On this, Saint Valentine’s Day,

As earthly love is celebrated

With cards and chocolates, jewellery and lingerie,

As couples do their best

To show appreciation and affection,

May we, like grateful lovers,

Lift our eyes to the One who is altogether lovely

And boldly proclaim our love for Him

Who loved us with an everlasting love,

Who walked the Via Dolorosa to that lonely

Place of the Skull,

Who tasted vinegar and gall,

Not honey,

In order to save our souls.

May we, with adoration ablaze

And hearts that ache for intimacy,

Reach forth to the One

Whose outstretched arms

Portray more vividly than any fluffy toy

The height and depth and length and breadth

Of love eternal.

May we learn the language of adoration,

The gaze of wordless affection,

And may we then rise forth,

Hand in hand,

To tell the world

‘I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine,

And His banner over me is love.’

Today’s coffee morning starts at 10 a.m., with the Sunday morning service on 14th February at Cherry Tree Court (10.30 a.m.) The evening service will be at Market Street at 6 p.m.

Next Saturday (20th February) will be the first ‘Churches Together’ meeting of 2016. Starting at 6 p.m. at the Salvation Army on Straight Lane, this is an opportunity to meet with other Christians from local churches to worship, pray, have fellowship and learn from God’s Word. Refreshments will be served after the meeting.

On Friday 4th March at 2 p.m. at Sacred Heart Church on Lockwood Lane will be the Women’s World Day of Prayer meeting, focusing on the country of Cuba. All are welcome, including men and children!

Don’t forget Easter is early this year and there will be special meetings over the Easter weekend (Friday 25th – Sunday 27th March) to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ. More details to follow, but please note we’ll be joining with other local churches for the ‘March of Witness’ around Goldthorpe on Saturday 26th March at 10 a.m.

On Saturday 2nd April at 7 p.m. at the Father’s House church in Wath-on-Dearne, Ian Ross will be speaking on ‘Encountering The Father.’  Ian was part of the senior staff when renewal broke out at the ‘Catch The Fire’ church in Toronto, Canada and seeks to bring a message of the Father’s love for us. This meeting has been organised by Restoration Beyond Belief.

Having said that Paul deals frequently in principles, it’s worth asking ‘What are the guiding principles he gives us in 1 Corinthians?’ As the Message version puts it, just because something is ‘technically legal’ doesn’t make it ‘spiritually appropriate.’ All things may be lawful, but here are some questions we should ask ourselves before we do anything:

• Will this lead me to freedom or slavery? (1 Cor 6:12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything.) That extra glass of wine or biscuit might not be sin, but it may well be reinforcing a habit that needs to be broken. Sin very easily has mastery over us, but this should not be the case, for Christ has broken the chains of sin and given us the power to say no!
• Will this make me a stumbling-block or a stepping stone? (1 Cor 8:13 ‘Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.’) Paul constantly wants us to build each other up, not tear each other down. We can inspire others and urge them on to greater things in God, or we can, through discouragement, cynicism and lack of faith, cause them to trip up or, worse still, lead them into sin (as the ten spies did when returning from their scouting trip.)
• Will this build me up or tear me down? (1 Cor 10:23-24 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others.) We need to consider others, but we also need to do that which is beneficial all round.
• Will this please only me or will it glorify Christ? (1 Cor 10:31 ‘So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.‘) There’s great freedom in living not to earn God’s favour but from the position of knowing we are loved and cherished by Him. Living to please God is a delight, not a duty.
• Will this help me to win the lost to Christ or turn them away? (1 Cor 10:33 ‘For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.’) Other people are reading us, whether we’re aware of it or not. (2 Cor 3:1-3) Let’s let our whole life sing for Christ.

‘May the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You.’ (‘Life Song’, Casting Crowns)

A stumbling-block is ‘a circumstance which causes hesitation or difficulty’, something which causes a person to trip up or fall. There are many natural stumbling-blocks which cause us to trip or fall: an uneven kerb, for example, or a flagstone that is not evenly laid. This kind of stumbling-block is usually not intended to hurt, but these ‘trip hazards’, as they are known in Health & Safety parlance, can often be avoided with a little bit of forethought (eg moving trailing cables out of the way or warning people when a floor has been cleaned to avoid slipping.)

