In our study of 1 Corinthians chapter ten, we will answer the question: Why doesn't a Christian do anything that they want? There are many who say that you must follow a strict set of rules (legality) while others say that we are free to do anything (liberty). We will look at the fact that a Christian voluntarily limits their freedom for the good of others.
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For, brothers, I don't want you to miss the significance of what happened to our fathers. All of them were guided by the pillar of cloud, and they all passed through the sea and in connection with the cloud and with the sea they all immersed themselves into Moshe,
Paul begins this look at freedom in Christ by taking a look at the history of the Jewish people. When he says that they were all "under the cloud", he is saying that they all had instruction from God as He was with them as they travelled out of Egypt. He reminds the Corinthians that Israel also witnessed the provision of God as He made a way for them to pass through the Red Sea. When Paul says that they were all "baptized into Moses", he is saying that those people were identified with the faith of Moses.
also they all ate the same food from the Spirit, and they all drank the same drink from the Spirit - for they drank from a Spirit-sent Rock which followed them, and that Rock was the Messiah.
They did not have the Law when they came out of Egypt but instead had the very presence of God with them as they traveled. God provided for all of their needs including food and water.
Yet with the majority of them God was not pleased, so their bodies were strewn across the desert.
The Jews were brought out of their slavery in Egypt and were made free to walk with God. Most of them abused this freedom as they rebelled against God's leading them through Moses. They were still God's chosen people but their rebellion had consequences (physical death in the wilderness).
Now these things took place as prefigurative historical events, warning us not to set our hearts on evil things as they did. Don't be idolaters, as some of them were - as the Tanakh puts it, "The people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to indulge in revelry." And let us not engage in sexual immorality, as some of them did, with the consequence that 23,000 died in a single day. And let us not put the Messiah to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes. And don't grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the Destroying Angel.
The Jews would have remembered these events from the history of their people. As Paul says, they were an example to God's people then as well as for us today. They remind us that our actions have consequences while we are here on this earth.
These things happened to them as prefigurative historical events, and they were written down as a warning to us who are living in the acharit-hayamim. Therefore, let anyone who thinks he is standing up be careful not to fall!
The phrase "if you think you are standing firm" speaks to the issue of pride which is usually at the root of sin. Those who think that way do not see a reason to study God's word and to pray. This, in turn, leaves them open to effective attack by the enemy which is Satan. Pride caused his fall and it can cause us to stumble as well. That is why Paul urged the Ephesians (and us as well) to put on the armor of God which includes the "belt of truth" (see Ephesians 6:14). What does Paul mean by "be careful that you don't fall"? In chapter 9, Paul compared the Christian life to running a race with a trophy (reward) at the end of the race for the winner. Many times, there are prizes for different places and often everyone who finishes gets something. Many have used this passage to justify their concept of someone losing their salvation but that is not the prize that Paul is talking about. There have been famous cases of runners who are in a race and they stumble and fall down because of another runner getting in their way and their feet getting tangled up. They usually get back up and finish the race but they do not get the trophy or medal. Likewise, the Christian who stumbles under the temptations of the devil (gets their feet tangled up) can get back up and continue with the race. They will still have some type of reward but they will have missed out on the greater reward that goes to the winner.
No temptation has seized you beyond what people normally experience, and God can be trusted not to allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. On the contrary, along with the temptation he will also provide the way out, so that you will be able to endure.
The Greek word used here for temptation is "peirasmon" and it can be translated as "trial" or "test". This has caused some confusion in the faith but, as we see here, there is a big difference. God allows our trials but He does not do the tempting. Satan is the tempter and his goal is to get us to sin against God. A trial is allowed by God because He knows that we will stand strong and grow in our faith. It is important to see that all of our temptations are "common to man" in order to stand strong against the devil. Many times the devil will try to tell you that your sins are unique to you and kind of try to separate you from the rest of mankind as being worse than others. This is the same tactic that a wolf will use in trying to attack a herd of sheep. The wolf will first try to isolate a sick or wounded sheep from the herd and then devour it. When Satan tries to isolate you, remember this verse and trust in God because He has provided a way for you to overcome and stand strong.
Therefore, my dear friends, run from idolatry!
There are fourteen Hebrew words for idolatry and some apply to external objects of worship while some refer to internal things. Paul urges us to flee from all of them but that does not mean that we run and hide from the world. Instead, we listen to the prompting of God through the Holy Spirit and focus our minds on Him. We are in the world but we keep in mind the fact that the things of this world are temporary.
