Seek the good of others

Well, good evening, everyone. Thank you so much for your warm welcome, Willie. And let me bring

the prayers and the greasings of your brothers and sisters in Grace Church Montrose. It's wonderful,

really, really is wonderful to be with you. As we read from 1 Corinthians, would you please

open up back up there if you'd close your Bibles? That's where we're going to be spending all our

time together this evening. And let's pray, let's ask God in prayer one more time for his help

as we open it up and dig into it together. God, our Father, we pray this evening, please

speak clearly to us. Help us to understand how we as your people should live in a way that

honors you and seeks the best for others. Pleased by your Spirit, the Spirit who inspired your

words, illuminate it for us this evening, so that we would not just be hearers of your

words, but doers of it as well. Work through us and in us this evening, we pray in Jesus'

name. Amen. Amen.

Now let me open up a time together, just asking you a question. I wonder if any of you know

how many selfies somebody in their early 20s is predicted to take in a lifetime. I wonder if any

of you have got a guess. How many selfies do you think somebody is predicted to take? We've got quite

a quiet audience in here. For those who are online, there is no one speaking at all. The answer is, how

many? A thousand. A thousand in a lifetime. No, the number is 25,700 selfies somebody in their early 20s is

predicted to take in their lifetime. Or to put it into another metric, people are predicted to take,

spend 53 hours per year taking selfies. 53 hours per year taking selfies. If that's you and you need to

seek help, come and talk to one of the elders afterwards. I'm sure they'd like to pray for

deliverance for you on that. One of my slight bugbears is I gave up social media a while ago,

but every so often I look over my wife's shoulder and look at her pictures, whether that's on

Instagram or Facebook or whatever it is. You know, historically what you would do if you had a camera,

what you would have done is you would have looked in an event and you would have looked through a lens

and taken a picture of something. But what happens now is instead you turn the picture against you,

your phone against you, and now you become front and centre. And where my issue is, is when it comes

to pictures of weddings. So often I see pictures of people going to weddings, but I never see a

picture of the people actually getting married. Normally it's a picture of the selfie of the two

people or the one person who's been, and you never find out who it was that got married or how they

looked or how they dressed. What we're looking at this evening together is a passage in a letter that

Paul wrote to the early church in Corinth. And what he wants them to do, what God wants us to do,

as his people, is to decenter ourselves. Take ourselves out of the centre of the frame

and seek to put God in his glory and others in their good right in the centre of it.

And particularly the goods that Paul speaks about here, what he's doing in this section of 1 Corinthians

that we've come to the end of here, I'll explain a little bit more about that as we go along,

is he wants to make sure of the salvation of all his brothers and sisters and those who he meets in

his community. And where we are here is at the end of a section in 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 8

1 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

through to 11 verse 1. And here is the culmination of his arguments. What Paul is doing is he's trying

to help the church in Corinth think about what does it look like to live as God's people in a world

that rejects and ignores God. What does it look like for those who have been transformed by the grace of God,

whose lives have been turned upside down to live in a world that is the other way around to the way we now see the world?

You see, what Paul says is that those who have believed in Jesus

are now shaped by a wisdom that looks totally opposite to what the world pushes forward.

A wisdom that is rooted in the fact that Jesus, the King of all creation,

came to die on a cross, living in poverty amongst people whom he came to save and was rejected by.

And so what Paul wants us to do is to de-centre ourselves and our chief consideration must be

the salvation of others and the glory of God. And that shapes all that we do.

This whole section is deeply helpful for you on that front. I'd really encourage you to read through it.

But I've got two big points for you this evening. If you're those people who like to take notes,

I've got two points for you. And the first point this evening is this. Eat and don't eat.

Eat and don't eat. Now it's my fault I should have said that we should have read from verse 23.

So let me just read it for completion's sake. Verse 23, Paul says this,

I have the right to do anything, you say, but not everything is beneficial. I have the right to do anything,

but not everything is constructive. You see, this is kind of sums up what Paul is trying to do here.

While the Christians have the ability to do certain things, while they have been freed by the grace of God,

that is not what is to shape the decisions that they make.

Their rights must be set aside when they're seeking the good for others.

Responsibility over rights, we might say.

