Paul has been telling his readers that idols are nothing, so if they partake of food from the marketplace that was formerly offered to an idol, they are not partaking of food that was offered to a real god. If they stop by one of the public festivals held in honor of pagan gods, and if they eat from the tables, they are not eating food that was offered to a real god. But they have to be very careful about how they use their freedom in Christ. Some of them may find themselves being pulled back into idolatry and into their old sins. They may start hanging out with the wrong crowd when eating at a festival or when purchasing food from sellers of "bargain meats" that were offered to idols. They need to keep in mind that Satan would love nothing more than to entice them away from Christ. Although idols themselves are nothing, and the gods they represent are nothing, there is a demonic force behind idolatry. If Satan can't persuade people to worship him as a god, he will try his best to prevent people from worshiping God as God, so he tempts people to worship something other than God.
Just because most of us have never bowed to an image doesn't mean we can't be pulled into forms of idolatry. The only thing the devil has done is change what idolatry looks like. In our day idolatry might mean we become a workaholic, obsessed with making money or with advancing in our careers. It might take the form of valuing a relationship with another human being more than we value our relationship with God. Idolatry might be addiction to drugs or alcohol or pornography. It might take the form of indulging in illicit pleasures. There are a lot of things in this world that we might be tempted to "worship" in the sense that they are what we care about most and think about most. Idolatry is still alive and well in 2018; it just looks different than it did in Paul's day.
"Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf." (1 Corinthians 10:14-17) Paul says, "When you participate in the Lord's Supper, you are demonstrating fellowship with Christ and fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. You are testifying to your relationship with the Lord and with His people." Paul does not consider food previously offered to idols as unclean in itself, but the eating of this food involves fellowship with idolaters. Eating the meat at a pagan festival or at the home of an idolater demonstrates a spirit of friendship and relationship with those who practice idolatry, in the same way that eating the Lord's Supper demonstrates a spirit of friendship and relationship with those who are in Christ." Paul will later say in 1 Corinthians 15:33, "Do not be misled: 'Bad company corrupts good character.'" He's warning the believers of Corinth to be careful about the company they keep. It wasn't that long ago that they were practicing idolatry themselves. The possibility exists that in keeping bad company they will be pulled back into their old ways.
"Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?" (1 Corinthians 10:18) With the exception of a whole burnt offering (an offering for atonement), as far as I know the people of Israel were allowed to take part of the sacrifice back home to eat it. When the person partook of the remainder of the sacrifice, it identified him with the Lord. It was like sharing a meal with the Lord. We who are Christians refer to the Lord's Supper as "communion" because when we participate in it we are observing it as a form of fellowship with our Lord. The pagan Gentiles had a similar practice. They were allowed to keep part of the meat, and they regarded the eating of the meat as if the god was sharing a meal with them. They believed the god was sitting at their table and participating in the meal. This made them feel as if they were enjoying communion and fellowship with their god.
"Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?" (1 Corinthians 10:19) He says, "I'm not contradicting what I've said before. An idol is nothing." (1 Corinthians 8:4) Are the idols real? No. Are the gods real? No. There is only one God, the Maker of all things.
But there is something real behind idolatry. There is something very real that entices human beings to worship something other than the one true God. "No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons." (1 Corinthians 10:20) The pagan people aren't intentionally worshiping demons. They don't know that idols and so-called gods are just disguises that Satan and the fallen angels are hiding behind. When the pagans serve idols they are actually serving Satan. They would not likely bow down and worship Satan if he appeared to them. They would not willingly offer a sacrifice to an evil spirit. But in serving something other than the living God, they are doing Satan's bidding. They are pleasing Satan because they have fallen for his lies.
The Christians of Corinth are free to purchase any meat in the marketplace. They are free to eat anything they please. But they would be better off not to knowingly eat anything that has been offered to an idol. When they attend a pagan festival to eat of the food, or when they attend a dinner and are told that the meat was previously offered to an idol, they are participating in meals where the pagans believe their gods are sitting at the table. The gods don't actually exist, but since Satan is behind idolatry, there are demonic forces involved in the meals. The Christian is better off not participating in meals like this, for these meals put them in a position to be tempted by sin. The person who has been redeemed by Christ and who participates in the Lord's Supper should not also participate in suppers where evil lurks. "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than He?" (1 Corinthians 10:21-22) Paul has been cautioning the people of Corinth not to trust in their own strength. They think they are too spiritual to fall back into their old ways, but why take a chance? Why hang around with the wrong crowd? Why go to places where they will be tempted to sin?
I don't know about you, but I've never been invited to a dinner that honors a pagan god. But I have been invited to places a Christian shouldn't go. I've been invited to meals where there will be drinking and carousing. I've been invited to parties where some of the guests will be indulging in drugs. In cases like that we have to ask ourselves, "Should I, a person who is redeemed by Christ and who participates in the Lord's Supper, also participate in these things? Is it unseemly for me, who goes to church regularly, to also go to these places? Does it dishonor my Lord? Does it contradict who I am in Christ?" I think we can plainly see that we should turn these invitations down. There's nothing to be gained by putting ourselves in a position to be tempted by sin. Even if we don't join in with drug use or drunkenness at these meals, we will harm our testimonies when people find out that we were there. Our Christian friends will doubt our devotion to Christ. Our non-Christian friends will lose interest in hearing the gospel from us when they learn we have been behaving like unbelievers. Let's not take part in things that are inappropriate for Christians. Let's not give Satan opportunities to tempt us more than he already does.
No comments:
Post a Comment