this afternoon in 1 Corinthians on how the message of the cross confronts selfishness and worldliness in the church. Paul is answering questions about life in this world in light of the cross and especially in light of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the section that we are looking at chapters 8-10 he is answering questions about food offered to idols. The question that he is addressing is this, can believers participate in idol worship? This is an important question because Jesus has been raised from the dead and we know that idols are nothing and Jesus Christ and his power has broken the power of idols and false gods and lies. Does this not give us the liberty then or the right to simply walk in to an idol temple and recognize that it's vanity, that it's all imagination of men and sit down and participate in the worship with them and eat of the food that's offered to the idols. We know that there is no other God but one. He's the one and the only and there's none besides him. Can we not go into pagan temples? This was an important question for the Corinthians because temple worship was integrated into their social life and society. For the Corinthians to give up idol worship cost them dearly socially and politically and even in business. It was so part of their life. And so Paul has to address this question, and he could just give them the simple answer, which is absolutely not you can't go into idol temples. We know that idolatry is a sin. He could have given them the simple commandment from the Old Testament that we are to worship no other god. and we are not to bow down to idols. However, this is not how Paul addresses the issue. He takes three chapters to address this issue and he's laying down gospel principles. He is speaking to the hearts of the Corinthians. And here's the principle that he's laying down for him, for the Corinthians I mean. Basically this, from the heart, from a heart of love we are to keep our eyes on what's important. We're to keep our eyes on the prize so to speak. And what is the prize and what is important for us? It's the good of the church and the glory of God. And we've already looked at this. In chapter 9 we saw that the prize that we're aiming at is the good of the church. And today in chapter 10 there's even a greater prize. There's even a greater goal that we're aiming for. and that is the glory of God. This is what should be driving us. This is how we make decisions as Christians. Out of a heart of love, we seek to serve Christ Church and we seek to serve the glory of God. And so our whole theme today is seeking the glory of God from a heart of love. We must seek and serve God's glory not our own earthly or temporal happiness. If that costs us a little bit of social convenience, if that costs us something in this world, if we have to give up pagan temples, then that's what we must do for the glory of God. And we do this because this is how people who love each other treat each other. They don't serve themselves, they serve the object of their love. And brothers and sisters, the wonderful news of the Gospel is that in Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, because of the message of the Gospel, we have learned to truly love God. We were not born in this world loving God, we were born haters of God. The Scripture is very clear about this. We were born into this world self-centered and self-focused. and we did not love God. But something wonderful has happened to us. In the power of the Spirit and through the preaching of the Word, we have learned something about God's love for sinners. We have learned something about God's love for us even in our sin, even when we were enemies of God and hating Him and seeking only ourself. And it has had a wonderful effect on us. It has come to us in the power of God. It has transformed us. And we have learned what it means to really and truly love God, to get our eyes off of ourself, and to forsake our selfishness and our sin, and to begin to live a life that is focused on God, focused on His praise, focused on His glory. from a heart of love. This is why Paul speaks the way he does in verse 15, which is central to this whole chapter. Chapter 10, verse 15, he says, I'm speaking to sensible people. When he uses that word sensible, he means I'm speaking to the wise. I'm speaking to those who have been awakened by the spirit of God. I'm speaking to people who I have confidence in the fact that the spirit has taught them to love God. They have been awakened to know God and to truly know him from the heart and to love him. And they seek to love Him with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength. I am speaking to sensible people. I'm speaking to spiritually awakened people. People who have had their eyes open to the truth about their sin and selfishness. It's a fence to a loving God and have come to know who God is and to love Him and to genuinely seek His praise and His glory and His pleasure over their own happiness, their own earthly, worldly, and temporal advantages. And so this is what Paul is laying down as a central and general principle from chapter 10. Our real motivation for all that we do ought to be our love for God. And our real goal is to bring glory to Him, to please Him. Again, this is why Paul is making his argument the way that he does throughout chapter 10. In verse 5, speaking of Israel, he says, God was not well pleased with selfish Israel. He was not happy with them. They were not seeking his praise and his glory. They were not seeking to please the God of heaven. They were not seeking to make their God happy. They were not moved by a heart of love. Verse nine, they put Christ to the test. They questioned his goodness. They provoked his wrath. People who love someone don't provoke them to wrath. They don't put them to the test. That's not how love behaves. Verse 22, shall we provoke him to jealousy? If you love someone, you don't provoke them to jealousy. We see that sometimes in the world with what's so-called love, this selfish love, this dramatic, sinful love. But real love doesn't treat the object of their love that way. It doesn't put people to the test. It doesn't provoke them to jealousy. Verse 31, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. It is not for your own advantage, not for your own