00:00 Introduction and Greetings

00:28 Weather Talk and Personal Preferences

01:12 Addressing Sexual Immorality in the Church

04:01 Lawsuits Among Believers

06:01 Call for Sexual Purity

07:09 Principles for Marriage

09:17 Living with Unbelieving Spouses

12:48 Food Offered to Idols and Christian Liberty

15:29 Conclusion and Prayer

Hey, everybody.

2

Welcome back to another edition

of the daily Bible podcast.

3

Still just me today.

4

Uh, we're in first

Corinthians chapter one or no.

5

First Corinthians chapter five

through eight, almost said chapter

6

one, chapter five through eight.

7

Nope.

8

Uh, that's not a thing

we're in first Corinthians.

9

I almost did it again.

10

5, 3, 8 first Corinthians five, three.

11

Why is that so hard?

12

Why is it first Corinthians five

through eight chapters, five through

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eight, not chapter one, chapter five.

14

That's not a thing.

15

Chapters five through eight.

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That's where we're at today.

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First Corinthians chapters

five through eight.

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Uh, hopefully you're having

a great Saturday today.

19

It's cold out there.

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At least it's supposed to be,

it was a supposed to be cold

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after Wednesday last Wednesday.

22

I don't know what happened.

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It's like, Hey, having a day,

that's almost 80 degrees.

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And then we're going to plunge back

down into the cold weather again.

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So those of you that like it warm

around this time of year, I don't

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think that you have any more days

in the eighties coming your way.

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I.

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I love you, but I hope not at least

because man Christmas needs to be cold.

29

Thanksgiving needs to be cold.

30

We need the.

31

It just needs to be chilly out.

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I'm a jacket, kind of a guy like wearing.

33

Sweater sweaters and

sweatshirts and jackets.

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That's, that's kinda my jam.

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So I know I live in Texas and it's hot.

36

The majority of the time, but

this is, this is the season.

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This is when it's supposed to get good

and cold, but all right, let's jump in

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first Corinthians five through eight.

39

Uh, first Corinthians chapter five,

Paul continued to write to this

40

church and addressing some difficult

things going on there in the church.

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And that is true as well.

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In this particular chapter.

43

And so we get in here to an issue of.

44

Um, I was sexual immorality.

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And I want to try to keep this a

PG as much as I can, but basically

46

he says to the church here in no

uncertain terms, he says, Hey,

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you've got something going on there.

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That even the unbelievers won't

tolerate and put up with, there was

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something grotesque going on within

the church that was, uh, out of bounds.

50

Even at that time, at least culturally,

with even the Gentiles and the

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pagans and the church was saying.

52

Hey, it's no big deal.

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And, and when Paul says

there, uh, you're arrogant.

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What he's referring to is he's saying,

look, you guys are, are boasting.

55

In you're accepting of this, you guys

are boasting in the sense that you're

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like, Hey, look at us, look at how, uh,

you know, kind of generous and tolerant.

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That's a word that's prevalent

in our culture in society.

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Isn't it.

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We're tolerant of this person.

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We love so well that we're not

going to put them out of the church.

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We're going to keep them here.

62

Paul saying, no, this is wrong.

63

There are sins.

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There are things for which you ought

to put someone out of fellowship.

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And this is one of them.

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He says that in, in this text, he

says, verse five, you are to deliver

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this man to Satan for the destruction

of his flesh so that his spirit may

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be saved in the day of the Lord.

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So it appears.

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Uh, Paul's hopeful that this guy

might even still be a believer.

71

At this point, but he saying, you

need to turn this guy over, not

72

just kick him out of the church, but

Hey, Satan's going to take him out.

73

Satan's going to probably kill this man

is what this, the implications are here

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and you need to be okay with putting

them out of the church towards that

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end so that he doesn't put his soul in

the even more peril than it already.

76

Is, uh, Yeah, it's, it's a

difficult one there to know.

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Is he talking about this guy as a

believer or a discipline amount of the

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church that he might have the opportunity

to repent as a result of that and be

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saved and save his soul at that point?

80

It's, we're not exactly clear on

this, but this is a grave situation.

81

Pulsing.

