Flee From Idolatry

Transcript

GR 1332
09-03-06
“Flee from Idolatry”
1 Corinthians 10:13-22
Gil Rugh

We are in 1 Corinthians 10 in our study together, so turn there in your Bibles. It's always amazing, we turn to the Word of God, how current and relevant it is when we realize it was written thousands of years ago and addressing a variety of issues. And yet under the sovereign work of God and guidance of His Spirit it was written to be of eternal significance and importance. And it is God's Word to us today. That's true of the section we are in in 1 Corinthians 10, dealing with a matter we have to deal with in our life as a church, in our culture in a day that is called pluralistic. I think one of the most difficult things for people regarding biblical Christianity is the fact that it claims to be an exclusive religion. I'm using the word religion in a narrow sense. It claims to be the only way to heaven, it claims there is no other way to know God except through the gospel that is revealed in God's Word. People today don't mind if you have your own opinions. One of the ministerials in our city is comprised of people of a variety of beliefs. You can be Catholic, you can be Protestant, you can be Hindu, you can be Ba'hi. Nobody has a problem that you have your own religious conviction. But where the conflict comes is when you claim that your convictions are right and everyone else's are wrong. Then people view you as narrow, exclusive, arrogant.

This is not new. In the Apostle Paul's day the situation was very similar. Let me read to you what one writer wrote. Paul's insistence on exclusive loyalty to a religion was something uncommon in paganism. The Hellenistic world was a great religious melting pot and tolerance and syncretism reflected the spirit of the times. The Greeks, and later the Romans, were very tolerant in their attitude toward the kaleidoscope of other religions and cultures. So true in Paul's day and before. The Romans were very open to a multitude of religions. They could have a pantheon of their gods and they were glad to absorb new gods as they conquered new people, because you just have more gods working on your behalf. So pluralism is not a new concept in the world. As we'll see as we move along, it is the devil's concept. Everything is acceptable and we're all on the same road and we're all going to the same place, we all have the same goals. In this kind of environment it is easy for Christians to become sensitive to that criticism of being narrow, of being self-righteous, of thinking they are the only ones with the truth.

Over the years I've often had people express to me, I get concerned that people think that we're so narrow, or people think we are self-righteous, people think we're the only ones right. But you know that criticism is correct. We do believe there is only one way to heaven, that's what Jesus taught. He said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Me. There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. So we are narrow. Jesus said the gate to life is narrow. Christianity is exclusive in the sense it teaches that everyone who does not believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior will be excluded from heaven. If you do not believe in Christ you are excluded from a relationship with the living God.
Now that pressure sometimes causes us as believers to want to soften that message of narrowness, so we begin to talk in generalities. We don't talk about sin, we don't talk about Jesus Christ as the only Savior. We talk about God and we think, I'll get a word of witness in. So I say something like, it is wonderful to know that we have a God of love. Who doesn't agree with that? Almost anyone of any kind of religious persuasion would say, yeah, I think God is love. Even those who aren't religious think, love is good and if there is a God I'm sure love is part of His character, so that's good. We try to play down those things which mark us off as narrow and exclusive. Now I realize we can be self-righteous and think we are better than others, and of course that is unbiblical. But the real conflict with Christianity comes because it declares that everyone else is wrong and the God of the Bible is right. All other ideas, all other teachings, all other religions are wrong and Jesus Christ is the only Savior. Furthermore it teaches that everyone who does not turn from their sin and believe in Jesus Christ is going to spend an eternity in hell. And that is very narrow. We can't play down what makes Christianity unique without becoming unfaithful to the Christianity we claim to believe.