And so here, what Paul is saying, and he kind of gives us a few case studies here,

is he's saying this, eat and don't eat. Have a look at those two case studies with me.

Verse 25,

Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,

for the earth is the Lord's and everything in it.

So here, the first case is, imagine this, you're going to the local market and you are walking along

and you're walking in your tweed jackets, one of those lovely kind of middle class markets,

and you're walking along and you walk past and you see this venison in one corner

and you see this lamb in another, you see this chicken in another place and pork in another.

And what Paul is saying is, as you walk down and you're looking at these different meats,

you're not to worry about where they've come from.

You're not meant to pull aside the man or the woman who's manning the stall and say,

where did this come from?

What happened to it before it came here?

Who touched it?

How was it killed?

Who was it sacrificed to?

What Paul is saying here is, don't worry about that, it's all.

Your conscience need not be panged on that front.

Fear not, you can eat this food however you want.

Or here's the other scenario that we get.

Verse 27,

If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go,

eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience.

What Paul is saying here is, imagining that you're invited around to a meal,

you've sat down at a table, the food is put in front of you.

Once more again, you don't need to stop and say,

hey, where did this come from?

Who touched it on the way?

How was it killed?

Who was it sacrificed to?

No, instead, Paul says,

you can eat it freely without your conscience panging,

without any fear or anxiety.

You can take that with joy and thanksgiving.

The passage just before what we're reading now,

Paul was telling them that they are in no way to eat food

which have been sacrificed to idols.

Yet here he's saying,

you don't need to fear where the food comes from,

even if it has been sacrificed to idols.

What's the difference?

In this scenario, back in this, earlier in the chapter,

this is going into a temple where you are,

people know what's going on,

where the food is being given,

obviously and openly in an act of worship.

And what Paul is saying,

by doing that,

you are uniting yourself to the God

whom that food has been eaten to.

But here Paul is saying,

you don't need to worry about that

because, verse 26,

for the earth is the Lord's

and everything in it.

And so what Paul is wanting

the Christians here to know,

and he wants us to remember is this,

is we don't need to ask where it came from

because as Christians,

we know that everything

comes from the hands of the good God

whom we serve.

He's saying we don't need to worry

or be anxious.

He said all we need to do

when we receive food

is to receive it with thanksgiving.

Because we remember a good God

who gives good gifts,

seeking the good of his people

to sustain us as we live in this world.

The earth is the Lord's

and everything in it.

It's that reminder for us

to whenever whatever God gives us

is to thank you for us.

I know so often

when we gather together for meals,

when we thank God for the food,

it can be quite perfunctory.

We've got a toddler

who we're teaching the prayer for

and at the moment

it seems to be more of a password

for him to get to the food quicker

than having for us.

So he tries to pray before I do.

Thank you God for food.

Amen.

Let's eat.

But it's a reminder here

that wherever the food has come from,

we don't need to be fearful.

We can be joyful

and thankful

for what God has given us.

And so what Paul is saying here

to the church is eat.

Eat without your conscience panging.

Because you know there is one God

who has given good gifts to his people.

Yes, have a look at where he goes then

in verse 28.

But if someone says to you,

this has been offered in sacrifice,

then do not eat it,

both for the sake of the one who told you

and for the sake of conscience.

Here the issue,

what Paul is saying,

is that our own conscience

is freed and liberated.

We trust and we know

who God is

and what he has given us.

But the concern here,

the way that the decision

is made by a Christian

is not primarily about

what we can do

or what benefits us,

but what another thinks

that they can do

and what might benefit them.

This kind of shifts.

This is what we're saying

about the shift

and the worldly mentality,

the worldly wisdom

that shapes the whole

of what Paul is trying to undo here,

is that the worldly mentality,

if it is lawful,

then I can do it,

no matter what.

But the mentality of the kingdom of God says,

wait a second,

what can I do

that serves others?

de-centers ourselves

and thinks,

think to ourselves,

what is the good,

what is the benefit,

what is the advantage

for another?

Who is it that is asking

this question?

Well,

if you have a look down

at verse

20,

30,

verse 32,

do not cause anyone

to stumble,

whether Jews,

Greeks,

or the church of God.

