1st Corinthians 10:23-11:1
One of the most complicated but beautiful concepts to consider is the glory of God. It feels impossible to communicate the magnitude of glory. We can try, with a simple English definition. At a basic level, the word means “high renown or honor, magnificence or great beauty.” But, God’s glory is on a completely different level. It’s so intense that in Exodus 33, Moses asks the Lord to see His glory, and God tells Him it’s impossible! No one can look upon the Lord and live.
So we’ve got the glory of God. This sets Him apart from every other being that exists. And because of that, He is worthy of our worship, of our adoration, of a life lived in submission to Him. And this is where we find ourselves this morning. This is where Paul wraps up his thoughts about freedom in Christ, and stretching and sometimes abusing our freedoms. If the glory of God sets Him apart as the only one deserving of our worship, then what does it look like to worship? What does it mean to glorify God?
In the Westminster Shorter Catechism, one of the most famous questions that you’ve probably heard is this: “What is the chief end of man?” Does anyone know the answer? “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” The end goal of all things is to glorify God. But what does that mean? David gives us an example in 1st Chronicles 16 (Read 1st Chronicles 16:8-12). To give glory to God means to ascribe to Him the honor that He deserves, through thankfulness, exultation, singing, telling others about Him, rejoicing and remembering. And so we turn to 1st Corinthians 10:23 and our Big Idea is this:
Big Idea: The glory of God must be the motivation for everything we do.
Read 1st Corinthians 10:23-11:1
While we talk about glorifying God on a personal, worshipful level, there is another way in which we are called to glorify Him, and that is outside of ourselves and how we interact with others. This is where we turn our attention this morning.
How do we glorify God?
1. Serve for the benefit of others (23)
If you remember early on in our time together in this letter, Paul brought up some common arguments of the Corinthian believers that they were using to justify their behavior. As he wraps things up here in chapter 10, he reminds them: “All things are lawful.” Now, in Christ, we are free! We are not bound to the Jewish Law anymore! We are free to live our lives how we want. Ah, but what if those things aren’t helpful? What if they are doing damage to your brother or sister? Remember this is what Paul addressed in chapter 8. There were some young believers who were struggling coming out of idolatry, and by eating food offered to idols, the mature believers were tempting those new to the faith to sin. To glorify God means to only do that which is helpful and beneficial for others.
2. Seek the edification of others (23)
In the same way, what if those things aren’t edifying? To edify means “to build someone's character up spiritually, helping them to stand and be strong.” Our responsibility is to strengthen the faith of others, not cause confusion or damage to their faith. So what if our actions don’t build people up? What if instead our actions are tearing people down? We honor the Lord by building into the faith of others.
3. Seek the good of others (24)
We prioritize the well-being and happiness of others over and above our own! Do our decisions reflect a selfish desire for our own good to the detriment of others? Are we more concerned with our own comfort, our own freedoms than the well-being of our brother or sister?
So right away in these first 2 verses Paul is continuing to move the Corinthian believers out of their own way. He is continuing to align their gaze upward and outward. Stop thinking so much about your own freedom that you totally miss the betterment of those around you. He continues…
4. Be mindful of the conscience of others (25-30)
Now this next part seems a bit all over the place, so let’s walk through it slowly and deliberately together. Remember, Paul has already told the believers that it is ok to eat the food offered to idols, because the idols aren’t real. So, the meat hasn’t really been consecrated. But then, he told them he’d rather them not eat it, because behind the idol worship is demonic activity, and by eating the food, they are in danger of approving of or engaging with demonic activity themselves. Now, it sounds like he is kind of saying, “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
Just eat the meat without asking any questions. Protect your conscience with ignorance. The Lord created everything. Everything belongs to the Lord. In other words, any meat that comes to market, whether consecrated to a false idol or not, belongs to the Lord. So eat it with a clear conscience. In the same way, if an unbeliever asks you over for dinner, and they are serving meat, don’t ask where the meat came from, just give thanks to the Lord for His provision and eat up. Protect your conscience with ignorance.
But, as soon as the dinner host announces that the meat has been offered in sacrifice, don’t eat it. Why? Because now the host knows that you know, so the decision you make will tell him a lot about your faith. If you choose to eat the food, then you are approving of the worship of their gods. However, if you choose not to eat it, you are making a statement that what you believe prevents you from eating food sacrificed to gods you don’t believe in.