Paul is concerned the Corinthians aren't taking these matters seriously. There is a narrowness in Christianity. Jesus Christ is not a Savior you add to the baggage of your life. If He truly becomes your Savior, He becomes your life, and life becomes all about Him. Remember we looked at the passages, you cannot be my disciple unless you hate father, mother, brother, sister and so on. You cannot become my disciple if you don't take up your cross and follow Me. In effect Jesus Christ says your life becomes my life, you become my slave. The Corinthians are thinking that in Christ now, with grace, they have liberty, and they do. But they fail to understand this liberty now is to serve Jesus Christ passionately as His slave. They're thinking liberty gives them the freedom to indulge in things, and it begins to move the concept of grace to licentiousness. Boils down to an issue of whether we really belong to the Lord or not.

This is going to move us into an area that becomes very sensitive. And the church needs to be aware of what is taking place. It brings us into the whole issue of the spirit world and how the devil and his demons infiltrate the church of Jesus Christ to lure it away from faithfulness of devotion to Christ. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul is concerned that they would turn away from the purity of devotion to Christ. In 1 Corinthians 10 he is concerned that they may be indulging in those things which would exclude them from a true, saving relationship with Jesus Christ. He's used Israel as an example in the opening verses of chapter 10. They had many great spiritual blessings and benefits from God and yet most of them did not receive the ultimate blessing that God had promised of entering into the Promised Land. He went on to show some of the sins that they were guilty of that brought the destructive judgment of God upon them. He reminded the church at Corinth, verse 6, these happened as examples for us. Verse 11, these things happened to them as examples, they are for our instruction, our admonition. Then that warning, verse 12, therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. You can have a false sense of security, you can be confident in your confidence, you can have faith in your faith and be lost. Your confidence must be in Jesus Christ, your faith must be in Him. And that will manifest itself in a life that is in evidence that you have become a partaker of the divine nature. And now the character of Christ is produced in you. Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

He'll pick up with verse 13 by talking about God's provision for testing and temptation, and then give them clear instruction on how to handle the matter of idolatry, any kind of association or involvement in any way with false worship. Verse 13 is a common verse, maybe I should say a well-known verse to most of us, a verse we often quote on its own. And it has broad application, but we ought to see it in its context. Paul gives us verse 13, no temptation has taken you, but such as is common to man, in the context of warning about the danger of turning away from Christ, of suffering destruction rather than ultimate salvation, in the context of chapters 8-10 which are concerned ultimately with the issue of being involved in idolatry or false worship in one way or another. That becomes clear because verse 14 will pick up a subject that started chapter 8 and that is, flee from idolatry.

You'll note what he says in verse 13. No temptation has taken you, but such as is common to man. That word temptation, we usually think of temptation having that negative connotation of drawing you to sexual immorality, or to steal, or to lie. But the word is a broad work, it's the same word often translated in the Bible, testing or trial. And it can be used in a variety of contexts. Here in the context obviously he is warning about those kinds of testing and trials that come into our life that may put the kind of pressure on that would move us to become unfaithful to God. The examples given in verses 6-10—grumbling, testing the Lord, being immoral, being involved in idolatry, craving evil things. These would all be the testing, trials, temptations that might come into our lives. We'll say more about that in a moment. But note, there are not temptations, no testings, no trials that have overtaken you, but such as are common to man. And that is a reminder and it is an encouragement. You don't have any unique trials in your life. Now not everyone is having the same trial or trials or temptations that you are, but you are not having any trial or temptation that someone else has not also had. The trials and temptations that come into our lives are human trials and temptations. They are common to humanity, human beings have them. They can be of a variety. We had some examples. Have you been tempted or lured with the idea of immorality? Well we already saw Israel's involvement of that. What about grumbling? Have you ever been tempted to grumble? Pressure, felt that, you wanted to get it out and ............. What about a trial of sickness? You may have a unique kind of disease but you're not the only one who gets a disease. There may not be many people who have gotten our kind of disease, but diseases are common to humanity. You may have lost a loved one, that grieves you. Sometimes people come when they are going through a trial or a testing or even a temptation and say, you don't know what I'm going through. In one sense they're right, I don't. I may never have experienced that particular trial and testing, but I can say your trial or testing, your temptation is not unique to you, because God says no temptation or trial has overtaken you, but such as is common to man. They are human trials and testings.

