Take your Bibles with me if you would to 1 Corinthians chapter 10 this morning. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. It's good to be with God's people in God's house. It's great to gather around the Word and to sing songs of praise to the Lord. It's a blessing for us. to meet together, but to meet in the presence of the Lord. We do genuinely come this morning, bowing before the Lord in humble adoration to Him. I hope that's your heart this morning. 1 Corinthians chapter 10, we'll begin at verse 14 this morning. Read with me a few verses as we begin here. It says, wherefore my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men, judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is this not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is this not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. Let's bow together for a word of prayer. God as Father, by your Holy Spirit, help us to understand what the Bible is saying. Help us to not only know it, but to do it. Help us to live out the truth we see today. Your Holy Spirit helps our eyes to see and for our minds to comprehend. Help us, Lord, to take the truth and put it to practice. In Jesus' name, amen. Do Christians ever come to different conclusions? Of course, that's right, they do. From time to time you're going to find that's the case. Paul is addressing in 1 Corinthians 8, 9, and 10 some different conclusions that Christians had come to. They had asked a question, and perhaps when the question was asked of Paul, some were rooting for their side, like I know he's gonna answer it the right way, I know that he's gonna be convinced that our argument is the best, and maybe others on the other side, other positions, said I sure hope he doesn't agree with them because that would cause me a great, great turmoil in my life. The meat that Paul has been discussing is, excuse me, the issue that Paul has been discussing is meat, that has been offered to idols. You see in verse 41, he says, flee from idolatry. If you become a child of God, you're worshiping one God. There is only one true God, and you come to him by Jesus Christ. He had earlier told them in chapter six, he said, flee from fornication. Stay away from sexual relationships outside of the bounds of marriage. Now he uses the same word again, flee from idolatry. But he's writing to a church. I mean, these were people who were gathered together or around to scriptures. These were people who had professed faith in Jesus Christ. They had believed on him. They had been forgiven. They had been saved. And so why would he say such things to these people? Why would he tell them, flee from idolatry? Well the issue, this issue and how it relates to their daily life will make a big difference. The scripture is unchanging. It doesn't change. But the applications of scriptures may vary from time to time, place to place, situation to situation. God's word does not change. Have you ever known a Christian who has changed? Maybe they compromised. The truth that they once believed, they now deny. Or maybe they changed because they grew. Hopefully you're not the same person you were the day you got saved. Hopefully there has been some real change, right? The work of the Holy Spirit of God, the Bible changing you, making you day by day more and more like Jesus Christ. How do you feel about it when people change? What's your response to them? Does it bother you, does it agitate you, does it frustrate you? We're gonna see in this passage that the apostle Paul is helping the church respond right to the differences of others, but he's going to be very clear about what he believes and what they were to believe. Now, before we get into the passage, think with me this morning. Just imagine that as we would leave the service this morning, the doors open, we head out, and we all go up the gangplank of a three-masted sailing ship. Let's just pretend, now I know we're nowhere near an ocean, but let's just pretend we were, okay? And everybody here this morning is gonna go out and get on the ship that's powered entirely by wind. Now some of you probably have some ideas of how ships work. Maybe you have once sailed on a sailboat. Or maybe you have had a sailboat. By and large, most of us Midwesterners probably, probably are not too skilled. But let's just say we're gonna set out for a voyage together, just us, all right? We're each gonna have to have different responsibilities. Some people are gonna have some strengths that are gonna come to the surface as it relates to navigating, as it relates to taking care of, or hoisting up the sails, or different jobs, different responsibilities, but we're all gonna be on the same boat, and we're all gonna be going the same direction, and it's gonna be great. You say, for how long? Well, who knows? Maybe weeks, maybe months, maybe years. And we're gonna be together. What's going to be happening in that time? Well, boy, weather changes and maybe the expectation of when the voyage would be over may not be met. Maybe, boy, you've exceeded that and you've been gone a long time. Maybe there's a little bit of contention in the ranks, right? I don't wanna swab the decks today, thank you. You can swab your own decks, buddy, you know, kind of thing. I mean, there can be all kinds of issues, but here we are, we're all going together. You might be wondering, well, where are we going, and what are we doing? What will I be doing, and what are you gonna be doing? And all of a sudden, all these factors come together. In a sense, the local church, and we're all going the same direction, and we have to get along to do what God has called us to do. There may be fear, there may be discouragement, and there may be certain circumstances that are