temporal and worldly happiness, but for the pleasure of God, for his praise and for his glory. Therefore, verse 14 and 15 again, flee from idolatry that is out of a heart of love because you love the Lord your God. Flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people, people who have been awakened by the Holy Spirit. to truly love God and to seek His glory above all other things. Well, we can break chapter 10 then into three sections, three points. What Paul is essentially doing is urging the Corinthians to flee from idolatry because they love God and they wish to please Him, verse 1-13. And they wish to be true to God, verse 14-22. And they wish to glorify God, verse 23-11. So, number one, they wish to please God. They ought to flee from idolatry. and abstain from pagan temples and pay that cost because their real goal is to please God. We see this in verse 1 through 13, but take a look with me real quickly at verse 1 through 5. Here we have laid down very clearly Paul begins with the idea that God loved Old Testament Israel. and yet Israel failed to return their love to God, they failed to seek his pleasure. Look at what it says, for I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud. That's a reference to the Old Testament book of Exodus where God's presence was with Israel as he brought them out of Egypt. A powerful act of redemption on God's part. And God was with them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. It's a picture of God's love for them. He was present with them. He watched over them day and night. All passed through the sea that as they went through the Red Sea. It's a picture of God's loving deliverance of his people. He bore them as an eagle would bear his children through the wilderness. They passed through the sea, a wonderful act of deliverance. Verse two, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. God gave his people Israel a human mediator, one who had seen God face to face, who could speak to them and give them the commandments of God. Again, it's a picture of God's love for Israel. Verse three, and all ate the same spiritual food. That's the manna from heaven, which was a symbol of Jesus Christ. Verse 4, And all drank the same spiritual drink, that is, the very truth of God, and the truth about God, and His faithfulness, and His love. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. The Old Testament again and again says that God was their rock in the wilderness. The truth about God was their refuge and their rock. So we get these beautiful pictures out of the Old Testament of God's love for Israel. He watches over them. He delivers them. He provides for them. And he is with them in truth. But verse 5, we see the ugly contrast, nevertheless, with most of them, God was not pleased. He was not happy with them, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. But this is a picture of the idea that the Israelites were always rebellious against God. God loved them, and He provided so much for them, yet they never learned to love God. In order to understand what Paul is saying here, we must understand two things. First of all, Paul is continuing his reasoning from chapter 9, we must keep our eye on what's important. We must keep our eyes on the price, so to speak. not just the good of the church, but the glory of God. And second, what Paul is doing here in verse 1 through 5 is he's using Israel as a type for the Corinthian church. This is essential. He's using Old Testament Israel as an analogy, as an example, as a foreshadowing of the Corinthian church, and by extension, therefore, every New Testament church. And to apply it to ourselves, Israel becomes a type of heritage Baptist church. Israel becomes a type for you as a member of Heritage Baptist Church. And we need to understand that that's what Paul is doing here. Look at verse 6 and I'll show you that this is what he's doing. You think to yourself, why is Paul suddenly talking about the Old Testament Israelites? Well, he has a reason for it. Verse 6 tells us explicitly. Now these things took place as examples for us. Now that word example is the word type. It's been translated as example because a type is a kind of an example. It's a kind of analogy. It's an analogy between an Old Testament reality and a New Testament reality. The Old Testament Israelites were a type of the New Testament Church, in this particular case of the Corinthian Church. Now you know what a type is. A type is a lesser reality in the Old Testament compared to its greater reality and fulfillment in the New Testament. So Israel is a type of the New Covenant Church. when you have a type there are similarities and there are differences. And they are both important for us to notice. The key difference between Israel and the Corinthian Church, there is a huge difference between a type and an anti-type, or a type and its fulfillment. And that difference is key. And the big difference between Israel and the Corinthian Church is that the Israelites in the Old Testament, the Old Testament nation of Israel was unregenerate They did not have the Spirit of God poured out upon them like we do, like the Corinthians do in the New Testament, like we do in the New Testament. They were uncircumcised in heart. The Corinthian church is circumcised in heart. The Israelites, in other words, unregenerate and uncircumcised in heart, did not love God. They had not been spiritually awakened They were incapable of loving God. They were still in the flesh. This is not the case for the New Testament Corinthians who have had the Spirit of God placed upon them, who are circumcised in heart, who have come to learn God. However, the similarities that Paul is drawing between Israel and the Corinthians are important as well. Israel's lack of love in the Old Testament becomes a type of the Corinthians' imperfect love in the New Testament. And that's really the comparison that Paul is drawing here that we want to focus our attention on. In the Old Testament, God loved Israel. He was married to her. The Old Testament, the whole Old Testament makes this clear over and over again, especially in the prophets. God loved Israel. He considered Israel his bride. He loved Israel, he considered Israel his firstborn son. But Israel never learned to love God. This is the whole tragic story of the