This can be a question

from a Jewish person,

a Greek,

these would have been

the two dominant people

that they would have encountered

in Corinth,

or a Christian as well.

Someone whose conscience

might be panged

by what you are doing.

So,

let me put forward to you

a few case studies

that might help us

to translate it to here.

You see,

what Paul is doing

is he's thinking through

one of the most prominent examples

that is going on

in the life of Corinth.

But underneath this

are principles

which are meant to shape

the life of Christians,

not just

1900 years ago,

but shape the way

that we think

our service

here in Edinburgh

and wherever it is

that you are from.

And so let me

put a few

forward of these.

And I wonder if you want to,

I'll give you some answers,

but these are ones

for you to think through

and consider

what does it look like

for you

as you seek to

live out

what Paul says here.

So imagine

you're at work

and you've made

the long walk

this week,

the temperatures

have gone up

and you've made

that long walk

to the Bacon Bussey shop.

You've just been craving it.

You get all the way

there and back,

it's taken 20 minutes

to get there,

20 minutes to get back

and your back

is dripping with sweat

but you think

this is the best

Bacon Bussey in town,

this is wonderful.

You sit down

and you're just about

to unwrap it

and then one of your

colleagues comes over,

a devout Muslim.

What do you do

in that scenario?

You're free to eat it.

As a Christian,

you are free

to eat that food.

As a citizen of Scotland,

you are free

to eat that sandwich.

But here,

the concern

for the Christian

is the salvation

of another

and by eating

that food,

are you stopping

that colleague

standing,

sitting with you

and talking with you

over that remaining

20 minutes of lunch?

These are the kind

of questions

that are being put

for us.

What about something

like doing yoga?

Now,

I know there's probably

lots of different

opinions on this

and some might not

have opinions at all

about what yoga is,

where it's come from.

Many people

who practice yoga

nowadays don't do it

with any kind

of spiritual impact.

It's more about

body and mental health.

But some Christians

really struggle

with this,

seeing it as

an abandonment

of worship of God.

And so while you

think that you

might be free

because the yoga

that you go to

has no kind

of spiritual

undertones,

what happens

if one of your

friends says,

do you know

that that's

worshipping

another God?

What do you do

in that moment?

You are free

to do it.

Maybe you can

keep it silent

and don't tell

anyone else about it.

Or finally,

and here's one

that I won't give

an answer to you,

but I wonder

if it's this.

I think it might

not be as much

as controversial

as it would

have been a year,

18 months ago.

What happens

if somebody

you know,

when it came

to the COVID

crisis,

thought to

themselves,

I can't go,

I can't be in

the living room

with you if you

don't wear a mask.

Yet you think

to yourself,

I don't want to

do it.

I don't have to

do it.

There's nothing

in the law

that says this.

It makes life

uncomfortable for me.

What do I do

in that moment?

One of your

neighbours comes

around,

wants to talk

to you,

but they demand

that you wear

a mask.

What do you do

in that moment?

And what Paul

is saying here

is he's saying

when you're

making this

decision,

think about

them.

Think about

their goods.

Think about

their benefits.

Think about

their salvation.

because that's

what Paul

says here

as we get

to the final,

our second

point is this

and if you're

those note takers,

here's your

second point.

What Paul

says here

is when

you're making

your decisions,

do all for

God and

all for the

good of

others.

Do all

for God

and all

for the

good of

others.

And what

happens here

is this is

now Paul

kind of zooming

out right at

the end of

his arguments

of this section

of Paul's

first letter

to the

Corinthians.

Paul zooms

right out

here and

he focuses

on the

driving

principles

for us

as Christians

as we

seek to

live in

this world

in a way

that is

honoring to

Jesus

and honoring

to those

whom we

are around.

And so

Paul says

the two

driving

principles

are these.

Glorify

God

and seek

the good

of others.

Glorify

God

and seek

the good

of others.

So this

evening

is

good

regular

members

of the

free

church.

You'll

remember

the answer

to the

first

question

of the

shorter

catechism.

What is

the chief

end of

man?

It's

to glorify

God

and to

enjoy

him

forever.

You see

this has

kind of

shaped

all of

Paul's

arguments.

