Free to Be a Slave

Introduction:
He always existed (according to John 1 and other passages).  He was with God, and He was God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made.  He is life, and that life is the light of men.  Then Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us.            He left the Throne of Heaven to enter humanity on earth (according to Philippians 2).  He made Himself of no reputation, and taking on the form of a bondservant He humbled Himself, even to the point of death on the cross.  He was obedient to the Father who has highly exalted Him.  Jesus set the example we are to follow.  If anyone ever had the liberty to do as He wanted…it was Jesus, yet He chose to become a slave and to put Himself in bondage.

Last week we were in 1 Corinthians 8:9-13 and our title was “Loving Liberty.”  We saw the Spirit warn us through the Apostle Paul to beware of liberty: our knowledge can lead us to think we have more liberty than we actually have and we never have liberty to sin – to go into the idols temple.  We must also be sure that the liberty we do have doesn’t lead us to idols as well.  In fact, our liberty can itself be an idol.  The Sprit through Paul also warned us not to sin against Christ allowing our liberty to be a stumbling block to a brother or sister in Christ.  If our words or actions permit a brother to stumble, we have sinned against him and sinned against Christ who died for that brother or sister.

As we begin 1 Corinthians 9, the Spirit continues focus on the problems if idolatry and abuse of liberty.  We tend to skip right over 1 Corinthians 8 because, “I don’t eat meat offered to idols!”  We skip right over 1 Corinthians 9 because, “it’s just Paul defending himself.”  We skip right over 1 Corinthians 10 because “Oh my, it’s back to talking about eating meat offered to idols again.” 

Today we’ll be getting a broad view of 1 Corinthians 9 so we don’t “miss the forest for of the trees.”  I don’t want to get into such a deep discussion of the examples here that we forget we are talking about idolatry and the abuse of Christian liberty.  So, let’s hear what the Spirit says to the churches…

Free to Be a Slave:

I Am Free (1 Corinthians 9:1-14)
This passage starts with Spirit-given words of Paul saying, “Am I not an Apostle?  Am I not free?”  Now, some say this is just Paul defending himself as it is very clear that there was division in the church at Corinth, and that part of that division was over who they thought they should be following, either Paul, Cephas, or Apollos.  Some argue this is just Paul stating his case.  Such an argument shows a complete misunderstanding of this entire section.  Look, 1 Corinthians 8 is about idolatry and abusing liberty, 1 Corinthians 10 is about idolatry and abusing liberty, and guess what: 1 Corinthians 9 is about idolatry and abusing liberty too!  The Spirit through Paul is demonstrating, that as much as anyone, the great Apostle to the gentiles was “free” in Christ.  The issue in question here is Paul’s liberty, not his qualification as a leader of the church.

Then 1 Corinthians 9:3-7 it says, “My defense to those who examine me is this…”  No doubt there were some in the Corinthian church who didn’t even like Paul.  But this wasn’t a competition or popularity contest!  Cephas, Apollos, and Paul were all given to the Church for God’s purposes and the church’s edification.  But what we see there and anywhere there is division, criticizing becomes commonplace and the church was involved in idolatry and abuse of liberty.  There were many things they loved more than Christ and it seems clear that they cared more about their freedom to do what they wanted than they cared about each other.  YET, they all wanted to put chains on Paul…they wanted to restrict his liberty.  The Spirit says of Paul, “he has the right to sustenance, has the freedom to have a wife, has the right to earn a living from preaching the Gospel as he has been called.”

