Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of 1st Corinthians chapter 10 1st Corinthians chapter
10 Lord willing I'd like to finish
this chapter this evening dealing with verses 15 through 33 and
The Apostle Paul has been dealing with a subject
that sets forth that all that came
out of Egypt were not the elect of God. There were many of whom the Lord, the scripture
says, was not. pleased. What they had done,
they lusted after evil things. That is, they desired things
that they remembered, that they had in Egypt. But they weren't
satisfied with what God had provided, the manna. We want the onions
and the leeks and the garlic. That's what we want. We want
some flesh. We want flesh. The scripture
says that they were found to be idolaters, many of them. Not
all of them, but many of them were idolaters. Now, there's
a good explanation in Romans chapter 1, verse 22. Turn there,
Romans 1, 22-25, concerning this evil. that they did. It's idolatry.
Romans 1, 22-25. The scripture sets forth, verse
22, Romans 1, professing themselves to be wise. They became fools and changed
the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to
corruptible man. to birds, four-footed beasts,
creeping things. Wherefore, God also gave them
up to uncleanness through the lust of their own hearts to dishonor
their own bodies between themselves, who changed the truth of God
into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than
the Creator, who is blessed forever Amen. Brother Henry Mahan made
a statement, a comment on that passage, and I'm just going to
read you what he said. I thought that was so good. He
said, man's great mistake is to seek the wisdom of God by
his own thoughts and understanding. That is to say, to draw God down. to man's own low condition by
having some kind of an image, a picture, a statue, or some
religious relic, he said, to assist in worship. They've got to have some kind
of something to look at, you know. Got to have a cross on
the wall or something. the truth of God. We worship
Him by faith, by faith, not by sight. I remember years ago,
Mark, you know, years ago, I was coming up, false religion, and
there were these statues, these statues all over the place. They'd
have all kinds of things in there, I don't know, things, stuff in
their hand, burning crosses or something, I don't know, I can't
remember what, burning heart or something. And I remember
being told as a little child, I said, now we're not worshiping
that. It just helps us. It just helps us. The scripture
sets forth that they were idolaters. They had to see something. They
were fornicators, giving themselves or associating themselves with
Heathen worship. Now I'm going to get into this
in just a minute. Paul has explained all these
things happened to them. as examples for us. And tonight,
I'm gonna get into the latter part of this chapter, and it's
gonna bring it right down to where we are today, about what
they were doing then and how relevant it is for us now. And then the last thing they
did, I mean, next to the last thing they did, they tempted
the Lord's dealings with them. They questioned his providence. Why? They said to Moses, Why
have you brought us out into this wilderness to die? We had it a whole lot better
in Egypt. Whenever we began to question
the providence of God, as the Lord orders things and directs
things, and for us to question His providence, I'm telling you,
we're all prone to do it. Things work out the way they
work out. And we gripe about it, complain
about it. That's what they did. And God
sent fiery serpents, biting them and killing them. Told Moses,
make a brazen serpent, hold it up. And the last thing they were
doing, they were constantly murmuring. They were grumbling and complaining. against the Lord and Lord's prophet,
against Moses. They were always griping about
everything, griping, griping, griping, murmuring on and on. And the Lord killed them, killed
them in an unusual way we dealt with that, how many of them died. Now, the verse 13 says, but to
God's people, there had no temptation taken you but such is his common
demand. But God's faithful, who will
not suffer you to be tempted above that which you're able,
but will with the temptation also make a way of escape that
you may be able to bear it." And then he gives this warning. He said, wherefore, my dearly
beloved, flee from idolatry. Flee from that which is revealed
to be forbidden. Flee from that which is revealed
in God's Word to be offensive to the Lord. Flee that. Don't
be found. Don't be found. God will sustain
us. God will keep us. Flee those
things. Leave them. Don't entertain them. Shun that for which Scripture
reveals that many have had the Lord's providential restraints
withdrawn and has left them to the pollution of their old nature. Things that would attempt to
steal our affection, steal our love, our worship, and be a hindrance
to God's people. Flee those things, you know.
