[0:00] Good morning. How are we all doing this morning? That's good. Awesome is good. Redeemed how I love to proclaim it. Thank you for the song selection this morning.
[0:29] Do I love to proclaim that I am redeemed, that, you know, who my Redeemer is? Do we love to proclaim His name? Or do we struggle with sharing that with others? We are called to go out into the world and to share the good news with others.
[0:51] How do we fare in that? I think that ties in well with the Scripture before us this morning. Thank you, Cornelius, for reading that for us.
[1:08] Scripture that talks about fleeing idolatry, getting away from worshipping anything but the Lord and Him alone.
[1:24] And so, you know, the call that we have upon our lives to share the gospel with others. And when we are doing that, we will be more aware of idolatry around us and to stay away from that, to avoid it.
[1:49] And so, Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, especially here, the latter part of chapter 10, he's kind of reflecting back to chapter 8.
[2:03] And it's a little while ago now that I did the message on chapter 8 where he was dealing with meat that was being offered, sacrificed to idols.
[2:16] And that there was believers from within the church. They were going to these, they were invited to these things and they were eating of this meat. And they're saying that, you know, I have the right to do this because that idol is nothing.
[2:32] An idol is dead. There is no life in it. There is no power in it. The meat is just meat. For me, it's just meat. It's okay for me to do that.
[2:44] And Paul is saying, yes, an idol is dead. It is nothing. There is no life, no power within it. You know, meat is just meat.
[2:55] And yet, Paul says, you know, there's others that would struggle with this. They would stumble at this. And we are to be an example for them. And if I know that it is going to cause my brother to stumble, Paul says, I would gladly give up meat for the rest of my life.
[3:14] And so to set that example of selflessness. And so here in the latter part of chapter 10, you know, his mind is still on that. And he's sharing more thoughts out of, you know, what the outflow of that is.
[3:29] And so kind of deflecting back to the concept of idol worship. And he gives us two reasons here in this portion before us this morning.
[3:44] Two reasons why we should flee idolatry. And first and foremost, that we are partakers with Christ.
[3:56] That we are in Christ as believers. We are in Christ. That we stand with him. And then in the second part of it, he brings up the example of Israel.
[4:11] In the first part of chapter 10, he gives examples of the walk that Israel had. You know, how they stumbled, how they fell, how they murmured against God.
[4:25] And he uses them as an example of what dabbling and idolatry can do. And partaking in that. And so I've titled the message this morning, Standing for Christ.
[4:41] We identify with him. We are partakers together with him. And that is to be reflected in our walk, in our life, in the things that we do.
[4:56] And so we begin with the warning. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
[5:06] Who is this warning for? Paul addresses them as, my beloved.
[5:23] He is speaking in this letter. He is speaking to the church in Corinth. He is speaking to the flock. To brothers and sisters in Christ.
[5:34] And he is warning them to flee from idolatry. What is idolatry?
[5:51] Idolatry? Even as we ponder that, you know, in what the situation that Corinth was in to what we're in today, it would look different.
[6:05] And yet, there's a message in it for us. You know, what is idolatry? And maybe, first of all, you know, what does Paul mean when he says to flee idolatry?
[6:19] What does it mean to flee? As I turn to a dictionary on the word of flee, there was three different explanations given.
[6:38] And all three of them are very valid, and so I'd like to share them. First one is to run with rapidity as from danger.
[6:49] To attempt to escape. To hasten from danger or expected evil. The second one is to depart.
[7:02] To leave. To hasten away. And thirdly, to avoid. To keep at a distance from.
[7:13] And so the first two are quite similar. They're speaking of getting away quickly. Of hurrying away from something to somewhere that is safe.
[7:28] To get away from potential danger. To get away from it fast. And to go somewhere safe. And the third one there is looking at it from a different angle.
[7:40] It is to avoid, to keep at a distance from. So looking at it from a different angle. Before it gets to the point of facing something bad and then running from it, it is to recognize the potential danger and move accordingly.
[8:01] To keep away from it. To avoid having to run or to escape. You know, to recognize the potential danger before it becomes a real danger for us personally.
[8:15] And to move in a way to avoid it. And so we are to run from or to avoid idolatry.
[8:28] So let's dig in a little bit more. You know, what exactly is idolatry? Was it different for the Corinthians than for us?
[8:40] In some ways, yes. You know, in Corinth, they had temples dedicated to false gods where people went to worship, to practice all kinds of sin.
[8:53] It was discussed in chapter 8, you know, that there's meat being offered, sacrificed to idols and they would have these big feasts and later on this meat would be taken to the markets and sold there.
