My purpose in preaching this sermon is that we should recognize the idols present in our culture. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 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 a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 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. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he? Do we even have idols anymore? I mentioned last week that I’m having a hard time figuring out exactly how to apply this command to flee from idolatry. I struggle with this because I’m not so sure that we have a very good understanding of what idols are. It seems that the common understanding in the modern church is that idols are anything that becomes more important to us than God is. Plenty of preachers and commentators give examples such as these: when sports becomes more important to us than going to church is, then sports becomes an idol; or, when keeping up with Facebook becomes more important to us that praying, then Facebook has become an idol. I don’t doubt that sports and Facebook are not supposed to become more important to us than God is; and if they do, then we have a significant problem. But it seems to me that this is the same logic that the Corinthians were using to justify eating in an idol temple. The Corinthians (or some of them, anyway) seemed to be arguing that it was okay for them to eat in an idol temple because the idol was really nothing; the idol was not important to them. Since God was still most important to them and they didn’t really think anything of the idol, then eating food sacrificed to the idol was no big deal. But Paul’s response to them was unequivocal: there is no amount of idolatry that is permissible for Christians. This leads me to the conclusion that idols are not things that we are free to dabble in or play with as long as we don’t let them master us. There are plenty of things that we are free to make use of as long as we master them and they do not master us: sports, food, pop, TV, clothing, cars, etc. And if we are free to use them at all, they are clearly not idols. If they were idols, then no level of participation could possibly be permitted. My concern is that if we call idols things that are not idols, we put ourselves in two significant kinds of danger: first, we are in danger of not recognizing true idols when we see them because we’re quite accustomed to using the label wrongly; and second, we fail to recognize the seriousness of idolatry because we condemn only its excess. So what, then, is an idol? I believe Paul gives us a very good definition of what an idol is. He writes that the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. The sacrifice in a pagan temple is made in front of an idol, but we know that the idol really is nothing. It is simply a piece of wood or stone or metal that can neither hear nor speak nor do anything at all. But behind that idol, there is a demonic power at work. An idol is any thing that represents a demonic power.

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My purpose in preaching this sermon is that we should recognize the idols present in our culture. The problem with idol meat – meat that has been sacrificed to an idol – is that the sacrifice has been made as an act of submission to the demonic power. And those who eat that meat become participants in the sacrifice. The act of eating idol meat is an act of submission to demonic power. But what does this have to do with us? How many of us would ever find ourselves in a position where we might even have opportunity to buy or eat meat that has been sacrificed to an idol? Idolatry is much closer to our fingertips than we may have previously thought. I want to give two examples of how readily accessible it is to us. The first is what we find on the shelves at Superstore – or pretty much any other grocery store in Canada – and the second is something that has been put out by the National Film Board of Canada. You can buy idol meat at Superstore. You can buy idol meat at Superstore. It’s called Halal. Generally speaking, we probably think of Halal food as something like the Muslim equivalent to Kosher, and it kind of is. Kosher food is food that is acceptable to Jewish people according to the Old Testament dietary restrictions. Is Halal food simply food that contains only the right kinds of ingredients and none of the wrong ingredients so that Muslims don’t contaminate themselves when they eat it? That’s part of it, but there’s more to Halal than that. At least, there’s more to the meat version of Halal than that. In order for meat to be considered Halal, it must be slaughtered in a specific way. You may have heard of the Muslim practice of “ritual slaughter.” And here’s the first thing that I want to point out: “ritual slaughter” is exactly the same thing as “sacrifice.” The Arabic word zabihah means “sacrifice” or “offering.” It’s a very close relative to the Hebrew word zebah, which is consistently translated as “sacrifice” or “offering” in the Old Testament. The next word here, halal, means “permissible.” So, the name Zabihah Halal means “permissible sacrifice.” What makes this particular brand of chicken strips or hamburger patties a permissible sacrifice? Yes, it has something to do with the way the animal was raised and the method of killing the animal, but there’s more to it than that. For meat to be halal, the name of Allah must be pronounced over the animal when it is killed. In other words, halal meat is meat that has been sacrificed to Allah. But why would one associate Allah with an idol? A person doesn’t have to do too much searching into Islam to realize that Muslims do not make use of idols or images; they are strictly prohibited. But the point that Paul comes to is that behind every idol is a demon. How are we to recognize demons? Paul gets there in 1 Corinthians 12:3, where he writes, no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. I believe the issue that we come down to is this: If those who submit themselves to Allah are prohibited from confessing that Jesus is Lord, then they are controlled – or blinded – by a demonic force. If a Muslim confesses that Jesus is Lord, then he is no longer a Muslim: he is a Christian. And if he is a Christian, then can he eat meat that has been sacrificed to a god who proclaims that there is a different lord than Jesus? The answer must be, “Not on my life will I eat meat that has been sacrificed to a god who proclaims that there is any lord other than Jesus.” For our God is a jealous God. God is a jealous God. 2