Then Paul is now going to give the heart of what he's leading
up to. All these things that happened
to these people, what they fell into, what they were doing, what
they started associating with people in those places, idolatry
and murmuring. And Paul says, flee those things,
flee those things. Now let's get down now to the
heart of what he's been coming up to. that's relevant for us
today. Now he says in verse 15, I speak
as to wise men, judge ye what I say. Now, Paul said, I'm speaking
to men, to women that claim to be believers. And he said, I
want you to judge. You listen to what I'm saying. And you, hearing what I'm saying
in relationship to the Word of God, you judge for yourself,
Paul says, what I'm telling you, and you discern these things
according to God's Word as the Spirit of God has taught His
people. He said now, and I want to, let
me just tell you this so you'll understand where he's going with
this. He's going to pick up on a subject
that he had dealt with previously and I know that's what he's doing
because that's what he begins to talk about. And he's talking
about, he's going to be talking about whenever they would, you
know, had a question about eating meat that was offered to idols. Is it okay? What's your thoughts,
Paul, on that? And he's going to pick up on
that subject, but as he begins to deal with it, he's going to
qualify what he's saying concerning eating meat. And when I'm saying
eating meat offered to idols, I'm talking about, and Paul is
talking about, associating with those that are in worship services
that are not teaching the gospel of God's grace. He's talking
about being and associating with people that don't preach the
gospel. Now that's what he's talking
about, talking about eating meat. Heathen worshipers, they'd have
these sacrifices, you know. He's talking about now, he's
going to talk about services. Lord's Supper in different places.
Now listen to what he's got to say. May the Spirit of God teach
us all this evening. He says, he said, now the cup
of blessing, verse 16, which we bless, is it not the communion
of the blood of Christ. Now he's going to be taking up
now, he's going to start off his explanation to try to teach
these people concerning this question that they have. What
about meat offered to idols, Paul? Can we do that? Can we
not do that? What should we do? He said now,
he's going to start off by talking about the Lord's Supper. That's
what he's talking about right here. If we get into to what
the Lord will and when we get into 1 Corinthians 11. That's
where we always read. Every time we have the Lord's
Supper, we're in 1 Corinthians 11. That's where I'm getting
that from. I'm in 1 Corinthians 10. He's starting to lead up
now on the Lord's Supper. He begins to, he's talking about
the significance of the Lord's Supper. He said, now, now he
said, now you listen, you judge what I'm saying. He said, the
cup of blessing which we bless, Is it not the communion of the
blood of Christ? That is to say the cup of God's
gracious blessing to up. Now that cup, now when we have
the Lord's Supper, we've got a little cup and it's got wine
in it. And I've got a little piece of
bread. And it's real bread, it's really bread, and that's really
wine. Paul refers to that as this cup
of God's blessing. It was that cup, that cup that
we actually drink out of. It sets forth, you know what
it sets forth, it sets forth the shed blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He said, now that cup of blessing,
God's blessing, that the Lord Jesus Christ gave to us, he said,
that cup which we bless, which we're thankful for, which we
thank the Lord for, we pray and thank God for the privilege,
we ask the Lord's blessing to our hearts for the privilege
to drink of that cup. And as we're drinking, are we
not doing something? The cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? He said,
now are we not admitting something here? Are we not saying that
we're partaking? Why are we partaking of that?
Are we not saying that we believe by faith? that we're having communion
with the Lord. The Lord who is now with us and
we're drinking by faith in communion with Him just as He was with
His disciples that night in which He was betrayed. He said where
two or three are gathered And believers are one. They're in
communion. They're together in heart. They bind themselves together.
Here we are. Now we're in communion. God's
people are. We're in communion. And when
we drink of that cup, Paul said, are we not saying that what we're
actually doing is we're acknowledging the true and living God? who
gave us of himself, who shed his blood and we drink together
with one heart in thankfulness, acknowledging his mercy and compassion
as needy creatures of the dust. Is that not what we're saying?
Somebody might say, well now that, wait a minute, now wait,
hold it. That cup, now that cup, I pour
out and I put them in here, I put them in trays, these men pass
them out. They said, now that's just a cup of wine. Nope. No, sir. I beg to differ with
you. That is not just a cup of wine,
because it is wine. And it wouldn't be a thing in
the world wrong, having a glass of wine, just to have a glass
of wine. If that's what you wanted to
do, don't break any laws over it. Don't let yourself get carried
away with it. but there's nothing inherently
wrong with that wine, but when that wine is poured into that
little cup and we come together in a service of worship, and
we're here for the express reason to have communion with the Lord
in the way that He prescribed for us to come together. No,
sir, it is not just a cup of wine. That, according to the
scriptures, what we're doing by that cup right there, it's
just wine, but it's not just wine. We are worshiping and remembering
the Lord's shed blood. Paul calls it here the cup of
blessing. The cup of the Lord's blessing.
