Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 1 Corinthians 10:6-10

Continuing in the context of the teaching here by Paul, the Apostle is referencing the Israelites in the wilderness, when they were continually disobedient to God, seeking pleasures of the flesh, worshiping false idols, even though they specifically saw the miracles of God firsthand. There are non believers and atheists that would say “If God showed me this or that, they would believe” That’s not necessarily true, as many Isralites witnessed the miracles of God first hand ,yet still rejected Him and fell away

Paul’s message to the Church “We should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted” Again we should learn from the Israelites, if you are Born Again, we are to seek the things of God not the world. Don’t be idolaters, many just attribute this to worshiping a pagan deity, but this is not just the case. We can make anything our idol, money, sex, drugs, anything we put in front of God is an idol. As Jesus said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul (Matthew 22:37) Hence All Your Heart, not just part of your heart. So what has captured your heart? Is Jesus or the world the love of your heart?

Another interesting subject here is Paul attributes sexual immorality to idolatry. In today’s generation, we see this first hand, people’s sexuality has become their idol. But as Christians , we are The Temple of God, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, to be disobedient to God is idolatry, you are placing things above your love for God

The Apostle Paul makes an interesting statement here “Neither Let Us Tempt Christ”, notice the context of the Israelites tempting God in the wilderness, is the same context of tempting Christ. Paul is demonstrating the deity of Christ , and just because we are under grace of Christ, we should not be disobedient to the Holy Spirit and tempt Christ

Again the question goes back to “Do you truly love The Lord God with all your heart, mind, and soul? It doesn’t matter how religious you believe you are, doesn’t matter how many good deeds you believed you performed, if you truly love God, then Jesus Christ would truly be your Lord (Master). Don’t tempt The Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the author and finisher of life, Amen!

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 1 Corinthians 10:1-5

There is a popular preacher who was instructing people to “unhitch from the Old Testament”, of course his name is Andy Stanley and he made himself famous for making this statement. Well , if we did disregard the Old Testament, we would have no idea or context of what Paul is teaching us here . The Apostle Paul is referencing the Israelites in the Wilderness going though the Red Sea, eating the qual , and Moses striking the Rock that provided them continuous water.

So the first point we should make, the entire Bible is relevant and important for all of us to know and study. Secondly Paul makes alot of references here, and we could preach a sermon on all of them, so let me try to briefly describe my thoughts on these scriptures.

Paul first says “How that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the seas” Now obviously this is a reference to Moses leading the Israelites through the Wilderness and the Red Sea. Most Christians might say “This has nothing to do with me today” But your wrong, this was a foreshadow of the baptism of faith we have today in Christ.

Water Baptism, which was introduced by the prophet John the Baptist, hence the name, is an outward confession of our faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, The Lord himself went through water baptism to give us an example. The Apostle Paul is saying here when the Israelites by faith went through the Red Sea, it was a spiritual baptism of their own

Think about the event of the Red Sea, what did the Israelites have to do to save their lives? DId they fight the Egyptians? No, Did they persuade the Egyptians to leave?no, they simply trusted what God told them and did it. Their obedience to God , which we call faith, is what saved them

How are we saved? We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8) This is exactly what the sign of baptism is, its an act of faith, profession, and declaration I trust The Lord Jesus Christ to save my soul. Period, we can’t earn it 

Now I know we can argue , how can I get my faith? We know we are called or elected by God, we know the cleansing of the blood of Christ, and we know the regeneration work of the Holy Spirit, is all essential to us having faith. Simply put, Faith in Christ alone is all you need for your salvation , Amen!

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

How would you describe your Christian walk? Some people think you make a profession of faith, and you got a golden ticket into Heaven. This is not the life of a Born Again Christian. When you truly become saved, you become Born Again, a regeneration, the baptism of the Holy Spirit (John 3) This is not just a profession of faith, this is a transformation of your life

So the Apostle Paul here, describes the Christian walk like an athlete competing in sports. As Paul says “So run, that you may obtain”. We are not to live our Christian life just coasting waiting for the Rapture to come! We should be competing just like a professional athlete competes to win. There should be a drive and hunger to serve The Lord. Athletes don’t go into a contest, waiting for the end or unprepared, they go into a contest and give everything they have until the final sound

Now you might ask “Why should I do this”? Well again, if you are truly Born Again , you have a new heart for God. The fire of the Holy Spirit is inside you, you can’t resist but to serve The Lord. Listen to what Paul says here “Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible” Many athletes will literally almost kill themselves to win a Super Bowl or win a Stanley Cup, however our prize is greater, eternal life to serve an eternal God in an eternal Kingdom! Hallelujah

I want to bring another point here , Paul says “But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection” We know that professional athletes spend the majority of their time training, why? Because without training, you won’t be ready for the big game! Well we as Christians need to be continually training also, we need to continually study the Word of God, continually pray to God, continually be led by the Holy Spirit, continually submit ourselves to Jesus Christ our Lord. 