Old Testament. The people of God in the Old Testament again and again and again and again never learned to reciprocate God's love. They are loveless, and therefore they are unfaithful. They are adulterous before their God. They're always going after false gods and false idols, and they are like rebellious children. impossible to discipline and impossible to keep in line. Old Testament Israel was completely and always self-focused. And you can see this just read the Old Testament you'll see it jumps right off the page you can't miss it. Again, and again, and again read the prophets and the indictment against the people of Israel. They are adulterous. They are rebellious. They don't know the Lord. They don't love Him. They Now what Paul is saying then to the Corinthians is that the Corinthians are similar to the Israelites. The Corinthians also, just like the Israelites, have often failed to return God's love to him and to be moved and motivated to act according to their love for him. The Corinthians too just like Old Testament Israel were being self-focused and putting their own desires before God especially in this issue of temple worship that is participating in pagan idol worship. And so what Paul does in verse 6 and following is he lists five ways that Israel's hatred for God was a type of the Corinthians' imperfect love for God over this issue of temple worship. And he lists again five things here in verse 6. The first that he lists is that they put their desires ahead of God. They weren't putting God first. They were allowing their cravings to dominate them. Look at how he puts this in verse 6, now these things took place as examples, that is types for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. That we might not crave evil as the Israelites did. This is a reference to Numbers 11. You remember in the wilderness the children of Israel were being brought through the wilderness into the Promised Land. yet to arrive. Their conditions were very difficult for them. God had provided them bread from heaven, but they began to crave meat. You remember that old story in Numbers 11. They wanted quail. They wanted something that was tasty and salty. They didn't want the bread that God had provided. They were beginning to desire meat. And the word that's used in the Old Testament is this word crave. They were craving it. It became an obsession to them. They were complaining against God. They were willing to blaspheme Him in their request for this food. Now Paul here is not condemning desire or cravings. God gives us cravings and desires. What he's condemning here is how the Old Testament Israelites placed their desires above their concern for the glory of God. And Paul is making an analogy between Israel and the Corinthians. This is exactly what the Corinthians are doing when they demand to go into pagan temples. They're placing their desire for the food that's offered to idols Above the glory of God and the witness of the gospel, they are putting their desires first. They are failing to put God first. This is very convicting for us because how often do we do this in our own life? We may not have the temptation to walk into pagan temples, but all day long we do have the temptation and we face the temptation of placing our desires, getting them all out of priority order, over the glory of God. putting His will and His pleasure above our own. Second thing that they did is they weren't waiting on God. They were willing to worship God their own way instead of waiting to hear how God wished to be worshipped. In other words they were participating in idolatry. So what Paul says in verse 7 is a reference to Exodus 32 when they were worshipping the golden calf. He says, "'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." You remember the story from Exodus 32. God had appeared to Israel on Mount Sinai and He had given them the Ten Commandments. He spoke to the children of Israel directly and the children of Israel begged Moses that God wouldn't speak to them anymore. God heeded that call and that prayer. And so He called Moses up into the mountain to come receive the Word of God, and the statutes, and the rules of God, and the worship of God. So that Moses then could come down and communicate it to the children of Israel. The catch is that it took God 40 days and 40 nights to communicate this message to Moses. And and the children of Israel became impatient and they thought to themselves, we've got to eat and drink and play at some time, we've got to be able to worship God. And so instead of waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain to give them the statutes and rules of the Lord about worship, they jumped ahead of the game and they asked Aaron to build them a golden calf in the name of the Lord so that they could worship God their own way. Well, this is exactly what the Corinthians are doing in a sense when they demand to go into pagan temples. They're getting ahead of themselves. They believe that they can express their devotion and their faith in God through an expression of their Christian liberty that God nowhere has warranted for them when God has explicitly forbidden them. And so this is the point that Paul is making to the Corinthians. They're not putting God first, number one, but number two, they're not waiting on God. They're choosing to worship God their own way. placing again their desire for food and drink over what God has commanded about His worship. The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play." Well the third thing that Paul mentions, an analogy or a type that Israel was of the Corinthian church was their sexual immorality. or the temptation to sexual immorality. We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, thinking about the Old Testament Israelites, and 23,000 fell in a day. That's a reference to Numbers 25. You remember how the Moabite women were sent into the camp of Israel to tempt the Israelite men into sexual immorality, ultimately to draw them into the worship of the false god Baal. Well, here's what Paul is saying to the Corinthians. He's saying to the Corinthians, you and I both know that many of you are going into these pagan temples not just because it's socially convenient, but because there's other acts of immorality that go on in these temples, and you're flirting with