I’ve talked to some older, and even retired oversees missionaries who recall receiving the old, worn out clothes as an offering, receiving out of date food, and even receiving used tea bags!  Now none of these missionaries were complaining, but seriously, we’re going to send used tea bags to a missionary and keep the new ones for ourselves?  We’re going to clean all the old, out of date food from our pantry and send it to a missionary in order to make room for our new stuff?  We’re going to replace all the old clothes in our closet with new ones, sending the old stuff oversees?  Seriously!  How about we keep our old junk for ourselves and send the new thing to the brother on the field who can’t run to Walmart!  Who wants a used tea bag!!!  I guess the thinking was, “I would never use it again, but it is good enough for a missionary who has nothing otherwise.”  Seriously?  That’s the kind of attitude of those in Corinth, “I’ll keep the best for myself, and you take the leftovers.  You don’t need it, or should have to sacrifice anyway!”  Specifically they were saying, “Why should I have to feed you?  You don’t need a wife.  You should have a real job too.  Look Paul, I have the liberty to do whatever I want…but you don’t.”  Maybe you’re thinking: “we don’t have that problem here because we are very generous in our giving.”  And you are very generous.  But consider this; what if you found out that some of our oversees missionaries had two brand new cars, paid extra $1,000/mo just to have an ocean view apartment, paid $100/mo for cable TV, and spent much time and money on sporting events and shopping?  They don’t I assure you!!!  But would you be offended?  Would it make you think twice about that offering you put in next month?  Some people get offended when they send their $10 to a missionary and then find out they aren’t living in a grass hut and eating bugs.  But, we have nice houses, new cars, cable, and go to ballgames and shopping anytime we want…  We have the liberty for that…but they don’t?

In 9:8-12a it says, “Do I say these things as a mere man?  Or does the Law not say the same also?”  Again, this is not Paul’s defending himself…this is the Holy Spirit rebuking their hard, idolatrous, liberty-worshipping hearts.  Paul had the liberty to earn a living by preaching, God had called him to that work.  God seeks to care for Paul’s needs like He does all of His children, but those in the church at Corinth were so interested in doing for themselves that they apparently resented the thought of giving to Paul.  They thought it wrong that he should earn a living as minister of the Gospel even though the majority of them would still be enslaved to sin and death if God hadn’t of used Paul to bring them to faith in the first place!  This attitude would have been evident in many ways, but the Spirit uses this issue of financial support because it is so obvious.

So, you’ve got a church full of people who worship idols – there were many things they loved more than they loved God.  One of the big idols was their own liberty.  There were many bad results…division, pride, immorality, divorce, etc.  They believed they had the liberty to do such things, but that others, like Paul, shouldn’t even have the most basic of liberties.

In 9:12b-14 it says, “Nevertheless we (Paul and Barnabas) have not used this right.”  They had gone hungry; they had not taken a wife, or accepted payment for their ministry to the church at Corinth.  What they truly had liberty to do, they had not done.  WHY?  “Lest we hinder the Gospel of Christ.”  They were absolutely justified to these basic liberties, but Paul and Barnabas did not use their liberty. 

That’s the whole point!!!  Paul, who truly had liberty to such things, did not use it…


I Will Not Use My Liberty (1 Corinthians 9:15-19)
Reading 1 Cor 9:15-18, remember that it is preposterous to argue that Paul is just defending himself and arguing that he is the one the church at Corinth should be following.  The Holy Spirit’s point is using Paul as another example after Christ.  Having every reason to use their liberty, Paul and Barnabas chose to forsake that liberty for the sake of advancing the Gospel.  They were following the example of Christ who is also our example.  It is completely the opposite of what was happening in Corinth.  Their mantra was “all things are lawful for me!  I’m saved; I can now do anything I want.  I can say anything I want – I have knowledge, I know what’s best for me.  I can follow any desire – even if it leads me into the idol’s temple.  I can consume anything I want – whether food, or sport, or lust, or selfish gain.”

That brings us to 1 Corinthians 9:19 which says, “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant of all, that I might win the more.”  I am free, YET I make myself a slave to all, that I might win more for Christ.  That is the example set by Christ Himself.  That is the example Paul was following.  That is the example we are called to follow.  It is in complete agreement with what is said in Philippians 2:5-8.  “Let this mind be in you,” that is, follow Christ’s example.  Christ was one with God (and we are one with Him), but He humbled Himself, did not consider His reputation, and made Himself a slave, obeying God. 

“That’s fine for Paul preacher, but that’s not for me! That’s too radical!  That’s legalistic!  I have my liberty!”  Yes you do…but do you love that liberty more than you love God or your brother in Christ?  If your liberty is a stumbling block to a brother (or yourself) it is sin against Christ.