The Lord has given it. We're worshiping. And we're worshiping
and have communion with the God of the Bible. Is there anything
mysterious about that wine? No, sir. But it's what it symbolizes. It's a thing when we come together. You know, sometimes we just go
into church. No, sir. Not God's people. They're not
just showing up for just, you know, any haphazard reason. I'm
telling you, This is a time of worship. There's something special
when God's people come together in union and love and fellowship. There's something special there.
He said, when you come together in my name, remembering me, He
said, I'm in the midst of you. When God is in the midst of us,
it's not just another meeting. It's not just another service.
This is the God-ordained means whereby God's people, by faith,
participate in the finished work of Christ and the benefits of
it. So we don't treat the taking
of the Lord's supper irreverently. We don't do that. We don't say,
well, it's just wine. No, sir. I said, there's nothing
mysterious about it. There's nothing mysterious about
that little piece of bread. It's just a piece of bread, but
it's the significance we treat. It's the cup of blessing, cup
of blessing that we bless. And then he says also in verse
16, And he says, the bread which we break, is it not the communion
of the body of Christ? Now that bread does not become
the body of Christ. I've been taught that, but it
doesn't. That's not the body of Christ. It is the symbol of
the communion that we have. with Christ concerning his broken
body. This is the way that he prescribed,
that he set forth that we would worship him. When we break and
eat that bread at the Lord's table, we're in communion. We're fellowshipping. We're remembering
him. We're partakers of the benefits
of his broken body. That's what he said. When I eat
that piece of bread by faith, What I'm saying, in accordance
to the Lord's command, He said, this, do. You do this, and you
do it reverently. You do it respectfully. You know,
we don't flippantly do it. You do this in remembrance of
me. Worship in the one who's the
head of the body. He says, look, verse 17, for
we being many are one bread and one body. For we're all partakers
of that one bread. No matter how many we are. The number is not the issue.
God's people are God's people. Whether Jew or Gentile, we partake
of the supper of the Lord in communion, and we're remembering
the living Christ. We take of that bread together
in heart and in fellowship, and we worship Him as one body. When we're coming together, there's
a lot of different people here, but I'm gonna tell you something.
God's people is one body. We're one body. We love each
other. We defend each other. We have
each other's back. We're in communion with one another. We love each other. We worship
Him as one. Why? Because we're brethren.
We're brethren. Look at verse 18. Now listen
to this. He said to remember. He said, think back, behold,
consider this, Israel after the flesh. Are they not they which
eat of the sacrifices, partakers of the altar, with natural Israel? Whenever the priests and the
Levites, those that ministered about the tabernacle, laid the
sacrifices on the altar, that part which was to be consumed
upon the altar, there was a portion of some of those sacrificed,
not all, the burnt offering they couldn't eat anything, that was
for the Lord, they couldn't eat that. But there were other sacrifices
that they could eat of, they could partake of. Now he said
whenever they would eat of the sacrifices, there were Were they
not being partakers of the altar? What does he mean? He said when
they ate of that portion that the Lord allowed them to eat,
the priest and the Levites, they did so in communion with each
other. They were eating it together
and they were showing themselves to be worshipers of the God of
Israel. The God that had given them The
law. The God that they worshiped.
This is what they were doing. They were worshiping God in the
prescribed manner. The Lord's revelation. So Paul
then asked this. He said, now think about this.
He said, when we eat the Lord's Supper, we're doing that. That's a cup of blessing. That's
not just a ritual. That cup that we bless, that
bread that we eat, that broken body, we're doing that in communion. He said even back then, when
they were eating their portion of the sacrifices, they were
doing that in the prescribed manner. That was God's setting
forth, showing the communion that God has with his people. And then he said in verse 19,
he said, what say thine? What am I saying then? What say
I then? Knowing that the Israelites,
when they partook of that sacrifice, they were worshiping the true
and living God. He said, now, let's consider
something else now. On the other side of the table,
those that are worshiping these idols. He said, what say I then
that the idol is anything or that which is offered in sacrifice
to idols is anything? He said, am I saying that Though
Israel worshipped the true and living God, he said, am I saying
that these that are over here that are worshipping these idols,
are they worshipping one that's true and living? No, no, no. Now Paul's going to get back
to something. Now he's going to answer a question that was
asked. What is God's word concerning
eating meat that was offered to idols? Now, he told them,
he said, I want you to know something. He told them back then, he said,
now listen, that meat is meat. You buy a ribeye, and you'd offer
it to an idol, and you know it was still a ribeye, and it was
just meat. You know, it was just meat, you
know. But he said, I want you to understand something. It's
truly just meat. But, with the memory that believers,
when they eat of the Lord's Supper, in that ordinance that we have,
the Lord's Supper, we're worshiping the true and living God. He said,
I want you to know something. The God we worship is living.