My purpose in preaching this sermon is that we should recognize the idols present in our culture. Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he is? Every single reference to God’s jealousy in the first five books of the Bible have to do with the presence of idol worship among God’s people (eg. Dt 6:14-15). Sometimes people explain idol worship as the refusal to recognize God’s presence. That may be the case for the people referred to in the Bible as pagans. It is true that some people worship idols because they have no knowledge of the one true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth and the seas and all that is in them. But the situation against which Paul is exhorting and rebuking the Corinthians is one in which they recognize the presence of other gods alongside of the one true God, the Creator. That is how they provoke his jealousy. A husband provokes his wife’s jealousy by taking another woman alongside his wife and treating them as equals. A husband may well anger his wife by divorcing her and sending her away, but that anger is different than jealousy. In the same way, God’s jealousy is aroused when his people worship other gods as if they were equal to God. This is why Paul writes, 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. You cannot proclaim both the Lordship of Jesus and the lordship of any other god alongside of Jesus. For most of the pagan people, this admonition from Paul would have seemed absurd. The people of ancient Greece and Rome were quite accustomed to worshipping a whole bunch of different gods at the same time. That was their way of covering all the bases. One god would help them to have babies and another god would give them physical strength; a different god would help their crops grow and produce and another god yet would protect them from their enemies. There were gods for everything, and the common view of them was that the more gods a person worshipped, the more likely it would be that he would do well and prosper in life. When one army conquered another nation, it was normal for the conquering nation to add the gods of the people they had conquered to their own collection of gods. They just wanted to make sure that nobody got left out. But Jesus is not that kind of Lord; Yahweh is not that kind of God. He is not one among many; he is the one and only! When we participate in the body and the blood of Jesus, we proclaim the singular Lordship of Christ. When we eat the bread that is broken on our behalf and we drink the cup that was poured out on our behalf, we participate in the sacrifice of Jesus. I don’t mean that we re-sacrifice Jesus every time we celebrate communion. I mean what Paul means: that participation in the body and blood of Jesus means that we cannot participate in the sacrifice of any other. Unless we’re trying to make Jesus jealous. Paul’s previous example of the people of Israel demonstrates what happens to people who arouse God’s jealousy: he destroys them. This is why we must flee from idolatry. Flee from idolatry. We must run away as fast and as far as we can from anything that has even a hint of idolatry. This, I believe, is the way out that Paul writes of in verse 13: when you are tempted, God will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. What is the way out? Run. Run away as fast and as far as you can from idolatry, because God is faithful. We’ll get into this more fully next week as we deal with the last bit of this chapter, but I do want to mention it this morning, too, because of it’s relevance. What could possibly tempt a Christian to eat meat that has been sacrificed to an idol? There are two things. First, a Christian might be tempted to participate in idolatry if he has an insatiable desire for 3

