Sermon by Rev C Bouwman on held on Sunday
Morning 3 September 2000.
Text: 1 Corinthians 10:14
"Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry."
Scripture Reading:
I Corinthians 8-9:19-23; 10:12-33
Singing: (Psalms and Hymns are from the "Book of Praise"
Anglo Genevan Psalter)
Psalm 24:1
Psalm 5:3,4
Psalm 96:2,3,4
Hymn 8:6,12
Psalm 115:1,2,5
Beloved Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ!
By the grace of the Lord, we are scheduled to celebrate the supper of our
Lord in two weeks’ time. That fact sets before us occasion today to consider
what the Lord’s supper is all about. What does Christ impress upon us when He
tells us to sit at His table? And given what the table is, are any of those whom
Christ invites allowed to decline His invitation?
In seeking answers to such like questions I set myself to studying Paul’s
words to the Corinthians as we read them in I Cor 10. In the process of studying
the passage, it became evident to me that Paul’s reference to the Lord’s
supper is not the point of the chapter. So I cannot in this sermon on I Cor 10
speak only of the Lord’s supper. Paul’s point in the passage is the
instruction of our text, the need to "flee from idolatry". Paul
supports this instruction by referring to something the Corinthians know is
obviously true about the Lord’s supper, by referring too to something the
Corinthians consider self-evident about Israel’s sacrifices in the Old
Testament and the Gentiles sacrifices in Corinth. So, as we seek to pick up
today the apostle’s instruction about the Lord’s supper, I need to speak to
you about fleeing from idolatry; it’s only by listening to this command that
we can follow the apostle’s instruction in our chapter about the sacrament.
"Flee from idolatry." Paul’s reasons for giving this command are
plain and simple. Though idols are not real gods, behind them is Satan – and
he is very real. Paul insists that joining in feasts to the idols implies
unity with the Satan behind those idols. Just as eating the bread of the Lord’s
supper implies unity with Christ…. And you cannot be united to Christ and to
Satan at the same time.
Of course, our present society does not have the physical idols that Corinth
had, nor the temples to the gods that abounded in Corinth. Yet that doesn’t
mean there is no idolatry in our society. Why (do you think) are Halls of Fame
to sports’ heroes called "shrines"? And why is it that people speak
about "gods of sport" – and the reference is to the top players? Why
are the crowds coming to watch a game called "worshipers"? Why is
carrying the Olympic Torch touted as being such a privilege? And going to the
Olympics later this month such a big thing? Surely it is because sport has
become an idolatry in our society?
One hears the same choice of language with regards to music. That religious
language is used to describe rock stars (they’re called "idols") and
their fans (they’re called "worshipers") and the stadium (that’s
the "sanctuary") all goes to show that the culture of contemporary
music involves idolatry. Paul’s instruction to "flee idolatry" is,
then, certainly not irrelevant for modern people – ourselves included.
I summarize the sermon with this theme:
THE HOLY SPIRIT COMMANDS THE SAINTS OF GOD TO FLEE FROM IDOLATRY.
- What Paul means with ‘idolatry’.
- Why one should flee from idolatry.
- How should we then live in this world.
What Paul means with ‘idolatry’
Paul’s reference to ‘idolatry’ in our text does not arise from nowhere.
Instead, in our text the apostle is drawing the conclusion of what he’s
written in the previous paragraphs of his letter. To understand his instruction,
we need to follow his line of thought leading up to our text.
The apostle had received a letter from the Corinthians in which they asked
him a number of questions. He wrote a letter in reply; the letter known to us as
I Corinthians. I read in chapter 7:1 these words: "Now concerning the
things of which you wrote to me…," and there follows Paul’s answer to
their question about marriage. Chapter 8 picks up a second question the
Corinthians asked. That’s why chapter 8 begins with these words: "now
concerning things offered to idols…." Whereas the first question, about
marriage, took Paul but one chapter to answer, this second question required
three chapters. What we have in our text is the conclusion, is the punch line of
Paul’s answer to the Corinthians’ question about "things offered to
idols."