We should hold ourselves to a higher standard, its not only a great privilege to serve The Lord, but its a great responsibility. Paul says here “when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” When we represent Christ as his servant, we don’t want to bring shame to God, we want to honor God by giving our best effort. Zeal is great, but without knowledge or discernment , it can be destructive. 

The bottom line is Run Your Race, as Jesus said “Deny yourself, Carry your Cross Daily, and Follow Jesus, Amen!

For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 1 Corinthians 9:19-22

The Apostle Paul was more concerned about winning souls than winning arguments. This is one of the biggest hindrances we have at evangelizing, we care more about winning the argument than winning the soul. Should we care about sharing sound doctrine? Absolutely, but should we become stumbling blocks in the meantime, shame on us!

As Paul says here “To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews” We need to know our audience. Alot of Christians, when they do decide to evangelize, they don’t care about their audience , they just shout repent or burn in Hell. Is this making a personal connection with anyone? Is anyone truly receiving this message? We need to be trying to reach people, not just shout at them. Ask people questions, get to know where they are coming from. Try to find some common ground to share the gospel message.

Brother John shared the story on one of our podcasts about preacher Voodie Baucham, when his was in seminary a Jehovah Witness knocked on his door. He arrange a meeting with the JW to destroy them theologically and initially he felt pretty good about himself, until his professor asked “Are they coming back”? And he replied no. It finally hit him, it wasn’t about destroying people in arguments, it was about building relationships so they would entrust you to share the gospel with them

As Paul said “I made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” If you want to evangelize to a certain group of people, then learn about those people. Understand what they already know, where they are coming from, what personal struggles they have had in their life. Were not just a wrecking ball coming in to destroy people, remember we were all lost sinners once also

And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. I Corinthians 9: 23

Why take all this time to build relationships? Because we do this for the gospels sake, we do this because we care about people’s souls, we do this because Jesus Christ first loved us so we love others, Amen!

For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me. What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. 1 Corinthians 9:16-18

Why do we preach the gospel? Why do we focus our lives around Christ? Because we are called by Christ to preach the gospel. We didn’t wake up one day and say “I think I’m going to be a preacher” No, The Lord calls us and we are baptized by the Holy Spirit, we are Born Again, a new Creature in Christ

As the Apostle Paul says here “For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of” Whatever we do it’s for the glory of God and not ourselves. When we preach the gospel, and we see fruits of the Holy Spirit, it’s all glory to God and not ourselves. We are just chosen vessels to be the hands and feet of Christ, but we are nothing more than a vessel. It’s an honor and privilege to be a servant of Christ and all glory to God and his Kingdom

Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel says Paul. Just think about Jonah, God called him to preach to Nineveh and he ran away, how did that work out for Jonah? When God calls you to do something, you either do it or you will be in opposition of God Almighty. 

As it’s been said, with great power comes great responsibility. As the Apostle Paul says here “that I abuse not my power in the gospel” We know many have abused their authority in the Church, and great will be their punishment when they meet Christ face to face. Make sure we remain humble, and focused on Gods will be done and not our own

So who is called to preach the gospel? Everyone who is Born Again is called to preach the gospel (Matthew 28:19) That probably means You also , if you are saved. Don’t neglect your calling, don’t abuse your spiritual power and authority in Jesus name , Amen!

If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ. Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? 1 Corinthians 9:11-13

Whenever the topic of tithing or donating money to the Church comes up, it’s typically a touchy subject. There is a perception by the carnal world , that those doing spiritual work for God’s Kingdom are not worthy of getting paid. This overall mentality and attitude is partly one of the main reasons there is a Pastor shortage in the Church today. Churches want the greatest Pastor in the Kingdom to be their shepherd, however they just don’t want to pay them. We see this all the time and anyone who has worked in ministry knows this is unfortunately true.

Now we also have the other side of the spectrum, we have false prophets using prosperity gospel to make millions and rip off well-meaning Christians. People see these wolves and become leery of all Christians. Let me first tell you, anyone who was truly called by God to be in ministry, didn’t choose to be in ministry for money. The Apostle Paul knew the perception out there and refrained from collecting everything he was owed as he said “Nevertheless we have not used this power, but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ”

Fulfilling the Great Commision was Paul’s main goal, whether he had to suffer in poverty or imprisonment. When it comes to the Pastor of your Church, this should be their same goal also. If your pastor is more worried about budgets than the saving of souls, then it would be a red flag. However if your Pastor is a faithful servant of Christ, make sure you support them financially

Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void. 1 Corinthians 9:14-15

The Apostle Paul understood the perception this must cause the Church. As Paul said “They which preach the gospel should live of the gospel” The Church should be willing to support their spiritual leaders. The reality is we all need to live, we need to pay our mortgage, we need to feed our family, we need to buy clothing, we don’t need extravagant things, but a Pastor does need necessities of life and the Word of God states they are entitled to them as their wages.