that immorality. These temples were filled with sexually immoral behaviors in the dark corners of the temple. And so Paul is warning the Corinthians, you're not just putting your desires for food above God, and your ideas about worship ahead of God, but you are flirting with sexual immorality. You are choosing self-indulgence over faithfulness to God." So he's really laying it hard on the Corinthians, and it's convicting to us because we see ourselves in this. This is a perfect portrait of the sin that remains in our own hearts, always putting ourselves over God, our cravings above Him, putting our ideas of worship above His, craving sexual immorality, tempted by it. Number four, he goes on, they were bitterly ungrateful, they were unthankful. Bitter resentment against Christ for the things that he won't let us do. Look at how he puts this in verse 9. We must not put Christ or the Lord to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents. Now you know that's a reference to Numbers chapter 21. when the children of Israel were complaining because they wish they could go back to Egypt. And they were crying out and they said to Moses, why did God bring us out into this wilderness? Did he do it just to kill us? They were being ungrateful. They were being unthankful. They were saying bitter things against the Lord himself. They were questioning his faithfulness and his goodness. They were expressing resentment. Because they couldn't have the things that they really wanted. They wanted to be back in Egypt. They wanted convenience again. They wanted to be able to eat of the leeks and the onions and the fruits of Egypt. They wanted to be able to enjoy all of those conveniences of the old world. And it seemed to them that God had denied it of them and said that they couldn't have it. And so they were bitter and resentful and unthankful. And so the Lord sent bitter and poisonous serpents among them to bite them, and many of them fell in the wilderness. Well, again, you see that this applies directly to the Corinthians. The Corinthians, in many ways, are acting just like the Old Testament Israelites. Christ won't let them go into the pagan temple. Christ is denying them the social convenience, the opportunity for advancement that that would have brought them in their society. And they're ungrateful and they're unthankful. And they're crying out to the Lord, why won't you let me do what I want to do? Why can't I go into the pagan temple? Idols are nothing. You're the only true God. I don't worship the idol in my heart. I worship you. And so Paul confronts the Corinthians and their sin, their unthankfulness, their ungratefulness, they're putting Christ to the test. Fifthly, and finally, they were unsubmissive to their authorities. rebellion against God's appointed leaders. This is what he means in verse 10 when he says, nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer. That is a reference to Numbers 16. You remember Numbers 16 the story of Dathan and Abiram. You remember that there were a handful of families in Israel that became discontent with Moses and Aaron and their leadership. begin to question who made Moses and Aaron Lord over us. Why is it that Moses and Aaron get to be those who are serving in the priesthood, and to come near to God, and to lead in worship, and the rest of the children of Israel don't have that wonderful privilege? Why can't we burn incense along with the Levites? Isn't this suspicious they said to themselves that Moses and Aaron who both come from the tribe of Levi have set up the tribe of Levi for the priesthood? Hasn't God said, Exodus 19, that all of the children of Israel are priests and kings to him? Shouldn't we all be able to serve as priests? Who has put Moses and Aaron in charge, was the question that they were asking. They were expressing a rebellion against him, and they were able to gather some people along with them, about 250 prominent men, to come along with their little rebellion. And they demanded that they be given the right to serve as priests, just like the Levites. And of course Moses and Aaron has to rebuke them and to confront their rebellion and their unsubmissive attitude and behavior. And the way that this eventually unfolds God is angry because of these people because they have risen up against Moses and Aaron in rebellion. And Moses and Aaron plead to the Lord and they ask Him to make an atonement and not to destroy the nation for the sin of these few. And so what God does is He sends down fire from heaven to destroy the 250 men who participated in Korah's rebellion. And then He opened up the earth and He swallowed whole the families that had incited the rebellion. all seemed to be well at that point until the next morning. And guess what happens the next morning? The whole congregation of Israel, the whole nation now wakes up in the morning they've had time to sleep on it and they go to Moses and Aaron and they rebel against Moses and Aaron a second time immediately. And they say, you've been too harsh on these families. You didn't have to kill them. Of course, Moses and Aaron are sitting there thinking, we pled with the Lord not to kill them. We didn't kill them, the Lord did. And we were just servants of the Lord. Well, God is so angered by this that He doesn't even give Moses and Aaron a chance to pray for atonement. begins immediately to send an angel of death into the camp to destroy the nation. And Moses sees this and he realizes what's going on and he says with urgency to Aaron, God hasn't given us even an opportunity to breathe at this point. He's already sent his angel of death into the camp, hurry Aaron go get an incense burner and run in front of the angel and make atonement for the people lest the whole nation be destroyed. That's what Paul is referring to here. They were grumbling in the wilderness. They were complaining about Moses and Aaron's authority over them. They were being rebellious against God's appointed leaders. They were being unsubmissive. Well, this is exactly what was going on in Corinth. You can picture it something like this. Paul tells us that we can't go into pagan temples, but who's Paul? He's an apostle, I'll grant you, but I have liberty in Christ. I don't have to do what Paul says. And all of our ministers and our preachers are just following Paul. It's