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1 Corinthians chapter 8 · Scripture Unscripted

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First Corinthians chapter 8 Let us pray our Lord, our God, our
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king, our master, our Savior, our All in all, our everything.
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Father, we are laid down lovers of you.
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Father, we just want to touch from you.
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Lord God Almighty, we are yours. We are emptied out of self and
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God. We take up your banner, we take
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up your 'cause we take up your word God and we take it to the
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ends of of the world. God, we are unashamed of the
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gospel. Father, it is all about you and
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it's always been about you and it'll always be about you.
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So God, I pray that we will be found with our hand to the plow
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and we'll be out in the harvest. God, we are your workers and we
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are here. God, we are your bond servants.
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We choose you today over sin. We choose you today over self
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preservation. We choose you today over mammon.
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We choose you today over selfish pride and vanity.
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God, we only want what you want. God.
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We want your heart and your mind.
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Lord, give us Our Daily Bread for today.
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Let us get into the Word as the word gets into us.
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God, search us out, purify us and purge out all of the
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impurities. God, refine us in the refiners
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fire. As you tread in the grain press,
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God, as you tread in the wine press, Father, I pray that you
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will make US more like your SON, Jesus Christ, our Lord and our
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Master, our Messiah. And Lord, you are everything.
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And we are waiting expectantly, and we are here expectantly,
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knowing that you desire to use us.
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And so, Father, we empty ourselves of ourselves.
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We empty ourselves of all of our selfishness, God, and we just
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want you. So, Lord, as we open up your
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word, let it jump into our hearts and into our minds, and
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God, let it become part of who we are.
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Let it become part of our thought processes, our emotional
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level. God, let it become part of our
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physiological self. Lord, I pray that we will be
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your people who are called by Your name, who take Your word
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out into all the earth. Father, I pray against all the
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schemes of the enemy. God, bind the enemy today from
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off of the youth. Bind the enemy today from off of
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the elderly. Bind the enemy today from off of
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your people, God, and cast him into the judgement that you have
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a waiting for him. Father, we only want you.
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God, we are sold out to you. God, we love you Jesus, and we
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thank you for life and life eternal and life abundant.
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God, and we measure everything that comes our way.
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By what does your word reveal to us?
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So God, we lay line upon line and precept upon precept,
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knowing your heart and knowing your mind and knowing that your
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desire is that none should perish, but that all should come
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to repentance. So God, we spread the seed out.
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God, you make it grow. We water it, Father, but you
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give the growth. Father, we love you.
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King Jesus, it's all about you. King Jesus, be honored and
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glorified in the highest today by the reading of your Word.
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I decrease as you increase it. It's all about you and it's in
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Jesus Christ, holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.
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Let's start in verse one. Now as touching things offered
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to idols. We know that we all have
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knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but charity
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edifies. So the question is, what are you
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doing with all of the knowledge that you possess about the Word
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of God? Are you using it for your own
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selfish, greedy gain, or are you using it to build others up with
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love, the love that only comes from a relationship with Jesus
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Christ? We cannot know love unless we
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know Jesus Christ. God is love and we only love
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because He first loved us. And that is why we do not use
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all the knowledge of the Bible to usurp our authority in Lord
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over people. Friends, that is evil and that
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is wicked at its core and that is what you need to understand.
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And that is what He is saying here, is that even all the way
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back in the Garden of Eden, the tree of the knowledge of both
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good and evil, not just of the knowledge of evil, but the
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knowledge of good and evil. And that is how many cults have
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sprang up. That is how many people have
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been mass manipulated by the church and by religion friends.
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And far be it from us to use the knowledge that we have to
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selfishly try to gain ground and to selfishly try to manipulate
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the masses. And that is what he is Speaking
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of here. And we need to be on guard.
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And it is the love that tears down all of the opposition.
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And that is how we know who belongs to him.
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It is by the love that builds each other up.
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We need to be encouraging our brothers and sisters, not trying
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to tear them down, not trying to be right.
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And that is the whole principle of the whole crux of the whole
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matter is what you need to understand and lock in on is
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this very principle. It is easy to make a point, but
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it is much harder to make a difference.
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And we are called to be difference makers in this world.
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Verse 2. And if any man thinks that he
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knows anything, he has nothing yet, as he ought to know.
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The moment you think that you've got it all figured out, the
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little bit that you have will be taken from you.
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You have to position yourself in a way where you say, the only
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thing that I know is that I know nothing.
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And just like Paul here has said, the only thing he wanted
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to know was Christ and Christ crucified.
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It is the cornerstone, the chief cornerstone that we build our
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life upon and we will never be put to dismay. 3 But if any man
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loves God, the same is known of him.
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That is, the only thing that even matters is if you are known
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by him, Not just that you know him, but that you are known by
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him. And that is where Jesus says,
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depart from me, for I never knew you.