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Hey, get together church

and figure this out.

83

You need to practice church discipline.

84

Here is what's going on.

85

You need to put him out

of the church and quit.

86

Patting yourself on the back for

being such a kind and loving church

87

that you're not going to do that.

88

He says a little bit 11

leavens, the whole lump.

89

Look.

90

The church has made up of new creations

in Christ and needs to reflect that.

91

It needs to be marked

by that newness of life.

92

And here.

93

There was a situation where that

was being compromised and it was, it

94

was spreading the, the, the sin was

spreading like gangrene and producing

95

other sin in the life of the church too.

96

And Paul says, this is not good.

97

Put him out of the church.

98

Um, there, there needs to be

a fast and noticed change.

99

Uh, in the church here.

100

And so he's calling for that.

101

And then he goes on in here.

102

He says, you know what I wrote

to you in my letter, not to.

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I associate with sexually immoral people.

104

He said, but now I'm writing to you not

to associate with anyone who bears in

105

the name of a brother, if he's guilty

of sexual immorality or greed, or is

106

an idolater or reviler or a drunkard or

swindler, not even to eat with such a one.

107

And this is again, building on

the idea of church discipline.

108

We need to take since seriously.

109

Because it's a threat, not only

to the individual who's in sin,

110

but also to the church at large.

111

And so in chapter five, he's

saying you've got a problem.

112

You need to go after this problem.

113

Chapter six.

114

The first part, the first 11 verses

here, he identifies another problem.

115

And that is.

116

I said, you guys are suing each other.

117

So the, this is a massive issue.

118

He said that basically his argument in

the first 11 verses here is if you have

119

a dispute amongst brothers and sisters in

the church, Solve it within the church.

120

Don't go to the court of law when

you go to the court of law and you're

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a believer suing another believer.

122

He saying, this is a, uh, a

mark on the name of Jesus.

123

This is the world's going to look

at this and go, wait a minute.

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You guys are both professing faith in

Christ and, and you're suing each other.

125

Aren't you supposed to have a

love for each other and don't

126

you guys preach forgiveness

and don't you guys preach well.

127

Yeah, but you don't understand.

128

No.

129

Paul says there's, there's no room

for this now for Christians, can a

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Christian ever enter into a lawsuit?

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I would say the answer is yes.

132

Um, Against another brother

or sister in the church.

133

I would say there, the answer is.

134

Uh, Generally speaking.

135

No.

136

Um, If you're going to be part of a

class action lawsuit, or if you're

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in a situation where, you know, you

get hit by a drunk driver and there's

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damages done at, and you enter, enter

into a civil suit against that person.

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Is that okay?

140

Yeah, that's okay to pursue the

means of justice that God has

141

given you to pursue is okay.

142

But what's going on here is that

the bickering and the lawsuits from

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believer to believer we're causing

the, the name of Christ to be

144

degraded in the eyes of the world.

145

And pulsing, that's a greater, slight

than whatever the slight that, that you're

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trying to Sue to overcome is against you.

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And so you need to stop

that and, and look to.

148

To bring reconciliation

within the church itself.

149

Verse 12 then, um, Uh, let me hit verse

11 first because it's such a good one.

150

He he's saying, look, don't act like

the world acts because he says such

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were some of you that has this long list

right before that, but now he said, but

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you were washed, you were sanctified.

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You were justified in the name

of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

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And by the spirit of God.

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So in other words, act like it live

like it live in this new reality.

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Live like you have been sanctified

already, fully sanctified.

157

We are being sanctified, but

live like you're justified.

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Like you're.

159

You're washed your clean

because you are in Christ.

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And so live that reality out

is what he's calling them to.

161

That's going to involve our purity.

162

And that's where he goes next in verses

12, through the end of the chapter

163

here, he talks about sexual purity and

he says, look, there's a lot of things

164

that are lawful, but not, not much.

165

That's not all that's

lawful is helpful for me.

166

He said I'm not going

to be owned by anything.

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And he talks about food.

168

Uh, but then he also compares

it to sexual morality.

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In, in two areas that, that we

need to exercise self-control and

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willpower in are these areas of,

of food and, and sexual immorality,

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our, our appetites in that regard.