ridiculous how they're behaving. And they're telling us not to go into pagan temples. We don't have to do what they say. You can think of a Corinthian standing there saying, I don't, I don't agree with Paul. I don't agree with my pastor. And so they would go into the pagan temples. But Paul says, in these five ways, the Corinthians are no different than Old Testament Israel, who expressed this vitriol, this selfishness, and this hatred for God. They were always putting themselves first, their own desires. They were not willing to wait on God and to serve Him in the way that He had commanded them. They were tempted constantly by sexual immorality. They were unthankful and ungrateful for what God had provided for them, and they were unsubmissive to their leaders. Notice how Paul applies this to the Corinthians in verse 11. The Corinthians are just like Israel. However, the Corinthians have a better hope than Israel. The Israelites were unregenerate. They had not learned to love God. They did not know God. They did not know how to love God. However, the Corinthians have a greater advantage. They have been given the spirit. They live under the light of the gospel and it's glorious. Somebody puts this in verse 11, now these things happen to them as a type, again a type, but they were written down for our instruction, that's our warning, on whom the end of the ages has come. This is Paul's way of saying, don't be discouraged, Corinthians. Yes, you're a lot like Israel, but you're different than Israel in some key and important ways. You have the Spirit of God dwelling in you. You have been granted the love of God. You have come to know the love of God and to believe in the love of God. You are destined for perfection and glory and holiness in Him. Don't be discouraged, but take the warning. Don't act like Israel. Seek to please the Lord. Take the warnings and be watchful against your own sins. Brothers, this applies to us today, not just the Corinthians. Verse 12, he says, therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands, let anyone who thinks that he pleases God, that he's approved by God in what he approves of, let him take heed. Let him examine himself. Let him watch. Let him be careful lest he fall. lest he find out that he is really no different than the Old Testament Israelites. There is a sense in which the church in Corinth were oblivious to what they were doing and the dishonor that they were bringing against God and the depth of the corruption of their sin. The way in which they were completely disregarding God Himself, His great love for them and His pleasure and His glory and His praise. So Paul goes on though and he brings us comfort. He says, in the midst of these trials and temptations, this remaining sin that we struggle with, this opposition that's natural to our hearts, it even remains with us as believers to pleasing the Lord. Although we are unfaithful and we are weak and we are sinful, God is faithful. For every remaining sin that we struggle with, God has provided a way of escape. This is what he says in verse 13. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful. 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." Precious, precious words. Brothers, we are not faithful, but God is faithful. We still struggle with remaining sin, but God is faithful to continue to work with us and to help us. We oftentimes get ourselves into all kinds of trouble just like the Corinthians did. We will convince ourselves that a practice is fine, that it's okay, that God approves of it. In fact, we'll be very proud of ourselves because we're practicing our Christian liberty or we're showing how mature we are because of what we know. And we will find out from the apostle later on or from our pastors later on that we are lacking love. and that the path that we have chosen is the wrong path. It's a path that dishonors God. It displeases Him. It provokes Him to anger and to wrath. It brings His discipline down upon us. And I know that, brothers and sisters, you've had this experience again and again. We call it the deceitfulness of sin, the way it'll just lead us right into a corner, right into a dangerous minefield. And we're oblivious to it. And sometimes we're not oblivious to it, but we go down the path anyway because we're so selfish and self-indulgent. And we'll allow ourselves a little bit of sin and a little bit more sin. And we find ourselves down a bad path. And suddenly we're awakened and we're rebuked and we say to ourselves, oh my, where have I gotten myself? How do I find myself here? And how do I get out of this mess? Well, brother, God is faithful. He sees and He knows. He has led you down this path sovereignly. He's allowed it to happen in your life, but not beyond your ability. And He always provides a way of escape. You look at your situation sometimes and you're in the middle of sin and you say, there's no way out. I send my way to this place and there's only sin on the way back. What do I do? How do I honor God? How do I please Him? And verse 13 is a promise to us that God is faithful. He always provides a way of escape. There's always a righteous way out of the sins that we have committed and the situations that we have found ourselves in. This would have been very comforting to the Corinthians, all of those believers who had been going into the pagan temples. And here Paul's rebuke comes and it strikes into the very depths of their soul. But God is faithful and there is a way of escape. Praise the Lord. So what is Paul saying here in verse 1 through 13? He's saying keep your eye on what's important. Seek God's pleasure above your own. Put God first. Worship Him as He commands. Flee sexual immorality. Be thankful and submit to your authorities. And trust Him to grant you the gift of repentance. So number one, we're to flee from idolatry because We wish to please God. We wish to be just. We wish to put Him first and to worship Him and to flee sexual sin and to be thankful and to be submissive to our authorities. Secondly, we flee idolatry because we wish to be true to God, verse 14 through 22. Paul's argument here is that we're married to God. Brothers, keep your eye on what's important. Live to love and be true to be faithful to God. He's been faithful to you, you seek to be faithful to Him. The Bible