I speak to you as sensible people; judge for yourselves what I am saying. The "cup of blessing" over which we make the b'rakhah - isn't it a sharing in the bloody sacrificial death of the Messiah? The bread we break, isn't it a sharing in the body of the Messiah? Because there is one loaf of bread, we who are many constitute one body, since we all partake of the one loaf of bread.
Now, Paul begins to address the issue of eating meat that was offered to idols. He reminds the Corinthians of the fact that we are all saved by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and that there is no other way.
Look at physical Isra'el: don't those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?
The answer to Paul's question is yes as the priests were allowed to eat of the offerings and the people were allowed to eat of the peace offerings. The sacrifices were not performed by those who were not God's people and so they could not have eaten of them.
So, what am I saying? That food sacrificed to idols has any significance in itself? or that an idol has significance in itself? No, what I am saying is that the things which pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice not to God but to demons; and I don't want you to become sharers of the demons!
Paul goes on to show us that any offering that is made and is not made to God is dealing with demons. The idols and the sacrifices mean nothing but they can draw people away from God.
You can't drink both a cup of the Lord and a cup of demons, you can't partake in both a meal of the Lord and a meal of demons. Or are we trying to make the Lord jealous? We aren't stronger than he is, are we?
The concept of sharing a meal with someone is one of intimacy and so, Paul tells us that we cannot have an intimate relationship (dine with) the Lord and also with demons. He reminds us that God is a jealous God because of the fact that He loves us (see Zephaniah 1).
"Everything is permitted," you say? Maybe, but not everything is helpful. "Everything is permitted?" Maybe, but not everything is edifying.
Now that Paul has reminded us that Jesus has saved us, he goes on to tell us more about what that means. This salvation is freedom as we see that he says two times that "Everything is permissible". This is freedom from worry about our eternal home and we do not have to worry about breaking some rule and losing our place with Christ. It does not matter what you have done or will do because Jesus Christ has paid it all. But, Paul goes on to remind us that not everything is good for building us up in our walk with the Lord. We can do anything without fear of losing our salvation but there will be consequences for everything. One of the biggest problems with doing whatever we want is the distance that it brings between us and Christ.
No one should be looking out for his own interests, but for those of his fellow.
Now, we are introduced to the reason for the restraint of our freedom. We see that, if we are in Christ, our focus shifts from self to others and the fact that our actions can have a big impact on those around us.
Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, for the earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.
This passage refers to the fact that the choice meats were offered at the temples of the false gods in Corinth. After they were presented at the temple, they were then taken and sold in the market. Paul reminds them from the Psalms that everything is God's and these false gods are really nothing. Therefore, it is permissible to eat these choice meats that were sold in the market.
If some unbeliever invites you to a meal, and you want to go, eat whatever is put in front of you without raising questions of conscience. But if someone says to you, "This meat was offered as a sacrifice," then don't eat it, out of consideration for the person who pointed it out and also for conscience's sake - however, I don't mean your conscience but that of the other person. You say, "Why should my freedom be determined by someone else's conscience? If I participate with thankfulness, why am I criticized over something for which I myself bless God?"
Paul uses the example of a meal and this meat that had been sacrificed in the temple of the false gods to make his point about legality, liberty and love. We see that, as believers in Jesus, we are free to eat whatever but we limit our own liberty because of the love that we have for the unbeliever. Paul brings up the matter of conscience and that is simply defined as a guiding voice or feeling to tell a person what is right and wrong. This is from God and, for a Christian, this is the Holy Spirit speaking to our soul and sanctifying us. Paul asks a simple question that needs to be asked more today than ever before among the "churches" when he asks why his freedom should be judged by another's conscience. The answer is quite simple in that we are all responsible for listening to the Holy Spirit and for what is said to our hearts not what is said to another person's heart. This judgment by so-called "super saints" has caused much damage within the body of Christ and the lives of individuals.
Well, whatever you do, whether it's eating or drinking or anything else, do it all so as to bring glory to God. Do not be an obstacle to anyone - not to Jews, not to Gentiles, and not to God's Messianic Community. Just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not looking out for my own interests but for those of the many, so that they may be saved;
Since we are free in Christ, we should exercise that freedom by letting people see the love of God through us. When Paul speaks of not causing someone to stumble, this has often been misunderstood. Paul is talking about trying to apply the law to people that are saved by grace. He is speaking of the fact that we are saved by grace and nothing that we can do or not do can add to the work that Jesus did on the cross.
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