What was the problem in Corinth in relation to idols? The Christians of
Corinth had largely grown up as heathens, pagans who worshiped the idols. This
idol worship had included participating in idol-meals, ie, sacrificing food to
idols (be it garden produce, fruits, cakes, fish, milk products, etc), and then
eating that food yourself (together with your family or your guests or your
work-mates, as the case may be). By eating the garden produce, the meat, the
fish, etc. which they’d sacrificed to the idols, the pagans of the time
expressed their unity with their god; they expressed their devotion to
this idol, their dependence on their god.
Those Gentiles of Corinth who had come to faith in Jesus Christ knew well
that there was only one God and the idols they used to serve were actually
nothing. Nevertheless we can understand that not every new Christian could
straight away get out of their minds the doctrines impressed on them from
childhood; some of these young Christians, though they knew better in their
heads, yet in their hearts continued to associate eating sacrificed food with
idolatry. Meanwhile, others in the congregation were farther in their thinking;
they insisted that since these idols were nothing the food offered to idols was
no different from any other food, and one could eat whatever one wished. Whether
an open dispute had broken out in the congregation or not is unsure, but it’s
clear that there were conflicting thoughts in the congregation on the point.
Hence their question to Paul.
In his reply, the apostle makes clear that one needs more than an awareness
that the Lord alone is God. For the simple fact of the matter is that not every
Christian has the maturity of faith that comes with knowing that the Lord alone
is God and the idols are therefore nothing. That is why Paul says in 8:1:
"Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies." The conviction that one’s
got it right inflates that person like a pair of bellows, but it doesn’t help
the second brother who doesn’t see things the same way. Knowledge needs to be
accompanied by love, love for God. The solution to the problem about whether or
not one can eat food offered to idols is then simply that one needs love, the
love that builds the other up, a love that has its origin in love for God and
therefore a genuine concern for the neighbor.
Paul brings this argument to bear on the question of eating food offered to
idols. He admits in vs 4 that "an idol" is "nothing", and
that "there is no other God but one." But, he continues in vs 7, not
everyone is so mature in faith as to be above any fears he used to have about
the idols with whom he was raised. The person who had it hammered into him from
childhood that the spirits of your diseased ancestors keep spying on you, and
hurting you when you do wrong, does not –when he comes to faith in Jesus
Christ- does not overnight shake off those pagan
patterns of thought. He may fight against that pattern of thought, but if this
young Christian is now invited by his pagan parents to a family function…, and
expected to eat food offered to the spirit of his diseased grandfather… -
we can understand, brothers and sisters, I think, the conflict of conscience
that arises in this young brother. He knows the spirit of his diseased
grandfather is not a real god, but his parents’ instruction from childhood
still makes him wary of ancestor spirits…. Should he eat that food offered to
his ancestor? He’ll want to steer clear of it, not even to associate with that
eating…, lest the fight against his childhood fears return…. Or should he
give in to encouragements from other celebrants –be they Christians or pagans-
who remind him that he believes the idols aren’t real gods anyway? Paul’s
answer: "if food makes my brother stumble, I will never again eat meat,
lest I make my brother stumble" (8:13). You see, Paul does not give a rule
to the effect that Yes, you must encourage (by word or example) the brother to
eat food sacrificed to his diseased ancestor (since the idols don’t exist
anyway). Nor does Paul give a rule to the effect that No, you must tell the
brother (through word and deed) to steer miles clear of such food. Rather, says
Paul, you must take into account the brother’s strength and weaknesses.
In other words, you need to be driven by love for him; what can he
handle?
Paul draws out that pattern of self-denial-for-the-benefit-of-the-other in
chapter 9. Paul writes that he didn’t take along a wife on his mission
travels. Why not? He writes that he didn’t insist that the congregations of
young Christians pay him some sort of support. Why not? Why instead did he
support himself by his trade in tent making? Simple: Paul denied himself certain
privileges because he wanted to place no obstacles on the path of another person’s
service to God. That is self-denial for the sake of the brother. So, 9:20,
"to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win the Jews; to those
who are under the law, as under the law so that I might win those who are
under the law; to those who are without law, as without law…, that I might
win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might
win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means
save some."