Health & Safety issues means we have to consider not only our own safety but the safety of others. General Health and Safety Legislations covers all employers and workplaces and is intended to include obligations to protect employees and the public from risks associated with slips, trips and falls (in addition to the ‘moral duty’ of protection upon employers.) Paul is, in essence, enforcing a spiritual ‘Health and Safety’ measure in his exposition of whether to eat meat sacrificed to idols or not. Consideration of others is the key factor.

The Greek word for ‘stumbling-block’ (‘skandalon’, from which we get the word ‘scandal’ and which can also be translated ‘offence’) gives us a picture not only of tripping up, falling or stumbling, but being the thing that actually causes someone to fall (and from this, metaphorically, to sin.) Jesus used this word when Peter tried to stop him talking of his death and resurrection: ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’ (Matt 16:23) Peter had no desire, I am sure, to trip Jesus up, but Jesus knew that the cross could not be avoided and that any hint of another way other than that of the cross would not bring about the salvation humanity so desperately needed.

Throughout the Bible, we are urged not to do anything which causes people to stumble. Perhaps the most vivid example of this is in Matt 18:6, when Jesus says ‘If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.’ Paul is concerned that we do not use our Christian freedom in such a way that causes others to fall, saying, ‘Be careful that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling-block to the weak.’ (1 Cor 8:9) Here, the word for ‘stumbling-block’ is ‘proskomma’, which can also be translated as ‘stub’: ‘an obstacle in the way which if one strikes his foot against he stumbles or falls.’ (Thayer) Garry once walked into the skirting-board on our landing at night and stubbed his toe: in so doing, he actually broke the toe and was in agony, but that at least was not caused by anyone else. When in 1 Cor 10:32, Paul urges the Corinthians ‘do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God’, he is urging them not to put any kind of obstacle in the path of another Christian which could cause them to trip up, stub their toe or fall. The Message version says ‘don’t be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren’t as free as you are.’ We are called to be considerate and put other people first when deciding how we should act so that we do not cause anyone to stumble into sin. Paul wants us to ‘carry each other’s burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ.’ (Gal 6:2) That way, others will see Christ in us.

‘So come and empty me,

So that it’s You I breathe.

I want my life to be only Christ in me,

So I will fix my eyes,

’Cos You’re my source of life.

I need the world to see that

It’s Christ in me.’ (‘Christ In Me’, Jeremy Camp)

Paul’s letters speak to us today because they teach spiritual principles, even if the specific issues they raise do not always seem particularly relevant to us. We still participate in the ‘cup of thanksgiving’ and break bread together (a theme he will develop further in 1 Cor 11.) The diversity of people united in Christ is a key theme developed elsewhere (1 Cor 12:12-31, Rom 12:4-8). Our total surrender to God is a requirement that cannot be negotiated; our total service for others is the proof that we are living for the glory of our king.

Divided loyalties are at the heart of much of the reasoning behind Paul’s thinking in 1 Cor 10:14-11:1. The question of ‘to eat or not to eat’ is as nothing compared to the bigger question of idolatry (a theme found in many pages of the Bible.) God’s displeasure at the majority of Israelites whose grumbling and lack of faith led to their failure to enter the Promised Land (1 Cor 10:1-11) and His jealousy at unfaithful hearts (1 Cor 10:22, see also Ezek 16:1-45, Deut 32:15-18, Ezek 8:3) are the real issues we must consider daily.

God’s jealousy is not fuelled by insecurity, meanness or anger, as human jealousy often is. His love for us is pure, fierce, unconditional and everlasting. He knows that only He can satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart and therefore in demanding our undivided loyalty to Him, He is actually seeking our good (just as C. S. Lewis reached the conclusion that God’s exhortations to us to praise Him were not the result of a narcissistic neurosis but that the command to praise is not just so that God can receive something, but is bound up the very giving of God himself, see ‘Reflections on the Psalms’, P 91-97).

