teach me your way, O Lord and I will walk in your truth. Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

Intro:

So you get a letter in the mail. It’s an invitation from a family member (let’s say a grandson) to attend his wedding. You love them and want them to feel that love, but the wedding is a same-sex wedding. What do you do?

There is so much debate among Christians right now on situations precisely like this one. How is it that we live in this world with all of its rejection of God and yet engage it with the love of God? What do we do?

For the past few weeks we have been instructed by Paul on how to deal with idolatry, primarily centering around the difficulty of food offered to idols - that has been his primary illustration. And we have learned a tremendous amount about how to think as Christians: That food itself isn’t blessed or cursed (even possessed), and therefore we are free to partake in it, that we should, however, lay down preferences at times for the sake of others, and that covenantal realities govern how we partake in the world, taking the world from Christ at His table or taking the world from demons at theirs.

But as Paul concludes this section, his instructions are on how we are to engage with the idols of unbelievers. Chapter eight up until this point has dealt with how to navigate food offered to idols considering the consciences of the stronger and weaker brothers—that is, Christians. But what is in view here is how we are to handle food offered to idols among non-believers.

And though we don’t have the same dynamic with food and idolatry as the Corinthians did, we do have plenty of scenarios where this wisdom brings insight as we navigate life and evangelism among our unchristian neighbors—like that wedding invite that I mentioned earlier.

So Paul gives some overarching principles that are at play to orient his instruction, and then he applies those principles in an illustration of what engaging non-believers looks like.

Here are three principles that frame Paul’s argument:

1) “All Things Are Lawful

““All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.” (1 Corinthians 10:23, ESV)

Notice again the quotation marks around the phrase, “all things are lawful”. This favorite phrase of the Corinthians was accurate, but it wasn’t without limits and the need for wisdom. They were truly free to fellowship with anyone, to eat anything, and to take the world as God had given it, but as Paul articulates in Galatians 5, Christians, though they are “called to freedom… Only (they are not to) use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”” (Galatians 5:13–14, ESV).

There is a way to use your freedom unwisely—ways that are not helpful and that don’t build up.

This principle could apply to lots of things:

I can use a banana as a hammer, but that wouldn’t be helpful.

I could sit on my phone at night and ignore my kids as they play, but that wouldn’t build them up.

Generally, that wisdom could be used in lots of ways

But what’s in view here with the idolatry of others is that I could be completely free to eat the food that they are eating, or listen to the music that they are, or go to the wedding, but it might not be wise. It might not be accomplishing what I hope it will. My freedom to engage with them in that moment and in that way might not help them or build them up, and therefore I might need to check my freedom for their sake.

What is the outcome that Paul is looking for? What is the ambition of the helping and the building? See vs. 33, “…that they may be saved”.

Ok, so let’s say that many Christians have this goal in mind and this leads some to avoid the foods or the wedding but it leads others to indulge in the foods and attend the wedding, both saying its strategic for the salvation of the non-believer.

What’s the right thing to do? This leads us to the next principle.

2) Let no one seek his own good,

“Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” (1 Corinthians 10:24, ESV)

This principle sheds light in two ways: 1) That we make it our ambition to serve others, seeking their good and glorifying God. Part of the freedom that we do have is freedom from being slaves to ourselves and our needs. We are so full at Christ’s table and so loved and so taken care of that we look outside of ourselves in an effort to give to others. What might seem good to us is to avoid these situations and these people, but we are not to do that. We are to seek out their good. And this is the second part of this principle.

2) When we are to seek the good, it is God who determines what is good for the neighbor, not the neighbor. And here is precisely where our current confusion within the church comes in regards to these matters. The world does not see God’s holiness as good and much of our trepidation around being thought cruel or hateful leads us to live and act in such a way that we are agreeing with them. We give over the standard of what is good to them and take it away from God.

Surgeons are to take the Hippocratic oath — to “do no harm”. So if a patient comes in who is in critical condition but asks you to operate on them in a way that will not help and will not cure them, the surgeon is obligated to ignore what they want and to give them what will truly save their lives.

The words of scripture cut and the holiness of the Lord makes those uncomfortable, but we are to never lay down or give up the scalpel of the truth.

No matter what happens in our culture, never be convinced that God is the bad guy. Never be convinced that His word is poison. No matter how uncomfortable the world may be with Him at times, God’s defines what is good. And if we are to have an ambition to seek the good of others, we must serve them with what God wants, not whatever they want. And as we should all know, what God wants for us, even when we were enemies of His and dead in our sin, is unfathomably wonderful.

3) The Earth Is The Lord’s

“Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.”” (1 Corinthians 10:25–26, ESV)

This third principle sort of shifts the focus back to us a bit, giving us perspective on how we are to engage the world.

We are the inheritors of all that God possesses.

Like Peter when he is told that all foods are clean because God makes them clean, the Christian has inherited an entire world that God has made clean.

We are free to buy from the market, watch movies, listen to music, have non-believers as friends who sit at our tables, etc. Although, as we remember, all things aren’t helpful.

But this means that the lie offered by idols is to steal that which already belongs to us. It’s like going out and trying to take by force or desperation that which already belongs to you at home.

This is the Prodigal Son story. The younger son scorned what he had and thought that idols would offer more, only to find out the hard way that it was a mirage. He did finally see, though that he had all that he needed back home. The older brother had different idols of his own, but was rebuked by his father, called to remember that all of the fathers riches was always before him.

There is nothing in this world that needs to be sold to you. When you look at what you have in Christ, you have no loss and no lack, and therefore should have no pressure.