I love how one commentator explains it: “Paul's point is that if the burger is tasty, don't worry about whether it was bought from the idol temple meat market. Enjoy the "idol burger." Your conscience will be clear. If you ask about its origin, your conscience may be offended and you have just ruined a good "idol burger."
All of this to say, however, as Paul does in verse 29, that it’s not his own conscience that is at play. He is more concerned about the conscience of the unbeliever. Paul will not exercise his Christian freedoms if his decision could potentially be judged by an unbeliever. Therefore, it’s better to just abstain from eating altogether, rather than being judged wrongly about his motivation. Romans 14:16, “So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.”
So, when considering our decisions, and how they glorify the Lord, we must avoid anything that would harm another person’s outlook on our faith. We must not allow any room for false judgment or accusations about what we claim to believe. In other words, we leave the unbeliever’s conscience clear in regards to the integrity of our faith.
5. Don’t be a stumbling block for others (32)
We talked about this a few weeks back. The idea that we don’t ever want to do anything that would cause our brother or sister to stumble. The common example used is drinking alcohol when one who has struggled with alcohol addiction is present. Our decision could potentially tempt them to drink and fall back into that addiction. If we do anything that could potentially trip up our brother or sister, then we should not do it. In fact, the way that we honor the Lord and bring Him the most glory is by abstaining from that which would cause someone else to stumble.
6. Imitate Jesus (11:1)
I wore my bracelet today to use as an illustration. You guys remember these? WWJD. It became such a trendy little slogan amongst believers, while at the same time a source of mockery for the unbeliever. But the question is so important. If we are struggling to find discernment in our lives, this is where we should turn. In fact, this is where we should start. Think back on the life and ministry of Jesus, would Jesus do what I am about to do? Would Jesus say what I’m tempted to say? Would Jesus go where I intend to go? If the answer is no, then we should not do it!
And here’s the thing. We cannot miss Paul’s motivation in all of it. So I want to spend the remaining time that we have here. Let’s put it out there, and then talk about it.
Re-Read Vs. 31
Why?
Re-Read vs. 33
“That they may be saved.” This was Paul’s primary focus. “To live is Christ, to die is gain.” To live is to preach Christ. And the most effective way of living is to always point people to the goodness of God. Let’s work back through our definition of bringing glory to God:
* We ascribe to Him the honor that He deserves, so that they might be saved.
* We express thankfulness in the presence of the unbeliever, so that they might be saved.
* We exult in the Lord, which is a triumphal jubilation, we exult, joyfully proclaim victory in our lives, so that they may be saved.
* We sing songs of praise, so that they may be saved.
* We proclaim the gospel, so that they may be saved.
* We rejoice in the Lord in all circumstances, so that they may be saved.
* We recite in remembrance the fulfilled promises of God, so that they may be saved.
WE GLORIFY GOD SO THAT THEY MAY BE SAVED.
In everything we do. Paul brings to mind the mundane, the things we do every day without really thinking too deeply about it. What we eat, what we drink. When we wake, when we sleep. When we work. When we play. When we spend money. When we read, or listen to music, or watch a show. When we drive. When we do our homework. When we take out the trash. We do all to the glory of God.
When we weep. When we mourn. When we rejoice. When we talk with our neighbors. When we post on social media. When we enter into the pain of our brother or sister. When we celebrate new life or mourn life lost, we do all to the glory of God.
We proclaim the goodness and glory of God, SO THAT THEY MAY BE SAVED.
Guys listen to this. Barna releases a study every year called The State of the Church. In 2021, adults claiming a commitment to Jesus hit a 3 decade low, at 54%. Trends would have told us that things would continue to decline. But that’s not what’s happening. In the last 4 years there has been a 12 point increase, bringing the percentage up to 66% of US adults claiming a commitment to Jesus. Researchers say that this “may be the clearest indication of meaningful spiritual renewal in the United States.” It’s hard to really see the significance of this when talking about percentages.
Since 2021, that’s 30 million more adults right now who are claiming a serious commitment to Jesus. And here’s the amazing thing. The charge is being led by young people. In fact, this is the first time in Barna’s research that the trend upward is a result of the Gen Z and Millennial generations.
We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us. Paul is trying to right the ship of the Corinthian church that has gone of course. Stop abusing your Christian freedoms. Love is more important than knowledge. Keep the well-being of others as primary. In everything point others to Jesus, glorifying God, so that they may be saved. Let us be a church that is known for glorifying God and pointing others to Jesus.