That is an encouragement. I realize this is not unique, this is not something that no one else has ever experienced, this is not outside the realm of all human experience. How often we use that—this trial, you don't know what it's like, or this is something that is out of the ordinary because that becomes the first step in our excuse to succumb, to not biblical. Right? I mean, if this is a trial or a temptation like no one else has faced, no one else has undergone, of course if I give in, that's understandable. No, there are no temptations or testings like that. There are only human kinds of trials and testings that other human beings have as well. They are common to man, they overtake you. May indicate the kind of trials and testings that come on you suddenly, you're caught unaware and now they are there and they don't necessarily go away.

The heart of this is, God is faithful, next statement, God is faithful. That's what you ought to mark in the midst of this. In the midst of the trials, the testings, the temptations, God is faithful. That's His basic character. We could spend the rest of our morning just going through the scripture on the faithfulness of God. We sang about it this morning. Foundationally God is faithful. The faithfulness here is in the area He will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able. No trial or testing, no temptation, and I keep using those words because our English words carry a different flavor and all are included here in this word, depending on the context. God never allows the kind of temptation or trial to come into our lives that is more than we would be able to handle in a godly and biblical way. Now my first reaction to that trial may not be that—Lord, this is more than I can bear. Then I have to come back to the promise of His Word. I may have to say, Lord, let me correct that. This seems to be more than I can bear, but you are the faithful God who has promised that will never happen. You will never allow me to be tested or tempted beyond what I am able to endure biblically and respond to faithfully.

But with the temptation He will provide a way of escape also. So every testing, every temptation has a way out. Now it seems like we have a contradiction here. He will make a way of escape so that you will be able to endure it. Well if I escape it I don't need to endure it, if I'm enduring it I haven't escaped it. The point is that you can handle it biblically. There never comes a time when you have to succumb to a testing, trial, temptation by doing something unbiblically, by being unfaithful to God. Oh, you don't know what I'm going through, you don't know what I'm experiencing. No, I don't, I've never had that come into my life perhaps. But I know that God said it's not unique, there are other human beings who have had it. Oftentimes immorality is the example he has used, in fact it's going to be in the context. We'll see what he says in a moment, parallels what he said about immorality back in chapter 6. People come in and say, this is a unique situation and they want to tell you all about what has gone on in their home, what's gone on with their spouse, how the Lord.............. This just happened, I'm sure the Lord brought it in because we never planned this and............... I say, why don't we just cut this short, let's save your time, my time and God's time. All of those excuses are nothing. God never intends you to sin. And every trial, every testing, every temptation that comes into your life, God provides a way for you to deal with it so that you can continue to be faithful to Him and honor Him with a godly life. You can escape that trial and what it entails, and you can endure it, you can bear it.

Job is the example that is used throughout the Bible as James uses him[IL1] as an example for us. I mean, all kinds of testings, temptations come into Job's life, and the testings become temptation. He loses his children, all his children in one day. What pain. He loses his health, he loses his possessions. That's more than any man can bear. I mean if I lost a child it would be almost overwhelming. Job loses them all in one day. All his wealth gone, his health gone, and the advice given to him, curse God and die. Your life is not worth living. Just have to trust the Lord through it and keep going. Don't have all the answers but I'm going to be faithful to God. The advice he gets is bad advice, I'm going to be faithful to God. And James 5 says that Job is an example of the faithfulness of God and God is true to His Word. I don't know what you're going through, we almost did a whole message on verse 13, but we're moving on.

