Removing Idols

Bottom line

We must allow love for others to guide our actions more than the knowledge we have gained.

Opening Line

Have you wondered what it would be like to serve another god other then Jesus?

Introduction

Before you start throwing stuff at me, bear with me. In the family devotion we’ve been doing with our kids, the question was asked if they could ever imagine life without God in it. For my kids, that very idea was completely foreign to them. I’ve been in full time ministry for the entirety of their life; Jesus is all they have ever known. I acknowledge that isn’t everyone’s story, but it is the story for my kids.

But I want to take that question a step further. Let’s not just ask if you could imagine your life without God in it, could you imagine your life with another god in it?

My assumption is that for many of us, the answer is no. If we’re completely honest, in southeast Saskatchewan there aren’t a slew of options. If you look at Carlyle, we have four Christian churches, a fifth that is currently meeting in a home, and a sixth that is pseudo-Christian, and if you don’t know what I mean by that, it is OK. Ask me later. But those are the only official places of worship. There’s no mosque or Buddhist temple to wander into and explore. And for many of the communities that you find yourself in, the story is very much the same.

Main Point

I start here because in our 21st century Saskatchewan context, it can be really tough to relate to the issue that Paul is talking about in chapter 8. This chapter is all about food that has been sacrificed to idols, and this was a big deal in 1st Corinth. I’ve talked a lot about the fact that Aphrodite was the most popular temple in the city, but it was far from the only one. Archaeologists estimate that there were between 26-34 different temples in the city at the time. Let that sink in. 26-34 different gods for you to choose from to worship. That meant that a good number of the believers in the Corinthian church would have come out of some form of idol worship. Some would have been Jewish and some philosophers, and these are actually the people Paul is addressing in this chapter. He is calling for a sensitivity for those who are coming out of idol worship.

Why it matters

But what do we in our day with this chapter? How do we put it into practice? Well, before we dive into chapter 8, I want to start this morning be reframing what an idol is. There may not be temples dedicated to Baal and Zeus like there was when the Bible was written, but you actually drive by temples every day, you just may not realize it.

To help me reframe what an idol is, I’m going to refer to a book called, “gods at war” written by Kyle Idleman. Some of you may remember the series, Not a Fan. That was also written by Kyle Idleman and it swept the church by storm. Great book if you haven’t read it, but this was his second book, and it is equally good. I would offer you to read it, but I’m going to be reading my copy, and I will let you know when I’m done with it.

Idleman says that in North American culture, there are essentially 3 temples, and each of these temples have three ‘gods’ within them.

1. The Temple of Pleasure

Within this temple, the gods are food, sex, and entertainment.

2. The Temple of Power

Within this temple, the gods are success, money, and achievement.

3. The Temple of Love

Within this temple, the gods are romance, family, and me. Not me specifically but yourself.

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How can you know which temple may be a problem for you? Well I believe that as each ‘god’ popped up on the screen, the Holy Spirit was already poking at your heart. I believe that you have already heard the voice of God and know which one may be an idol in your life.

But just in case you need a little reassurance, here are the questions that Idleman gives as a litmus test:

What do you sacrifice for?

What makes you mad?

What do you worry about?

Whose applause do you long for?

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Idleman goes on to say that the idols in your life can be identified by the choices you make, including what you watch on TV, what music and podcasts you listen to, and so on. What are the things you are most prone to talk about?

Now that I have dropped that proverbial bomb on each of you, and you want to chew on those little facts, I want to bring us to 1 Corinthians 8. See last week we talked about the distractions in your life that prevent you from serving God to your best. Though this may seem like a continuation of that, Paul is actually going to take the discussion a step further. Spoiler, I just want to remind you that the reason we are doing this series is not just to challenge you individually, but it is actually to grow into what you are called to be as a church!

Scripture

1 Corinthians 8:1–3 NLT

Now regarding your question about food that has been offered to idols. Yes, we know that “we all have knowledge” about this issue. But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one whom God recognizes.

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Some translations say in verse 1 that knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. I like the NLT take here. Knowledge can be a huge source of pride in an individual, and Paul is trying to draw the church back to a reminder that you actually operate from a place of love first.

When we started the series, I talked about how knowledge and eloquent speech were pitfalls for the Corinthian church. In a society that says, “Knowledge is power.” I would dare say that we fall into the same category, which makes Paul’s warning equally applicable to us. No matter how much you may think you know, remember to live and serve from a place of love first.

