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june 9, 2002
Deep!
Basic Instinct Series, part 4
Speaker: David Gibbons
1 Corinthians 8:1-13; 9:19-23
8: 1Now let's talk about food that has been sacrificed to idols. You think
that everyone should agree with your perfect knowledge. While knowledge may
make us feel important, it is love that really builds up the church.2Anyone
who claims to know all the answers doesn't really know very much.3But the
person who loves God is the one God knows and cares for.
4So now, what about it? Should we eat meat that has been sacrificed to
idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is
only one God and no other.5According to some people, there are many so-called
gods and many lords, both in heaven and on earth.6But we know that there is
only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we exist for him. And
there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and
through whom we have been given life.
7However, not all Christians realize this. Some are accustomed to thinking
of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols,
they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are
violated.8It's true that we can't win God's approval by what we eat. We don't
miss out on anything if we don't eat it, and we don't gain anything if we
do.9But you must be careful with this freedom of yours. Do not cause a brother
or sister with a weaker conscience to stumble.10You see, this is what can
happen: Weak Christians who think it is wrong to eat this food will see you
eating in the temple of an idol. You know there's nothing wrong with it, but
they will be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has
been dedicated to the idol.11So because of your superior knowledge, a weak
Christian,* for whom Christ died, will be destroyed.12And you are sinning
against Christ when you sin against other Christians* by encouraging them
to do something they believe is wrong.13If what I eat is going to make another
Christian sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live--for I don't
want to make another Christian stumble.
9: 19 This means I am not bound to obey people just because they pay me,
yet I have become a servant of everyone so that I can bring them to Christ.20When
I am with the Jews, I become one of them so that I can bring them to Christ.
When I am with those who follow the Jewish laws, I do the same, even though
I am not subject to the law, so that I can bring them to Christ.21When I am
with the Gentiles who do not have the Jewish law,* I fit in with them as much
as I can. In this way, I gain their confidence and bring them to Christ. But
I do not discard the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.22When I am with
those who are oppressed, I share their oppression so that I might bring them
to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone so that I might
bring them to Christ.23I do all this to spread the Good News, and in doing
so I enjoy its blessings.
What are the marks of a spiritually mature Christian?
Deep Spirituality . . .
Anchors itself in Love not Knowledge.
Personally Dies so that Others Can Live.
"It is easy to acknowledge," said C. S. Lewis, "but almost impossible
to realize for long, that we are mirrors whose brightness, if we are bright,
is wholly derived from the sun that shines upon us. Surely we must have a little-however
little-native luminosity? Surely we can't be quite creatures." He goes
on, "Grace substitutes a full, childlike and delighted acceptance of our
Need, a joy in total dependence. We become "jolly beggars.'"
-C. S. Lewis
"Strangely God is closer to sinners than to "saints."
-Yancey
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