Anything, if possible become all things to all people, if that will prevent
placing obstacles before others in their service to the Christ. If eating food
sacrifices to idols will hinder a weak brother’s growth in the Lord, Paul will
become weak like that weak brother in order to help that weak brother – and
that means concretely that he’ll abstain from eating food sacrificed to idols.
Having said that, Paul moves on in chap 10 to remind the Corinthians not to
be too cocky. Apparently some of the saints of Corinth felt that they were so
strong in the Lord’s service that they’d never stumble or fall…, and that’s
why they felt free to eat foods sacrificed to idols; they were above giving an
honor to these idols. With reference to how Israel in the Old Testament stumbled
and fell into the sin of idolatry, the apostle tells the Corinthians not to be
brazen about themselves. Vs 12: "therefore let him who thinks he stands
take heed lest he fall." That is: Israel’s example should show the
Corinthians (and us!) that no one is above falling into sin. So, steer clear of
the idols, steer clear of the idol feasts. You may think you’re so strong, you
may think you’re not like the weak brother who’s afraid he’ll come under
the grip of his heathen upbringing again if he eats meat sacrificed to the
spirit of his diseased grandfather, but –says Paul-
you’re not above it. Take to heart the example of Israel and learn!
That, brothers and sisters, leads to the words of our text itself:
"therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." What the idolatry is from
which the Corinthians were to flee? Straight-out service of other gods? No,
beloved, Paul’s point is more specific. Those saints of Corinth knew the idols
were not true gods, and they weren’t about to fall down before them in worship
either. But the idolatry all around the saints of Corinth meant that from time
to time these Christians were invited to feasts dedicated to these gods – be
it birthday parties or family anniversaries or weddings, or possibly
work-related functions. And here was the big question: how should they act in
the face of such invitations? Should they consider themselves strong, above the
temptation of falling as Israel did? True, "God is faithful, who will not
allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able." In fact, "with the
temptation [God] will also make the way of escape" (vs 13). But what’s
the way of escape God provides? This, that you carry out the
responsibilities God has laid on you, and that means specifically that you
"flee" from the temptation, "flee from idolatry"!
See there, brothers and sisters, Paul’s answer to the question of the
Corinthians "concerning things offered to idols." His answer is:
"flee from idolatry." And really, we find it somewhat of a surprising
answer. For Paul is categorical; "flee from idolatry." We feel it’s
a bit too categorical…. Surely, we feel, I may join in a feast to idols and
eat food sacrificed to idols if I’m convinced that the idols aren’t
real anyway, if I’m sure I’m strong enough not to fall under the
bondage of these idols of my youth…. If I’m weak, OK, I should steer away
from the idol feasts, but if I’m strong…. And if my participating is going
to cause another to stumble, OK, then I should think again too…. But in
principle, if God gives me strength to know that the idols aren’t real anyway,
and I cause no weaker person to stumble…, surely I can accept that invitation….
Then we see the lesson for ourselves as this: as long I realize that sports’
figures aren’t gods and I don’t give them any adoration, I’m free to
attend the games. Unless, of course, my attendance makes a weaker brother
stumble, for then I should refrain out of love for the weaker brother….
But No, brothers and sisters, Paul is categorical. The Corinthians want
advice "concerning things offered to idols." And Paul’s advice is
absolute: "flee from idolatry." We want to know why Paul tells the
saints of Corinth to flee from all idolatry altogether. This leads us to
our second point:
Why one should flee from idolatry
What, congregation, is so evil about idolatry? So you’re sincere in the
service of your God and Savior, and you know that the idols you were brought up
with are empty, not real. Now your family members –they’re still pagan-
invite you to Dad’s and Mom’s anniversary celebration and you know that at
the feast you’ll have to eat foods the family has sacrificed to the spirit of
your diseased grandfather. What should you do? Accept the invitation? Paul in
chap 10:15ff asks attention for a matter self-evident to the people of Corinth.
The question is this: when the family eats food sacrificed to the spirit of an
idol, what are they saying by eating it? And when they see you eating that food,
what do they think you’re saying by eating it?
Here the apostle Paul brings in two examples to press home his point. The
first example is the Lord’s supper (vss 16f), and the second is the sacrifices
Israel ate in the tabernacle of the Old Testament (vs 18).