If you

just

flick

back

with me

a page

or so

you will

see in

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 8:5

chapter 8

verse 5.

For even

if there

are so

called

gods

whether

in

heaven

or

on

earth

as

indeed

there

are

many

gods

and

many

lords

yet

for us

there

is

but

one

God

the

father

through

whom

all

things

came

and

for

whom

we

live

and

there

is

but

one

Lord

Jesus

Christ

through

whom

all

things

came

and

through

whom

we

live.

This

is the

core

confession

this

is the

central

truth

that

shapes

everything

that we

do

as a

church

that

there

is

one

God

this

is

the

central

truth

which

shaped

the

worship

and

the

life

of

Israel

hero

Israel

there

is

one

God

there

is

one

God

alone

and

so

this

is

what

Paul

is

saying

there

is

only

one

true

God

only

one

God

worthy

of

all

our

worship

the

one

God

who

shapes

every

decision

that

we

are

to

make

and

so

part

of

what

that

looks

like

is

it

means

don't

dine

with

other

gods

don't

do

something

that

would

suggest

any

legitimacy

to

another

god

don't

do

anything

which

would

bind

you

to

another

god

because

they are

not

true

they

are

empty

and

there

is

just

one

lord

who

demands

the

full

allegiance

of

his

people

and

so

what

Paul

is

saying

is

that

we

must

consider

in

everything

that

we

do

how

can

God

be

glorified

look

at

their

verse

31

so

wherever

you

eat

or

drink

or

whatever

you

do

do

it

all

for

the

glory

of

God

this

is

the

very

first

thing

that

we

must

think

about

as

we

wake

up

in

the

morning

the

very

first

thing

as

we

consider

what

our

weeks

going

to

look

like

what

our

very

first

decision

as

we

meet

other

people

as

we

consider

big

life

choices

is

saying

how

can

we

do

whatever

we

do

to

the

glory

of

God

here

for

Paul

he's

saying

for

the

people

in

Corinth

they

must

look

like

a

people

whose

lives

are

shaped

solely

by

their

concern

to

worship

God

in

Christ

their

true

distinctiveness

as a

church

is

seen

in

saying

there

is

one

God

one

God

alone

and

he

alone

is

who

we

worship

and

obey

he

alone

is

the

one

that

is

worthy

of

glory

and

praise

and

honor

and

so

everything

that

we

do

will

be

shaped

by

that

concern

and

seeking

the

good

of

others

and

so

this

is

what

Paul

is

saying

then

that

we

are

called

to

seek

the

good

of

others

and

that's

where

he

finishes

this

section

that

we're

looking

at

here

have a

look

at

verse

32

do

not

cause

anyone

to

stumble

whether

Jews

Greeks

or the

church

of

God

even

as

I

try

to

please

everyone

in

every

way

for

I'm

not

seeking

my

own

goods

but

the

goods

of

many

so

they

may

be

saved

so

you

see

they

about

seeking

good

good

of

others

and

he

defines

for

us

then

what

is

the

good

of

others

it

means

to

be

saved

and

his

concern

is

if

he

wants

to

see

people

saved

the

danger

is

causing

a

stumbling

block

for

them

where

he

talks

there

about

do

not

cause

anyone

to

stumble

literally

it

means

putting

a

stumbling

block

before

someone else. So it's like a toddler when they are playing with their toys and they leave a

train in the way so often that can cause a stumbling block for parents. And that's his

concern here. Anything that might protrude, anything that might hinder, anything that might

block and turn people to turn around and walk away, that is what Paul wants to do. Except for

the most important thing, and we'll think about that in a moment, only one thing should cause people

to push away, but not the church seeking their own rights, their own benefits above others.

So whether it's Jews or Greeks or the church of God, our concern must be how is this going to

make sure that those who are maybe already in the church, how can we make sure they do not lose their

salvation or walk away? How does this make sure that those who are considering Jesus don't walk

away because of the foolish things that we do? And so when Paul then says here, he says,

even as I try to please everyone in every way, Paul's not here talking about being people pleasers.

