The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 18: 1 Corinthians 10: 1 - 22; "Spiritual Athletics"

The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 18; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22 "Spiritual Athletics" Sports writer JJ Chasin described what he called "Malice in the Palace." On November 19th, 2004, the Indiana pacers and the Detroit Pistons decided to not follow rules of sportsmanship and started a huge fight on the basketball court. What started from Ben Wallace shoving Ron Artest after a foul by Artest, things turned south in a hurry and actually included the fans. Both the Pacers and Pistons cleared the bench, and some players began punching each other. The coaches and referees tried everything they could do to stop the fight, but the players simply were too angry and continued to do so. Things got worse when one of the fans poured a beverage on Artest and provoked him to go into the stands and start fighting the fan. The fight got so out of hand the referees decided to call the game, ending it early. The rules of basketball were simply not followed in the fight causing the players to return to the state of nature and forget the rules that they were supposed to follow. Chasin quotes another author named Hobbes: without rules, everything turns to chaos. Indeed, what would any sporting event be like if there were no rules? Paul writes to his mentee, Timothy, in 2 Timothy 2:5 about this very thing in the last letter Paul ever wrote, while on death row for the crime of sedition against the state. Paul dared to say Jesus and not Caesar is Lord. Paul writes: "An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules." Paul knew that spiritual athletes playing by the Lord's rules would automatically be an out of bounds thing in the Roman Empire. And those in the Empire who make the rules didn't take too kindly to people pledging allegiance to Jesus, rather than Caesar. Last week we talked about Paul's heart. His passion. He said that he would rather die than to be deprived of the right to preach the gospel free of charge, lest he be a burden on the Corinthian believers. Paul was free in Christ. He was not tied to anything the world offered him. Early on in his ministry Paul told the Galatian churches that the world was crucified to him and he to the world. And Paul spent his life laboring for the glory of the Lord til his neck met a martyr's sword. In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul invited them to join him in "going for the gold" in their lives with the Lord, much like an athlete would play by the rules, disciplining their bodies and keeping them under control. But there was a reason why Paul used athletic terminology: this was the most vivid picture he could paint in encouraging the Corinthians to give their all to the Lord. At the end of Chapter 9, Paul expresses a grave concern. Paul made it a habit to discipline his body and keep it under control so as not to break God's rules as a spiritual athlete. Why did he do that? Paul tells us in v. 27: But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. What was Paul's concern? That after giving the people the right message, he would live the wrong message and thereby be disqualified. This certainly begs the question: "Paul, what does disqualified mean?" This Greek word is translated into English in various ways--and none of them are pleasant. Debased, worthless, unfit and failed are the other ways this word is translated. Paul uses this word in describing God giving those over to a debased mind in Romans 1:28, and those who profess to know God but deny him by their works, being unfit for any good work in Titus 1:16, to give just 2 examples. In other words, Paul's concern carries with it eternal consequences. To quote one learned guy about 1 Corinthians 9:27: Paul is engaged in moral exhortation and not talking here about the security of the believer; the word used here means "proven false," "to be shown as counterfeit." The problem for many Corinthians, he continues, is that they have disconnected their personal salvation from their calling to service and absolute allegiance to God. The author finishes his description this way: "to secure a share in the gospel, it is not enough to please oneself in the Church, to assert one's freedom, or to be easy-going." And I will add, what did Jesus say about anybody becoming his disciple in Luke 9:23? "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me." Eternal salvation does not consist in what we profess. Eternal salvation consists in our entire lives going after Jesus, not mere words spoken into his ear, so to speak. So for Paul, living as a spiritual athlete -- a true Christian -- it is absolutely vital that he and the Corinthians not disconnect their calling to salvation from their service and absolute allegiance to God. Paul's grave concern for the Corinthians and even himself was that they not be disqualified--to not be finally rejected by the ultimate judge in the competition of life. As an aside, we might be thinking, "Well, what about the truth of salvation by grace alone through Christ alone?" "What about being assured of salvation?" Two brief points. First, we are saved by his grace through our faith in Christ. And who is Christ? Lord of all. If Christ is the Savior and Lord, it is a simple answer: we do what he says. Even if it doesn't make sense. Even if we suffer, like our brothers and sisters are suffering right now in Algeria. We obey him because we love him--because he loved us first. Second, we have an entire letter which speaks of assurance in the Scriptures: 1 John. Several times he says, "we know that he have come to know him--if." He does not say, "we