[9:05] And so the issue of, you know, what about this meat? Do I go and eat it if I am invited to this meal? Or do I go and buy this meat in the market? Do I go and eat it if I am invited to this meal?
[9:16] Do I go and eat it if I am invited to this meal? Do I go and eat it if I am invited to this meal? And so that, in a sense, you know, something maybe we're not quite as familiar with. And so it's a very physical example of idols for them.
[9:30] And, but then, you know, for us then, what is idolatry? The Easton Dictionary defines idolatry this way.
[9:48] Idolatry is image worship or divine honor paid to any created object. And so divine honor meaning to give reverence or respect to.
[10:02] And it went to as far as, you know, giving this reverence or respect to heroes. Do we have, do we look at other people as heroes and we maybe lift them up a bit?
[10:19] Well, that is dangerous territory. But altogether, in essence, worshiping something created rather than our creator, God.
[10:32] So worshiping something created rather than the creator. As believers, we know that we are to worship God.
[10:46] We know that we are to give Him all the honor and the glory. Another example of idolatry, and I'd like us to turn there, would be in Colossians.
[11:05] A couple of books down from 1 Corinthians. In Colossians chapter 3. And I want to read verse 5.
[11:17] And it speaks of things we are to put to death in our members. Therefore, put to death in your members, which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
[11:39] So covetousness, desiring something we don't have, or something that another has, we don't want them to have it, we would want it. Just desiring things we do not have.
[11:54] Not being content with what we have. Covetousness, which is idolatry. That opens the door right up when it comes to idolatry.
[12:13] And just to back up a bit, how did mankind end up here? Worshiping idols. How did that happen? Genesis chapter 1, verse 27, it tells us that mankind was created in the image of God.
[12:34] And so, shouldn't all of mankind worship God as their creator? We know that that's not happening.
[12:47] So the question, why? What happened? Paul, in writing the book of Romans, he explains what has happened.
[12:59] And so if we turn to Romans chapter 1, I'd like to read a portion for us there as well. Romans chapter 1, reading verses 20 to 25. Romans chapter 1, verse 25.
[13:38] Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
[13:51] Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, and birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things.
[14:06] Therefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature, rather than the creator, who is blessed forever.
[14:28] Amen. So that explains what happened. You know, God, the evidence of God is everywhere. In all of creation, you know, it's everywhere.
[14:42] And mankind knows it, they recognize it, and yet, they refuse to acknowledge it. There's no excuse for man to say that there is no God.
[14:57] That evidence, it is everywhere, and mankind knows it. They will deny it, yet deep down, they know it. Whether you're a believer or not, each and every person was created by God.
[15:15] And so therefore, you know, the knowledge that there is a God, it's down in there somewhere, whether they will profess it or not.
[15:28] They know that there is a higher power, a supreme being, who created all things. They put up all kinds of arguments against it, yet, if they would dig down deep enough, in their heart, they know there is a creator.
[15:47] But they fight it. They deny it. They don't want it to be true. Man wants to be in control. In control of his own destiny, and not have to submit to a higher authority.
[16:04] And so man refuses to glorify God. Yet, you know, even in all of this being stiff-necked and so on, it brings out the fact there is a higher power.
[16:24] There is a need to worship. Man has to worship something. It's how he has been created. It is what he has been designed to do.
[16:37] He has to worship something. And so what does he do? As it was laid out in Romans, he creates an idol, an image, whatever it is, and he worships something that is created, refusing to bend the knee to his creator.
[17:02] And so then, God has to do something about that. What does he do? If we drop down to verse 28 here in Romans, it reads, And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting.
[17:26] And it goes on to list many different things that fill mankind's mind, wicked things that he desires to do.
[17:36] And what does God do? He loves each and every one. Every person that he has ever created, that he ever will create.
[17:51] He loves each one of them and he desires for them to worship him. But God is true to himself. He created us in his image.
[18:06] Part of that is that he gave us choice. choice to recognize him as our creator and to worship him as such.
[18:20] God doesn't want robots worshiping him with what has been programmed into them. He wants true worship from a heart that loves him, that sees him as creator, as Lord God almighty, as heavenly father.
[18:39] father. He wants us to choose him out of our own free will, to worship him, not because we want, because we have to, but we want to.
[18:53] And for many of us, that is true this morning. We want to worship him. And praise God for that. And so, the Corinthian church was in a dangerous place when it comes to worship.
[19:10] They're in a pagan city. There's unbelievers everywhere around them. Idle worship happening. And today, we can identify with that.
[19:25] We too are here surrounded by pagan society. maybe there's not physically temples erected where containing idols that people go to worship.