The first example is the most elaborate. Says Paul:
"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; for we all
partake of that one bread."
Paul speaks here about "communion of the blood of Christ" and
"communion of the body of Christ." The "blood of Christ" and
the "body of Christ" are obvious references to
Christ-in-His-Self-emptying-on-the-cross, Christ in His work as sacrifice for
sin. So the Lord’s supper speaks about the deeds of redemption accomplished on
the cross. Yet the Christ did not just die on the cross long ago, and then cease
to exist; rather, the Christ who sacrificed Himself long ago arose from the dead
and is today the Savior of the world. Indeed, this Christ instructs sinners to
sit at table with Him and He gives them "the blood of Christ"
to drink and "the body of Christ" to eat. That’s to say: the risen
Christ uses bread and wine as the means by which He binds particular sinners
to Himself, for they eat His bread, His body.
That, of course, is what makes the Lord’s supper so rich for us. This meal
is much more than a meal-of-remembrance, an opportunity to recall what Jesus
Christ did for us so long ago. When we, the Lord willing, receive in two weeks
time the bread as symbol of the "body of Christ" and the wine as
symbol of the "blood of Christ", we receive nothing less than the
assurance from Jesus Christ Himself that He makes us one with Him, that
He binds us to Himself, that the blood He shed on the cross was blood shed for
us, and that the body broken on the cross was broken for us. The Lord’s
supper celebration spells out the inseparable unity that God in Christ
has placed between Himself and us.
It’s in that light that the command to attend the table gets its
depth, its wealth. In chap 11, Paul quotes the words Jesus spoke when He
instituted the supper of the Lord. Vs 24: Jesus said of the bread, "Take,
eat," and He said of the cup (vs 25), "This do."
These are imperatives, these are commands –"take", "eat",
"do"- and we well to realize that the Lord’s
commands are not to disobeyed; disobedience is rebellion, insubordination
against the King. When He invites, I must attend; when He wants
to spell out the unity He has placed between Himself and us, I have no option
but to obey and to have that unity impressed upon me. By disobeying I
break the unity Christ obtained for me on the cross! And God does not take that
lightly; this is sin from which I need to repent.
The unity expressed at the Lord’s table, though, is not only the unity
between the guest and the host, between the person at the table and Christ.
"We, though many," says Paul in vs 17, "are one bread and one
body; for we all partake of that one bread." Paul’s point is not that
together we who sit at the table form one bread, one loaf; rather Paul
says that "we all partake of that one bread." And that one
bread is, of course, "the body of Christ", ie, Christ’s body
crucified for sinners on Calvary. In other words, those who sit at the table all
have a bond to the one Christ who laid down His life for them; they’re all
redeemed from bondage to sin by one Savior. It’s that union with
Christ which each participant at the table has which in turn forms an
inseparable bond between these participants. It’s a bond not based on emotion,
nor on friendship, nor on being agreed on how we do things; it a bond based on Christ’s
work on the cross, a bond which He imposes on each person He
invites to His table and therefore a bond He imposes between each person
He calls to His table. We realize well that where people have no union with
Christ, they can’t have true communion with each other. But the flip side is
true too, congregation. Where people don’t want communion with each other, one
cannot really speak of a true communion with Christ either.
That’s the one reason Paul gives for his command to "flee from
idolatry." And if the argument drawn from the Lord’s supper isn’t
convincing, the apostle mentions a second; he asks attention for the sacrifices
of the Old Testament – vs 18. His argument is the same; "those who eat of
the sacrifices [of the Old Testament are] partakers of the altar." That is,
there’s a unity between the altar and the eater, between the God who
receives the sacrifice from the altar and the Israelite who brings the
sacrifice. By eating the sacrifice he offered to God on the altar in the
tabernacle, the Israelite was confessing that God’s redemption was for him,
that God was not angry with him, that there was a bond, unity, between himself
and God.