172

And he talks about that.

173

Any in specifically sexual morality, he

said, should I take the members of Christ

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and make them members of a prostitute?

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He says never.

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Or do you not know that he

is joined, becomes one body.

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And that goes back to that design for

a husband and a wife and the physical

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union being one flesh together.

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And so he's saying don't, don't enter it.

180

Don't mess around with that.

181

That's a serious sin.

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Remember in chapter five.

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That was the sin at the heart of what

led him to say, get this guy out of

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the church, turn him over to Satan.

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Even.

186

And so he's saying here,

verse 18, flee from this.

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Every other Santa person commits is

outside the body, but the sexually

188

immoral person sins against his own

body, it makes the body, your own body

189

and instrument of unrighteousness.

190

And that's.

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What God does not want at all.

192

Romans six talks about that.

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Not presenting ourselves as instruments

of unrighteousness any longer.

194

And so Romans six, the end of it talk

or first Corinthians six and Roman six,

195

both, but first Corinthians six here,

talking about sexual immorality in the

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last part, chapter seven, then principles

for marriage is the opening here.

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He gives a lot of instructions to.

198

Uh, husbands and wives, and you can

go back and listen to my message

199

from the transformed conference on

that first part there about husbands

200

and wives and conjugal rights.

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And what that looks like every

day that ends in Y remember

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that, that line there from that.

203

But, uh, basically he

said, this is a good thing.

204

You need to be doing this

wives and husbands, make sure

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that you're focused on that.

206

Make sure that that's part of

your routine and your rhythm.

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It should be there.

208

It's important because it's a safeguard

against the enemy's temptations.

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There.

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He goes on from here.

211

He says, look, if, if you're unmarried and

you're dating someone and you're burning.

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For that person physically

desiring them get married.

213

It's better to marry than

to burn with passion.

214

He says there.

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Uh, verse 10.

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He says, look, there's no

divorcing here to the married.

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I give this charge and not I, but the

Lord, the wife should not separate

218

from her husband, but if she does,

she should remain unmarried or else

219

be reconciled to her husband and the

husband should not divorce his wife.

220

So there, Paul saying, look,

divorce is out of bounds.

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And I know we've, we've talked

about their qualifications to that.

222

But even there that Jesus said,

Moses allowed those qualifications

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because the hardness of your heart.

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Uh, our desire is always going

to be to pursue reconciliation.

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If there's a possibility for

reconciliation to be achieved.

226

For, for a husband and wife for

forgiveness to be offered and for

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repentance and all of those things, all

those components that are necessary.

228

If we can get there.

229

We're going to move towards

reconciliation with everything that

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we can only in that as a last resort.

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Are we going to say, okay.

232

Yeah, if you biblically, you

have grounds for divorce in this

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particular situation, and those

are narrowly defined in scripture.

234

Uh, and so it only at that

point, are we going to say yet?

235

It's it's it's okay.

236

Move towards that.

237

Um, there are other situations

though, wherein if, if the trigger

238

is pulled the policy in there, okay.

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The trigger's pulled, but, but you

are going to remain unmarried then

240

that that's our instruction to you.

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That's God's instruction to you.

242

And the impulse careful about that.

243

He said to the married,

I give this charge.

244

Not I, but the Lord.

245

Because later on right after this

in verse 12, he's going to say

246

to the rest and I not the Lord.

247

So he's, he's differentiating, he's

saying what my instructions about this.

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They're not just me.

249

This is God.

250

God is telling you these things.

251

And so he's, uh, he's

very strong about that.

252

And then he goes on in

the rest of 12, 3 16 here.

253

And he talks about living with

an unbeliever as a believer.

254

And basically he says

this, Hey, stay together.

255

Uh, if, if you're somebody who gets

saved and your husband's not saved, or

256

you get saved, your wife's not saved.

257

Stay together.

258

Even though we, we talk about not

being unequally, yoked, that's more

259

for those that are going into marriage.

260

We don't want you to go into marriage.

261

And get married to somebody who you're

a believer, they're an unbeliever,

262

but if, if two unbelievers get

married, one of them get saved.