The God, the little G God that everybody else is worshiping,
he said, that idol is nothing. It's nothing. It's nothing more
than a figment of an imagination. It's not a real anything. And
that which is offered in sacrifice to idols, it's nothing too. It's not anything. That which
is offered to idols has no significance whatsoever. He says in verse
20, he said, but I say that the things with the Gentile sacrifice,
unbelievers, unbelievers is what he's saying. He said that which
they sacrifice to devils and not to God, and I would not that
you should have fellowship with devils. Now he's gonna get down
to the heart of it right here. He said, regardless, of what
false religionists say they're doing when they assemble to worship. Let me just say it so you can
understand what I'm meaning. We here partake of the Lord's
Supper. And when we partake of the Lord's
Supper, we are, by faith, worshiping the true and living God. We're
worshiping Him who is alive. He's alive. And He's here. He's here. And we're convinced
that the one we worship is the God of this Bible. Now, there
are other assemblies where the gospel of God's grace is not
preached. Where a message of man's free
will is exalted. That God saves men according
to their works. You know what I'm talking about.
It's Arminianism is what it is. It's man-centered, God dishonoring,
false religion. It's not the gospel. It's not the gospel. And Paul
refers to them as Gentiles. I say that the things with the
Gentile sacrifice, he said, though they say. And I'm telling you
that you can go into churches where they will also have what
they say is the Lord's Supper. And they're going to take a little
cup, they won't use wine, I guarantee you. They'll use grape juice
and they'll get a piece of bread. And you know what they're going
to call it? They're going to call it the Lord's Supper. They
have what's called the Lord's Supper. They go through a service
just like we do. It looks just basically, it looks
the same thing. But there's one big difference.
When I say that we're worshiping the God of this Bible, it's the
cup of blessing. It's the cup of the blessing
of the Lord that we bless, that we're thankful for. serving the
true and living God, sovereign God, electing, true, sovereignly
redeeming God, truly, sovereignly regenerating and keeping God. God Almighty, as He's revealed
in this book, this is the God that we're eating bread and drinking
wine in worship unto because that's what He said to do. Now
when somebody else does the same thing, And they say that they're
worshiping God and it's not the God that we're worshiping right
here. You know what Paul reveals that to be? I say, verse 20, that the things
with the Gentile sacrifice is sacrifice to devils and not to
God. And I would not that you should
have fellowship with devils. Meat offered to idols, that is
nothing more than just meat. It's not in a religious service,
it's just meat. But what Paul is saying is this,
if you are somewhere, if you were to be, and I'll tell you
this, he even gets down to even the forbidden, he said, don't
even go to the services. But if you're found to be in
a situation And there's a religious service where the true and living
God is not preached and a false gospel is proclaimed. It's not
a light and insignificant thing if you're engaging in what they're
doing. If somebody was somewhere, so
you understand, I want you to understand exactly what I'm saying.
If you were in a service and they were having what they call
the Lord's Supper, and you'd say, well, you know
what? I know it's just wine. It's really not. It's just a
piece of bread. Paul said, I would not that you
should have fellowship with devils. Is it wrong to take and drink
in communion with someone that is not preaching or believing
the gospel of God's grace? Is it wrong to partake with them? Yes. Yes. This is what Paul is saying. He said, verse 21, you cannot
drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot
be partakers of the Lord's table and of the table of devils. That
is just as plain as it can possibly be. He said you can't play both
sides of the fence. The God that they say they're
worshiping is not the God we worship. He's not. And to sit and to give them the
idea that you're partaking with them, Paul said, this is what
you're doing. It's just bread, it's just wine. No. No. It's a sacrifice unto demons.
