Sermon Text for 01/31/10 - Four Principles for Christians Living in a Pluralistic Society – 1 Corinthians 10:23-11:1
In 1Corinthians Paul spends 3 chapters (8-10) helping the Corinthian Christians work though their questions about meat that was offered in worship to idols: Should they eat it or not?
Over chapters 8-10 Paul warns that freedom can be abused and do spiritual damage; he uses himself as an example to show how he gives up his freedoms in service to the “weak”; he gives the object lesson of an athlete giving up rights for the sake of strict training so as not to be disqualified and win the crown. He pointed them back to Israel’s history with idols to remind them of what they could lose. And (10:13) Paul reminds them that the temptation to worship idols is common to humanity. But God will faithfully give us an escape route every time- if we’ll take it.
Paul knew that figuring out what to do about idol meat was one of a thousand problems the Corinthians would have to face as they figured out how to follow Jesus in their pluralistic society
(a society that encompasses a variety of belief systems, religions and worldviews).
And so he didn’t just give them specifics for this situation he gave them (and us) a foundation of info on which he will set four general principles. These four basic principles serve as guidelines to help Christians think through how to live their faith successfully amongst people of varying religious beliefs.
The first principle Paul mentions is: Flee idolatry. We talked about this last week but later on we’ll talk about it in the context of these four Principles for Christian Living in Pluralistic Populations.
l. The 1st Principle I want you to see is: 26 …“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
Here Paul quotes from Psalm 24 which reads:
Psa. 24:1 The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.
The Psalm says God founded the world and established it. That’s how powerful He is. It calls him the King of Glory and says: Psa. 24:8 Who is the King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle.
So God, the Mighty King of Glory, made the world and he made it all good.
You see, even in a pluralistic society you and I are still ambassadors of the most powerful kingdom in the universe- servants of the King whose reign will never end. (Romans 8 promises that someday we’ll be revealed for who we really are but for now our position and our greatness is hidden – Aragorn - the hidden King)
God’s holiness and goodness are not delicate little things that might faint or wilt without protection.
Like Jesus touching the leper or the woman whose body wouldn’t stop bleeding instead of their “impurity” making him unclean, healing and purity flowed from him back into them.
Jesus cannot be defiled by any impurity. And anything God touches will be purified and redeemed.
God’s holiness doesn’t need human protection and his goodness is more powerful than any evil.
The King of Glory is for us. Who can be against us? The power of God is with us. (Beethoven - the dog)
The earth is the Lords and all it contains. That means we can relax. We don’t have to be so afraid or fussy or worried. Instead, because the Earth is the Lord’s, we can be fearlessly gracious.
For the Corinthians the specific application is twofold: You can freely shop at the meat market without concern (25). And you can accept a dinner invitation from a pagan neighbor without concern (27).
Some examples in our world:
Scripture condemns getting drunk but does not condemn the drinking of alcohol. That hasn’t stopped lots of Christians from condemning any consumption of alcohol as sin.
Some Christians see meditation(waiting on the Lord in silence or repeating certain prayers or scripture phrases) as being of the devil because they associate it with Eastern religions and philosophies. For them meditation is tainted meat that’s been offered to idols. (It’s been practiced by Christians for centuries.)
Remember our Prayer Flags for Port Townsend event at the Uptown Street Fair. Prayer flags are a Tibetan Buddhist form of worship that we reframed for Christian use. Some Christians might see that form of worship –writing a prayer on a flag- as tainted meat that’s been offered to idols.
But if we understand that the earth is the Lords and everything in it and his holiness is no delicate thing that needs our protection we can be fearlessly gracious to the Christian wine enthusiast or the one who meets God in silent meditation or who uses a Buddhist form to share a Christian prayer.
1Tim. 4:4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude;
The Earth is the Lords and everything in it so in a pluralistic society we can be fearlessly gracious.
ll. The 2nd Principle is 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
The way to live the life of Christ successfully in your church and your community and your home is to seek the best interest of others ahead of yourself.