What's the context here, I want you to see the verse in its context. The next command, flee from idolatry. You'll note the word therefore that begins that verse, verse 14. In light of what I have just said, therefore in light of that, my beloved ones. Paul loves them. He's speaking harshly. Some people say, why do you always have to be so negative? It's the Spirit of God's direction through Paul and I'm just repeating it. Paul is aware of that. I love you, you are the ones that are the object of my affection, my heart. Now I give you a command, flee from idolatry, avoid idolatry, false worship, and any association with it. So then, how am I going to endure it? Get away from it. Avoid all association with it. A lot of our trials and testing and temptation come because we like to dabble in sin. I may not jump in all at once, but we get our feet wet. Or hang around the edge of the pool. God makes a way to get out but I don't want to get too far away. I've shared with you before, you know what the Puritans called bosom sins, the ones we like to keep close enough to indulge because we enjoy them. And there is pleasure in sin, the end is just the opposite of pleasure, but there is enjoyment for a time.

Flee from idolatry, don't have anything to do in any way with false worship. Now idolatry here is not just limited to an idol sitting on a table. Anything to do with false worship we are to avoid, get away from. And not just physically running, like Joseph ran out of the house from Potiphar's wife, sometime you may need to do that. But flee from it is to stay away from it, avoid all contact, all involvement. The problem with the Corinthians was they were thinking, we'll go back to chapter 8 in a moment, that they could dabble in parts of false worship—eating food sacrificed to idols, drinking things sacrificed to idols, having that kind of involvement because idols are nothing and things sacrificed to idols are nothing. So the fact that I may have some involvement with false worship is not any big issue. We understand grace and liberty, don't we. Paul says to them, you have some knowledge about it but you don't understand it. So he's picking up on that theme which he was developing back at the beginning of chapter 8. Flee from idolatry.

You know it's interesting that the New Testament has to warn believers about this. I John 5:21 the Apostle John writes to his readers and tells them to guard yourselves from idols. You know the evangelical church needs to hear this message today. Flee from idolatry, guard yourselves from idols. All kinds of false worship of any kind has to be excluded. It's the idea we don't want to be considered exclusive and narrow, and especially not within the evangelical umbrella. So we begin to tolerate things that are unbiblical and not true to what God requires of us

Verse 15, I speak as the wise man, you judge what I say. Now Paul is not putting them down, nor being sarcastic. He believes they have the wisdom to sort through this. They are ones he loves, and if they are genuinely saved they can think it through and see the correction. Remember the things which were written regarding Israel, verse 11, for our instruction, our admonition, to correct us. So they need to make the proper adjustments here. I'm speaking to wise men, you judge what I say. Follow my argument here. And in verses 16-22 he's going to ask seven rhetorical questions. Rhetorical question, the answer is implied in the question, for some it will be yes and for some it will be no, the answer is expected.

First, is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? We get to chapter 11 he's going to talk about the communion service and the body and blood of Christ as it relates to the cup and the bread. But here he uses that as an example. Is not the cup which we bless, in other words, blessings said over the cup, a word of prayer, grace. The cup of blessing which we bless as sharing in the blood of Christ. What is portrayed when you partake of the cup at the communion service? It's reflecting that you are a partaker in the blood of Christ, His death on the cross. You have come to share in that and all its benefits through faith in Him. You are a fellowshipper in His death. And then the bread which we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? We are partaking in His body as a provision for us. This is My body which was given for you. Now we are partaking of it. When He was on earth in John 6, He said, you must eat My flesh and drink My blood or you have no part in Me. We must become partakers in Christ. We will go into the details of the issues in the communion service when we're into chapter 11. Now the point is we become fellowshippers, the word koinonia. We become sharers in, partakers together in Christ. That's what the communion service is about, it is a declaration that we have become partakers of Christ, sharers together in Him.

Since there is one bread, verse 17, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. We partake of one bread. In biblical times like at the Last Supper, they would have broken pieces off one loaf, indicating that oneness. We break our bread up, our unleavened bread, into pieces for convenience. But the point is, we're partaking of the same bread. Represents, thus, the body of Christ, right? And we do that, we're many people when we have the communion service. We partake of it, one bread, one body. Indicating what? Verse 17, there is one bread, we who are many are one body. We all partake of one bread. So we become partakers and sharers together, fellowshippers, in one another. Remember 1 John starts out that we want to have fellowship with you, and truly our fellowship is with God and with His Son, Jesus Christ. The fellowship goes both ways, it's a fellowship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ and it's a fellowship with fellow believers. So in verse 16 he talks about our fellowship with Christ and then in verse 17, in the partaking we also are fellowshipping together as God's people, and joining together as one people in the body of Christ in this act. Now what are we doing? We are partaking of these elements.

Look at the nation Israel, verse 18, draws us back to Israel again. Are not those who eat the sacrifice sharers in the altar? We're not going to go back there now, but in the Old Testament for many of the sacrifices they would bring what they were sacrificing and it would be offered on the altar. Then a portion of what had been sacrificed would be given back to the person or people who gave the offering and they would have a meal together. And it indicated in the sacrificing of that to God their fellowship with God, and then in the meal together it indicated also their fellowship together as the people of God. So you have that bond going both ways.

All right. What do I mean then? Paul understood, like preachers do, that not everybody is following the argument. What do I mean then? What's the point? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No. That's a rhetorical question that required a no answer.

Back up to chapter 8. This is where he begins this discussion about idols, and really everything in chapters 8-10 have that as their background at least, if it's not in the foreground, the issue of being involved in false worship, idol worship. Chapter 8 began, now concerning things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, love builds up. Down in verse 4, therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know there is no such thing as an idol in the world and that there is no God but one. And even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or earth, indeed there are many gods, for us there is one God. Now he can't be saying that an idol is anything, really. An idol is just an idol, whether he's talking about a literal idol, a block of wood or piece of stone. There is only one God. And so things sacrificed to idols, as we saw when we looked at the first part of chapter 8, they are nothing. I mean if you offer a ham sandwich to an idol and an idol is nothing, then a ham sandwich is still a ham sandwich. Right? Nothing has changed. Well, that's true as far as it goes. The problem is that's as far as the Corinthians had gone. Therefore, if there are no gods in existence but the one true and living God, then food offered to nothing still is just plain old food. So my eating food sacrificed to idols and drinking drink sacrificed to idols is not really anything. I have the liberty and freedom to do, because I know idols are nothing. Idols are nothing, food sacrificed to idols hasn't changed anything. But there is more to the picture than that.

Verse 20, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to become sharers in demons. The word Gentiles is not in the better texts here. It won't make a large difference if it's added, and it does appear in later manuscripts. The point is the same, but it really just says the things which they sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God. Because it's also true of Jews. And we'll note a passage in the Old Testament on that. In other words, anything offered in worship other than to the living God through His Son, Jesus Christ is a sacrifice to demons. There are no other gods, there is only one true God. But there are spirit beings at work in the world. Some of these spirit beings are working in opposition to the living God, they are not gods in the sense of having independent power because they are created beings. Demons were created as angels, they are still angels. Demons aren't disembodied spirits of human beings. Demons are the angels who followed satan in his rebellion against God and for that rebellion they lost their position in heaven and are ultimately destined to spend eternity in hell. For hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. These angels are known as demons. These spirit beings in concert with satan attempt to lure the people in the world to worship them in contrast to the living God.

So in verse 20, the things which are sacrificed, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. That's a serious matter. I don't want you to become sharers in demons. Now we read in verse 16 that in partaking of the cup and the bread we become a sharer, a fellowshipper in Christ. Now can you be one who is fellowshipping and sharing in Christ and also fellowshipping and sharing in demons? No. Another example, what about being baptized? What do you think of a person who is baptized here one night in the name of Jesus Christ, declaring that he is a follower of Christ? And the next week he was baptized someplace else in the name of Mohamed, declaring that he had committed himself to Mohamed and was now a follower of him. You say, he can't have it both ways. That's the same in the other areas of worship here. You can't partake of the cup and the bread of the Lord, declaring your fellowship with Him, and then partake of the cup and bread of the demons and declare your fellowship with them. I mean, there is no mixing here. This is a serious matter. Paul warned them in verse 12, take heed, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. We cannot be involved in both worlds. That's the warning.

Turn back to Deuteronomy 32. I want to look at several passages with you. This is the end of the book of Deuteronomy, the 5th book, the last of the books of Moses in your Old Testament. This is the song of Moses and he speaks here of what will happen with Israel. Verse 15, but Jeshurun grew fat and kicked, you have grown fat, thick and sleek. Jeshurun is another name for Israel, and becoming fat and thick and sleek was a sign of prosperity. It is, isn't it? I mean, in our prosperous society we go on diets. Other parts of the world, they struggle to get enough to eat. Israel would prosper. Then he forsook God who made him, scorned the rock of his salvation. They made Him jealous with strange, we have the word gods inserted, gives the idea. With abominations they provoked Him to anger, they sacrificed to demons who were not God. This is what we're talking about. They sacrificed to demons, to gods whom they had not known, new ones who came lately. Johnny-come-lately gods, gods newly arrived on the scene, which are not gods in the true sense of the word. They are demonic beings. You neglected the rock who begot you and forgot the God who gave you birth. Verse 22, for a fire is kindled in My anger and burns to the lowest parts of Sheol. That's where they're going, who join in such worship.

Come back to the New Testament and let me just remind you in Matthew 4:9, when the devil tempted Christ in the wilderness during His earthly life, what did he offer Him? He took Him up to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world. Then he said, all these things I will give you if you will fall down and worship me. That's what it's all about, Satan attempting to get the world to worship him and the audacity that he would even challenge the Son of God who is destined to rule the world. But you know, you can have it now, you can have it without the trials, without the testing, with the temptations, without the suffering, without the cross. I'll give you the kingdoms of the world now if you worship me. In other words, you can be king under me. Worship me. That's what it's all about for Satan, that's his desire, to have the world worship him. That's his desire to infiltrate the church of Jesus Christ, to turn it away from faithfulness of devotion to Jesus Christ to worship him. An appalling thought.

Turn over to 1 Timothy 4. This is talking about how we are to conduct ourselves in the church. Chapter 3 verse 15 Paul said, I am writing so that you will know how to conduct yourselves in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. Chapter 4 verse 1, but the Spirit explicitly says, clearly says, that in the latter times some will fall away from the faith, they'll apostasize from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. Teachings of demons will have infiltrated in the church and some people who profess faith in Christ will now follow the deceitful teaching of demons and be led astray. We get an idea of how the demons work, how they work in the church. We know they work in the world with all the various worship systems and ideas in worship and that go on, but the devil doesn't give up and say, the church, we don't want to bother with them, they've gone over to the other side. No, he's relentless. He infiltrates the church with his teachings to lure people away from faithfulness to Christ, to confuse people. Ultimately to sort out believer from unbeliever. Doctrines of demons. We don't take this seriously today. Anybody who claims to be a believer, oh we love Jesus, we believe in Jesus. We say, we don't want to be too critical, we don't want to be too narrow, we don't want to act like we're always right. We're not always right, but God is. That's why Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 8, to the law and to the testimony, the Word of God, if they do not speak according to this Word they have no dawn, no light. We want to be just as narrow as the Word of God is, no more narrow than the Word of God, but no less narrow. No more exclusive than the Word of God, but no less exclusive. We have no openness to the teaching of demons in the church of Jesus Christ. How will you know? How can we tell? I think I sense in my spirit something good here, I think I sense in my spirit something bad here. Doesn't matter what we sense. Chapter 3 verse 15 said, the church is the pillar and support of the truth. Go to the truth. Well, we have different views. Well, let's get to the right one, let's read it, let's see what it says, let's interpret it in its context, let's stand against those who would promote contrary teaching.

Go over to James 3:14, but if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above that is earthly, natural, demonic. That selfish arrogance, bitter jealousy, divisive spirit, grumbling as we saw in 1 Corinthians 10 is a manifestation of the work of demons among the people of God. How can we be so tolerant? How can we give our ears to it? How can we be open to follow such people?

Look over in Revelation 2. Two of the churches, the church at Pergamum and the church at Thyatira both are condemned by Christ for tolerating idolatrous teaching in the church. Look at verse 14 in the message to the church at Pergamum. Revelation 2:14, I have a few things against you because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and commit immorality. I mean, here is the Lord of the church and He says I have a bone to pick with you, I have something seriously against you that is going to bring my judgment unless there is a correction made. You tolerate people in your church that teach idolatry, that it's all right to be involved in some of these things. And the issue is eating things sacrificed to idols. Same issue Paul is dealing with the Corinthians. Which really involves you in idolatry, false worship. The church of Jesus Christ is totally oblivious to this teaching. We just think we want to be as broad as we can be, as open to everyone. Well, sinners are welcome to hear the truth. But you understand the church of Jesus Christ is an exclusive group, called to total commitment to one Lord and one Savior, and to stand firmly opposed to any teaching, any doctrine that is in conflict with the Word of God. And this idea, well, none of us have all the truth and we want to be open, they profess to love Jesus like we do. What do you think? The devil is going to walk in and say, I'm the devil and these are a few of my demons. Would you please worship us? No. Do you think he's going to walk in and say, I just want you to know we're opposed to the Bible? Any Bible-believing church going to accept that? No, he comes in and says, we love Jesus like you do, we are followers of Christ like you are, we believe the great doctrines of the faith. But we don't have to be narrow, we don't have to be exclusive. We can open ourselves up to whatever God has for us and maybe there are different interpretations and maybe hell is not hell for eternity. I mean after all, think about it, if God is love, would He send people to an eternity of suffering? I don't think that's the kind of God that I would want to be with. Maybe an eternal hell, we don't have to die like that, all right, I'll give. Well doesn't the joy of heaven come into your heart when you come to know Christ? Maybe we don't need a literal heaven, maybe heaven is what we make here and ................. And just how far can I go? Don't think you can go toe-to-toe with the devil and demons and come out ahead. You have to know when to flee and stay away from it. There are more people than I care to think being led away from purity of devotion to Christ, having turned away to their own destruction because they did not heed the admonition of the Word.

Down to Revelation 2:20, to the church at Thyatira, I have this against you. You tolerate the woman Jezebel, she calls herself a prophetess. They aren’t going to come in here as an agent of demons, she's a prophetess, she says. She teaches and leads my bondservants astray so they commit immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols, lures them away with the kind of arguments the Corinthians were using. An idol is nothing, things sacrificed to idols therefore are nothing, we can indulge, that's liberty. Don't let anybody take away your grace, don't let those narrow people infringe on your liberty. The church at Thyatira is tolerating it. The Lord of the church has a problem with that.

Come over to Revelation 9. We're in the tribulation, the seven years preceding the coming of Christ. We're under the sixth trumpet judgment, the pressure is being applied to the world. Verse 20, the rest of mankind who were killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands so as not to worship demons. Doesn't matter. The great judgments of God are coming in the tribulation, they refuse to repent, they refuse to turn to worship the living God. They're going to hold fast to their demonic worship. With that they won't repent of their sins of any kind in verse 21.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 10, just a couple of comments to wrap this up. Verse 21 then applies it. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons, you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Is that it? Are you clear? You cannot be involved in false worship and be involved in a relationship with the living God. You cannot be involved in a relationship with demons and worship and be involved in a relationship with the living God and worship. I mean, people say, if I get saved do I have to leave the Roman Catholic Church? If I get saved do I have to leave my liberal Protestant church? Yes. I don't know if I should tell them they have to leave their church because church is not the issue. What do you mean church is not the issue? What is the church? It is the body of Christ, isn't it? It's the household of God, it's the pillar and support of the truth Where do we get off, walking around and telling people it's all right if you go there, you can be a believer and go there. No, you can't, you cannot be a Roman Catholic joined in demonic worship and be a saved person. You cannot go to a liberal Protestant church and be involved in demonic worship and be a child of the living God. No. Where the church is compromising and thinking in the guise of love and being open and being tolerant. I want to be every bit as narrow as God is.

Look at verse 22, do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? You understand he is throwing down the gauntlet to God, daring Him to cast you into hell. Do you think you can go and dine with the devil and spend eternity in heaven? It isn't going to happen. The Corinthians need to understand this. He's writing this to the church, a church like Indian Hills. And you need to understand this is serious business. You don't fellowship with the devil one day and fellowship with Christ another. You can have no involvement in false worship in any way. I'm constantly coming back to the Word to evaluate myself and my responsibility. Lord, are we being more narrow, do we always have to be.............? And we're not the only church that is narrow. I don't want you to get the idea that I think we are the only church in Lincoln or the only church in Nebraska. I know people say, they think they are the only ones there. Well, I don't. I believe everyone who believes the Bible, believes the gospel of Jesus Christ, is being faithful to the Word. Do I have the perfect interpretation of every passage? No. That's not an excuse for me to tolerate teaching I know is false. Well, what will you give in on? Nothing that I understand to be biblical, because once I do that where do I stop? Well we're just going to allow a little bit of demonic teaching here. Oh really? In other words, let the devil put his toe in the door and you'll see how wide he can open that door. Look at the major denominations. Well, it's not a big deal, we don't major on the minors, we just major on the majors. You know that's what I do. You know what the majors are? Right here. God hasn’t asked me to be His editor. God hasn't told me, now you just decide here what you think I said was important and you tell your people that's what you stand for. I understand Christians can have differences on certain things. The Lord bless you. Here we teach what we believe to be biblical, the best we understand the Word of God, that's what we must stand for. Because I cannot say, I know this is biblical but I know they don't hold it biblical, so therefore that will be okay here. Because then I compromise what I know to be biblical. I want to do it in love, I want to do it with the understanding I am still growing. We are called to faithfulness to the truth.

Isaiah 45:9, woe to the one who quarrels with his maker, an earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth. Don't forget who you are, don't forget who He is. Don't provoke the Lord to jealousy. Have you believed the gospel of Jesus Christ? Really understood you are a sinner? He is the only Savior and place your faith in Him. Do you have a life of passionate service for Him? I am devoted to Him. Jesus said he who is not with Me is against Me. There is no middle ground. All excuses out the window, I am devoted to the Lord, He is my only Savior, He is my only Lord. My whole life is about living for Him, serving Him, whether I'm at my job, whether at my home, whether my relationship with my wife or husband, with my kids. It's about Jesus Christ and manifesting His character, and honoring Him and doing His will. And no, I cannot be part of false worship, no I can't dabble in it, no I can't decide it's okay. No, it's not okay. I can have nothing to do with the demons. I am one who is in fellowship with the living Lord. What an honor. Think about it. We fellowship with the living God, we share in common with Him, we are His and He is ours, we abide in Him and He abides in us. And we desire nothing but Him.

Let's pray together. Thank you, Lord, for who you are. Thank you for the power of saving grace. Thank you, Lord, that you are the God who is faithful and under all the pressures, all the trials, all the testings, all the temptations we remain faithful because you are faithful, you are our strength, you give us ability. Lord, may we examine ourselves seriously, carefully as a church and as individuals to see if indeed we are faithful. Lord, may we immediately disassociate ourselves in every way from anything that would compromise our relationship, compromise our testimony, compromise our allegiance, our faithfulness. Lord, I pray for any who may be here who have yet to trust the Savior. May it be by your grace a day of salvation to them. We pray in Christ's name, amen.



[IL1]Where is the reference? How did we get here?