Introduction
Let me begin with a discipleship question: how will you follow Jesus in prayer and dependence on God this week?
Main Points
In this lesson shaped by Calvary Boise's teaching on DISTRACTED: Live Free or Die, Christ invites us to receive truth with humility, practice repentance, and walk in faithful obedience.
Life in the Church
We're working our way through the book of first corinthians we're gonna be in first corinthians chapter eight this morning and this is a. Book that really challenges some of the ways that were reminded that things are not always immediately circumstantially even contextually well that you have.
- To work through in your christian life and we've been going through this book with the theme of you'll see it behind me this.
- One word distracted this is a church that the apostle paul is writing to because of all these little things that came up that.
- Were not well that they needed to navigate and paul is coming to offer them the reminder of the focus of Christ to be.
- Antidote for the division and the distraction and the difficulties that come when we focus on anything but Christ in our lives and so.
We've been working our way week by week through some of the distractions that this church had that we can relate to in our. Life we looked at the distraction of hype within the church or pride that comes up in our heart and sometimes causes division against.
Faith and Obedience
Church have Liberty to do things that believers aren't quite ready to deal with in their faith so some topics are gonna come up. In the word this morning that will that will kind of bring us towards some tension because what this is saying to us is.
- That depending on where you're at in your faith with the Lord and the strengthen that he's giving you we might have different ways.
- That we interact with our Christian Liberty and things that God gives us Liberty to do and other things that God also tells us.
- We shouldn't do based off where other people are at and it's going to come up in this chapter in regards to something we.
- Maybe can't relate to but I'm gonna do my best this sermon to contextually bring it to things we can the eating of meat.
Sacrificed to idols so let's look at this first Corinthians chapter 8 verse 1 starts like this now concerning things offered to idols we. Know that we all have knowledge we have an understanding of how to handle that in the revelation of who God is but knowledge.
Identity in Christ
With that Idol although it means nothing in the in the in the sovereignty of who God really is there's some that have a. Relationship that pulls them back towards some other way of thinking about idolatry verse 8 but food does not commend us to God for.
- Neither if we if we eat are we the better nor if we do not eat are we the worst but and here is.
- Our key verse this is where the verse really takes the tension of how we are supposed to use our Christian liberties in a.
- Loving way but beware lest someone or somehow the liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block to those who are weak the Liberty that.
- You enjoy in Christ has to have some guardrails on it so that's tension already because freedom should be free you should be able.
To do what you want with freedom and I want to before we get into the inner workings or go into the weeds. Of how Paul's going to help them navigate this let us rejoice or continue rejoicing because I sense that as we were worshiping this.
Faith and Obedience
Way and what we don't realize is that there's other people that are still coming along the path of faith and they're still maturing. To some of the freedoms that were in and their faith is still fragile in that area and that's what we're gonna talk about.
- This morning and to give us a picture of what this looks like I can't help but think of a moment that maybe some.
- Of you might remember this moment as I share my story with this moment but do you remember being a child for me this.
- Happened in grade school and you someone passes you a note for me this was a girl named Molly zedla Chuck and she came.
- Up to me with a note and she said this is from Lauren D'Alessio she wants you to read it and so I took.
The note and I went behind the music building where no one else was and I kind of slowly opened it up and it. Said do you like me question mark then it gave three options one option was a box that said yes underlined and then there.
Prayer and Dependence
Meeting means is it's okay to think about things it's okay to pross how we are supposed to use Liberty in a loving way. This is the maybe moment of this church maybe it's okay and maybe it isn't and what Paul is going to say is here's.
- How you can decide on those things and for us we need to know how to decide on things because the Bible is not.
- A rulebook the Bible does not give you policy to memorize so that no matter where you go in life you just refer to.
- The rules and you say this is yes this is no the Bible gives you a general principle in wisdom and the truth of.
- God and then he says by the power of the Spirit we're gonna give discernment with the filter of love in everything on how.
To make decisions whether you should in Liberty do something or not and the answer will be sometimes yes and sometimes it will be. No even though you have Liberty it will be no and that's why I'm calling this message live free or die now this is.
Faith and Obedience
The glory of God to know how to apply it love and this really is about love so let's look back on the first. Three verses to try to understand what this church is going through and then try to understand what it's speaking to us because much.
- Like our reading through four Corinthians sometimes we look at something their church was going through and realized well we feel that but it.
- Looks a little different for us so going back to verse 1 it says now concerning things offered to idols we know that not.
- All have knowledge puffs up but love edifies there's the filter that we're going to use as we navigate the way that we relationally.
- Walk in the spirit together knowing that sometimes we don't all have the same faith in our freedom is this loving or is this.
Being me being prideful about my knowledge and here's a great question that you can ask as we navigate what the word is going. To say this if it's if it's just knowledge they'll be prideful have you ever met someone who's the guy at the party that.
Sin and Salvation
We're in Corinth is hustling and bustling city and it's also a city filled with pagan worship the Greek culture lots of Greek gods. Paul will say oh yeah there's lots of gods referring to the culture that they live in that had a deity over all sorts.
- Of different things so that whatever you were doing whether it was business or pleasure and festivals and sex and travel there was a.
- God that you could offer worship to and as you did that just like we passed our baskets it's like here Lord we give.
- You this because we want to be part of what you're doing they offered what they had and one of the things that was.
- A thing of high value in their day was meat it was a delicatessen it was a good thing too to show your care.
For someone if you wanted to have someone over and bless them you offered them the fatted calf the good meat and now they're. Saying to their gods here take this and here's the process of them offering this meat they bring it to the temple the priest.
Conclusion
We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.
Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.
Conclusion
We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.