263

And then what do you do

with the unbelieving spouse?

264

He says, stay together.

265

And then he has this interesting thing.

266

He says, uh, verse 14 for the unbelieving

husband is made holy because of his

267

wife and the unbelieving wife has

made holy because of her husband.

268

Otherwise your children would be

unclean, but as it is their holy.

269

Uh, this is not talking about

salvation, but this is talking

270

about the institution itself.

271

Um, That the, the believer, uh, gives the.

272

Th this holiness to the

union of husband and wife.

273

And so in that sense, the husband is

made holy or the wife has made whole way.

274

And the believer in the marriage

then gives again, Purpose and

275

value to the gift of children.

276

Because they are now going to be viewed

as a gift from the Lord, which they are.

277

So in that sense, the children are clean.

278

Uh, not in the sense that they're saved.

279

Uh, because they still need to get

saved, but in the sense that, that they

280

are going to be a part of a believing.

281

At least one believing a family member

in that the husband or the wife there.

282

And in that sense, there

are seen as a gift from God.

283

So that's a good thing.

284

So this is not salvation, but the children

are now seen as a blessing from the Lord.

285

So that's what he's talking about.

286

There.

287

In that verse 14.

288

Uh, he does go on and say, look, if, if

you get saved and your spouse, who's an

289

unbeliever walks away and abandons you.

290

Okay.

291

So be it, let them go.

292

You're not bound to that person.

293

And so that's another situation where

in that person would be free to remarry.

294

But, um, that's only if the

unbeliever says, um, I'm out because

295

I can't live with you anymore.

296

As a Christian, you've changed,

I'm gone and they walk away.

297

Verses 17.

298

And following there, he does talk

about, um, living as you're called

299

living your life to, to please the Lord.

300

And so he's just saying.

301

Honor your commitments and don't

seek to evade your commitments there.

302

And fall back on your relationship

with God as a, as a, as an

303

outer, as an excuse for there.

304

Uh, he talks about the

unmarried and the widowed.

305

Uh, in verses 25 through 31.

306

He talks about living as though.

307

W you were unmarried, really, this

focuses on do everything you can to

308

focus on serving the Lord, um, and,

and, and be concerned with those things.

309

I often talk to single people in

verse 32, first Corinthians 7 32.

310

I want you to be free from anxieties.

311

The unmarried man is anxious

about the things of the

312

Lord, how to please the Lord.

313

He says the same thing about

the unmarried woman later on.

314

He says in verse.

315

34.

316

The unmarried or patrol with a woman

is anxious about the things of the Lord

317

and how to be holy in body and spirit,

but the married woman or the married

318

man anxious about the things of the

Lord and how to please their spouse.

319

And so their affections are divided.

320

So if you're single and you're

listening to this, maybe God

321

is saying to you through Paul.

322

You've got a gift.

323

And that's what we talked about.

324

The gift of singleness.

325

You get to serve him.

326

Uh, without distraction

you, you get to serve him.

327

You've got more time.

328

You've got more abilities.

329

You've got more resources

to be able to serve then.

330

Otherwise you might, if

you were married now.

331

If you're out there single

listening to this going.

332

Yeah, but, but pastor

PJ, I want to be married.

333

That's not a bad desire.

334

Uh, nobody's saying that it is,

it's not a bad thing to be married.

335

Paul's just saying, look, if you're

single understand, there is a gift there.

336

And in that gift is you get undivided

and secure devotion to the Lord as

337

he talks about there in verse 35.

338

Uh, and so that's, that's a good

thing, but then he, he concludes

339

and says, a wife is bound to

her husband as long as he lives.

340

But if her husband dies, she's

free to be married to whom

341

she wishes only in the Lord.

342

So he concludes by talking

about widows there.

343

He says if you're widowed and, and

whether this is a woman or a man.

344

Your spouse dies.

345

You're free to be remarried

there and that's not a bad thing.

346

Our chapter eight.

347

Uh, food offered to idols.

348

He talks about knowledge a lot here.

349

In fact, in the first.

350

Uh, 11 verses.

351

We see the word five times there, this

word knowledge, and the problem was there

352

were some that were claiming knowledge.

353

Uh, but they were.

