"Freedom & Responsibility," 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1, Dan Claire

Good morning to you all. I'm Dan.

I'm one of the pastors here and. Happy to be.

Leading you in First Corinthians chapter 1023 and following.

It's on page 900 in the Church Bible.

These black. Bibles if you want to turn there

and follow along. I think you would get more out

of this if you did this. Is our last.

Sermon on 1st Corinthians for the summer It's We've been in

first Corinthians all summer long, and we'll be.

Back to the. Old Testament starting next

week. This message is about primarily

our freedom and our mission as ambassadors of King.

Jesus, so before we. Begin.

Let's pray. Thank you Almighty God, that you

nourish. Us with your word day by day.

Week by week, we thank you. For Saint Paul and for.

Speaking to us through him. Please fill us with your.

Spirit to understand what you. Would have for us through this

passage. And then give us the faith and

the. Courage to live faithfully,

according to. What you teach us, we pray in

Jesus name, Amen. So here in the middle.

Of Paul's. Very long letter.

To. The church in Corinth.

He takes 3 chapters to talk about whether they could.

Eat meat that had been sacrificed.

Or. Dedicated to Pagan.

Idols Paul is. Responding to a question.

That they had. Sent to him and today's.

Passage wraps up this. Three chapter, long section.

In case you're new or you've forgotten what this is all

about, here's a quick summary. It seems that in those days

throughout the Roman Empire. Butcher's shops were.

Often times connected. To.

Pagan temples and animals. That were devoted.

And slaughtered before Pagan gods would then be butchered and

would be taken to market and sold.

So in many places throughout the Roman Empire, the only way that

you could purchase meat was by purchasing meat from one of

these butchers, from animals that had been.

Dedicated to a false God. Was an animal that was signified

as being the property. Of a false God.

So to put this in modern terms, imagine going over to Eastern

Market and standing in line at Trader Joe's and you're in the

checkout line and they're right in the.

Basket right before you is your favorite, the dark chocolate.

Peanut butter cups. Right there.

It's a bag of them, but it's been rebranded and now it's

called Scientology Peanut Butter Cups and every cup inside has

printed on it, stamped on it likeness of Tom Cruise St.

St. Tom and.

Your Jesus curious. Co worker is in line right

behind you and is watching what you're purchasing, looking in

your basket, your longing to put these in your basket and eat of

them. What?

Should you do? That's the Corinthians question,

more or less sent to Saint Paul about meat.

Devoted to idols. In 1st century Corinth there

were temples we know to. Apollo and to Aphrodite.

And Paul says in last week's reading, chapter 10, verse 19.

He says those gods. Are nothing.

They're nothing. They don't exist.

Idols are superstitious. Fiction he does.

Say, however, that there are. Demonic.

Forces that are. Behind idolatry and all kinds of

other things. And the demonic?

Forces would have us. Turn away from God.

So when it comes to eating meat. Devoted to Aphrodite or Apollo

or other so-called. Gods, one might expect.

Paul to say. Just don't do it.

Don't risk it because you don't want to fall into the hands of

demons. But Paul doesn't do.

That he, he. Instead says.

Feel free, he says it. Over and over again.

Throughout this passage. Look at verse 25, he says.

Eat whatever is sold. In the meat market without

raising any question on the ground of conscience verse 27 he

says it again if one of the unbelievers invites you to

dinner and you're. Disposed to go eat whatever is

set before you without. Raising any question on the

ground of conscience. But if?

Paul thinks that Satan's minions use Aphrodite and.

Apollo to distract. People from Jesus Then why not

tell Christians to? Boycott their butchers because.

Look at verse 26, Paul quoting from the Psalms from Psalm 20. 4

The earth is the Lord's. And the fullness.

Thereof see. From.

Paul's perspective. Satan and all his minions are no

match. For the Lord God's way leads to

the. Bountiful multiplication of life

and all. Of life's.

Fruitfulness to plenty, while Satan's way leads only to

dissipation and death and nothingness, as Paul will go on

to say later in this. Letter Death is swallowed up.

In victory, see, we are not trapped in an endless.

Cycle of good versus. Evil kind of equal and opposite.

Forces. Battling one another.

Out all the. Way until the end of time.

This is probably. What most people?

Believe today it is certainly what we.

See in all. Of the.

Sci-fi franchises that have been playing out ever since Star

Wars. Where you've got a Death Star.

And you've got. Rebel good guys.

Battling it out. Every decade.