gonna cause discouragement and testing and trying. The Apostle Paul is reminding here in Corinth that the church needs to know where they're going, what they're doing, who they are, that they each, each member has a shared ambition and a shared mission. And Paul is using logic. The church at Corinth was intelligent, but they were immature. They needed to be reminded of who they were and where they were going and what they were doing, and that's exactly what Paul is doing in chapters eight, nine, and 10. Now we're coming to the conclusion of this section. But he wants them to understand something. There's gonna be some differences along the way, and it's very important. When you're, think of us, and let's get back on the ship for a moment, okay. The decisions we make are gonna impact everybody on the ship. It's gonna impact what we're doing and what our purpose is. And so the cultural issue of the day that Paul was dealing with was meat that had been actually offered to idols, right? So there in the markets, the city of Corinth was a city of idolatry. There were many places, many temples people could go and worship these false gods. They were not true gods, they were false gods. And in so doing, they would often offer meat, and that meat, some would be kept there at the temple, others would be given to family members, or others would be taken and sold at the market, along with all the other meat. And so there were those. Some of the believers in the church had no issue with going to pagan idol-worshiping festivals where these meats were served. Some had no issue with that. Paul is gonna point out that's not a good idea. Others were very sensitive, and they said, perhaps because of their own past, because of their conscience, I mean, they were very nervous. There's a little ball that just rolled by, I thought it was a mouse. Okay, no worry. I looked in the corner of my eye, I thought, is there a mouse in the house? Nope, no church mouse here today, so stay away. Or a mouse might come to your feet, you know. So, where was I? Thank you, yeah. So food that's sacrificed to idols. And there were those Christians, because of their past, because they did once worship these idols, if they saw other Christians partaking in this, going to these pagan idol-worshiping festivals and eating the meat, they had a problem with that. But there was gonna be times where occasionally when Christians, without even trying, they might be eating meat that had been offered to idols. And Paul's gonna help them navigate these issues, how to think about them, how to view and how to understand who they were, as Christians in an unbelieving community, a very wicked pagan community, who used their idol worship as a means by which they could gratify every pleasure of the flesh. And so here this group of people is, new believers wanting to live for God in this world. But they had to think through, they had to understand what the Bible has to say and how it relates to how they live. So how do we address the differences? I wanna encourage you with one thought this morning. Christ clarifies ambition and mission. Christ clarifies ambition and mission. And so I'm gonna suggest four questions that Paul is posing to the church at Corinth. Now he doesn't ask them in the form of questions, but I'm gonna put them as questions as you think through this passage with me. The first one is this, what is your God? What is your God? In verse 15, he says, I speak unto wise men, judge ye what I say. Now, knowledge was elevated in the city of Corinth. They were logical people who loved logic, and so he's going to give a logical explanation to them about how to address differences between other believers and why it matters. He says, I speak unto wise men. He wasn't being sarcastic here. The Corinthians valued knowledge. There were times where he did kind of poke fun at their knowledge, but not here. These are people who knew, and they understood some things, and he's going to remind them what they knew. Verse 16, he says, the cup of blessing, he's talking here about the Lord's table. We observed it last Sunday morning. will well remember, because we do it so often. As we eat the broken bread, it's a picture of the body of our Lord Jesus. As we drink the juice, it's a picture of His shed blood on our behalf. And He's gonna open to them and open to us a clearer understanding of what is taking place as we observe the Lord's table. There are some churches that would today believe that when you partake in receiving the Lord's table, the broken bread and the juice, that you are actually, that what you are taking in is actually becoming the body and the blood of Jesus Christ. Some teach that, but that is not true. These are but symbols, they're pictures for us. But in case you're thinking that the Lord's Table is just something you just do and you just go through the motions and you don't really have to think about it too much, Paul's gonna help them understand something about the Lord's Table that's gonna apply to their understanding of meat offered to idols. He says, the cup of blessing which we bless, is this not the communion of the blood of Christ? The word communion there is the word koinonia. So it speaks of what we are together in Christ as a church. We are a people who are united and close in intimate fellowship together in Christ. And he says this communion, the Lord's table, is a gathering together of God's people. He said, is this not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is this not the communion of the body of Christ? He's not saying that it's becoming the blood. He's not saying it's becoming the bread. But what he is saying is that Jesus Christ communes with us. He is a partaker with us as we observe the