To Do or Not To Do?
Notes
Transcript
ILLUST: First day in Noble - Pawn shop, Liquor store
ILLUST: First day in Noble - Pawn shop, Liquor store
The Corinthian situation - explain - Jews know, Gentiles do, too, but each has a different perspective - Who’s right? (Also, halal meat…)
The Corinthian situation - explain - Jews know, Gentiles do, too, but each has a different perspective - Who’s right? (Also, halal meat…)
So What Guides Our Choices?
So What Guides Our Choices?
1) Pride
1) Pride
The source of the Corinthian problem
The source of many of our problems
Pride is really behind all sin - we think much of ourselves
Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
When we stumble, it seems like everyone sees it
When we triumph, it seems like nobody notices (God does)
Idolatry is the main issue here
Idolatry is the main issue here
Social pressure - I know it’s wrong but....everyone does it, I won’t let it affect me
Corinth - it baffles new believers that “veterans” partake in stuff like eating food linked to idols
“Rights” vs Relationships
2) Knowledge
2) Knowledge
It baffles new believers here, and unbelievers here, that people calling themselves believers and Christians partake in what they do, speak the way they do, act the way they do
(“See, I’m a Christian, and I know some things, so I’m OK doing this...”)
Paul speaks of two types of knowledge
Paul speaks of two types of knowledge
Puffs up - to the destruction of others
(Horrible comment by a preacher, un-Biblical)
The type with love/selflessness - what’s best for others
What we do with knowledge shows how we think of others
We deem people socially acceptable or unacceptable
Based on whose wisdom???
Many take action, make decisions, with little or no knoweldge of the Bible and what God says about it
That’s dangerous
We need to realize our own human limitations
This leads to humility, not pride
This is where knowledge of who we are, and Who God is, comes in
3) Strength
3) Strength
Easy for the strong to harm the weak
Easy for the strong to not help the weak
Difficult for the weak to get stronger, to grow, when they are surrounded by others who either think they are themselves strong or are actually weak.
Concerns
Corinthians were concerned about social status
What about unity in Christ?
WE can pretty much live like we want to, and justify it, and expect to be left alone - but people know and see that
What about OUR unity in Christ?
SPORTS/ACTIVITIES example, other daily life examples- how do you decide how involved to get?
Think you’re strong enough to place it above God?
It’s just for a season…HABITS FORM QUICKLY
Because you already “know all this?”
Does your stand, your position, identify yourself as a believer, or more like a “religious” lost person?
NEWSFLASH: SUNDAYS are NOT sacred anymore!
SUMMARY - It’s important to be conscious of the choices you make
SUMMARY - It’s important to be conscious of the choices you make
How they affect you
How they affect others around you
God’s Wisdom: How Closely connected to the world and this culture are you willing to be? How closely entwined do you want to be?
FACTORS:
Economic survival - Corinth faced it, we can, too
Security - how you define security will shape how you live
Pleasing God, not neighbors, friends, family
Benefit other Christians, rather than selves
TIES TOGETHER
God’s vs man’s wisdom
Who/what do you serve?
QUESTIONS
Do you WANT others to come to Jesus, to get saved, and come here and grow?
What if I have to give up something, for this to happen?
Paul said “I’d rather not eat meat if it meant that continuing to do it would cause someone to stumble/falter
“I’d rather forego something I enjoy, which by itself might be OK, something I CAN do, instead of harming someone else, causing them to stumble.”
IS THIS YOU?
Is your freedom so important to exercise that you are willing to give up the idea of unity in Christ?
People want to justify doing something, because they have the knowledge that it’s not really bad, and turn this into it’s really OK, and “leave me alone.”
A big challenge we have: Others are not as serious as we are about the Lord, church, etc. Satan will use them to try to pull us away from the Lord - this is especially challenging in families
Family visits, we miss church. Sports events, we miss church. How would they respond if we said “God comes first!”?
Jesus said His ministry would separate families, knowing that some would follow and some would not. It’s a tough balance.
CORNERSTONE
Some have similar experiences, similar issues from past, and they share convictions
Some have different experiences, different issues from the past, leading to different convictions
God says “get over the small stuff, stop worrying about your precious freedom, if it’s causing you to close yourself off from potential or other believers!
We need BOTH: Knowledge and Love
Knowledge only: arrogance, pride (all head, no heart)
Love only: can feel you are doing right, but actually not helping the cause for Christ (great charities that feel good to help, but are void of Christ.
CLOSING - Unity in Christ (vv 3-6)
CLOSING - Unity in Christ (vv 3-6)
but if anyone loves God, he is known by Him. Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one.
UNITY in Christ, verses 3-6
Step 1 - love God
Step 2 - understand then you are known by Him (ARE YOU KNOWN?)
Step 3 - Worship Him, Christ, God, the Creator
THIS is the foundational knowledge, and the more of this knowledge you have, the more you feed the growth He desires for you, the more you will love Him
The more you love Him, the more you will love others
Struggling with loving others? Check your relationship to God
Might need knowledge, might need to yield to the Spirit calling you to be selfless
WE ARE FREE IN CHRIST - USE THAT FREEDOM TO LOVE AND SERVE HIM