Why Paul mentions these two examples – about the eater at the Lord’s
table and the eater of the Old Testament? Recall: he wants to demonstrate to the
Corinthian believers why they need to make it their business to flee from
idolatry. Should the Corinthian saints join in celebrations to the idols
because, hey, those idols don’t exist anyway? And the Christians are strong
enough not to come under the influence of their heathen upbringing? Paul grants
that one may be strong enough to resist being swept along by heathen thinking
(though he warns against being too cocky – the first part of chap 10). But one
needs to flee from idolatry –why?- because
everyone understands that eating implies unity. To eat at the table of the Lord
is to spell out the unity Christ established between the Christian and
the Christ, to spell out the unity too that Christ established between
the one Christian and the other; that’s common knowledge. To eat the sacrifice
of the Old Testament was also to point up the unity that God placed
between the sinner and Himself; that’s common knowledge. And it’s the
same in the worship of the idols. When you eat food offered to idols, when
you participate in the idol feast, you are saying –and certainly are seen
to be saying- that there is a bond of some sort
between you and that idol. You may say it’s not the case, there is no bond
since idols don’t even exist, are not real. But, says Paul, vs 20, behind the
idols are the demons, and it’s through idols that the demons gather praise for
the devil. That’s a reality the Corinthians need to bear in mind, lest they
end up having "fellowship with demons" (vs 20). Why, then, the
instruction to "flee from idolatry"? Because, vs 21,
"You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you
cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons."
To participate is to state that there is unity between yourself and the idol
– and therefore actually between yourself and the demons behind the idols.
"Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." Flee not just because you
may be ensnared again in the heathen teachings of your youth, but flee because
any participation in idol worship involves you in a statement, a
statement to the effect that there is a bond between you and that idol. And that’s
a message a child of God does not want to give.
That leaves us yet our last point:
How should we then live in this world
Here, we understand, is concrete instruction for us when it comes to the gods
of our world. What message do we give when we place ourselves in the same crowd
as worshipers of sport and sport heroes? Or when we can talk sport as much as
those of town going to Sydney this month? What message do we give when we place
ourselves in the same crowd as those who go wild in response to a godless rock
concert? We may say: those sports figures, those musicians are only
people, and we’re there only for entertainment. Maybe so. But the fact of the
matter is that you’re seen to join the mindset of the crowd. Besides,
here it’s true too that demons are so very active, gathering praise not for
God but for the evil one…. And –vs 22- we dare
not "provoke the Lord to jealousy," surely….
But the concrete reality, for the Corinthians and for us, is that the worship
of the gods had spill over effects into all of life. The Christian mothers of
Corinth, like the Christian mothers of today, went shopping. And in the markets
they bumped into all kinds of evidences of the days’ idolatry. For the mothers
of Corinth it meant that much of the meat in the marketplace came from the
temple butchers; more animals were offered to the gods than the worshiper could
eat, and the leftovers were sold to the public. For the mothers of today it
means that with a packet of weetbix you can receive a card with the face and
particulars of a known sports figure. What should the mother do – leave the
meat, leave the weetbix on the shelf? Says Paul in vs 25:
"Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for
conscience’ sake; for ‘the earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.’"
In other words: ignore where the meat comes from, for all belongs to God. And
don’t let a card in a box stop you from buying the weetbix.
But what if somebody specifically says that the meat you have in your trolley
comes from the temple butchers? What if the children want the weetbix for the
sake of the card? Then the matter is different, for then you may well be placing
an obstacle on this other person’s path, an obstacle that hinders him from
acknowledging that the Lord alone is God. For then your buying it could be
interpreted as you saying that there’s a unity between you and the idol,
interpreted as you saying that you want the weetbix for the sake of the sports
figure on the card inside the box. And that doesn’t help the other person in
acknowledging that the Lord alone is God. It all boils down to the instruction
of vs 31:
"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to
the glory of God."
That is: whether you’re deciding to eat or not to eat, whether you buy meat
or weetbix, whether you’re at a family function where sacrifices are made to a
diseased ancestor or at a footy game, do all to the glory of God. And some
things, at some places, simply do not give glory to God.
"Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry." Amen.
Back To > Sermons
[ Top | Eschatology | Bible Studies | Classics | Articles | Sermons | Apologetics | F.A.Q. | Forum ]