have come to know him--if." In a nutshell, John tells us that we receive assurance of salvation if we loyally follow Jesus--again, not perfectly, but loyally follow him. We gain assurance of salvation if we love one another--and we will talk about that today as well. In today's passage: 1 Corinthians 10:1-22, Paul gives examples from his own ancestors -- the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were disqualified in vv.1-11. Then he will give the Corinthians a sure-fire strategy to greatly assist them, and us, from disqualification by living a life of integrity to God in vv.12-15. And finally, Paul will return to answering the question that began this discussion beginning in Chapter 8: "What about food being offered to idols?" in vv.16-22. And here we will find what I believe is a profound principle that we can apply in our fellowship as we seek to live out God's purposes for Grace United, and indeed the body of Christ as a whole: love and unity. We will see how Paul drives home the point that we all need one another, not merely tolerate one another. There is a far bigger issue than merely getting along with fellow church members. The salvation of souls is at stake. No pressure! So, let's pay attention Paul's words of exhortation here in 1 Corinthians 10:1-22. Let's read together vv.1-11: For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play." We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. We have several perfect examples here of what Paul warns the Corinthians about: "Don't be like the people of old. They were disqualified." But why would they do this? It does not make sense. Paul recounted here that God provided for them with spiritual food and drink-supernaturally supplied bread and water. For 40 years, God supplied about a million people in the desert where there was no food and no water. Just shipped it in every day. God supplied them with a pliable strong but leader in his hands as well-for the most part. Let me say a brief word about the "rock being Christ." The learned guys are all over the map. But the best way we can think of this is the direct tie in between the blessings God's people had under the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Moses calls God a rock several times, and even referred to him as the rock of Israel's salvation in Deuteronomy 32:15. But in spite of the Lord's constant protection and care, God's people lived as though they were pagans. And God was not pleased. They committed idolatry as Aaron fashioned a golden calf and actually declared "These are your gods O Israel who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." They engaged in sexual immorality AND idolatry as well in Numbers 25:1-3: While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. Multiplied thousands died in 1 day. God judged them. He wasn't pleased with their immorality and idolatry. God's people also had a complaining spirit. They grumbled against the Lord and against his servant Moses in Numbers 21:4-6: From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food." Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And even then, when the people confessed their sin and repented the Lord provided them healing-"Moses, make a serpent of bronze and place it on a pole. Whoever looks at the serpent will be healed from the snake bite." Now, Paul used these examples to show the Corinthians, and us, that God has not changed. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. There are a lot of people who seem to think that the Lord is somehow different in the Old Testament than he is in the New Testament. Kind of like an angry judge who destroys people at the drop of a hat in the Old Testament and gives people a pass in the New. Let me remind us that God's steadfast love is all over the Old Testament like Jeremiah records in Lamentations 3:22-23: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. Let's also not forget that when the Lord comes back he will not play nice. Remember the picture John paints in Revelation where Jesus is going to come back as the warrior most fierce and trample down his enemies. With a word, he will kill them all. The blood of his crushed foes will splatter up to the horse's bridle for miles. And the one we will all stand before on the Day of Judgment to given an account of our lives will be Jesus. So let's dispatch with the so-called "different Gods" heresy. And Paul reminds the believers here that lest they think they are OK with God, and covered by his grace and don't have to worry about his judgment, the apostle writes these words in vv.12-15: Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. It's as though Paul is saying, "Wake up, Corinthians! You claim to follow Jesus. You think you are OK with your sin because it is covered by his blood. You have somehow taken on this idea that you can say you are called people but refuse to live as called people." Take heed, Corinthians! Take heed, Grace United! Now let's take a look at God's sure fire way to help us from being disqualified by the ultimate judge in v.13. This applies to all temptation, but as we will see, specifically to idolatry. Paul begins this famous verse by declaring that there is no temptation to sin that is unique. No one can say that their temptation to sin is somehow different than anybody else's. We're lying to ourselves when we think or say that. We are all tempted with the same stuff. Now let's look at "overtaken". This is what is known as a perfect tense verb in the original language. The idea here is that temptations have overtaken you and me in the past and they will continue to overtake us-as in confront us; that is because we are human. Talk about us all being in this