A new series coming out to say the same thing and all.

Of the other shows have the. Same thing playing out over and

over again because this is what most Americans, most Western.

People believe good. And evil are like the yen and

the Yang, they're locked in a battle.

Forever. It will always be this way.

That is not what Christians believe.

Good and evil are not complementary.

Forces like the. Yin and the Yang for.

Christ has died. Christ is risen, Christ is now

enthroned at the right hand of the Father, and.

The Father. Is making every enemy.

Christ's footstool. The last enemy.

To be destroyed is death. Paul will.

Say later on and then all that. Will be left is life.

Bounty, fruitfulness, that's all that will remain.

I love how CS. Lewis talks about.

This in The Great Divorce if you haven't read it.

Before I urge you to read it, it's so.

Good and he writes about the consummation of all things at

the end of time and he. Says at that.

Time Hell will be smaller than a Pebble when he goes on to say

that if a. Butterfly were to.

Fly along and Happy happened to catch hell in its mouth.

That hell. Would not be big enough to do it

any harm, nor for it to have any taste.

Where did Lewis get this? He got it from Saint Paul.

He got it from reading through First Corinthians to the end and

hearing about. How death will be swallowed up.

In victory. So what does this have to do

with food sacrifice to idols? Paul says that.

King Jesus. Is the rightful.

Lord of creation he lays claim to creation, including all food

and drink because verse 26 the. Earth is the.

Lord's and the fullness thereof, and we.

Through our. Baptism as Christians have.

Died to that. Old Pagan world we have been.

Resurrected with Jesus. And now we enjoy freedom from

Satan's tyranny over the good things of the world.

So God wants us to enjoy the fullness of the earth, including

meat that's been. Dedicated to Apollo.

And arugula that's been dedicated to Aphrodite, and

bourbon that's been dedicated to Dionysus and even.

Dark chocolate. Peanut butter.

Cups dedicated. To Saint Tom Cruise, God wants

us to enjoy the good things he wants.

Us to. Enjoy them with freedom in.

Christ because? Satan is a.

Loser and Jesus. Is the King forever and ever?

Amen. And make no mistake that God

delights in our enjoyment of good things.

This sort of freedom. Freedom is what he intended in

the beginning. It's what?

We were supposed to have before our first.

Parents fell into sin when Adam. Disobeyed God's word.

God was. Rightfully angry because Adam

chose to love created things more than the.

Creator so God. Sent his son to enter into our

world. To live faithfully according to

God's Word. And.

Through his death. And resurrection the new Adam.

Reset the world. As God intended and now.

All of us who have died. With Christ and been.

Resurrected through. Baptism can enjoy the good

things as God intended. We can feast.

With the Lord because of the. Freedom that God.

Gives us. Just as God intended.

So that's the word. About freedom, let me also say a

word now about mission. Look at verse 28.

Paul. Caveats are freedom, he says.

Eating. Food Dedicated.

Dedicated. To idols is not always the

responsible or loving thing. To do for Paul.

Says in verse 28 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 that is his or her conscience, Paul

reminds. Us here, that we're here for a

greater purpose. Than just enjoying the good

things. Of the Earth that is absolutely

a. Blessing that God gives us

freedom to enjoy, but more importantly, we are a colony of

the Kingdom. Of God.

We have been commissioned to represent King Jesus as his

ambassadors. This isn't a.

Luxury cruise. With an open bar and an all you

can eat buffet that is not. Why we're here?

We are ambassadors on mission for the King.

So while the Lord has blessed. Us with freedom.

He has also given us responsibilities.

As his. Ambassadors.

Sure, all things are lawful, as Paul quotes him saying, but all

things don't always. Build people up.

And that must. Be our priority.

As ambassadors of the King, in other words, we must see our

collective mission as taking precedence.

Over our. Individual freedoms, collective

mission comes. Before the exercise of our.

Freedoms now this is one of the most transformative

countercultural. Aspects.

Of being a Christian and following Jesus today, and one

that will have implications reaching far beyond whether you

can eat. Chocolate.

Treats from trader. Joe's we.

We've forgotten, largely. How to be?

The church in Western culture, all we know is Christian

individualism, where you welcome Jesus into your heart and

you're. Good to go.

Without needing anyone or any institution.

For the rest of your life. You won't find that kind of

Christian individualism in the Bible.

Which is the story of the people of God.

Being reconciled to God from Genesis all.

The way to. Revelation.