teaches us that we love God when we keep His commandments. That is, we love God when we're faithful to Him. We love God by returning His love with a life of faithfulness to His commandments. And Paul's point in this context is that the commandments are clear. God hates idolatry. Commandment number one, you shall have no other God before me. Commandment number two, you shall not bow down to images. All throughout the Old Testament, you shall not mingle my worship with the worship of the nations. We must be faithful to God. So Paul says very bluntly and plainly in verse 14, Therefore my beloved, flee from idolatry. Obey the Lord, be faithful to Him. It doesn't please God to go into these temples. It is unfaithful to Him. It is spiritual adultery. Here in verse 14 to 22, Paul assumes that worship is like marriage. It's like a spiritual marriage. Paul is arguing in verse 14 through 22 that worship represents a kind of marriage, a real and spiritual union occurs when we worship. It's a marriage of people and it's a marriage of people with their God. And he makes this point a couple of different ways. And you'll follow his logic here, I think, that you'll see. He begins by simply appealing to our Christian common sense. He appeals to the spirit who dwells within us. This is what he means in verse 15. I speak as to sensible people, people who are spirit-filled, who have learned to love God. Judge for yourselves what I say. In other words, what he's saying is, isn't it clear to you, isn't it obvious to you that temple worship is a betrayal of God? That it's spiritual adultery? That you're uniting yourself with a false god? He argues this further from the Lord's Supper and from Old Testament worship. In the Lord's Supper, there is a spiritual union that takes place. Verse 16, the cup of blessing that we bless, he's talking about the Lord's Supper. Is it not a participation? Is it not a fellowship, a union in the blood of Christ? Is it not an association with Christ? A pledge of allegiance to Him? A commitment to Him? Is it not a real spiritual union by which all that is ours, that is our sin, becomes His and He swallows it up by His perfect obedience? And all that is His, that's His glory and His benefits become ours? Isn't that what happens in the Lord's Supper? It's a spiritual union. It's a picture of the marriage that we have with Jesus Christ. He goes on, the bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ, meaning the church? Verse 17, because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Is not the Lord's Supper a proclamation and a declaration of our association and our pledge of allegiance and our commitment and our spiritual union with one another in Christ? There's a kind of marriage that has occurred. It's a spiritual marriage. among the people of a God in worship and of that people with their God in worship. It was the same thing in the Old Testament sacrificial system. Verse 18, consider the people of Israel. Are not those who eat the sacrifice participants? Again, that's those who are united in the altar. In Old Testament Israel, if you partook of the altar, it was a sign and a symbol. It was a declaration of your union with the nation. And in your union with the nation, your union with God, in distinction from all the other peoples of the earth, worship is a kind of marriage. It's a kind of union that exists between a people and their God. Now Paul expects us to connect the dots here. He doesn't connect them for us. There's a somewhat of a logic skip from verse 18 to verse 19. But I think that you can follow the logic very plainly. If this is true for the Lord's Supper, if it's a marriage, if it was true for the Old Testament altar that it was a marriage, then it's true for pagan worship as well. If we participate in the table of idols, that is, if we participate in idol worship, we are proclaiming a marriage, an association, a pledge of allegiance, a commitment and a union with idolatries and with the idols that they worship. a real spiritual union is taking place. But here's the catch, and this is where Paul's going to pick it up in verse 19. How can we be married to something that doesn't exist? That would be the question that the Corinthians would ask. Aren't idols nothing? Idols have no real existence. What do you mean I'm spiritually married to them? They're the figments of people's imagination. Well, Paul's point is that yes, that's true. The idol doesn't exist, but the lie about the idol does exist. The lie is real and it has power. It has the power to influence you. It has the power to trap you. It has the power to command you. It has the power to draw you away from Christ. Paul's focusing our attention on the lie about these lies. So Zeus doesn't exist, but the lie about Zeus exists. And when you worship Zeus, you're worshiping the lie. You may not be uniting yourself with a being called Zeus, but you are uniting yourself with the lie about Zeus and its spiritual adultery. Look at how he puts this, verse 19. What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything? No, this isn't about food. Or that an idol is anything? No, Zeus doesn't exist, neither do any of the other gods. No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice, they offer to demons. In the Bible, demons represent lies. The spiritual and personal power that make those lies so deceptive and so effective in our life. Pagan sacrifice, they offer it to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants. I do not want you to be married with demons, that is with lies. Our God is the truth and he has set us free by the truth. Jesus Christ is the truth. He's the way, the truth and the life. You must not marry yourself. You must not flirt with these lies. You cannot be divided in your loyalties this way. It is spiritual adultery. Verse 21, he makes this plain. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord in the cup of demons. They are opposed to one another. You can't one day unite yourself with Christ or at least proclaim your union with him at the table. And then the next day, unite yourself with the lie. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. This is a heinous sin. It's analogous to adultery. Verse 22, shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? Now, I think Paul's point here is that we should be motivated not to provoke the Lord to jealousy because we love Him, but we should consider what he means here. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? The Bible teaches us that God is a jealous God. He is fierce in His love for His bride, for His people, the church. If we flirt with lies and false gods, we will provoke the Lord's jealousy, and he will take action against us to protect us. And so it's a warning on one hand. The other side of it is that it's a reminder to encourage us. If God is jealous for us this way, If God is so zealous and jealous for our loyalty to Him, then shouldn't we be jealous for Him? If His love is this fierce towards us, ought we not to return that love with the same kind of devotion and faithfulness? We ought to be jealous for the Lord. This is really the argument that I think Paul's getting at. The Lord loves us and we love Him, so let us be true to Him. Let us be pure in our worship. Let us be faithful to God in our worship. Are we stronger than Him? I mean, maybe what Paul means there is that we're going to come under some severe discipline if we do this. I'm not going to deny that fact. I think, though, what he's mentioning here is that God's love is stronger than the draw of these demons and these lies. His jealous love for us is able to overcome our weaknesses, and it's able to overcome these lies and these demons. And it'll appear to us that it is far worth it to give up the temples than to sin against our God. Shall we provoke Him to jealousy? No. We ought to be motivated by love to please the Lord. We ought to be motivated by love to be true to the Lord. And then finally, to glorify the Lord, verse 23 through chapter 11, verse 1. Again, brothers, keep your eyes on what's important. Live for God's glory, not your own advantage, not your own pleasure, your own happiness. Live for God's glory. What is God's glory? Now, I don't think Paul is speaking here of God's essential glory. When we think of God's essential glory, we're thinking of his majesty. We're thinking of what makes God wonderful and great in God. But there's another definition for glory, and I think it's the one that Paul is using here in this particular context. When we think of someone's glory, we're thinking of something that makes them happy. It's the thing that they delight in. It's the thing that they take pleasure in. It's where they find their joy. You can see this in the Old Testament in many places where God's glory is the shining of his face. It's the smile of God, and that's described as his glory. It's the radiance that flows from him. And that's what Paul really has in mind here, living for God's glory, living for his joy, his delight. What pleases him? What makes him happy above what makes us happy in this world? Now, the question then is, well, what does God delight in? What does God, what makes God happy? What is he pleased with? Well, brothers, the Bible is clear everywhere. It's his church and it's her future glory. It's her eternal life. This shouldn't sound so strange to us. Mothers, let me ask you, in this life, what is your glory? What is your delight? What is your happiness? What is your joy? Is it not your children and their future? And if it's not, you know it should be. Husbands, what is your glory? Is it not your bride? What makes your face beam? Is it not your bride? So it is with God. He is glorified in his bride and the children who fill her pews. God is a good husband and he is a good father. And God is glorified when we imitate him. And so we ought to imitate him. We ought to have the love that he has for his church, for his church. We ought to be a husband and a father and a mother to the church. And we ought to seek her well-being and her future glory. Look at how Paul puts this in verse 23 and 24, because he's making this point. He says, all things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. What is Paul doing in that statement? He's making a value statement. He's teaching us what God values. Is God a legalist? Is all that he cares about knowledge and whether something is right and wrong? Or does he care about those things that are helpful? That's God's value system. Helpful for who? The church. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. What does God value? He values the building up or the edification of the church. Let no one seek his own good. that is his earthly happiness, but the good of his neighbor, that is the true and lasting happiness of his neighbor, the faith of his neighbor, the love of his neighbor for God. Let him be a servant to his neighbor. This is what God values. This is where God finds His pleasure. This is where God finds His happiness, His joy, His delight. Verse 31, so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. What's the glory of God? Verse 32, 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, he's not a people pleaser, but he serves everyone in everything that he does, not seeking my own advantage, not my advantage in this world, but that of the many that they may be saved, seeking their spiritual advantage. Be imitators of me, he says, chapter 11, verse 1, as I am of Christ. Paul is saying, I've got my sights set on one goal, and that's to glorify God in service to his church. in imitation of Jesus Christ. I glorify God, Paul says, when I imitate Christ. And brothers, who is Jesus Christ and what did he do? He's God in the flesh for your sakes, for the sake of the salvation of his church. Jesus Christ poured himself out. He bled himself dry for his church. And so this is what Paul is saying. We ought to flee from idolatry for the helpfulness and the building up of the church in imitation of Jesus Christ, because it brings glory to God. It pleases Him. God loves His church, and so out of love for God, we ought to love His church. Well, this is our sermon. Let's flee from idolatry in order to please God. in order to be true to Him and in order to glorify Him because we love Him because He first loved us. However, there's one more question that we haven't addressed. You might have noticed verse 25 and following, 25 through 30. There's one more question. We've answered the question about entering into temples and participating in idol worship, but what about food that's been formally offered to an idol? In other words, what if I go to the