354

Being a hindrance to other

people in the church.

355

And so really he's saying, what good is

your knowledge or your spiritual maturity?

356

If it's not used to bless others.

357

You're supposed to love

the weaker brother.

358

And so the knowledge was causing

people to puff up and, and, uh, and be

359

prideful and arrogant towards what we

would say is, is the weaker brother.

360

And so in verse four, he says, therefore,

as eating a food offered to idols, because

361

that's what was at, at, in question here.

362

He said, we know an idol has no real

existence that there's no God, but one.

363

Okay.

364

So he says, okay, good.

365

You know that I get, you know, that,

but there are others that are weaker in

366

their knowledge and conscience in that.

367

And, and for them, even though

an idol is not really real.

368

They're still not

comfortable eating that food.

369

He says, okay.

370

So don't use your knowledge to cause

that brother to stumble verse 13.

371

If my food makes my brother stumble.

372

I'm not going to eat meat less than

make that other brother stumble.

373

Okay.

374

So where do we bring this into

our, our kitchen, so to speak quite

375

literally, um, I think one area

is in the area of alcohol, right?

376

You might say, okay.

377

Pastor PJ look.

378

I know the Bible doesn't outright

prohibit the drinking of alcohol

379

and you'd be right on that.

380

You're correct.

381

In fact, Paul tells Timothy to take

a little wine and I know there's

382

going to be people out there going

to yet, but the wine, the alcohol

383

content was different in that time.

384

Granted a fair and, and that's

a conversation for another time.

385

Although there was still the ability

to get drunk on wine as is prohibited.

386

So we're not dealing with

like, Jack Welch's grape juice.

387

There was alcohol content there.

388

So alcohol, right?

389

You might say I have freedom.

390

Because the Bible doesn't prohibit

me from drinking alcohol fair.

391

If you have a family over to your

house, though, to eat dinner,

392

that, that family, that, that may

be a sensitive subject to them.

393

For whatever reason you may sit there

and go, well, I, I don't think there's

394

a genetic pre disposition to alcoholism.

395

That's my conviction.

396

And that's where I'm at.

397

And so I'm not going to

bow the knee to that.

398

Okay.

399

But if you have a family over

for dinner and they do think that

400

it is, and they've got a family

member, who's battled alcoholism,

401

they've seen horrible things there.

402

And you're going to sit there and in

your Christian Liberty, you're going

403

to crack open the beer and you're

going to drink it in front of them.

404

It'd be like, look,

don't, don't come at me.

405

I'm allowed to drink beer because.

406

The Bible doesn't say not to, but you're

not loving that brother right there.

407

Um, love them enough to keep

the beer in the refrigerator.

408

Love them enough, not to

break open a bottle of wine.

409

Uh, love them enough, not to do those

things and, and to go, okay, I'm going to

410

die to myself to love the brother here.

411

In the Corinthian church,

they weren't doing that.

412

And we need to make sure that we do.

413

Uh, these things that we make sure

that we love someone else more

414

than we love our own liberties.

415

Yeah for freedom.

416

Christ has set us free only

do not use your freedom as

417

an opportunity for the flesh.

418

And that that can be.

419

That I'm going to flex on my

freedoms too, and insist upon them.

420

Uh, to the detriment of another brother's

faith, we gotta be careful about that.

421

All right.

422

There you go.

423

First Corinthians five through eight.

424

Uh, let me pray and then we'll

be done with this episode.

425

God, we pray that we would be

a church that loves one another

426

well, and that loves you.

427

Well, Um, And really those two things

can't be separated from each other.

428

If we love you.

429

Well, we will love one another.

430

Well, that was the point of Jesus

saying the greatest commandment

431

is to love God with everything

and to love others as ourselves.

432

The love for the Lord overflows

into a love for one another.

433

So we pray that we would do that

well, that we would be holy.

434

That would be a godly

church, a pure church.

435

And that we would be effective.

436

Uh, as a lampstand for you

until Christ comes back for.

437

So we pray this all in Christ's name.

438

Amen.

439

Ki bring your Bibles tune in

again tomorrow for another edition

440

of the daily Bible podcast.

441

But.