Lord's table. We have a chair on the left side, usually of our communion table, as I explained last week. In our minds, it's just there as a representation that, hey, the Lord Jesus Christ is with us. But as Christians observe the Lord's table, As we gather together around the juice and the bread, these are actual pictures for us of what Christ did, of who we are in Jesus Christ. It's a testimony to those who have never believed on Jesus, of what's taking place, that we have been forgiven through His shed blood upon the cross. We've been delivered. from our sin, but it's not just me and you doing this together, it's me and you and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in fellowship with him. First John chapter one gives us a picture of that fellowship that John says, I want you to have what we had. We saw Jesus with our eyes. We touched him with our hands. We had close fellowship and he says, you people who have never met him, never seen him, never touched him, you can enjoy that. And here, one of the means by which we do enjoy that as we gather together with God's people around the Lord's table to demonstrate our communion with Christ, but as well, he goes on to say our communion with one another. He says in verse 17, for we being many are one bread and one body, for we are all partakers of that one bread. And the other imagery of the Lord's table is that the bread is broken from one loaf. In that sense, Christians, we are all one. We're united together in Jesus Christ. And then he gives an illustration, verse 18, about Israel and the sacrifices they offered. Behold, Israel, after the flesh, are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar. And as Israel in the Old Testament, would bring sacrifices, those people who brought those sacrifices were partakers. Those who sacrificed the animals, they were partakers. It's in a sense, I brought the sacrifice, but I'm also sacrificing myself. And he's just giving us a picture here, okay? Because for us to understand what meat being offered to idols is, he wants us to understand what it means for us to partake in the Lord's table. He wants us to understand when Israel offered sacrifices that they were, it wasn't just like a task to be done, they were personally involved in this process. It was giving the animal, but they were giving of themselves. And what does that mean? They were also communing then with God. Look at verse 19, he says, what say I then? that the idol is anything, or that which is offered in sacrifice to the idols is anything? This is a question he had brought up earlier in chapter eight. And he asked the question, you know, we know that an idol's nothing, and if you bring an offering to nothing, then it must be nothing. No, no. That's not what he's saying. That was their argument, but he gives the truth here. He says in verse 20, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to God. And I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. And he's saying, okay, the Lord's table, if you think about that being something solemn and serious, in a special meeting together of God's people with God? Understand that these people who are eating the meat offered to idols, these sacrifices, they were made to commune, not with God, but with demons. Because behind those idols, there are demons. They were, in fact, offering them to demons. So the first question I'm gonna pose to you is what is your God? Here we have a picture of a sacred meal with spiritual meaning. That's the Lord's table. But the same is true for those who were eating the meat offered to idols. It was a sacred meal to them with special meaning. He says there in verse 20, he says, I say to the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils and not to God. And he says, I don't want you, I don't want you to have koinonia, close, intimate fellowship with demons, these fallen angels who are servants of Satan. I don't want you to have communion with them. Verse 21, he says, you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot be partakers of the Lord's table and the table of devils. Do you see the contradiction here? to have one and say, well, I'm worshiping God together with God's people on one hand, but on the other hand, I'm communing with them. He said, well, what about those who weren't worshiping? What if they weren't going to the pagan feasts at the temple? I mean, what about the people who just, maybe they're at a wedding of a relative and they happen to eat meat at the meal? Or what about the person who goes into the meat market and they buy meat and they have no idea where it came from? Well, Paul's gonna answer those questions. The first question is, so what is your God? Understand this is critical. This is really important. He says in verse 22, do we not provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? God cares what you worship. And it shouldn't be something that you think little of. There's not really great applications for me to make because of how they worshiped there and in their culture is very different than how we in our culture worship. I'll try to give a couple of illustrations. Let's just say that you have an ornamental decoration that you're hanging in your house. You think, wow, it's pretty, it looks nice. I picked it up at Hobby Lobby, it's there. But what if somebody comes in your house and says, you know, I actually was at a house of somebody who was possessed by a demon, and they had that, something just like that at their house, and they sensed that there was spiritual power they derived from having that hanging in their house. You know, what would you do? Oh, come on, it's nothing, it's just a wall hanging, you know, there's feathers, and it looks like a spider web, and