grocery store and there's a piece of meat being sold to me and it was offered to an idol in the temple? Now, I'm not in the temple, I'm not participating in the worship of the temple. Do the rules apply, Paul, is the question. In other words, if I buy this piece of meat and I take it home and I cook it, am I still provoking the Lord to jealousy? Am I still involving myself in the idol worship? that serve as the origin of this piece of meat? What if I go to a dinner party, and I have an idol worshiper who's serving me dinner, and they were just at the temple that day, and they picked up extra meat to serve us at the dinner party, am I allowed to eat that meat? If I eat the meat with my guest, or I should say with my host, am I participating in idol worship? Am I provoking the Lord to jealousy? Am I uniting myself with the idolaters and with the lie about their idol? Are all those things still true? Well, Paul answers this question very simply. He says, of course not, is his basic answer. He deals with the meat market question first. What if I go into the grocery store and I find a piece of meat and it was formerly offered to an idol? So I'm not sitting down at the table of the idol, but the food was offered previously. What do I do? Here's what he says, verse 25, 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. He says go ahead and buy the meat. He says don't ask where the meat came from is his real answer. This is a New Testament principle, brothers. God does not will his children to scruple over unimportant matters. Don't ask is Paul's advice to you. Just buy the meat. There's nothing wrong with food. Food comes from the Lord. The earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof. So enjoy what God has provided. Don't ask where the food came from. Dinner parties. It's a similar answer, but look how he puts this. It gets a little more complicated with dinner parties. If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you're inclined to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any questions on the ground of conscience. Don't ask where the meat came from is the basic principle. You don't need to know. It's not important. It's just food. Enjoy it. As I was studying this text, it reminded me of my experience in high school. Maybe you've had this experience. Have you ever had one of those teachers who always gave you homework on the weekend? She always gave you homework on the weekend. She's your least favorite teacher because she always gives you homework on the weekend. And she does it every week. But there's that one Friday that comes around. And it's getting close to the bell. And she hasn't assigned any homework. And you're thinking, oh, we're going to get Scott free. We're not going to have any homework this weekend. And it gets closer and closer. It's within minutes of the bell, moments of the bell. And there's always that one kid in class who raises his hand. Do we have any homework this weekend? And the whole class, no, don't ask. Don't ask. That's what Paul is saying. Don't be the kid that asks. Just buy the meat and enjoy it. If you're at the dinner party, don't ask. Don't raise your hand and make an issue out of it. However, we know real life happens. So maybe you were invited with another believer, or maybe the host knows that you're a Christian, and he's concerned about it. So it comes up anyway. Like those last few moments in class, that kid is sitting at the table, and he says, what about this? This is offered to idols. He says this in verse 28. But if someone says to you, this has been offered in sacrifice, He says, don't eat it. He doesn't say, go into an argument about your Christian liberty so that they understand why you can eat it. He says, look, your host isn't going to understand. The weak believer who asked or the host, the pagan host who asked or informed you is not going to understand your highfalutin, detailed argument of Christian liberty about why you can eat this meat because you're not sitting at the table with the demon. They're not gonna understand. So Paul says, keep it simple. And just refrain for the sake of conscience, not your conscience, because you know that you can eat the meat just fine, but for the sake of the one who asked. Don't insist on your liberty. Just because you think you can. Keep it simple. Deny yourself and say, well, I'm sorry I didn't realize it was offered to an idol. And I can't participate in it because I worship only one God. And I'm loyal to him. He loves me and I love Him. Well, how should we conclude our sermon today? Brothers, chapters 8 through 10, they all go together. We can summarize the whole message like this. Let your knowledge of truth and your Christian liberty be directed by your love for the prize, for that which is really important. And what is really important? Ultimately, it's the glory of God, and secondly, the good of His church, and the conversion, growth, and future glory of the people of God. We could put it even more simply than this. Brothers and whatever you do, aim at the prize, and the prize is this, the glory of God through the real benefit of the church. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Our dear Heavenly Father, we come to you today and we confess to you readily our many sins. We have been confronted with our sins and we have been laid bare. Dear Father, we ask that you would forgive us when we insist on our own way, on our own desires. Often, Lord, we confess that these desires are in opposition to you. They are open rebellion. They are that which brings you displeasure. They provoke you, they test you, and they bring you to jealousy. We ask, Lord, that you would forgive us. We thank you for your promises, that you are faithful to us even when we are unfaithful to you, and that you always provide for us a way of escape. We thank you for the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, who helps us to repent of our sins. We thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our precious Savior and Redeemer, who is our protector and provider, our Lord, our keeper. We thank you, Lord, for the escape and the refuge that we have in him. And we ask, Lord, that you would help us to always flee to him and to run to him and to find escape in his good and holy name. We pray these things in Christ's name. Amen.