Conclusion:
I’ve said it before; sometimes the Word of God offends us.  Is your liberty a stumbling block to someone else?  Does what you say or do embolden someone else to sin or fall into idolatry?  Is your liberty a stumbling block to you?  Is what you think, say or do more important to you than God?  What is it that you love this morning?  Do your thoughts, actions, and words reveal that you love God more than anything or anyone else, or is there something else that you love more than Him?

My challenge to you this week is to READ Phil ippians2 everyday, and pray everyday that the Lord would reveal any areas that you have not yielded to Him, where you have not humbled yourself.

Loving Liberty

Introduction:
He was raised in Godly home.  His father was a very influential man who greatly loved the Lord and the Word of God.  His father taught him to love and serve God, but along the way he began to enjoy his freedoms and liberties more than he cared about love for God.  Though he knew the Word, knew the truth, knew about God’s mercies and blessings, his desire for liberty began to overshadow all those things.  He began to worship his liberty rather than the God who gave it.  When his father, Josiah, a man of whom the Scripture says in 1 Kings 23:25, “neither before nor after him was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did, with all his heart, all his soul, and with all his strength”…when Josiah died, Jehoahaz became king of Judah.  He followed his idols, forsook the God of his father and, “he did evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

Hundreds of years later, many like Jehoahaz were in the church at Corinth.  Not that they were the sons and daughter of a Jewish King, but they knew the truth, knew the Word of God, and they had allowed the liberty they had as believers in Christ to turn to idolatry.  In fact, they worshipped many idols.

Last week in 1 Corinthian 8:7-8, we talked about “Knowing an Idol.”  We have become so familiar with idols they are just an accepted part of life.  That’s why many righteous OT kings in Judah would leave some “high places” when they brought reform and led the nation back to serving God.  God said way back in Exodus, “you shall have no other gods in My presence!”  To get rid of what we are habitually familiar with requires significant changes; changes we cannot make on our own, but that can be made when we submit to Christ.  Last week we also talked about “Making an Idol.”  We make many things that are not inherently good or evil, into idols and thus sinful.  Anything that we love more than God  is an idol for us.

This week we move onto 1 Corinthians 8:9-13.  Here, the Spirit continues to focus on that problem among Corinthian believers – idols.  We skip right over 1 Corinthians 8-10 because, “I don’t worship idols, this is not a problem.”  That is exactly what Israel thought in the OT, as well as many churches in the NT.  There are plenty of false gods and “high places” considered perfectly normal and innocent, and lots ways for us to become addicted to the worship them.
So, let’s hear what the Spirit says to the churches…

Loving Liberty:
I.    Beware of Liberty (8:9-11)
Verse 9 says, “but beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.”   But beware” means to be ready to learn of something hazardous.  The modern battle cry for Christian liberty is like that in the church at Corinth.  They believed they “all had knowledge” (1 Cor 8:1), but knowledge without love makes you prideful (1 Cor 8:1).  If anyone thinks he knows anything, he knows nothing yet (1 Cor 8:2).  They were divided and arguing (1 Cor 1:10-11).  They were carnal and spiritually immature (1 Cor 3:1); they were still following human wisdom (foolishness to God) (1Cor 3:18-19).  They affirmed immorality that even their pagan society rejected (1 Cor 5:1), and they were even taking each other to court (1 Cor 6:7).  That’s where worshipping their liberty got them!

Again, this discussion is in response to a question asked by the church (1 Cor 7:1, 8:1).  It was sparked by an argument between them and the question was something like this, “Is it okay to eat meat offered to idols?”  Now, we don’t eat meat offered to idols, but like I said 2 weeks ago, we consume the meat offered up on our TVs, we get our fill of the meat in our sports arenas, we chow down on paychecks, bigger houses and better cars, we feast on beauty products, and all the latest fashions.  Through the Spirit, love and worship of God takes away the power of idols.  As a spiritually healthy and mature believer, idols are truly nothing, having no power over us.  However, if we are not spiritually healthy and mature, like those in the Church at Corinth, they are a problem.