[19:41] And yet, there's forms of worship happening all over the place, around us. So, continuing on in verse 15, Paul says, I speak as to wise men.
[19:58] Judge for yourselves what I say. So, again, that reflects back to chapter 8 as he addressed those who thought it was their right to do as they saw fit regarding meat offered to idols.
[20:15] He says to that party, you know, you're old enough to judge for yourselves what I'm teaching you here. Think this through.
[20:27] Weigh this through. Allow this to sink in. You know, what kind of message is here for you? Continuing on, verses 16 and 17.
[20:39] The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body.
[20:54] For we all partake of that one bread. bread. They were toying around and dabbling in the fringes of idolatry.
[21:07] It was not a good place for Christians to be. And so he, he questions them regarding communion.
[21:19] Something the church practices. Something we practice today. is something the church is to practice. And so he questions them, who are you identifying with?
[21:38] With Christ or with the idol worship that is going on around you and that you are so tempted to join in on? He tells them, you come to the communion table.
[21:55] You partake of the cup. Is it not representative of or sharing in the blood of Christ?
[22:09] What about the bread? Does it not represent the body of Christ? In eating the bread, are you not in communion with or sharing with the body of Christ?
[22:26] So he challenges them on that. And it is a challenge for us today as well. As baptized believers, we also observe the communion table.
[22:43] What are we observing? doing? Is our mind focused? Are we remembering the price Jesus paid to save us?
[23:01] Or maybe it is, you know, how are we coming to the table, the communion table? people? We are instructed to examine ourselves, to deal with sin, to make things right with our brother.
[23:18] There is something between us and another. We must be in a right standing with God and with one another, or else we eat and drink judgment to ourselves.
[23:34] This is coming up in chapter 11, by the way. We'll discuss that more there. The question is, is there room for both idolatry and Jesus in our heart?
[23:52] That is the question. And I won't answer it here right away. It's coming up in the next verses. Any questions to ponder on? Paul isn't specifically pointing to individuals, though he wouldn't hesitate to call someone out, but he's also including himself.
[24:18] As we see that in verse 17, he says, for we, so he includes himself in that, for we, though many, I lost my place here, for we, though many, are one bread and one body, for we all partake of that one bread.
[24:34] what some do affects all of us. It taints the whole assembly, the whole church.
[24:47] And so, speaking of accountability here, he's addressing the party that thought it was their right to eat meat offered to idols, and as he did in chapter 8, he's wanting them to consider the weaker brother who would stumble.
[25:07] And so, there is accountability in that, and he is, that's what he's speaking of here. And this is on the other side of it, though, right? If I know my brother is involved in idolatry, or even anywhere near where such things are happening, he's saying that I have to warn him, I have to tell him to flee, to run.
[25:32] And that is vice versa. If I am anywhere near that, and someone else sees that, we need to point that out to one another, to warn them, to flee, just as Paul was warning the Corinthians, flee from idolatry.
[25:56] Why? Why? Because we are all part of one body. That brother in danger of being, dabbling in idolatry, he is a member of that body.
[26:14] He is a part of that body. If he is straying, or if he is tempted to, in one way or another, it will affect the rest of the body. body. If we physically hurt a member of our body, we break an arm or a leg, or maybe even not a break, if we really fall and we really bruise ourselves, and there's a lot of pain there, does it not affect the rest of the body?
[26:52] It does, right? I've been working on a renovation recently and having to run a lot of stairs, and the first day I was doing many trips up and down these stairs, by the end of the day, I was having some hip problems.
[27:11] My hip was causing me pain. There was some pain there. Well, it affects the rest of the body. If I'm needing to walk to move around, then there's pain there. the rest of the body feels it as well.
[27:25] And so too, spiritually, if there is a member of the body straying or tempted to stray, that will come back and it will affect the rest of the body.
[27:43] Christians universally make up that body. There is only one body, and Christ is the head. Our identity is in him.
[27:57] In the name of Jesus, we worship and we glorify God the Father. And so we are to flee idolatry.
[28:15] that is very clear throughout scripture. It is something that has brought up a lot to flee from it, warning against it.
[28:30] And we find it in the Ten Commandments. The first two commandments expound on that, and maybe it would be good just to go there and to read that.
[28:40] in Exodus chapter 20. Let's just go and read that and refresh ourselves. Exodus chapter 20.
[28:55] God giving the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20, and I'll just start in verse 3, 3 through 6.
[29:19] God says, you shall have no other gods before me. you shall not make for yourselves a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water underneath the earth.
[29:38] You shall not bow down to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me.