it's kinda cool, you know, You're like, I don't know about that. There's gonna be a conflict. Or what about maybe a person who's a born-again believer, but they practice a form of exercise that was rooted in idolatry. You say, what's this exercise? I'm just stretching. It's no big deal to me. But a person maybe who came out of that background, and maybe they had practiced these Eastern religions, and they said, you know what? No, actually, we did that as a form of ancestor worship. That was actually something we did to commune with demons. You're like, oh, come on. They do it at the church down the road. What's the big deal? I mean, okay, so I'm just giving those two illustrations of this. There are issues in our day. Maybe meat offered to idols isn't something that we're working through. There's not a section at Meijer that says meat that's been offered to idols. We don't, you know, it's different for us. And it's very easy for us to sometimes transplant something of our day equal to that, but it's really its own thing. Those are just two examples, and they're probably not very good ones. But here they are as Christians in the church, and they were serious about worshiping God, but there was something that they were very casual about. They weren't thinking about the implications of how it would, number one, affect believers who came from that background, but also how it would affect their witness and testimony. And so the second question that Paul is gonna answer here for us is what is good? Look at verse 23. So what's your God, first of all? Well, if you're worshiping the one true God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, hey, that's the right God. Make sure that you don't give the impression that you're worshiping another God, okay? It's gonna provoke God to jealousy. He doesn't want you to share Him with other false gods. Then we have to ask the question because there's going to be times and there's gonna be circumstances where all of a sudden I'm going to have to address this issue in another way. Do I have to live paranoid? Do I have to live ultra-concerned about everything that I do that I'm in some way going to throw someone off the road? Look what he says. He says, all things are lawful for me. but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. So he's gonna answer the question, what is good? What's good? Does this help the gospel? And does this build believers? Look at verse 24, he says, let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth. And so Paul says it's a legitimate thing for you to ask yourself in this circumstance, in this situation, What's gonna be helpful? What's going to be good? Because you may find yourself in a place where you may be eating meat offered to idols, maybe not of your own choosing. You know? You're going on a hunting trip and your buddy pulls out the beef jerky. Hey, have a Slim Jim or have some jerky, you know? You're like, oh yeah, I love that. And then you're like, wait, was that offered to idols? So he wants them to evaluate. Is this gonna be good? So verse 25, he says, whatsoever is sold in the shambles, eat, asking no questions for your conscience' sake. So the shambles, that's the marketplace. You go to the meat market. If you have no idea, you do not need to do a background check on your burger. Maybe it was offered to idols. Okay, you didn't intentionally do it, you bought it, it was there. Sometimes the great danger in being a boycotting Christian that boycotts everything is that eventually you can't do anything unless you produce your own seeds and grow your own garden and don't ever leave your house because you begin boycotting one thing, before long you're boycotting everything. In other words, live your life, Take care of your family, buy the meat, but you don't have to be paranoid about where the meat came from. You buy the market, you don't know, fine, okay, no problem. He says, eat asking no questions. Just eat it. Verse 26, for the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Verse 27, if any of them that believe not bid you to a feast and ye be disposed to go, whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no questions for your conscience sake. So you go to your friend's daughter's birthday party and you're there. And they serve meat. And you're like, nah, better not eat it. They're unbelievers. No, just eat it. It's fine, go ahead. Why? Because who are you gathering together with? You're with unbelievers, and what's your desire is to give them the gospel, to see their hearts saved by the grace of God, right? But, verse 28, if any men say to you, this is offered in sacrifice unto idols, you go to your friend's daughter's birthday party, and they say, just want you to know, this meat has been offered to idols. and they're gonna watch you squirm as a Christian. What are you gonna do? He gives the answer of what to do. He says eat not, right? The first two instances he says eat, just eat it, don't ask, just eat it. But here, if they announce, hey, this has been offered to idols, now you're concerned not only about your own personal testimony, but you're concerned about their souls. You wouldn't want them to think in some way that you approve of that and that you would practice worshiping their idol as well as worshiping your own God. And so, to be clear, to be above board, if they tell you this has been offered to idols, he says, don't eat it. He says for his sake that showed it. It's for that person. I mean, will you lose your salvation if you eat the meat offered to idols? Well, of course not. Once a person is saved, they are saved once and for all, forever. It's called eternal life for a reason. We're given eternal life. And if you eat it, is it necessarily a sin if you