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It's not enough to own a library of Bibles.
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It's not enough to attend church every single week faithfully.
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It's not enough to take hold of religion.
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Friends, we must be known by Him Verse 4 as concerning,
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therefore, the eating of those things that are offered and
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sacrificed to idols. We know that an idol is nothing
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in the world and there is none other God but one.
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We serve the only one true living God and every other
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lowercase G God is an idol, friends.
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And Paul is saying that all of that is a is nothing in
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comparison to the Lord God Almighty, Adonai El Shaddai.
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And that is who we serve as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
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Jacob, the creator of everything seen and unseen, the only
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uncreated, and even all the fallen angels and even all of
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the rulers and authorities and the principalities who call
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themselves gods, these lowercase G.
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They are all the created beings. And there is no power that is
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greater than our God, who is like our God.
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And Paul here wants these Corinthians to know that they
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have great liberty, but they cannot be a stumbling block to
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their brothers. They cannot abuse their
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liberalism, friends, and they cannot look down the nose at the
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legalist friends. And Paul here is going to
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equalize them. He's going to bring the ones on
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the bottom up to higher ground and he's going to bring all the
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lofty down on equal playing field.
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And that is what you need to know is God is near to the
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broken hearted, the contrite heart, friends.
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And if you want to be humbled, then you become prideful.
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But if you want to be exalted, then you become humble.
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And that is the way of God. And there is this great
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equalizing that happens. We cannot be puffed up.
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We cannot be prideful and vain. You will be brought low.
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But if you are lowly in heart and if you are meek friends, you
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will inherit the earth and you will see God.
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And that is the way of our Lord Jesus Christ. 5 For though there
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be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there
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be gods many and Lords many. So he's referencing scripture
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and Psalms, he's referencing Scripture and Exodus.
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He's referencing these little one off scriptures that call
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people lowercase G gods because of their authority that they
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have and what Jesus even said in his earthly ministry whenever he
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says why do you call it blasphemous that I call myself
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the Son of God. And what you need to understand
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is that all of the people who try to call themselves gods are
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committing blasphemy. And here we need to understand
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that if we try to make ourselves into gods and we try to get
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worship from men, we'll be eat up with maggots.
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And that is what you saw back there in the book of Acts when
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Herod didn't refuse the worship of the people.
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He was eat up with worms. And here we are.
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We need to understand in this culture and the day in the age
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that we live in, that is great blasphemy.
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And the only one that can call themselves the Son of God is
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Jesus Christ. And it is not blasphemous
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because three in one, the Trinity, God the Father, God the
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Son, and God the Holy Ghost, three in one, friends.
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And anytime you see a culture that is trying to exalt self,
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that is pride. And that is the national
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religion of hell, friends. And so even as the Bible tries
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to call these men gods, it is not the appropriate title that
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we give ourselves. It just means in the context
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that they have authority over people.
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It is not that there is any other God other than our God,
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the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, El Shaddai, El Elyon, the
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Most High God. There is but one God. 6 But to
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us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things,
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and we in Him, and 1 Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things,
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and we by Him all things seen and unseen, are created for Him,
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by Him, and to Him. 7 How be it there is not in every man that
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knowledge? For some with conscience of the
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idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol, and
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their conscience being weak, is defiled.
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We know that back there in Acts, whenever they were trying to
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figure out if the Gentiles who were coming into the faith
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needed to be circumcised, and they said, No, no, no, we just
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need to abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and
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from strangled meats and also from sexual immorality.
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And here Paul is buttoning up all of the thoughts in this
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early church, and he's telling them that they do not need to
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abuse their license to sin. This grace that we're in,
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friends, God forbid you ever find a follower of the way who
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is abusing their liberty. And Paul wants them to know that
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if they become a stumbling block in this eating of foods that
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have been sacrificed to idols, if they become a a stumbling
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block, they will be guilty of a great offense of leading people
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off into sin. And that is the whole crux of
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the whole matter of the whole situation, friends.
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And that is what you need to understand.
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And in our day and our hour there are many hot topics of can
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we listen to secular music and can we watch horror movies and
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can we smoke or drink or is it appropriate to dance or not or
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to wear a dress or jeans? This Jezebel spirit that people
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get attached to them whenever they are in immodest dress and
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call themselves Christians. There are many hot topic debates
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that we can have and what you need to understand is those are
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not salvific issues. They are not in the context of
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if we are made right with God or not.
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These are in direct connection with the rewards that we will
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get whenever we get to heaven. And that is what you need to
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understand. This is not a topic of
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salvation, friends. And he wants, Paul wants God
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wants us, and he wanted them to know that we are being watched
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by our brothers and sisters. And there are many who consider
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themselves to be elitist and superior because they can follow
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all of the legalistic decrees and all the legalistic moral
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compass and conscience that they have.
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And then there are those that are abusing grace and they think
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that it's OK to do and say and go wherever they want to go.