My purpose in preaching this sermon is that we should recognize the idols present in our culture. steak and the only way he can get it is by participating in an idol meal. Second, and probably more to the point for both the Corinthians and for us, a Christian might be tempted to participate in idolatry if he’s afraid that not going to the party will put him on the outside of relationships that are important to him. A Christian might be tempted to participate in idolatry if the sacrifice happens to be the occasion over which the business deal is done. A Christian might be tempted to participate in idolatry if the ritual happens to be one at which all of one’s friends gather to make plans for the weekend. A Christian might be tempted to participate in idolatry if that is how a person maintains a good standing in his society. But unless we think we are stronger than God is – unless we think we can arouse his jealousy and survive his wrath – then we must run away as far and as fast as we can from anything with even a hint of idolatry. What is idolatry? Idolatry is anything that proclaims that Jesus is not the one and only Lord of heaven and earth, the only name given under heaven whereby men must be saved. Idolatry is any practice, custom, or ritual that proclaims there to be a way of salvation other than Jesus; idolatry is a any practice, custom, or ritual that teaches a method of engaging the spiritual realm other than through the body and blood of Jesus. Is idolatry something that presents itself to us on any kind of regular basis? The National Film Board of Canada has produced what it calls The Faith Project. The foreword found on the website describes it: The Faith Project intimately observes the rituals of seven young Canadians from different faith traditions. Each of the project’s subjects allowed the creative team access to their personal practice and expressions of faith. The user’s experience is enriched by the website and app’s capacity to expand on these practices within a Canadian context. And while shuttling between the project’s short portraits one observes striking commonalities between different traditions. These articulate, busy young Canadians weave faith into their daily lives not as an obligation but as something that is essential to their identity and place in the world. This immersive experience will captivate and enlighten people of all faiths, and perhaps provide a deeper understanding to those seeking their own personal form of spiritual expression. One of the key components of The Faith Project is a series of seven short videos in which the proponents of these seven different faiths describe the rituals and practices of their faiths and how these rituals and practices impact them. So, among other things, we have the opportunity to watch a young Hindu man visit the temple and bow before the images of various gods and say his prayers to them. We have the opportunity to watch a young Aboriginal woman practice a “smudge,” where certain kinds of leaves are burned and the smoke from them is gathered over her eyes and ears and mouth and heart and abdomen in order to cleanse her so that she can enter into the spiritual realm. In The Faith Project we are exposed to the idolatrous practices of Hindus and Sikhs and Muslims and Aboriginals and Buddhists. Their rituals are idolatrous not because they are grossly immoral but because by them they proclaim there to be other lords than Jesus. And we must flee from idolatry. 4

My purpose in preaching this sermon is that we should recognize the idols present in our culture. The scariest part of The Faith Project, however, is that there is an app for it. Seriously, you can download The Faith Project App. The description of the app reads this way: The full-screen experience of this interactive iPad documentary allows users to immerse themselves and search—as the practitioners do—for a contemplative orientation in a noisy world. Through a variety of novel interactions, viewers participate in tactile, physical ways in the rituals they observe on-screen. And interactive hotspots throughout the films allow viewers to learn about the symbolism behind each religion’s rituals. There’s now an app for idolatry. And more often than not in our culture, it is disguised as multi-culturalism. Why do I say these things? Do I think we should be scared? No. Do I think that we should be frightened that we might have unwittingly contracted a demon because we ignorantly participated in a pagan ritual, unaware of what we were doing? Absolutely not. There is no reason to be scared or frightened. But neither is there any good reason to be ignorant. Idolatry is very quietly being introduced into our schools and universities and grocery stores. And when we see it, we must run from it as fast and as far as we can. Will fleeing from idolatry have an impact on the social standing of Christians? Yes; but God is faithful. Will fleeing from idolatry have an impact on our friendships and business relationships? Quite possibly, yes; but God is faithful.

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