1 Corinthians 8:4–6 NLT

So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God. There may be so-called gods both in heaven and on earth, and some people actually worship many gods and many lords. But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live.

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As Paul is writing this, he is addressing the Jews in the crowd. They understood that the idols of Corinth were nothing more then statues that man had made. There was only one true God and he alone was worthy of worship. The act of sacrificing food to the statue was just an empty gesture.

But this was also an important teaching point for the rest of the crowd. There is only one God, and there can only be one God in your life. There is no room for idols. You can’t serve Jesus and the still go to the temple and worship the other gods. Once you declare Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He is the only God you will ever need.

In light of our idol conversation earlier, this is an important point. It is not just recognizing that you may have an idol in your life, you must also actively remove it.

Exodus 20:2–6 NLT

“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. “You must not have any other god but me. “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

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These are the first two commandments God gives the people of Israel after they are freed from Egypt. It is essentially the same commandment Jesus gave

Matthew 22:37–38 NLT

Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.

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All your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. In Deuteronomy 6, which Jesus is quoting, Moses adds with all your strength.

What is Paul saying? There is no room in your life for idols. God is jealous God, the way a husband or wife is jealous for their spouse. God will share your affection with no one and nothing else.

So you are to love one another, because love builds the church. God is the only God that you are to have in your life. What is Paul’s point?

1 Corinthians 8:7–13 NLT

However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated. It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do. But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble.

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This is the point that Paul is leading towards. You need to love your fellow believers enough, especially those that are new to the faith, to recognize the areas of life that they may have struggled with. Do not allow your freedom to cause another believer to sin. Paul’s warning about this is unbelievably strong. If you cause a fellow believer to stumble and violate their conscience, you are sinning against Christ.

Why does Paul say that? Because when you come to faith in Jesus, you become part of his body. This was Paul’s warning about sexual sin. If you sin sexually, it is the same as Jesus sinning sexually. In the same way, if you hurt the body by causing a fellow believer to violate their conscience, you are hurting Jesus himself.

This is why I will never knowingly drink alcohol. Yes, one of the reasons is because I sign a code of conduct every year saying I won’t drink in order to keep my credentials. The bigger reason is because I know a lot of believers who gave up drinking when they came to faith. They knew that Jesus had set them free from it, so why would I create the temptation for them to fall back into it?

Unfortuntately, I know a lot of people who have violated their conscience, and now have fallen away. I have a friend who was saved from alcoholism. He was active in the church and loved Jesus immensely. Then one day, he started hanging out with a fellow believer who convinced him that drinking wasn’t a violation of his faith. So he started drinking again, and it cost him his family, his marriage, and now he doesn’t want anything to do with the church.

Transition to Application

Now, many of you probably know a story that fits that description, and that’s the problem. I have lots of names that I could put to that story because I have seen it played out again and again and again. The fact that you know a tale like that just reenforces the point Paul is trying to make.

Main To Do

This is Paul’s point. Are you willing to sacrifice your freedoms in order to protect someone else’s faith and conscience? Are you willing to love a brother or sister in Christ enough to live differently to honor their journey? And in case you’re not sure what changes you need to make, here is a good starting point:

What freedom are you trying to justify right now?

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Why it matters

I'll keep picking on alcohol because I’ve already gone down this road, I’ll just take it to the conclusion. It never ceases to amaze me how many times someone has told me they don’t have a problem with drinking, yet fight me fiercely that they shouldn’t have to give it up. I’m not saying you’re an alcoholic; I’m saying it is an idol that needs to be laid down. Maybe it is for you, and maybe it is for someone in the church, but you need to lay it down. Maybe it isn’t alcohol. I’ve talked about my struggle with food and technology. Those are two idols in my life that I’m currently trying to dethrone so that God alone is on the throne of my life.

The point is that when it comes to idols, it isn’t just about doing what’s best for you. It is loving your neighbour enough to let go of the things that might cause them to stumble. That is putting love over knowledge.

Closing Line

Are you willing to do that for the church?

Discussion Questions

What stood out from the message?

Which of the temples listed do you resonate with?

Reflect on a time when you had to set aside your freedoms for the sake of another believer's faith. What did you learn from that experience?

How can we foster an environment in our church that prioritizes love over knowledge?

What steps can we take to better recognize the needs and struggles of those with a weaker conscience?

How can you identify and combat the 'idols' in your own life that could lead you away from God?

Can you think of a time when you had to forgo something you enjoy for the sake of a friend or family member's faith? How did that affect your relationship?

How can you help create a supportive community among your peers that encourages love and mutual respect?