[29:52] but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. So, first and foremost, and he brings that out in verse 2 as he begins, I am the Lord your God.
[30:11] Do not bring anything else before yourself as a God. There is only room for one. One. And so then, you know, as we ponder that, what has happened to people who do commit idolatry?
[30:34] What has been done to them? You know, in Romans we read that God gives them over to a debased mind. He allows them to go after what their flesh, what their mind craves.
[30:53] All manners of wickedness, of filth. So, you know, are there other examples of what happens to such people?
[31:07] Continue on in our text, in verse 18. Paul writes, observe Israel after the flesh.
[31:19] Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol is anything? Or what is offered to idols is anything?
[31:32] Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons.
[31:48] The warning to flee from idolatry in our text is to God's people, to the church. You know, and so then, you know, as we're thinking examples, what better example than those who formerly were God's chosen people, the Israelites, Israelites.
[32:10] And I do say that with the understanding God is not done with Israel, but in this age, the age of grace, he has set Israel aside and his focus is on the church.
[32:25] Israel was a prime example of a people that did not flee idolatry. idolatry. And so, Paul here is saying, observe them.
[32:39] Look back, reflect on what happened to them. I mentioned the definition of idolatry from Easton's dictionary, and it also laid out a history on idolatry from Scripture.
[33:01] And so, I'm going to pick up on a couple of those points as it reflects on the history of Israel, of the Hebrew children.
[33:11] one of the first mentions of idolatry in Scripture is related to Israel's forefathers. So, before God called them apart, brought them together as a nation, with their forefathers, with Jacob, and more specifically, Jacob's wife, Rachel.
[33:34] In Genesis chapter 31, verse 19, we won't turn there, but it relates how, you know, Jacob has been warned to get away from Laban, from his father-in-law, and to go back to his own family, to his own country.
[33:56] And so, they get ready to flee, and Rachel steals her father's household idols, carved images. So, they had carved images in their home, idols that the pagans around them were worshipping, and they had them in their home.
[34:17] And Rachel steals these idols. That brings it out. There is idolatry in the world already, people refusing to worship God.
[34:29] They were making their own gods to worship. The Hebrews, while they lived in Egypt many years, they got accustomed to idol worship.
[34:46] And I would like to turn to Ezekiel on that, to Ezekiel chapter 20. speaks of that.
[35:06] Ezekiel chapter 20, verses 7 to 10. And then I said to them, each of you, so this is to the Hebrews, each of you, throw away the abomination which are before his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt.
[35:34] I am the Lord your God. But they rebelled against me and would not obey me. They did not all cast away the abominations which were before their eyes, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.
[35:47] Then I said, I will pour out my fury on them and fulfill my anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But I acted for my name's sake that it should not be profaned before the Gentiles among whom they were, in whose sight I had made myself known to them to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
[36:12] So God said, I will wait until I have brought them out. Therefore, I made them go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. And we know what happened in the wilderness.
[36:30] Still, they refused to worship God. They murmured against Him. They made a molten calf and worshiped that.
[36:41] idol worship. Still something they clung to. As Hebrews entered into the promised land after 40 years in the wilderness, I think God may be using those 40 years to purge some of this idol worship out of them, right?
[37:11] And as they enter into the promised land, they again come into contact with idolatrous Gentiles, pagans worshiping idols.
[37:24] What was God's command to them as they entered into the promised land? To destroy all the Gentiles, to destroy all of them.
[37:38] And yet, again, Israel disobeyed and allowed some to remain and idol worship influenced them again.
[37:53] And it was a pattern, continued disobedience to God and it brought many kinds of punishment and captivity upon them to the point where we're at today, God having put them aside.
[38:12] Not only punishment, captivity, but as we consider that, how many souls have been lost for eternity because of their rebellion against God?
[38:28] To think, God called them His children. children. They were His chosen people group. What a privilege they had. And yet, they strayed and many perished, separated from God for eternity because they refused to worship Him alone.
[38:54] How can people chosen by God be separated from Him for eternity through idolatry, through rebellion, refusing to acknowledge God as their creator?
[39:14] Israel is a perfect example of what can happen. God is a Christian. And so, in general, Gentiles today, the unbelieving world today, they wouldn't outright admit to idol worship, or as verse 20 in our text calls it, sacrificing to demons, which in all reality, idol worship is.
[39:46] things, they would deny it, they wouldn't admit to it, and yet, what they are practicing, you know, in reality, what are they doing?
[40:02] I can only serve one master. Whom will I serve? continuing in our text, it reads in verse 21, you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons.
[40:18] You cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? We cannot worship God and idols.