Because there is no God but one God. You're worshipping no other
God if you're not worshipping the God Look at verse 22. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? Are
we foolish enough to think that we can provoke God to jealousy? Now, here's the thing. Almighty
God has declared Himself to be a jealous God. Look at Exodus
20. Exodus 20, verse 3 to 5. I was saying at the beginning
of this service, I'm gonna bring it right down to the heart of
where we are now. We can talk about, you know,
when they came out of Egypt and into wilderness. Well, I'm gonna
talk about right now. What is God's word for right now? Exodus
chapter 20, verse three to five, thou shalt have no other gods
before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee
any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven
above, or in the earth beneath, or is in the water under the
earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. I looked up that word serve. It means to be led by or enticed
in worship. Exactly what I was talking about
when I had somebody tell me, say, well, we don't really worship
that statue. We don't really worship that.
I'm not really worshiping that crucifix on the wall. Don't put it there. He said,
is it wrong? It is wrong. Is it wrong? It's wrong. Thou shalt not bow
down thyself to them, nor serve them. For I, the Lord, thy God,
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children of the third and fourth generation of them, that
hate me. Look at Exodus 34. Exodus 34,
verse 12 to 15. Exodus 34, 12 to 15. Take heed yourselves, lest thou
make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, whither thou goest,
lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee. But ye shall destroy
their altars, break their images, cut down their groves, for thou
shalt worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous,
is a jealous God. Lest thou make a covenant with
the inhabitants of the land, and they go a-whoring, after
their gods, to do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee,
and thou eat of his sacrifice." Listen. Is it okay to partake
in, to fellowship in, to have communion with, to be going and
sitting and listening to someone proclaiming a false god? Is it
okay? Not for a believer. No, sir. God Almighty said, I am a jealous
God. I mean, we have God's Word on
this. Don't enter in to their services. I don't know any other way to
say it. Neil, I can't say it any simpler than I'm saying it.
I don't know how to say it. Look back at 1 Corinthians 10.
Verse 23, 24. All things, Paul says, are lawful
for me, but all things are not expedient, they're not profitable.
All things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Let
no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth. Listen,
brethren, we're free in Christ. We're free in Christ. And there's
nothing in itself that's unlawful. But all things, though they're
not unlawful, is there anything wrong with eating a piece of
roast? No. Unless that piece of roast
is being used in a religious service back then, or whether
it's what they call the Lord's Supper now, whatever it is, if
it's a part of a worship service where the heathen is saying,
I'm worshiping God, is it right to partake with them? No. No,
sir. Paul said all things are lawful,
but all things are not constructive. So the building up of a brother
or sister. Don't seek your own pleasure
at their expense. Remember who they are. If someone is offended, if a
brother has a weak conscience, I'll deal with it in just a second.
I know it's coming up. I'm going to mention it. If a brother's
sister's got a weak conscience, they're not convinced on something.
What should you do? If it's okay for you, what should
you do? If it's gonna offend a brother
or sister, don't do it. Don't do it. Look at verse 25,
26. Here we go, right here. Whatsoever sold in the shambles,
a meat market is what that means. That eat, asking no question
for conscience sake. For the earth is the Lord's and
the fullness thereof. That meat bought in a meat market,
maybe that piece of meat was used in a heathen worship. If
it was, so what? You can buy it and eat it and
don't ask any questions because it doesn't matter. Why? Because
the earth is the Lord's in the fullness thereof. He made everything
for His glory and for the good of His people. Maybe it was,
maybe it wasn't. Don't even ask. What difference
does it make if it was? But now in verse 27 to 29, he's
going to qualify something. If any of them that believe not
bid you to a feast, he said, now you go to a meat market,
you walk in, you're looking in the counter there, and say, I
tell you what, that roast beef looks pretty good right there.
I think I'll take three pounds of that right there. OK. If it
was offered to an idol, what difference does it make? Don't
even ask. It doesn't make any difference.
That's what he's saying. Whatsoever is sold, that eat,
asking no questions. What difference does it make?