Now sin is always sin, if the idol is inherently evil we have no liberty to have any interaction with it.  Period.  But if something is not inherently evil then we do have liberty, but watch out!  TV is not itself evil, but most programming involves lust, murder, pride, etc which is sinful.  Sports are not inherently evil but can be something we love more than God, making them sinful.  Paychecks, a house, and a car are not evil, but we can worship them, making them sinful.  Beauty products and clothing are not evil, but if they involve creating lust or making you prideful, then they are sinful and can be idols.

Our passage in 1 Corinthians 8 goes on to say, “but beware lest somehow this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to those who are weak.”  It’s already clear that the church at Corinth was not healthy, they were carnal and weak.  They all thought they were very spiritual, and thought that they knew what was best saying something like, “I have liberty to do whatever I want, but you are not doing right!”  For the majority, it appears, their knowledge was without love and their liberty permitted them back into idolatry.  Their love for God and each other should have put up a red flag that their liberty was a stumbling block to others.  But their heavy dose of liberty, and light dose of love made them insist upon their own liberty no matter how that affected a brother or sister in Christ.

So you’ve got people who did have some knowledge and some faith, who were being a poor examples to those who were weaker in their faith, and you had people who were still weak due to past familiarity with idols…

“For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, will not the conscience of him who is weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols?  It says that some of those with knowledge “ate in an idol’s temple.”  Hang on a second!  Eating meat at someone’s house, or buying meat in the market as in 1 Cor 10:25-28 talks about is one thing, but that is not what it says they were doing in 1 Cor 8:10.  Their “liberty” allowed them to eat IN the IDOL’S TEMPLE!  Right there where idol worship going on – this crosses over into sin.  In the pagan Corinthian temples, worship involved open immorality and all kinds of sinful activity.  What is a believer doing in that sin drenched place?!   There is a pagan temple just a couple blocks away…that gentlemen’s club.  If you saw me walking out of there and I said, “I was in there telling the girls about Jesus” you say, “yeah right!”  In such an case, the proper thing to do is tell people the Gospel when they are not engaged in the activities inside the pagan temple.  Entering such a place is subjecting yourself to things of which you should have no part. 

Our liberty can become an excuse for idolatry.  When it does a weaker brother is often emboldened to engage in outright sinful activity or interaction with an idol that can cause him great hurt and harm. Continue with 1 Corinthians 8:11, is our personal liberty so important to us that we’re unconcerned about how our influence may lead others into deeper worship of idols?  Is our liberty so important to us that we are unconcerned what may happen to someone else who gets a nod of permission from our actions or words?  We watch, talk about, and give approval to TV shows full of murder and sex.  We talk about our favorite drink, or take a glass after dinner and we are sending a clear message.  We, especially guys, joke about past escapades and, oh what fun it was!  We, particularly ladies, ear clothes that leave nothing to the imagination and wonder why our young girls dress the same way. But we say, “I have liberty!”  We even get offended at times that anyone question us about it.  

Just as knowledge without love surly leads to pride, so liberty without love surly leads to idolatry…our own, and in others.

II.   Do Not Sin Against Christ (1 Corinthians 8:12-13)
It is sin.  I my legitimately have liberty to do something because it is not inherently sinful, like owning a car, listening to music, watching sports, shopping, etc.  But again, I do not have liberty to do something if it is inherently sinful like, anything that promotes lust, materialism, pride, selfishness, etc.  Either way, if my actions or words give “permission” to another person to become involved with outright sin, or addicted to something that becomes an idol…I sin against Christ.

Then in 1 Corinthians 8:13, the Holy Spirit led the Apostle Paul to say, “if eating meat offered to an idol makes my brother stumble, I’ll never eat meat again.”  If in any way someone might have thought that his eating meat meant it’s okay to worship that idol or engage in that sin…never again!  Radical huh?  If my watching TV can lead someone to think the murderous, sex-crazed shows are okay to watch…I should never watch any TV again.  If watching football can lead someone to think that following sports is more important than following Christ…I should never watch football again.  If drinking a wine after dinner makes some kid think it’s okay to drink when they could very well end up an addict…I should never drink again.  Ladies, if wearing that top temps the guys eyes to stray or makes some young girl think that such provocative attire is appropriate…you should never wear such a thing again.  “That’s too radical preacher!  That’s legalistic!  I have my liberty!”  Yes you do, “but when you thus sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ” (1 Corinthians 8:12).