together! And here is profound truth. The Lord has given us a window into spiritual reality. Every person has been and will continue to be tempted all through life. Just like we weren't asked to be born. Just like the Lord is not going to ask us when or if we want to die. So, since we cannot escape being tempted to sin against God and people, we might as well resign ourselves to live in this reality. Being tempted is a spiritual fact of life. But now notice the assurance and comfort for God's people. The Lord is faithful and will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to bear. Does this mean that I'm stronger than any temptation that comes my way? Yep. But let's remember who lives in us: Christ does by his spirit. We don't naturally have the ability to withstand temptation. But the Lord in us does. It's like this: whatever I yield to, the other side loses in my spiritual battles. If I yield to the Lord, letting him have his way regarding this temptation, sin loses. But if I let the temptation have its way in my life, the Lord loses, as it were. It is as profound and simple as that. If I yield to sin, it's as if I turn off the power switch in my battle against evil. But when I yield to the Holy Spirit who lives in me, the enemy is defeated every time. When we are tempted and yield to the Lord's ways, what happens? He provides a way of escape so that we can endure it. Endure what? The onslaught of the temptation. The Lord will enable us to see things through till the battle is over. In military terms, it's called a "firefight." The Lord experienced this. Remember when Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days. Talk about social distancing! But he was not alone. The tempter was right there with him. We know the story. And when the Lord told the enemy to leave, he obeyed. And Luke tells us this in Luke 4:13: And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. Jesus won the victory. The devil backed down. But now, look at the method by which we have victory over the temptation of idolatry: Flee it. Run from it. Get away from it. This is how we apply v.13 regarding idolatry. How do we flee? Let me give you some ways. Think of other things. Physically leave the place. Walk away from the person you are with. In other words, we take action. We don't allow ourselves to stay within the enemy's range of fire. We don't argue with the enemy. We don't train ourselves to overcome the temptation of idolatry. We flee. And by the way, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:18 to flee another sin: sexual immorality. Again, we don't argue with the enemy over it. We don't train ourselves to overcome it. We run from it. Think Joseph in the Old Testament. He did not talk Potipher's wife out of her desire to have him. He left. Quickly. The grand and glorious thing is that we can have victory over sin. The Lord has provided an avenue of victory. We cannot say, either in this life or make excuses to the Lord in the next one, that we were not able to overcome the temptation to sin. God has made that clear. And that makes me say hallelujah! The victory is mine, is yours in Christ! We don't have to wonder whether we have what it takes to make it to the finish line as a true Christian. We do. Christ through his spirit has provided everything we need! And now that we have heard Paul's warnings to not be like those who were disqualified in the wilderness, and how to battle temptation in our lives today, Paul now returns to giving them more explanation about the question they had, namely, what about meat offered to idols? Let's look at vv.16-22: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with 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. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? What's Paul doing here? In addressing food offered to idols, he is now reminding the Corinthians of the elements of Communion, the Lord's supper. And I'm excited about that next week! Please come prepared to partake. We will make things safe. No worries. The blood of Christ. The body of Christ. When we partake we are, as it were re-enacting what went on in the upper room the night before Christ was crucified. He said the elements they would take into themselves represented his shed blood and broken body. Bits of food. An act of worship. A memorial service: "Do this in remembrance of me." Jesus ushered in the New Covenant! His shed blood did that! Communion is not merely something we do here every 5th Sunday. We are to come prepared to profoundly remember, once again what Jesus did for us. Yes, he died. We can never fathom that. But just as profoundly, what did that do for our relationship with the Lord? He wrote the Torah on our hearts. He completely forgave us all our sins. He made us part of the family of God. And on and on. And speaking of family. Notice that Paul said we partake of one bread. This one bread, broken represents Christ's body, but it is also a clear reminder that we all are one in Christ. One serving of bread. Unity in the body of Christ is another aspect of communion. No wonder Paul says, we participate in the blood of Christ by remembering his shed blood and ushering in the New Covenant and partaking in the body of Christ-his broken body, but one body. Communion is a big deal and that's why we are to make it a regular practice. But now, I want us to zero in on vv.19-20 and the question Paul asked. Let's read it again: What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. Does this sound familiar? How about 8:4: Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but one." This was a statement made by someone who was displaying their freedom. I called him Brother Knowledge. Brother Knowledge was