1 Corinthians 10:18-30
On Who’s Team are You Playing
Sunday, September 26, 2021
“Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? “All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience— I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?” (1 Corinthians 10:18–30 ESV).
Key Verse: “All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” Main Point: Demonic forces are real and at work today, so we need to be sensitive to how our behavior affects other people.
I. Demonic forces are behind other religions. “What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? I imply what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God.”
II. Dabbling in other religions provokes God’s anger. “I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?”
III. Freedom in Christ is not a license to sin. “All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful, but not all things build up.”
IV. Consider how your actions will influence other people. “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.”
V. God created all things, and they are all good if used properly. “Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. For ‘the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof’.”
VI. Stick to your convictions but be sensitive to other people’s feelings. “But if someone says to you, ‘This has been offered in sacrifice,’ then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience – I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?”
Challenge: Are your words and actions having a positive influence and promoting the love of Christ with the people around you; or is your behavior actually helping the forces of evil?
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