DON'T COMPROMISE WITH IDOLATRY

Passage: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Key verse: 21

NIV

Idol Feasts and the Lord’s Supper

14 Therefore, my dear friends,(A) flee from idolatry.(B) 15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break(C) a participation in the body of Christ?(D) 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body,(E) for we all share the one loaf.

18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices(F) participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything?(G) 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons,(H) not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.(I) 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy?(J) Are we stronger than he?(K)

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Source: BibleGateway

ESV

14 Therefore, my beloved, (A)flee from idolatry. 15 I speak (B)as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 (C)The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? (D)The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are (E)one body, for we all partake of the one bread. 18 Consider (F)the people of Israel:[a] (G)are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? 19 What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that (H)an idol is anything? 20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice (I)they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 (J)You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and (K)the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and (L)the table of demons. 22 (M)Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? (N)Are we stronger than he?

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Footnotes
  1. 1 Corinthians 10:18 Greek Consider Israel according to the flesh
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Flee from idolatry (14-17)

The Lord's Supper reminds us that we have entered into a blood covenant with Jesus. When we repent and receive forgiveness through Jesus' blood, we become a part of Christ's body. This commitment is more binding even than that of marriage, for God's commitment to us and ours to him is sealed in the blood of his Son.

2. Consider Israel's failure (18-22)

The people of Israel failed to maintain God's blessings in the promised land because they compromised with the pagan culture. Idolatry is spiritual adultery. It is unfaithfulness to God. We must not act like Christians in one situation and non-Christians in another. In Corinth, as in ancient Israel, idolatry was woven into the fabric of the culture, and Christians felt constant pressure to compromise. But God's people must not compromise.

Prayer: Lord, I was a hopeless sinner, but Jesus' blood washed me clean. Help me to be faithful to you forever.

One Word: Sealed by Christ's body and blood