This idea is foundational to Christianity. It sums up the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus puts aside his own good for the good of the world. He gives up his own good to willingly enduring an embarrassing and horrendous execution- for the sake of “others”. And in Philippians Paul uses this example to specifically call us to “consider others more important than ourselves.”
I don’t know who said it but it rings true and so I’ve used it many times. “In a pluralistic society a religion will be judged based on how it treats its non-adherents.”One might just turn that around to say: in a pluralistic society, the disfavor felt toward a religion is proportional to the harm it brings its non-adherents.
As we’ve said: Freedom in Christ is the freedom to forego self for the sake of others.
The Corinthians indulging their Rights and Freedoms – their “Everything is Permissible” attitude- was not beneficial to them or to their siblings in Christ. And it certainly didn’t build up the church.
But seeking the good of others over your own is ALWAYS constructive and ALWAYS beneficial… to the person, the Church and to the world.
Paul applies this for the Corinthians saying:Seek your unbelieving neighbor’s good by accepting his invitation to dinner and not fussing over what’s served (27).On the other hand: seek your Sibling in Christ’s good by giving up your freedom and not eating if they “warn you” some part of the meal was offered to an idol (28). Put others first
This includes giving no offense.Paul: 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God —
In Corinth the Jews were enemies of Paul and the church; the Greeks were indifferent to this new religion- they didn’t really care- and the Corinthian Church was divided and struggling to survive.
But Paul tells them don’t do anything that will put an obstacle in the way of anyone’s faith.
He says “I try to please everybody in every way…and seek the good of many so they may be saved. (33)
He wrote something similar to the Galatians: Gal. 6:10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
So if you live in a pluralistic society and you want to live your Christianity well then do not forget your overriding obligation to your neighbor. Seek the good of others over your own whether they are enemies of the church, indifferent to the church or siblings in Christ.
Now I’ve said that the knowledge that “The Earth is the Lords” should free Christians to be Fearlessly Gracious to all people. Our 2nd principle tells us to put the good of others ahead of our own including not giving offence to anyone- Jew or Greek or God’s Church. That sounds pretty warm and accepting.
But at the same time there are limits to how far the follower of Jesus should accommodate
the various worldviews, philosophies and religions of any pluralistic society.
And this brings us to our 3rd principle of the day- one that we discussed last week:
lll. The 3rd Principle I want you to remember is… 14 Therefore my beloved flee from idolatry.
As we said last week Paul expects the Corinthians to keep their distance from anything resembling the worship of idols. The immediate application for the Corinthians is stay away from the pagan temples, Idol worship and festivals of the gods.
Last week we defined Idolatry as: Seeking what only God can give from another source (that is both false & impotent).Paul reveals to the Corinthians that when they mix and mingle with false gods they lend worship/power to demons, spiritual forces that despise God and want to twist and distort God’s world and his image-bearing children.”
Now, in American Christian culture we tend to connect any ideas of idolatry with the worship of our stuff or ourselves over God. And that’s a valid point. But Paul is also saying: Christians in a pluralistic society must keep their distance from any worship that is not directed to God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. As Paul said in ch8
6 … there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
You must not worship the Lord Jesus Christ and your ancestors.
You must not worship the Lord Jesus Christ and Aphrodite or Hermes or Zeus.
You must not worship the Lord Jesus Christ and the earth or the stars or the goddess
In another letter Paul will tell the Corinthians:
2Cor. 6:14 ¶ Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial (evil personified/antichrist), or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
17 “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. 18 “And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty. Thus Paul says: Flee Idolatry.
· I regularly attend the Ministerial Assn meetings- relationship
· Nov. meeting a variety of faiths represented and the idea was floated for an Interfaith Creation-Care Earthday event.
· A group of folks who were jazzed about an Interfaith event or worship decided to start planning.
· I suggested that a project would be best – work together equally—trying to deflect from the Worship concept.
· I was uncomfortable with a worship service from the start. Project: yes Worship service: no
· (People of distinctly different faiths worshipping together stretches the bounds of integrity to the breaking point.)
· At this last meeting it began to come out that the “project idea” wasn’t working out so well.
·“Interfaith excitement” drew Baha’i and Sufi and Unitarian and Jewish and Quakers a variety of Christians.