Eat it. But now he says in verse 27,
if any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and you be
disposed to go, whatsoever is set before you, eat it. Asking
no question for conscience sake, but If any man say unto you,
this is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake
that showed it, and for conscience sake, for the earth is the Lord's
and the fullness thereof. Conscience, I say, not thine
own, but of the other. For why is my liberty judged
of another man's conscience?" Now, what did he say? He said,
as long as the issue of whether the meat was offered to an idol
doesn't come up, Just eat it. Just go ahead and eat it. If
it didn't come up, it doesn't make any difference. But if the
issue comes up, and if there is an unbeliever that's informed
you, now this right here, this right here is special meat. This
meat was offered unto my idol, unto my God. then that meat now,
according to him, to him, now is an object of worship. And
Paul says, don't eat it. Don't eat it. Now, why? Because
now you'd be communing in his mind with him that you're with
him. Paul said, don't eat it. Or,
he said on the other hand, if a weak brother, for conscience
sake, his conscience sake. If he'd be offended, you know
that, I don't know if you should eat meat, you know. If that unbeliever
says this is an issue of worship right here, Paul said don't eat
it for that sake. If he says it's a piece of meat
and we're communing with my God, if you eat it, Paul said I ain't
eating it. How about if a believer sees you? He knows that it was
a piece of meat offered to an idol. Should you eat it for conscience
sake? No. Paul said, because I don't
want to be one to offend a brother. I'm not going to enter in with
you in that false worship, and I'm not going to offend a brother.
If it's not an issue, that's fine. But, he says, and he said
in verse 29, he says conscience, when he's talking about conscience,
I say, he said, not my own, not thine own, but the other. For
why is my liberty, he asked a question here, If you're tempted to ask,
you know, you say, look, look, look, look, look, look. That
piece of meat I know is nothing. I know it was offered to nothing.
I know it's just a piece of meat. But you may be tempted in your
heart to say, well, OK, if I know that that meat is nothing, and
I like that kind of meat, why Am I to be judged by somebody
else? Why is my liberty, my liberty
in Christ, why is my liberty judged of another man's conscience? Why should I let another man's
conscience govern my liberty? That's what he's saying. Why? The scripture says, verse 30,
for if I, by grace, be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of? For
that which I give thanks. If I'm doing what I'm doing according
to the scriptures, I'm walking in the liberty wherein Christ
has made me free. I'm giving thanks for what the
Lord's given me. and I know that the meat's nothing,
why should I be criticized for it, for doing what the Lord has
said I'm free to do? Why should I do that? Well, two
reasons. Number one, because we're not
going to give that man, that unbeliever who made that piece
of meat a part of worship. I'm not going to partake with
him because The scripture reveals that what I'd be saying to him
in his mind is, I agree with you. That's the first reason
not to do it. But the second reason not to do it is because
I'm not going to offend a brother over a piece of meat. I'm not going to get into a squabble
with a brother over something that don't matter. That's what
he's saying. This man that is loved and redeemed by Christ, this
man that Almighty God everlastingly loved, if he's weak in the faith
and he doesn't understand, I am not going to offend a brother
over that. Paul said, here's the way we're
going to sum this thing up. Verse 31, whether therefore you
eat or you drink or whatever, whatsoever you do, do all to
the glory of God. Is it worth offending a brother
over something that doesn't matter? No, sir. No, sir. I'm not going to give an unbeliever
a false confidence in saying, I'm with you. I'm going to partake
with you and give you a false hope in that false gospel, in
that false God, but I'm not going to offend a brother. We may have
all the liberty in the world to do that which God has permitted
us to do, but if a brother is offended at our liberty, abstain
from it, Paul says, for the glory of God and for their good. Don't
be an offense to another brother or sister over something that
has no significance. Strive. Strive to be an encouragement,
a help, an example of faithfulness to the glory of God. And then
he closes. He says give none offense. neither to the Jews
nor the Gentiles, to the church of God, even as I please all
men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit
of many that they may be saved. If the glory of God is truly
my concern, I'm going to be found careful to not needlessly offend
a brother or sister. I'm not going to give, I am not
going to give an unbeliever, I'm not going to tell A false
preacher. I'm not going to tell a false
preacher. I agree with you. I'm not going to enter into a
service with him. I'm not going to eat with him
in the fellowship of what he calls the Lord's Supper. I'm
not going to listen to him. I'm not going to give him a hearing.
Come out from among them. Be separate, Paul says. He said
this is what God killed a lot of them for. He told them. He said don't. Don't go after
their gods. Don't fellowship with them. Stay
away from them. And what did they do? They did
it. They did it. They were spiritual fornicators. They were idolaters. And God
gave them over. Is it the right thing to fellowship
with God's people where Christ is honored, where God is honored,
where the gospel is preached? Is that the right thing to do?
Yes, sir. Is it right to listen to anything
other than the God of this Bible being preached? No. Don't do
it. I pray that the Lord teach us
concerning the seriousness, the seriousness of worship, worshiping
the true and living God. God is a jealous God. He said, I'll have no other gods
before me. I pray that God bless these words
to our heart for Christ's sake.