I know for many of us, people pleaser is quite a negative and a kind of a derogatory way of calling

someone. You never call yourself a people pleaser, or maybe you do sometimes. Normally you talk about

it to someone else when they're making a decision that you don't like that they've made. But what

Paul is saying here is when he's talking about pleasing everyone, he's talking about this idea of not

putting stumbling blocks, but making sure that people can see Jesus. That is his grace concern.

Because what Paul is saying here is the only thing that should offend, the only thing that should

cause people to stumble, is the gospel itself. You see, what Paul has been driving at throughout

this letter, where he begins is he talks about the nature of the gospel. How it upends our understanding

of reality. What he says is earlier in this letter is that the gospel seems like foolishness and

weakness to the watching world. Because it does. For a people who were concerned about wisdom and

sophistry, for a people that were concerned about power and influence.

What Paul was saying is that all the church does is preach a crucified savior. All the church does

is put their trust in a man who was overwhelmed by the Roman Empire. You see, the gospel is rooted in this,

is that Jesus, the one who was rich beyond measure, became poor. The one who was greater than all became

weaker than all. So that whoever puts their trust in him can be saved. The very heart of the gospel is of a weak,

vulnerable, vulnerable, rejected savior. This is a message that put many people off. People laughed at the

Christians then and they still many times laugh at Christians now. But Paul says it is that and that

alone that people should reject. Not the people who try to stand in front of it, who put in stumbling blocks in

front of it, in front of that. I'm reading a book at the moment about a woman who went in the mid-noughties

to do some mission work in Afghanistan. She worked in a small rural town and she talked about what life

looked like for her. And she talked about the clothing that she would have to wear every time that she

walked out of the house. And it was really interesting the way that she vindicated what she did. She said,

those are the rules. That's what's demanded of a woman in this area and that's what I will do.

As a Christian, she could have worn what she wanted, knowing she was loved and accepted by her God.

But so that she could reach the women in that area, her concern was not to push any stumbling blocks

which were getting the way. And so often for us, what we must remember is this, is that perception is key.

We're quite a visual people, aren't we? And so often we will see something and make a judgment

almost immediately. I don't know if you know this, people can make their first impression of someone

within, I think it's two seconds. I don't know what my impression that I gave you this evening was like.

Hopefully you have pulled back from whatever it was.

But if you think of what it's like for these people who see us as Christians,

what are the decisions that we make? Are we those who are known with a deep concern for others,

who would lay down our rights so that we can seek the good and benefit of others,

which is ultimately their salvation? And so this is what Paul is saying.

Paul says this as he finishes. Verse 1,

follow my example as I follow the example of Christ. Back in chapter 9, Paul talks about how

as an apostle of Jesus, as one sent by God,

he was due to be paid by the people, those who are Christians. They were to financially support him.

Yet he said he laid aside that responsibility so that they could hear and know and trust the gospel

and live in light of that gospel. And so Paul says, imitate me, follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.

Because again, as we thought about that, Jesus set aside his own goods

to be spat upon, to be rejected, to receive slander and false accusations,

to be beaten, to be nailed to a cross,

laying down all that belong to him, all his rights as the king of the universe,

so that we might be saved.

Jesus died on the cross, bearing the wrath of God in our place.

He who knew no sin became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God.

And what Paul is saying here is, there is the ultimate example for us.

The one in whom we have found life

was the one who laid down his life for us.

And so what Paul is saying is, therefore, we must lay down ourselves

so that we can seek the good of others.

Now this evening, what I've been doing, and I've given you examples,

but what Paul is giving here is principles which shape.

I can't tell you what to do in every situation.

But ultimately, what Paul is saying, and he's given us these driving principles,

but most importantly is he gives us a picture.

He points us to Jesus.

And he says, look at him.

Look at all he's done for you.

And that's what the life that he calls us into as his followers.

As we seek the good and the salvation of others.

And we seek to glorify God in everything that we do.

And we seek the good and the glow.

And he says, the beautiful thing with the friend,

and theidän of the family we make the two are,

for God's sake.

Thanks Hangody.

Here there are three how it tells him who was the one who was the one

who I am so is, and he tells him,

and he's given us today.

And that's what he means.

And I think everybody can continue to you.

And he'sacts a lot of emotion.

We can only do this i remember.

다고, and of course,

because one of the other words

most importantly,

on this LED network,

did he give us 70 points.