[40:34] us. We cannot commune with Christ and sit in or participate in sacrificing to demons. There are total opposites.
[40:47] There isn't room for both. Light and darkness don't go together. In verse 21, Paul writes here, you know, it says what Matthew 6, 24 says.
[41:03] And for the sake of time, we won't go there this morning, but you know, talking about we cannot serve two masters. Either we'll love the one and hate the other. We cannot serve God and mammon.
[41:17] Mammon referring to riches in that context. We cannot serve God and be consumed by wealth, by personal gain or material gain.
[41:29] and it relates to our text here this morning, you know, in that mammon, you know, riches, material gain. There are things that are promoted by the world who is under the sway of the wicked one.
[41:48] The devil is behind all that the world offers. And if we are going after what the world offers, we are straying from Christ.
[42:03] You know, when it comes to serving the Lord or serving demons, and due to the season that we're in, the fall season we're entering into and beginning to be reminded of it as I travel through town, reminded of Halloween.
[42:26] Halloween. Many Christians participate in Halloween activities, mainly in the trick-or-treating part, you know, taking their children out to get a bag full of goodies.
[42:41] You know, I don't have a problem with children, you know, getting some candy now and again. Not a problem, right? But if we take a moment and we observe what Halloween stands for, how can a Christian comfortably participate in it?
[43:05] You know, I'm thinking along the lines, you know, as we are beginning to see in town, you know, people are decorating for this time of year for, to celebrate Halloween.
[43:17] What is being put out there? What is being put out to promote it? Do we see anything that is uplifting, anything that glorifies God?
[43:35] All that I'm seeing out there, skeletons, ghosts, monsters, there's crosses, but there are crosses in fake graveyards.
[43:47] Celebrating death, darkness, scariness, spookiness, that's what they're celebrating. It is a pagan holiday.
[44:02] It's not a, it wasn't, you know, brought in by Christians. And so, it's just, you know, as we consider, you know, idolatry, what is idolatry in the world today?
[44:17] What are we worshipping? Who are we worshipping? No, I'm, I struggle to, to see how being a Christian and celebrating Halloween can go together.
[44:32] I struggle with that. How does it fit in when I say that I'm a Christian, I believe in Jesus, and I believe that I have eternal life in Him, and then go and participate in something that is promoted through darkness, through death, through, through evil.
[44:55] Something in that picture doesn't, just doesn't add up for me. Just, you know, one example of, you know, you know, pagans, you know, celebrating Halloween, they wouldn't say that, you know, I'm sacrificing to demons, or I'm worshipping idols, but they're definitely not worshipping God.
[45:16] And this is, you know, one example, one holiday that they love to observe, and it has anything, it has to do with anything but God.
[45:30] So, this morning I want to close with the questions that Paul asks of us in verse 22. 22. Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?
[45:45] Are we stronger than He? Where do we fit in?
[45:57] Do we fully and completely identify with Christ? Do we come to the communion table, with a clear conscience knowing where we stand with our Creator?
[46:14] Or are we standing on the sidelines observing idolatry, unaware of the danger that we are beholding?
[46:27] Or, are we caught up in it? I mentioned coveting earlier. Things coveting things that we don't have.
[46:41] Or, giving divine honor to something created, and not to the Creator. Divine honor belongs to our Creator alone.
[46:55] Are we provoking God to jealousy? see, he said it in the second commandment, shall have no other gods before me.
[47:06] I am a jealous God. I won't stand for you worshipping anything or anyone but me. Our God is a jealous God.
[47:21] He is not willing to share worship. God is strong. And I trust we don't think that we are stronger than God is. Israel failed miserably, and we can learn from their mistakes.
[47:42] We have Israel's history in the Bible for us, as an example, for us to learn from. idolatry today is as real as it ever was, though it may be in different forms.
[48:02] Let's remember Paul's words to the Corinthians. Flee from idolatry. Run away as fast as you can, and run to God.
[48:17] Stand up for Christ. And pledge allegiance to Him and to Him alone. We have been redeemed by Christ.
[48:31] Let's proclaim it. Let's pray. Lord, we bow before you again this morning. Lord, we are thankful for your grace and your mercy and your patience with us.
[48:46] Lord, help us open our eyes, to idolatry around us in the world. Help us to identify it before we have to run from the danger.
[49:03] Help us to recognize it beforehand and to make the necessary moves to stay far away from it, that we are not in danger of being caught up in it.
[49:14] Lord, help us to commune with Christ, to stand with Him, to be alive with Him, and to serve You and to praise and to worship You alone.
[49:34] Just pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen.