Do All to the Glory of God
1 Corinthians 10:1-33
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
In these verses, Paul is saying to be aware of spiritual arrogance. He says that if you think you are standing firm, you should be careful that you don’t fall.
He begins by reminding the Corinthians what happened to their ancestors. Their ancestors followed God in Egypt, experienced miraculous things and experienced tremendous blessings. Because of this, the Corinthians thought they would be okay since they had the privilege of being descendants of God’s people.
However, God was not truly pleased with the Israelites. Their ancestors thought they were safe and became arrogant. These passages help us to not be like these Israelites – to not be spiritually arrogant, but to have spiritual assurance. Assurance is acknowledgement of what God has done for you. We lack in many ways, but God still loves us unconditionally. Here are some ways we can have a healthy relationship with God.
1. We can check the Spiritual Arrogance Checklist
If you do any of these, then you are in spiritual arrogance and need to change your mindset.
Desiring Evil things
Idolatry
If you have anything more important than God in your life. Some examples could be your career, family, feelings, etc.
Sexual Immorality
Putting Christ to the test
This is having a conditional relationship with God. “If you do this for me, then I’ll do this for you”
Grumbling
This is complaining about something or someone. We complain when things don’t go as planned, when life is unfair. Grumbling is also a result of the way our personality has developed over time. We need to change the way we respond to situations. The opposite of grumbling would be thankfulness. So give thanks in all circumstances – this if the will of God.
If you do any of these, think about how you can change.
2. We should get rid of Idols
The passage says to flee from idolatry and not to drink from both the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. Some of the Corinthians at the time were drinking from both. The Corinthians worshiped many different gods for different reasons. There were gods for fortune, good luck, protection, and other benefits. As a result, one side of their heart was for Christ, while the other side was for idols/demons. Some people think it is okay to have a divided heart, but this should not be the case.
The Corinthians would go to church in the morning and do communion, and after worship, they would go participate in a pagan temple. This is a fight against evil spirits, so we should be aware of idolatry in our lives. This is why Paul warns about food sacrificed to idols, and how these can open the door in our hearts to these spirits. If we have any statues or ornaments in our home, it is better to get rid of them.
3. We should do all to the glory of God
Paul writes that all things are lawful, but not all things are not helpful or good for building up. So we should try to live in a way that everything we do is for the glory of God. We can discern if our actions and decisions are God-glorifying with some guidelines:
Non-believers make decisions that are healthy and helpful for their own good. They do not think about how their actions affect Christ and the church.
New/Immature Christians can think in terms of what is right and what is wrong – what is lawful versus what is sinful. If it is beneficial, but it is a sin – they can decide not to do it.
However, mature Christians can decide if their decisions bring glory to God or not. Some decisions that are beneficial or lawful don’t always give glory to God. They can discern if their actions will bring God glory.
Discussion Questions:
What did you get from this sermon?
Which points do you need to work on in your life?
Which points do you do well?