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And they don't think that anything's wrong.
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And they, each of them are calling each other into
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question. And far be it from us, friends,
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to break down our brothers and sisters because of their
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conscience and because of their convictions.
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And that is the whole point of this whole chapter, Friends. 8
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But meat commends us not to God. For neither if we eat are we the
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better? Neither if we eat not are we the
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worst. That is what he's trying to get
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them to understand is don't think of yourself as a superior
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Christian. Don't break down your brother
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because they are legalistic, and don't break down your brother
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because they are at liberty 9. But take heed, lest by any means
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this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are
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weak. So you can see here who are the
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weak ones. It's the legalist.
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You can see here in a very interesting turn of events, how
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God reveals that those who are trapped in legalism are the
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weak. 10 For if any man see you which has knowledge sit meat at
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the idols temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak
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be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to
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idols? That is what you need to
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understand is that the legalist conscience has deep seated
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convictions. And if we and our liberty
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provoke them to come and to abuse the things that they know
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is wrong in their own heart and that are pricked in their own
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conscience, and we entice them over into liberalism and
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liberty. It is a great sin to God and He
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sees it as a stumbling block and that is why we are not to try to
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judge each other by our convictions.
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God gives us different degrees and convictions at different
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times. And it is the $1,000,000 word
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sanctification, friends. And He deals with all the first
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things that are so outward and forward at first, whenever they
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are the things that are going to destroy us the fastest.
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And then as time goes on, He increases the volume and the
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nuances, and he starts to peel back all the layers, and he
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reveals hidden things that you didn't even know were there,
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friends. And he's going to sanctify you
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and get you ready for all of eternity, friends.
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And you could do it the easy way or the hard way. 10 For if any
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man see you which has knowledge, and they sit at me in the idols
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temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be
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emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols?
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11 And through your knowledge shall the weak brother perish,
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for whom Christ died. That is the sad reality is that
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somebody who is trapped in legalism, and they are right in
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their own minds, and the Bible tells us that it is sin to know
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what to do and not to do it. And that is what he is
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referencing here. They knew that their calling was
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to abstain from the great liberty that you and I enjoy,
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and we entice them into liberty. And it was a great sin.
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And they perish. And that is the mystery of God,
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friends, is that He knows for them and for their camp and for
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their oil cost, for their circle of influence, that they are
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called to be a John the Baptist, and not to touch any alcohol.
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And they have taken the vow of a Nazarite, friends, and it is
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beautiful in the sight of God. 12:00 But when you sin, sow
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against your brothers and wound their weak conscience, you sin
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against Christ. Did you catch it?
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Did you see it? Marvel at it?
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Friends, These are God's spoken words, the Rhema on the page.
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They're alive and active, and they're reading you right now.
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You have. Sinned against Christ.
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And again, we are not talking about salvific issues.
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These are the rewards that we will gain, the crowns that we
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will gain for all of eternity. And that is what is at stake
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here. When you offend Christ.
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It's wood, hay and stubble. We'll end on 13.
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Wherefore if meat makes my brother to offend, I will eat no
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flesh while the world stands, lest I make my brother to
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offend. Paul is saying here that if he
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even thinks that somebody's going to be offended by his
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liberty, then he will take the legalistic approach.
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He says I will eat no meat if it's going to cause my brother
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to be a stumbling block. And that is what you need to
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understand. You think it's joke joking and
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it's funny, it's laughable and you think that those that are
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trapped in legalism need to be set free.
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But the reality is God has called them into those camps to
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be a great difference maker to their circle of influence and
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perchance they will come over to the side of liberty.
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But it is not our place to try to draw them into it.
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We need to make sure that we are not the stumbling block to those
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brothers and sisters. That is the greatest take away
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from this chapter, friends. Whether it is alcohol, whether
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it is movies, whether it is music, whether it is smoking,
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whether it is language, no matter what it is, we do not
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need to be a stumbling block to our brothers.
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And there have been many who have made a grave mistake by
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thinking that it's funny and that it is humorous to entice
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the legalist into liberality. And the devil doesn't care what
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side of the road you wreck on, friends, as long as you wreck,
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you can wreck on the side of the road of legalism, and you can
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you can wreck on the side of the road of liberty.
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We need to pull it up in between the mayonnaise and the mustard.
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We need to make sure that we are keeping this bus in the middle
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of the road here, friends, blessed is the balance, the Mary
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and the Martha. Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, we
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love you. Father, I hope you've been
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blessed by this amazing chapter here in God's Word.
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I know I sure have. Stay strong in the faith.
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Put on the full armor of God, work out your salvation with
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fear and trembling. Make sure you have the fruits of
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the Spirit. Love God, love your, love your
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neighbor. Everything else will take care
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of itself. I love you, I'm praying for you.
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We'll see you back here tomorrow.
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God bless you.