Anything which takes our hearts from God is idolatry and Paul’s command regarding that is unequivocal: ‘Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.’ (1 Cor 10:14) Just as we are to flee from sexual immorality (1 Cor 6:18) and covetousness (1 Tim 6:11) and the evil desires of youth (2 Tim 2:22), we are to keep ourselves from idols (1 Jn 5:1), living wholly for God. ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’ (1 Pet 1:15)

Having undivided loyalties is an essential part of inner wholeness and strength. Eugene Peterson calls this ‘congruence’, saying that there has to be congruence between what we believe and what we do (‘the Christian life is the lifelong practice of attending to the details of congruence – congruence between ends and means, congruence between what we do and the way we do it’) for ‘only when we do the Jesus truth in the Jesus way do we get the Jesus life.’ (‘Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places’, P333) Paul’s key principle is that ‘what is believed in the heart has demonstrable consequences in daily life.’ (Eugene Peterson, Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work, P25) We do well to remember this. Any kind of divided loyalty will lead to some inner fracturing that isn’t good for our mental or physical health. Paul shows us, in this key passage, that it will also have spiritual consequences which are harmful to us. By far the best way is to avoid divided loyalties by surrendering whole-heartedly to God.

(Having mentioned 16^th century poet John Donne in the previous post, we’re now misquoting William Shakespeare! Apologies to the bard…)

Some have said that Paul’s views on eating meat sold in the meat market are contradictory, apparently encouraging this practice in 1 Cor 10:27 and then warning against it in 1 Cor 10:20-22, 28-29.

It is easy to want ‘one size fits all’ rules which can somehow stretch to fit every scenario and every possible permutation to guide us through the mazes of life. Such a path will lead to legalism, however, adding countless rules and regulations to legislate for every possible variant. Paul speaks to ‘sensible people’ who can ‘judge for yourselves what I say.’ (1 Cor 10:15) He gives them principles to think through, not cast-iron rules which are unyielding, and it’s because of this approach to principles (not laws) that we ultimately can reach maturity.

When children are very young, they need the absolute certainty of rules: ‘don’t touch the fire’, ‘eat your greens’ and so on. That’s all they can understand. As they get older, however, reasons and explanations are added to the rules: ‘don’t touch the fire or you will be burned’, ‘eat your greens because they provide essential nutrients and vitamins that will help to keep you healthy.’

Paul gives guidance to the Corinthians which will help them to think through this scenario and reach conclusions which show consistency of principles. Left-over meat from sacrifices has no intrinsic evil in it, since ‘the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.’ (1 Cor 10:26, quoting Ps 24:1). Therefore, it can be eaten with no qualms. But if objections are raised (either by Christians of weaker faith or by unbelievers), it’s better to refrain from eating it so as not to cause others to stumble. Idol-worship is, ultimately, not to be trifled with, since this kind of worship is satanically inspired (1 Cor 10:20). Better to avoid it in that situation so as not to trip anyone else up. Consideration for other people’s consciences remains a key principle.

The real issue is not just what we eat, however (something the Corinthians probably had not realised.) The real issue is having an undivided heart. Paul reminds the Corinthians that now they partake in Christ (symbolised by the bread and wine, referred to in 1 Cor 10:16-17). The one cup and the one loaf of Holy Communion do not only represent the blood and body of Christ, they represent the unity of the church. We must do nothing to damage that unity (see Eph 4:1-2).

Idolatry demands worship that is due to God alone. Paul issues stern warnings to the Corinthians: ‘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.’ (1 Cor 10:21) If we were not only to eat the meat sacrificed to idols but to actually participate in the temple ceremonies, that would be dangerous indeed – not because the idol is itself anything in comparison to God, but because our allegiance would then be divided. Jesus said a similar thing: ‘no one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.’ (Matt 6:24) Having an undivided heart is ultimately more crucial than what meat we eat. Paul takes the Corinthians further than the surface question and shows them that the answers to their questions are more complex than they perhaps wanted them to be! When we discussed ‘Growing Up In God’, we said that one of the signs of immaturity is the belief that one size fits all; another sign is when we think we know it all and anyone who disagrees with us is wrong! Paul wants us to ‘grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.’ (Eph 4:15) We can only do this as we learn to apply spiritual principles to every situation we face in life.