didn't know? No. But you could be sinning by hindering this your testimony before this unbeliever. He says in verse 29, conscience I say, not thine own, but the other. For why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience? He says in verse 30, for if I, by grace or giving thanks, be partaker, why am I evil spoken of? For that which I give thanks. And so again, the meat's given to you, you eat it, you don't know where it came from, You give thanks to the Lord and somebody says, oh, I think I know where that came from. I've seen that pork chop before. I remember when that was cut off the loin. And I, mm-hmm, there you are. Look at you, Paul. You're so spiritual. Look at you. And he's like, I've given thanks to the Lord for this. Why are you judging me for that? It wasn't announced that it was given to idols, then just eat it. So here's the determination. You ask yourself the question, what's good? Is this gonna be good? Is this gonna be helpful for the person who has never believed on Jesus Christ? Is this gonna help them to see Jesus in me and receive the gospel? You know, there's a little principle in this passage I want you to get. I'm just gonna tuck it in the middle here over the message, but it's this. Ministry happens around meals. It did back then and it still does today. If you're burdened or concerned for somebody, invite them to your house, take them out to eat. There's a great deal of ministry that can happen at the table. Now the church of Corinth seemed to be aware of that. It was a cultural thing. It's a cultural thing in our country too. It's okay. It's okay to gather around a meal and share the gospel. Sometimes conversations happen. They don't happen in any other way, okay? I'm giving you permission. Take somebody out to eat. Enjoy it yourself and look for opportunities to share the gospel with them. Ministry sometimes happens around a meal. So the second question is what is good? The third question when we go to verse 31, what is your glory? And Paul says this, he's gonna give an overarching principle to all of this issue. He says, whether therefore ye eat or drink or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. I don't wanna minimize those first two expressions here, eating and drinking, because that's the issue he was dealing with. But make sure you do it for the glory of God. You say, well, what is the glory of God? Sometimes people kind of describe it as some nebulous, fuzzy, glowing thing, you know? Or some ultimate perfection somewhere that you'll never attain, but you should all work for it, you know? I really appreciate Dr. Charles Ryrie defined it, and he helped me with this. And he defines the glory of God this way. It is the characteristics or the qualities of God being seen. I think that's good, I think it's right. As I've studied the scripture, I think it's true. So if you wanna glorify God in all that you eat or drink or whatever you do, can God's character, can his qualities be seen in you as you eat, as you drink, or whatever you do? So let that be the guiding, you know, Prescription for your life. God, I want to let you be seen through me. Through the choices I make, the decisions I make, through whether I eat or I don't eat, my main concern is that your glory is seen, that your character is so obvious. It's not about glorifying me, it's about glorifying thee. So the question is, what is your glory? The application is, Paul says, whether you're eating or you're drinking or whatever you're doing, but I also want you to notice the attitude. This is a heart change. If you've got a reckless spirit, if you've got a rebellious spirit, you can use words like glorifying God, but you really are more concerned about glorifying you. That's what rebellion is. Ultimately, it's choosing you over God or anybody else. That's what rebellion is. He gives the example here. of eating and drinking, but whatever we do, our attitudes should be such, God, I want you to be seen, I want you to get first place, I want your qualities to be obvious. So what is your glory? And then the last question is this, what's your goal? And as Paul is thinking through, helping this church know who they were, where they're going and what they're doing, he's gonna bring them to a very clear understanding of how we are to address differences amongst believers, of how we're to think about how we live in the world, right? Because we're all on a ship, right? And every decision we make is gonna affect somebody else, and that is true as Christians in the body of Christ. Every decision that I make and every decision you make is gonna affect me and mine are gonna affect you, and it matters. It matters where we're going and it matters what we're doing and what our purpose is. He says this in verse 32, give none offense. The idea is of recklessness. And again, we use that word sometimes to mean like, that bothered me, what you did made me a little angry. That's not what he's talking about here. The word offense, most often as it's used in the New Testament, is the idea either of being a stumbling block or pushing someone out of the way. So either you're tripping them up or pushing them down. That's the idea. It's serious, right? It's causing a person not just to have a bad day, you're talking about a person who you are causing either to not come to faith in Jesus Christ or for a Christian to be so hindered that you push them away from believing the truth of the word. It's very serious. And Paul says the reason that You are careful in how you live your life. The reason your conscience of other of other Christians is because you don't want for one moment, you don't want to push that young believer off the rails of their faith. And you do not want for one minute to keep somebody from hearing the gospel message, understanding it and receiving it. So that's what he says in verse 32. Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God. Remember what was governing Paul's decisions? It was love. Love was the thing that regulated his life. That's what he encourages the Corinthians to do. And that's what we're encouraged to do, Christian. So let love, love for God, a love for others, A desire for the gospel to be given and received. Those things ought to regulate all that we do in our life. So rather than just say, I'm gonna live for me, I'm gonna do what pleases me, no, no, you're first thinking of God, and then you're also thinking of others. That's how it's transmitted. It's living out a love for God. It's a living out a love for other people. He says, so don't give offense, don't trip each other up, don't push each other out of the way. And notice the three examples he gives. He gives to the Jews and the Gentiles, to the Jews, That meant Paul, who had been born a Jew, but he says, I'm going to, at times, I'm going to restrict myself so I can be more effective in sharing the gospel with the Jewish people. And he says to the Gentiles, now he was not a Gentile, he was a Jew. And there were times where Paul said, because of love for the Gentiles, I'm gonna expand my preferences. I'm gonna go beyond what I'm really comfortable with because I'm so concerned with them hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. I do not want my lifestyle to push them away from their believing on Jesus Christ. He says in verse 33, even as I please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many that they may be saved. So what's his desire? What's his goal? It's not to hinder the belief of believers, and it's not to hinder the lost from being saved. He says, I'm coming at this as a servant. Now look at verse one of chapter 11. This is actually included in the same passage. Paul says, be followers of me, be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Paul says, I want you to follow my example in these things. Now, earlier, we saw in chapter, Nine, Paul made some serious sacrifices. He limited himself from receiving a salary or even taking a wife. He made some very difficult choices because he was so concerned about how the gospel would be received by the Church of Corinth. And they had all seen this. He says, I don't want you just to follow me. He says, you understand, I'm following the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. So my concern is for others, and I'm gonna follow the example of Jesus Christ. The last expression in verse 33 is key, okay? If you wanna understand chapters eight, nine, and 10, differences amongst believers, here is Paul's ultimate goal. This should be our ultimate goal, that they may be saved. His concern was for the lost. And he says, how I treat other believers is gonna affect our testimony, our witness. The ship, it can be in mutiny, Or it can be in harmony. Columbus was just two days away from the shores of what we know as this new world in which we've all grown up in and lived in. And mutiny was just about to break out. Two days. He about lost everything. The men all wanted to return. Now Columbus didn't know where he was going. He didn't know where he went. And he didn't know what he was doing there. but we're thankful for his vision, right? But two days later, they settled there. What is, I believe, San Salvador today. But two days, and sometimes we as churches can be so close to the thing that God wants to do, to bring others to faith in Jesus Christ, and all of a sudden, rather than looking forward, rather than being expecting what is coming in the future, what God wants to do, we look at each other and say, You see what I'm doing here? I see what you're not doing there. Or, this is how I think. That's how you think? You think wrong. There's no way that we could ever work together and all of a sudden you've got this ship full of contention. And the point is, who's the captain? It's Jesus Christ. He's steering the ship and he's taking us towards not only heaven, but he's bringing us to the place where he could bring others with us to him. that they may be saved. What's your goal? I don't think any one of us would say I wanna hinder somebody's faith. I don't wanna hinder somebody in being saved, but sometimes without thinking, because we're being selfish, because we're being proud, because we're being reckless or rebellious. You may not realize it, but the choices you make, the lifestyle you live, the attitude you have towards one another, may actually be quenching the work that God wants to do in the lives of another. In this passage and in these chapters, we've seen timeless truths will forever need timely applications. It's not the same idea, but in Romans chapters 14 and beginning of chapter 15, something similar. And just for a moment, I want you to look there with me at Romans chapter 14. The passage we read for our scripture reading reminds us, for none of us liveth to himself and no man dieth to himself. Whether we live or whether we live unto the Lord or whether we die, we die unto the Lord, whether we live or die. Therefore, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died and rose and revived. that he might be the Lord over the dead and the living. It says over in chapter 15, verse three, for even Christ pleased not himself, but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproach thee fell on me. So we follow the example of the Lord Jesus Christ in this. We live looking to Jesus, but we live also aware, conscious of those who are around. If they're Christians, if they're weak in the faith, we're conscious. So what does that mean? Does that mean that I have to live my life a hostage to the fickle? Am I imprisoned by the whims of people who are constantly changing their mind? It's very interesting there in Romans chapter 14, verse three. Our attitude towards one another who have differences matters. He says this, he says, who art thou that judgest another man's, excuse me, verse three. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not. And let not him which eateth judge him which eateth not, or eateth, for God hath received him. Key phrase I want you to notice is, let not him that eateth despise. When you look down on people who have differences than you, when you're critical of them, that attitude that festers in your heart may very well be sin. Don't despise them. There are going to be some differences along the way. My job and your job isn't just to take the word of Pastor Johnny Phillips IV from Piedmire, Quagmire, Arkansas, and say, well, this is what he taught me, so this must be true. Our job is to take the word of God, to search it like the Bereans, to see if those things were so, and day by day, we do our due diligence to understand not only what the Bible says, but how it applies. And so none of us are off the hook. We need to each be persuaded in our own mind, but we're conscious, we're thinking of the goal, the end goal. What's the glory of God, God's character being seen, and it's the salvation of souls. And so I live my life conscious of that, so that means that I may from time to time have to adjust. Doesn't it frustrate you with those people who one time held to a certain particular belief, and they preached it, and they taught it, and everybody else had to do the same thing, and then 10 years later, huh, guess they've changed. It doesn't necessarily mean that they've gone into sin. It may mean that they've done due diligence and studied the scripture and say, you know what, this was one area we focused our attention and I've made some adjustments through the years. I've searched the scriptures. I've weighed over this. I've prayed over it. God, I want to be right. I want to make sure that my life is a testimony for you. I want to make sure that I'm not hindering young Christians and I want to make sure that I'm not keeping people from hearing the gospel. I'm not talking about launching into vile sin. I'm talking about Christians who are saying, hmm, maybe I need to change something. Maybe I need to adjust this. Because the Apostle Paul, as you go with me back to chapter nine, he says this in verse 19, for though I be free from all men, yet I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain them more. So he says, I'm willing because of love to restrict myself, and I'm willing to expand. But the thing is, I'm not living for myself. He's a servant. He's a servant of Jesus Christ. So am I a hostage to the fickle? Oh no, I'm a bond slave of Jesus Christ. I'm living for him. And so my life is accountable to him. I'm not to be living in fear. In fact, we're told earlier in this passage, I'm not to be living in fear of other people. But I am to be living out of love for Christ in them. So what is your God? What are you worshiping today? What are you communing with today? What's good? Are there some good, reasonable accommodations you need to make? Hmm. I guess I could shop at Target if I had to. Boy, it got quiet real fast. What is your glory? Are you really concerned about God's character being seen? And then, what's your goal? Are you ultimately very, very concerned about people's souls? That's what Jesus was concerned about. And Paul isn't saying here, um, Okay, I'm gonna give you a set of rules for you to live by in Corinth that I'm not gonna live by. No, no, he's saying follow me and my example. And by the way, I'm just following Jesus. Don't think of Paul as the originator here. He said, I'm just following what Jesus taught me. So what is God's grand desire in the world today? It's that the gospel goes to people and that God's people who are saved grow. That's what he wants. I can help that or I can hinder that. by the choices I make, the lifestyle I live. I can help that or I can hinder that. How does that happen? Well, Jesus saves by the cross. We were born in sin, condemned to eternity in hell because of our selfishness, our sinfulness. But Jesus Christ loved us, died for us, the sinless Son of God. He shed his blood. so that we can be forgiven. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, we're told in Ephesians. The forgiveness of sins. So God's desire is that we be saved by the cross of Christ, but he also desires that we are changed by the cross. You say, I don't know that I could live my life always aware of who I'm with. God will give you the help that you need to do that. He's not talking about living a life where you're gonna get ulcers of worry because you're so concerned about other people's opinions. That's not God's will. In fact, I would suggest to you that's sin. God does desire you to be a conscious Christian, conscious of who you are, what he's done for you, and what he's called you to do in the world. And along the way, you know what, you're gonna come across some differences. Maybe you'd say, ah, I would've done it that way. In some areas, there's always going to be some variation. God's truth does not change. The gospel will never change. But applications of how we live out truth may from time to time look a little different because of where you're at, because of your circumstances, because of your community, because of the people you work with. There may be things like, Let me give you an example. It's a horrible example. My better judgment says don't share, but I'm gonna share it with you. Years ago, my wife and I were invited with a lady in our church who was not