The Apostle Paul again understood the perception this might cause and said “for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void” Paul would rather have died from hunger than have the gospel hindered by peoples hardened hearts. Should your Pastor suffer because of your hardened heart?

I understand money is a difficult topic for the Church, but should it really? Doesn’t everything we own belong to The Lord? Do we deserve all the credit and glory for our success or God? Take care of the spiritual leaders that take care of you! Amen!

Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? If I be not an apostle unto others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord. Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, Have we not power to eat and to drink? Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear working? 1 Corinthians 9:1-6

There is a popular movement nowadays, especially in the Hebrews roots , to deny Paul as an Apostle, some even say he is an “AntiChrist”. Now to reject Paul as an Apostle of Christ, will lead you down a long slippery slope. Let me explain, if you reject Paul, first then you are rejecting the Word of God is inerrant, secondly you are rejecting over half of The New Testament. Remember Paul didn’t work alone, the Dr. Luke worked with Paul also. So if you reject Paul, then you are going to have to reject Luke also. So now you have to eliminate the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. Do you see where we are headed here?

The fact of the matter is Paul is an Apostle of Christ (Acts 1:21) and Paul did see Christ face to face on the road to Damascus during his conversion (Acts 9:4) It’s a biblical fact that Jesus Christ choose Paul as a chosen vessel to preach the gospel and build God’s Kingdom (Acts 9:15) Just because Paul is an Apostle, doesn’t mean he or the disciples don’t deserve to have any happiness in life

Yes we all know Paul suffered greatly for The Lord, but as Paul says here “Have we not power to eat and drink?” “Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord” Paul is saying as Christians, as servants of Christ, we still can enjoy food and drink , we still have the right to enjoy marriage and fellowship with others. God gave us families and communities for a reason, enjoy the love and fellowship of your family and neighbors

Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. 1 Corinthians 9:7-10

 Tithing is another issue in the Church today, while I don’t believe the 10% tithe tax of the Mosaic Covenant applies to the Church, I do believe God loves a cheerful giver and we should support our Brethren for the Kingdom. Now of course we should beware of wolves looking to profit on God, however those who are truly soldiers of Christ need to be supported.

As the Apostle Paul said “Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox treading out the corn” This is in reference you shouldn’t avoid supporting ministries and Churches that are working for Christ. Notice Paul mentions this as a commandment from God

The bottom line is we need to support our brothers and sisters in Christ who are on the front lines in spiritual warfare. Now support doesn’t always mean financial, it can be spiritual, it can be emotional, use the freedom of Christ to do good for the Kingdom, Amen

Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak 1 Corinthians 8:7-9

We all need to be on fire for The Lord, and we should all have great zeal for the Kingdom, however we also need to make sure we are not a stumbling block for those coming to Christ. We need to remember we are all on different levels and places in our walk with Christ. If we hinder people from seeking Jesus , what good does your zeal accomplish , except to exalt yourself?

We see many stumbling blocks in the Church of Corinth, we see some arguing with other Christians over what they are eating, whether they are circumcised, what day they are worshiping, sound familiar? Yes there are still many stumbling blocks in the Church today, as Paul says here “Take heed by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak” 

We have freedom and liberty with Jesus Christ, don’t allow your convictions to become a stumbling block for others. You might ask what do I mean? I know there are some who are convinced Christians must “Keep the Saturday Sabbath”, some have even said people are not saved unless they worship on Saturday. However this was never commanded by Christ or the Apostles, so why push your convictions on others? 

For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. 1 Corinthians 8:10-13

I’ll take this even one step further, being a stumbling block to other believers you sin against Christ The Apostle Paul says here “But when you sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ” There are many new believers that stumbling blocks prey on. They know they don’t have deep theological knowledge, so they push their false teachings upon them. This is a sin against the Church and against The Lord. 

Now there is nothing wrong with healthy internal discussions about differences in theology, in fact it’s very healthy. However we shouldn’t force our viewpoints on others or threaten their salvation if they don’t agree. The worst thing we can do is to become a stumbling block for those coming to Christ, we were all once lost also, be a Shepherd and not a wolf , Amen!