Conclusion:
I’ve said it before: sometimes the Word of God offends us.  The issue raised in these verses is, could your liberty give permission to another person to get involved in sin or some kind of idol worship?  Idolatry is loving something more than we love God.  Perhaps your liberty itself is something you love more than God, reflected by the fact you would never hold back on your liberty just so you might not offend someone for whom Christ died?

My challenge to you this week – READ 1 Corinthians 8 everyday, and pray everyday that the Lord would reveal any area in your life where you need to give up an idol and you need to give up something that could cause a brother to stumble.

Familiarity with Idols

Introduction:
We’ve all seen some idols, but there are far more idols that aren’t easy to spot.  Idols are anything more important to us than the One True God.  Idols are very prevalent all around us and the worship of idols creates all kinds of addictive, compulsive, and dysfunctional behaviors.  Last week we began 1 Corinthians 8 and we talked about “Know-it-all-ism.”  The church at Corinth thought they had all the spiritual knowledge they needed, the only problem with that is that they were already called out by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul for being carnal and spiritually immature (1 Corinthians 3:1-4).  Knowledge had made them prideful, and being prideful lead to all kinds of sin problems.  The Scriptures very bluntly tell us that if we think we know anything, we know nothing that we ought to know (1 Corinthians 8:2).  Besides “know-it-all-ism,” the church at Corinth was also given to “Ignore-it-all-ism” thinking that an idol is nothing and interacting with it or the practices involved with worshipping it were no big deal.  The only problem with that is that idols are something because they are backed by demons and we should have nothing to do with them or the practices involved (1 Corinthians 10:20). 

Thus, in 1 Corinthians 8, the Spirit began to focus on a big problem among Corinthian believers – idols.  We tend to skip right over 1 Corinthians 8-10 because, “I don’t worship idols, this is not a problem for me.”  That is exactly what got Israel into idol worship in the OT, as well as many churches in the NT.  Frankly it gets, or keeps, many of us involved in idol worship.  There are plenty of false gods and “high places” considered perfectly normal and innocent today, and lots ways for us to become addicted to the worship of idols.

So, let’s hear what the Spirit says to the churches…

Familiarity with Idols:
Knowing an idol (1 Corinthians 8:7)
The verse starts with, “there is not in everyone that knowledge.”  What knowledge, what is this referring to?  Well, remember, this entire conversation about idols began by stating that knowledge makes us prideful and if we think we know anything, we know nothing.  The knowledge the carnal church in Corinth had is being treated as a bad thing.  They thought they knew it all, when really they were spiritual infants.  Certainly their belief that an idol was nothing to worry about had contributed to their weak spiritual condition.  That is what “that knowledge” is referring to, their belief that an idol was nothing.

The verse goes onto say, “for some, with consciousness of the idol” and lets consider that phrase for a moment.  The Greek may best be stated like this, “but some, habitually familiar with an idol…” meaning to have an acute awareness, familiarity, even a habitual practice of an idol.  Idols and their worship was so ingrained into the culture in Corinth that for the most part, those new believers didn’t even realize how involved they were.  Moreover, they were apparently not listening to the Holy Spirit to this point who would have been trying to clue them in.  Then 8:7 says, until now eat (the meat) as offered to an idol.”  Several years before going to seminary, my wife and I went with a group of teens on a work trip to a camp in NY that had been damaged in an ice storm.  There were no TV’s, video games, cell phones, ipads, ipods, etc (cell phones were the size of a small fridge and iWhatevers didn’t even exist then).  In the evening some of the kids wanted to play a card game but the people running the camp forbade it!  The teens couldn’t understand this restriction, but it turns out that the camp directors had been addicted to gambling before being saved; their idol, their demon was gambling, and they worshipped that idol by playing cards.  So, lets consider 1 Corinthians 8 not in reference to “eating meat offered to an idol” but to “playing cards to an idol”…