· They kept describing this Earthday Event as a Worship service or a time of ritual, etc. 3 or 4 times.
· And I was thinking: I’m just going to sit here quietly-no need to make a fuss and I’ll slip out afterwards.
And then one of the new folks asked if it was okay to use the Min assn’s name on the event. Vague comments.
It came up again and someone said I don’t think we’ve heard from everyone and I think it’s really important that we do.
And then there was a pause… and suddenly it kind of felt like I was the center of the universe and everyone was waiting for me. And I didn’t want to do it but I opened my mouth anyway and said:
“Using the Ministerial Assn’s name isn’t a big deal. But…if this is going to become a worship service then I have to take a couple steps back from this event. I’m a Christian. I am absolutely dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ. And while many of you believe that all roads lead to the same place, that all faiths are equal, I do not. And so if this is a worship service, for my sake and the sake of my community I need to step back from the event.
• This was a shocking thing to say. They – all of them- were stunned.
I hurried to say: “Now you know that I love you all and respect you all and we’ve worked on many things together but this just isn’t a place I can go. And that’s okay. And I don’t want you to change any of the plans you’ve made. You should continue as you are. This is not a problem. I do not feel bad or left out.
First: a lot of backtracking It really wouldn’t be worship at all- bad choice of words.
Second: the offer of enlightened instruction to help me see how much I might learn from participation. (kindly offered)
As winsome and gracious and selfless as we are called to be sometimes we have to flee idol worship.
lV. The 4th Principle I want you to see is…31…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
This principle both stands on it’s own and contains the other three. Christians trying to live in a pluralistic society can become frightened, worried that they are losing control over their world, or angry that “the competition” seems to be winning, gaining more converts or acceptance. And they might try to do things, to establish or protect the churches place in the world, that do not glorify God.
These principles could be engaged for the wrong reasons: arrogance, fear, self-preservation.
But this principle is a measuring rod, a check and balance. It says the focus of the Christians life- whatever she does or doesn’t do- is one thing and one thing only: The Glory of God.
We remember “The Earth is the Lord’s” not for us but so God is glorified. We “put others first” not to enhance our attendance but for the Glory of God. We flee idolatry not out of competition or fear but for the glory of God.
The Hebrew and Greek words for glory both contain the ideas of approval/honor and brightness/ or splendor. In a very broad sense the Glory of God is a visible manifestation of God that brings honor and respect to God. Jesus tells Martha she will see the Glory of God-and Lazarus is raised. Stephen sees the Glory of God before he dies honorably for the sake of the Lord Jesus.
So the question for every Christian living among a variety of religions, philosophies and worldviews is: Does the expression of our life in Christ make God visible to our community? And does the expression of our life in Christ reveal God in a way that they might choose to honor Him, if they would? Does it glorify God?
In closing it’s important to say that our world is changing. And as the years pass these four principles
(The Earth is the Lords, Put others first, flee idolatry and do it all to the Glory of God.) will become more and more important to the Church of God and Christ in the United States.
In a few decades we may find ourselves in a situation very similar to that of the Christians in Corinth- a minority faith among a variety of beliefs and philosophies. You see while the followers of Jesus are growing in numbers in developing parts of the world (Latin America, Africa, China, and India) in the western world Christianity is shrinking.
In the last four years, the Muslim population in Britain multiplied 10 times faster than the rest of society increasing from 500,000 to 2.4 million. In the same period the number of Christians in the country fell by more than 2 million). There are now an estimated 1.5 million Hindus in the United States, prevalent in Texas, New Jersey, and Ohio. Worldwide Islam, Baha’i, Sikhism, and Hinduism are all growing faster than Christianity. Some day the US may no longer be the nation sending missionaries. We’ll be the nation needing missionaries from Africa or India or China.
We probably won’t have to deal with the question of Meat offered to idols but we will have to figure out how to faithfully live for Jesus in a pluralistic society. And thanks to Paul’s four principles penned for the Corinthians 2000 years ago we can get started practicing right now.
So remember the Earth is the Lords, Put others first, flee idolatry and do it all to the Glory of God.