saved. She had been coming to our church very faithfully. Her and her husband came. He was saved. As far as we know, I don't know that she ever got saved. She invited us to a restaurant. It was a very expensive restaurant, the kind that didn't even have prices on the menu. And most of the things, just the waiter would tell you the things, and you'd have to catch, you'd listen closely to what sounded best, because there were many courses. And we were there, and knowing this, okay, so we were there with our senior pastor, with another assistant pastor, and all the wives, and this lady, whose husband had just passed away. We had all been a part of her funeral, or her husband's funeral, and to thank us, she took us out to eat at this very nice, very nice, very elite kind of place. And we eat the meal, we're filled to the gills. On the way out, the waiter brings over a bottle of wine. She takes it, looks at it, gives it to my pastor. Now, I'm a teetotaler. I have very strong convictions personally about the consummation of alcohol. So did my pastor, by the way. So did the assistant pastor. We're all there. What is he going to do with that bottle? I'm thinking, this is where you stand up in front of the restaurant. You tell them, I don't drink. I don't. This is a teetotaling church. If you don't know that, it is. And I can share some verses with you afterwards if you want to talk about it, okay? But what did my pastor do? He said, thank you. He slipped it in the long coat of his tan trench coat pocket, buttoned his coat, took his wife and left the restaurant. I was incensed. How dare he? This was his opportunity. And I gotta be honest, in the last month I was reading this passage and God spoke to me. He said, you know what your pastor did? He obeyed me. Now, did he go home and drink it? I don't know. I don't think so. What I know of him, he didn't. Did he give it to his neighbor as a Christmas gift? I don't think so. Did he put it in his basement to age a few more years, make some money? I don't think so. Again, I don't know this, because I never talked to him about it. I was so angry. He probably did what I've seen my parents do growing up when they were given something like that. They cracked it open, dumped it right down the drain. And then my dad was always nervous that somebody would sit in the recycling bin. What was the main issue that day? We were concerned for her soul. At that moment, guess what? I was a weak Christian. Again, I wasn't wanting to drink it. I didn't want my pastor to drink it. But what was his concern? It was the soul of this woman. And rather than push her off the rails from receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ, he thanked her, put her in his pocket, got in his car, and drove home. All that to say, I mean, it's bothered me for years. But you know what, this passage gave me a little bit of freedom in that issue. Now, my pastor's been along with the Lord. Faithful, godly man until the very end. He finished his course, he kept the faith, and he has received his crown. But here I am, 49 years old, and I'm still learning. You know what? I gotta be careful about how I react, how I respond, how I interact, because it matters. It matters who I'm around, it matters the Christians that I'm with, but it matters to my Lord Jesus Christ, because his desire is that they might be saved, that they might be saved. Because salvation isn't like going to the pharmacy and getting a pill that's gonna help your headaches go away. Salvation is once for all and forever. It's eternal life that he paid for with his own shed blood, and he offers it freely to all. And what should be our mission? What should be our purpose? That they may be saved, that he would receive the glory, his character would be seen. You say, Pastor, I'm uncomfortable with this. Me too. But the Apostle Paul's been helping me out. The Holy Spirit of God's been helping me. He wants to help you and I too. And so if you're the kind of person that says, well, you proved to me why it's wrong, you've got the wrong attitude. You proved to me how this brings God glory and it's gonna help win souls to Jesus Christ. That's the right question. What are you living for? It's like the people who say, you can never have a standard too high for God. Well, you might have a standard so high that you can't effectively reach people with the gospel. I'm not talking about compromising truth. I'm not talking about compromising standards. I'm talking about living in a way that's unconscious of where you are and why you're here. Hey, we're all in the same boat. We're all going to the same place. Jesus is our captain. Let's quit squabbling and let's spend our time and spend our life building up one another, helping them and furthering the gospel. The gospel goes to people and God's people grow. That's what God wants. I can help that or I can hinder it. How do I do it? Well, I need the power of Jesus Christ. My time is up. I have a really good illustration to close, but I'm not gonna share it. It's time. We glorify God when we go for his goal. Our Father, thank you for your word. I pray that this morning it would be remembered. There's a lot that I said I'm not so sure should be remembered. but I want more than anything else, your truth to be embedded upon our hearts. I pray that we would love you and love others enough to think about how we live. We worship and we commune with you. We dare not commune with devils. Father, where we have lived frustrated and angry over another Christian who has done something different than we would do it. Father, forgive us. We're all in the same boat, heading the same place, and called to the same purpose. Help us to love you enough to trust you with that. In Jesus' name, amen.