So how do we use this freedom to serve others? And how might this freedom inform us as we navigate evangelism to unbelievers? Paul gives a remarkable illustration:

Illustration/Application:

“If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?” (1 Corinthians 10:27–30, ESV)

Generally, if an unbeliever asks us to engage with them, then we should do it with gratitude and Christlike service, not troubled as if by being polluted by their company or by what you are doing together (as long as it isn’t sin).

But if that person makes it clear to you that an activity with which they want you to take part is in the name of an idol, then for their conscience sake, you are obligated not to partake.

So let’s go back to our example. That grandmother is free to love and to serve and to share meals with her grandson, but she is not free to go to his same-sex “wedding”.

Or, to use another example, you are free to work at a job and to partake in workplace activities, but you are not free to wear the rainbow pin when they ask you for the month of July.

He says this is for their conscience sake, not yours. Your liberty isn’t defined by their conscience, it’s defined by God.

And though all things are lawful, they aren’t all helpful and they don’t always build up. And Paul says, here’s where that happens. If unbelievers know that you are a Christian and is asking you if you will partake with them as they worship their idol, you must refuse. To observe you partaking in their idol with them obfuscates the truth, seeming to give approval to what they are doing. It is a confusing message regarding the holiness of God and the exclusivity of His worship. Claiming the name of Christ while giving homage to other gods is the evangelism of syncretism, which only serves to harden their heart to the exclusive gospel of Jesus Christ.

Seeking their good here does not mean that we should go along with them even if we don’t believe in what they are doing. Seeking their good means that we bring no confusion to the matter. The good is obedience to God and not to their conscience.

Conclusion:

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:31–11:1, ESV)

Whether you eat or drink, or share a meal with someone, serve faithfully at a job, or attend a wedding, we are to glorify God. Yes, this text has in view enjoying those things as acts of worship, but it also has in view refusing those things at times as an act of worship.

And all of this serves for the salvation of others. Too often we think that we have a better shot of saving someone if we give no offense. And Paul certainly remarks here that we should not seek out offending others unnecessarily. But men are not saved by our savvy or by our sympathy, they are saved by the truth that sets them free: Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and He shares His throne with no idols, but shares the world and all of its fullness for anyone that comes to Him.

†PSALM OF RESPONSE #150C

“Sing Hallelujah! Praise the Lord”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Minister: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Minister: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION Mark 14:22-25

And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

CONFESSION OF FAITH Belgic Confession, Article 35

Minister: This is a table for people of faith. Without faith, we cannot receive Christ here. Let’s confess what we believe about this meal.

Congregation: We believe and confess that our Savior Jesus Christ has ordained and instituted the sacrament of the Holy Supper to nourish and sustain those who are already born again and ingrafted into his family: his church.

This banquet is a spiritual table at which Christ communicates himself to us with all his benefits. At that table he makes us enjoy himself as much as the merits of his suffering and death, as he nourishes, strengthens, and comforts our poor, desolate souls by the eating of his flesh, and relieves and renews them by the drinking of his blood.

With humility and reverence, we receive the holy sacrament in the gathering of God's people, as we engage together, with thanksgiving, in a holy remembrance of the death of Christ our Savior, and as we thus confess our faith and Christian religion. By the use of this holy sacrament we are moved to a fervent love of God and our neighbors.

You may be seated

DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

HYMN

“Amazing Grace” #433

Does everyone have what they need?

Eat, drink, remember, believe

SHARING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

PRAYER

†OUR RESPONSE #248

“All Creatures of Our God and King”

Let all things their Creator bless,

and worship him in humbleness,

O praise him, alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

and praise the Spirit, three in one,

O praise him, O praise him,

alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 2 Thess. 2:16-17

Grace Notes Reflection

There is often confusion among Christians about how to act when our unbelieving neighbors invite us to participate with them in their beliefs. After all, we are commanded to love them. But does that love always look like support and approval? From our text this week, we are reminded that we are not to “seek our own good, but the good of our neighbor” (1 Cor. 10:24). Our neighbors, however, usually say what is good for them is full-throated support. But we must remember that it is God who has sole rights to determine the definition of good, not the neighbor.

Does this mean that we should avoid unbelievers, never partaking with them in fellowship? By no means. Paul says that “all things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up” (1 Cor. 10:23). There are many ways we can and should engage with our neighbors, but there is a real danger in believing that all participation is wise or helpful. The goal of our love is to see our neighbor saved (1 Cor. 10:33). But if we show our support and approval at all times, we can often find our influence running counter to being helpful and building up. Our support can serve to confuse, presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ as if it can coexist or intermingle with other gods.

In Paul’s remarkable illustration of dinner fellowship (1 Cor. 10:27-28), he instructs us that we are free to eat meals with unbelievers with no need to worry about where the meat came from. But, if that friend informs us that the meal and its menu is in dedication to an idol, we must not partake. It is for the sake of his conscience, not yours (1 Cor. 10:29) that we must do this.

And here we find such wonderful clarity on how to see so many issues of our own time. It does not matter what we think is happening when we participate or support unbelievers, it matters what they think is happening. You may feel that you are evangelizing, but they think that you are affirming. You may feel that you are loving and serving, but they may see it as supporting and validating. As we are reminded later in this same letter, “God is not a God of confusion but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33). As His ministers, we, too, must bring a clear gospel message and witness as God brings that peace to them.

Think through these dynamics for a minute:

What freedoms do you have when engaging the world?

What prohibitions do you have?

Who is the standard for what is good and right and true?

Even if you are well intentioned, are there some things that you shouldn’t support because of the likelihood of confusion? Whose perception matters in these issues?

When it has been made clear to you that your participation will be seen as support of an idol, what do you do?

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