It's never about individualism. It's always about the people of

God. You won't find Christian

individualism in the. Early church that.

Taught that you cannot have God. As your father.

Without having the Church as your mother, you won't find

Christian individualism in the great tradition of which.

We're a part that says. You can't.

Baptize yourself. You can't give Holy Communion to

yourself. You can't marry.

Yourself or bury. Yourself.

You need the church for these things.

You need the church every Sunday.

You need the. Church.

Throughout your life. You can't do it alone.

There's no such thing as an individual Christian.

To be a Christian is to belong to the family of God.

So the New Testament epistles. Have a lot to say about what?

We should be doing with one another, so many one another.

Passages, as we've talked about before, how we.

Worship and pray with one another.

How we forgive. And reconcile with one another

how we bear one another's burdens so we.

Have to stop. Thinking of ourselves as

individual Christians and we have to remember that we are all

in this on mission. Together.

And that's why in all of Paul's triumphal emphasis on our

freedom in Christ, even the freedom to eat meat that's been

dedicated to Pagan idols, he reminds.

Us of our. Responsibility not to.

Take liberties that. Scandalize someone else?

Because. We are here on mission together

on behalf of our Risen King. He comes first, the mission

comes. First, because of.

Him. So yes, you.

Can eat meat. You can drink alcohol in

moderation. You can watch avant-garde films.

But verse 30. 1. Whatever you do, do it all for

the glory of God. Don't do these things to blend

in with the Pagan world. That's not.

Why you're here? Don't be like those in today's

gospel lesson. We just.

Heard who say. Lord, we ate and drank in your

presence, and he says depart from me.

I never knew you make your mission your.

Top priority if the. People around you don't know

that you're a Christian. What?

Is going on make your mission? The top priority?

Look for opportunities to be Jesus's ambassador and do what

he. Would have you do every.

Time and yes, you can send emails and texts.

And write articles and. Post on social media but verse

31 do it. All for the glory of God.

For the good of our mission as an embassy of Jesus Kingdom here

on Capitol. Hill.

Give no offense to anyone verse 32.

Don't seek your own advantage. Verse 33.

But that of many that they may be.

Saved if you. Publish something that will

bring shame on the Lord or on His church.

Shame on you. Don't do that.

The mission comes first, not your freedom.

We are all in this mission together.

So that's what. Paul is saying here about

freedom and mission, Freedom and responsibility.

One final word from this. Passage, Chapter 11.

Verse 1A. Word about our.

Lineage. The chapter and verse divisions

were added much later and sometimes they were added

clumsily. This is one of those instances.

11/1 goes with this section. And so Paul ends this huge

section with a reminder about our lineage as Christians.

If you're. A part of this body, he says.

Get in line. Specifically get.

In that Apostolic line going all the way.

Back to the Lord. Look at 11 one, he writes.

Be imitators of me as I imitate. Christ.

Imitate me as I imitate. Christ.

Everywhere Paul went, he. Raised up ambassadors of the

Lord Jesus. Just like him, he taught them

what he knew about the Lord. He also.

Taught them how to be ambassadors.

How? How to?

Represent the Lord wherever they went, and they in turn then had

to turn and pass that on to the next generation and the next

generation, and on down all the way down to us.

That is the. Lineage.

That we have the Apostolic. Line.

All the way back to Paul. And to Jesus.

Every baptized. Christian.

Is called to be a part of that Apostolic.

Line So find brothers and sisters who imitate Jesus.

Learn from them. Read God.

'S word with them. Talk about how to.

Put it in practice and as you. Grow.

To be more like them as they grow to be more like Jesus.

Turn and do the same for others if you are not in relationships.

Like this it's. Time to start, This is a new

season for many. Starting schools.

Or changing jobs or something. This is a new season to imitate.

The Lord by. Finding proximate

representatives. Of Jesus.

And getting in line behind them, learning from them, and then

turning and passing that on to others.

That. The most important thing here is

to make sure that you are not the end of the line.

What a shame that would be. If it stops with you there has.

To be others coming after you and learning from you.

How to follow the Lord? Live faithfully.

In such a way that others. Want to imitate you?

Share with others the faithfulness of Christians who

have poured their lives. Into you, get in that Apostolic

line, imitate King Jesus and do it all.

For the glory. Of God, Amen.

Lord, we thank you. For your word, we offer.

These things back to you and ask for.

Your help by the power of your spirit guide.

Us and lead us and make us more and more into the image of

Christ, for we pray in His name, Amen.