“we know that we have all knowledge.  Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.  And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing as yet he ought to know.  But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.  Therefore concerning the playing of cards, “we know” that playing cards to an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but One.  For even if there are so called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is One God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and though whom we live.  However, there is not in everyone this knowledge, for some, with familiarity with playing cards, until now play cards as a thing offered to an idol, and because of their habitual familiarity making them weak, they are defiled.” (NKJV)

The camp directors had habitually played cards to gamble, became addicted to it, and for them playing cards was worship to that idol. Just like a drug addict, they couldn’t now play an innocent game of cards, nor could they conceive of an innocent game of cards. For others, playing cards is not worshipping an idol, whether the idol of gambling or entertainment or anything else. Playing cards isn’t inherently sinful or idolatrous, but like anything else it can be. One problem is that like a person taking that first ever drink of alcohol, you don’t know if it will become an idol and an addiction or not!

Here is one I struggled with…learned two tough lessons, and must work to make sure I don’t forget and relapse!

“we know that we have all knowledge.  Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.  And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing as yet he ought to know.  But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.  Therefore concerning that ’68 Dodge Convertible and ’72 Plymouth, “we know” that having a car is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but One.  For even if there are so called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is One God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and though whom we live.  However, there is not in everyone this knowledge, for some, with familiarity with having a car, until now drive that car as a thing offered to an idol, and because of their habitual familiarity making them weak, they are defiled.” (NKJV)

I sacrificed for those cars – lots of time, money, I loved those cars. They became idols and my worship of them was demonically driven, though I thought I was just a normal guy who really liked his car. Then God slowly began to open my eyes and firmly rip those idols from my hands. Do I still own a car? Yes. Do I have to cooperate with the Holy Spirit, worshipping God, to guard against idolatry due to past habitual familiarity with car-idol worship – YES!
We could go on and on with examples of modern-day idolatry.  It could be shopping.  For me, going to the mall is torture, and online shopping a tiresome chore unless it’s jeepparts.com (I don’t know if that is a real website or not, no advertisement is intended).  But I shop for clothes, shoes, food an most other things only because I absolutely have to or else I’ll die of starvation with no clothes on and nobody wants that.  For others, shopping is the worship of fashion, appearance, materialism, pride, or other idols.  Our familiarity with existing idols most often keeps us from realizing that they are idols, or that they are a problem.  That leads to more idolatry…

Making an Idol (1 Corinthians 8:8)
I do like the NIV’s wording here, “but food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.”  Food, playing cards, cars, shopping, and other such things don’t bring us “into God’s presence.”  These are not of themselves evil or righteous, but these kind of things, can become an idol; they can be used by demons to get our worship off of God who truly deserves it and onto something, anything, else.  Obviously there are things that are inherently sinful that can be idols too, like sex outside of marriage, gambling, and pride.  But we make all kinds of things idols, and our worship of them is addicting.

Before we started Celebrate Recovery here, I said that Christians, myself included, would benefit from what happens at CR.  I grossly underestimated how true that is…  God has used CR to open my eyes to how familiar we are with idols, and opened my eyes to how addicted we are to the worship of those idols.  Many people have thought they could worship their idols and God too because they didn’t see their idols as a problem.  The Jews in the OT had idols they thought were no problem, as did the Jews at the time of Jesus, the people in the church at Corinth, the people in the churches of Galatia, Ephesus, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Laodicea, the church of the dark ages, the church of Luther’s time, and the church in America today has idols, lots of them.  What about us?  Are we suddenly immune to the idolatry all around us?  What I’ve learned at CR is that we are familiar with idols; and they need to be torn down.  Idols of career, money, houses, pleasure, entertainment, self, family, etc…  They all must go because we are to have not other Gods before our God.  Luke 14:25-33 makes this very clear.

Conclusion:

What in your life has become an idol, and your worship of it an addiction?  What is it that you pursue more than your time with God?  What do you get more excited about than spending time with God as you read the Bible?  Can you honestly say, “nothing at all?”  What do you love more than you love God?