so caught up in how the Lord delivered him from idol worship that he adopted the point of view that and idol has no real existence. There is nothing there. And we remember that Paul took Brother Knowledge to task because he was steamrolling right over another guy I called Brother Conscience. Brother Conscience was more sensitive about this issue, even to the degree that when he would eat dinner which included meat that was sacrificed to pagan gods, he was so very troubled. See, Brother Conscience believed that eating the meat equated to him actually participating in the sacrifice. So, Paul is now ready to really address this issue, putting a fine point on his point. In short, Paul clarifies the truth. He is telling Brother Knowledge that he is a bit off in his understanding of spiritual realities. He corrects Brother Knowledge by actually agreeing with Brother Conscience, that idols really are something, rather than nothing, and food sacrificed to idols is a big deal in the unseen world of evil spirits. Paul is telling those on both sides of the issue that real things happen when food is offered to idols: this food is actually offered, not to gods, as in deities, but to demons. Though it is true, Brother Knowledge that there is only 1 God, Brother Conscience you are also correct, that real spiritual things happen when food is offered to idols. And this brings us to the issue Paul raised at the beginning of this chapter: flee from idolatry. When food is sacrificed to idols, those who do that commit idolatry. Paul finishes up here by saying to them that their worship is to be distinct. "Corinthians," Paul says, "You cannot mix objects of worship. It is either the true and living Godhead: Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit or it is demons. You Corinthians cannot have both. The ways and the object of your worship of God must be different than the way the pagans worship, lest you arouse the anger of God and, like his people who fell in the wilderness, you will prove to be disqualified in the race of life. You will show that you are not his people after all. Corinthians, remember what I said to you earlier that those who practice things like sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, homosexuality, thievery, greed, drunkenness, having a truly mean spirit-that's who revilers are--show that they are disqualified, counterfeit spiritual athletes - not true Christians." Pretty heavy stuff. It ought to make us cry out to God and beg him to do a deep work in us so that our walk matches our talk, lest we show ourselves as disqualified. Now I said earlier that we are going to find a profound principle that we can apply in our fellowship as we seek to live out God's purposes for Grace United, and indeed the body of Christ as a whole: love and unity. It is simple really. So simple that you may have missed it. Remember how I said that Paul agreed with both Brother Knowledge and Brother Conscience. Both had their points. Both were right to a degree. But neither was completely right over this issue of idol food. Both were partly right. Both were partly wrong. But they were both born again. They were family members. Here is the profound application we can take from here today. And I find it amazing how the Lord in his sovereignty has led us to this non-gospel topic at this time. For as we know there is another non-gospel issue that has gripped us as a church, as a nation, as human beings: Covid-19. I mentioned last week that I don't believe anybody is weak in their conscience when it comes to this issue. I am convinced that firm sides are drawn and we can all classify ourselves as "Brother Knowledge." As your pastor, let me share with you one thing I don't care 1 wit about and one thing I care very deeply about. I could not care less what your view is about Covid-19. And I'm sure you couldn't care less about my view. You have your view. I have mine. But what I very deeply care about is how we at Grace United handle our differences regarding this. So, I'm going to get some things out on the table where we can look at them. I'm going to present several facts that I'm sure we all agree on. And then I'm going to do my best to give both sides in an even handed way. For both sides have some merit. There are true statements on both sides. But as spiritual siblings, we need to listen to one another. We need to accept one another. And along the way I'm going to point out eternal truth. So, if you will indulge me, here are facts that I'm sure we can all agree with. First, this is a virus. Viruses exist because we live in a fallen world. I came across what I think is credible info about viruses: there are millions of them. Some say trillions. Now I don't really know how they work, but with all the viruses that exist, I'm amazed that any of us are alive. Think of the pandemics through down through the years. And the more people who live on the planet, the more prone to viruses we are. Truly, we are not in charge of our lives. Truly, God is our protector from disease. Second, many people have died with Covid, not from it. And I think it is important say it this way. For anyone who has been paying attention we know that it is rare indeed for a truly healthy person to die only from it. As we know from Drs. Fouchi and Birx, the vast majority of people who contract Covid recover from it without treatment. And those who do catch it and even pass away with it, it's the underlying diseases or weaknesses they already have is what takes their lives. Third, the heart of the narrative has changed. Initially it was: we need to flatten the curve so we don't overwhelm the medical system. Now it is largely, we need to make sure we don't get the virus. For 1 example among many, the mayor of Los Angeles said on May 13, that "Los Angeles will "never be completely open until we have a cure" for the virus. And that means for many, a vaccine. Fourth, we have never quarantined the healthy, but now we are. Fifth, the elderly and those with chronic health problems need to be protected. I can go on, but hopefully we can all agree on these. Now let me briefly present both sides of the issue. There are proposals on both sides. On 1 side we have experts who are very knowledgeable in their field. This side is largely characterized by a belief that we need a vaccine and that the only way we can be safe is everybody be immunized. Social distancing and donning of Personal Protective Equipment is a must, lest it gets passed on even by those who are asymptomatic. Typical of this position is that we need to continue to keep people home, businesses closed or allow very limited transactions to keep people from getting the virus and if the citizenry does not comply with suggestions of state and local governments, then it is up to the governors to ensure compliance, often in the form of edicts. The typical issues of another side are these: Medication which has proven successful by many doctors and patients exists. It is called hydroxychloroquine, which when taken properly serves as what amounts to as a cure. Also, typical of this position is the need to achieve herd immunity, which means masks and social distancing are not needed; indeed, we need to get close enough so that we can all who are healthy enough to handle it, get it and build up immunity on a grand scale. A third point those who hold to this position see contradictions. For example, what kinds of viruses are on our pets and even in their mouths--and then they lick us? What about purchasing things at the store? How many thoroughly clean their purchases before they bring them into the house? Lastly, those who believe in this way say that we need to trust and build our immune system because we cannot sanitize the universe. Now that I have tried to present facts we can all agree on and attempted to give reasons for both sides evenhandedly, let me wrap up this message by giving some eternal truth. First, this virus is temporary. Regardless of how we view the virus, it will not last forever. When Jesus comes back, viruses will not exist. Because he will destroy his enemies, and the last enemy, as Paul says is death. However, our relationships as spiritual siblings will last forever. And as heated as the discussions surrounding this issue can get, the Lord will not hold us accountable as to which position-or parts of the position we viewed as correct, but how we treated one another in the midst of this. Remember Jesus' words, "in as much as you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me." Who are Jesus' brothers? In a word, you and me. I need to treat you and you need to treat me with the same love, dignity and respect as we do our Lord. Second, we need to address the elephant in the room one on one: our differences about how we view Covid and about how we view others who hold to different positions. Has it occurred to you that an authentic fellowship of believers can do things that the culture at large can only dream about? We can indeed speak frankly to one another about our differences. Why? Because first and foremost we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Also, this is not a gospel issue. As I mentioned, the Lord is not going to judge us on the position, or positions we hold regarding Covid. But he is going to call us to account as to how we treated one another who have differences of opinion about it. And this is where unity comes in. When the watching world sees Christians who have genuine disagreements about such a volatile issue still can love and accept one another, this is the salt that makes them thirsty for love and truth. Third, and last, we are salt for society. What I mean by this is that Jesus tells us we are the salt of the earth. This does not mean that we are a cultural flavor enhancer. It does not mean that we slow the rate of cultural rot around us. Salt is a symbol for our relationship with the Lord. It is mentioned in many places in the Old Testament regarding God's people and their offerings. Let me just give you one passage that speaks to this: Leviticus 2:13: You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt. In other words, Jesus called us the salt of the earth because he has called his disciples to be distinct from the world. We are to do things differently. And showing love and unity at a time like this is the important, powerful thing we can do for a world which is literally dying. God is at work here in the midst of Covid-19. How many people have their own mortality on their minds now? How often do they think about their own death? As spiritual athletes - true Christians - let us demonstrate to the world that we are the salt of the earth by the way we are unafraid of the virus, by the way we display true unity and love to one another, and finally that all of us will die one day. As spiritual athletes may we train ourselves for godliness and to take advantage of what God has sovereignly placed in our laps. Let us consider this difficult time as our time to shine. I will finish this message as I began, referring to Paul's last letter that he would write, 2 Timothy. He had some things very close to his heart that he wanted to share with his mentee. Things of life and hope. May we adopt these things as well, and take them in to our spiritual core and may we be strengthened in our spirit through these words of life: 2 Timothy 1:8-12: Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.