FLEE FROM IDOLATRY

10 14Therefore, my beloved [brothers], flee from idolatry. 15I am speaking to intelligent

people, consider what I am saying. 16Is not the cup of blessing for which we give praise
a communion with the blood of Christ? And is not the bread we break a communion
with the body of Christ? 17Since there is one [loaf of] bread, we, who are many, are one
body; because we all partake of that one bread. 18Consider [the nation of] Israel. Are
not those who eat the sacrifices having communion with the altar? 19Now then, what
do I mean? [Am I saying] that meat offered to idols has [any] special significance? Or
that an idol is anything? 20[No!] But [what I am telling you is] that the sacrifices of the
Gentiles are being offered to demons, not to God; and I do not want you to have
communion with demons. 21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and [also] the cup of
demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and [also] of the table of demons.
22Or are we trying to provoke the LORD to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? (1 Cor.

10:14‐22)

Introduction

Mr. Murphy is a Christian man who happens to be a Native American, belonging to

the Stockbridge tribe. Several years ago hewas elected to a position of leadership on
his tribe’s governing counsel.

In his capacity as tribal president, Mr. Murphy is called upon to attend various
conferences as his tribe’s representative. On one such occasion he was called upon
to represent the Stockbridge tribe at a conference being held in the Wisconsin state
capital of Madison. Many different tribes sent their representatives; and as a
demonstration of unity, they were all invited to take part in a ceremonial Indian
dance. The medicine man would perform his dance and offer his prayer to “the Great
Spirit.” Each of the tribal representatives would smoke the peace pipe and offer
incense as part of the religious service.

When it was Mr. Murphy’s turn to participate in this religious ceremony, what did he
do? He politely declined, explaining that he was a Christian and could not participate
in such an event. Mr. Murphy stood faithful to Christ, even though it meant
refraining from a traditional Indian unity ceremony and receiving a scornful glance
from the governor of Wisconsin who was present at the conference.

What would you have done if you were in Mr. Murphy’s place? What would you do if
an Asian friend invited you to attend his Buddhist or spiritist worship service?
Would you say to yourself, “It’s just a lifeless statue to which they are offering
incense, there can be no harm in going through the motions”? Would you think to
yourself, “If I abstain I will surely offend them, they will not understand, so for the
sake of avoiding hard feelings, I had better participate”? Would you reason in your
mind, “We all worship the same God, don’t we?”? Or would you take the same action
as Mr. Murphy, politely explaining that as a Christian you cannot participate in any
worship that is not directed to the God of the Bible and to Him alone?

Because idolatry is a violation of the first commandment and because of the unholy
spiritual forces that are present in it, we as Christians are called to flee from
idolatry.

I. Flee from Idolatry, Because It Brings You into Contact with Demons (10:14­
20)

When the Apostle Paul writes, “Therefore, my beloved [brothers], flee from
idolatry,” there is the indication that some of these Christian people were actually
participating in some form of idolatrous practice. This was not merely a
hypothetical situation or a warning of potential sin and danger; this was a real
problem facing the Corinthian church.

We, too, are living in a society in which we are increasingly facing the same
situation: being constantly confronted with pagan religious concepts and
practices that are presented as worthy of respect and perfectly legitimate
activities. By way of illustration, consider an advertisement that appeared in a
news magazine offering a decorative plate to be used as a wall hanging. Under the
heading, The Majesty of an Ancient Spirit in a Limited­Edition Collector’s Plate, the
plate is described in the following terms, “Two North American Indian scouts
move slowly across the stark winter landscape, guided on their journey through
the deep canyon by a mystical presence—the mighty cougar who reigns over the
region. In ‘Canyon of the Cat,’ a glorious testament to the Indian message of a
shared universe, renowned Western artist Julie Kramer Cole re‐creates this
fascinating vision on a fine porcelain limited‐edition collector’s plate.”

The Corinthian Christians who engaged in pagan religious ceremonies, although

they did not realize it, were involving themselves in a serious sin that would lead
to tragic consequences if not forsaken. Some of these Corinthian Christians
recognized the legitimacy of eating meat that had been offered to idols—as Paul
confirmed in 1 Corinthians 8:4, “Now concerning the eating of food that has been
offered to idols: We know that a worldly idol is nothing, and that there is no God
except one.” But they were dangerously overstepping a spiritual boundary and
going beyond what was acceptable. They were going beyond the point of merely
eating meat that had previously been offered to idols; they were apparently
participating in the idolatrous worship of their pagan neighbors: “If someone sees
you—one who possesses knowledge—sitting in an idol’s temple, will not his
conscience, being weak, become emboldened to eat what has been offered to idols?”
(1 Cor. 8:10.)

Based upon Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 8:10, it appears that some of the
Corinthian Christians were actually participating in the pagan worship
ceremonies and religious meals. They were apparently operating under a
mistaken application of the knowledge mentioned in 1 Corinthians 8:4—namely,
the fact that no idol in the world is any true deity, and an erroneous application of
the principle of Christian liberty presented in 1 Corinthians 6:12—namely, that
“all things are permissible.” Consequently, they felt that there was no danger in
their engaging in pagan religious ceremonies; and furthermore, they were of the
opinion that they were free to do whatever they desired. By way of contemporary
application, Christian people should not indulge in such practices as viewing
occult movies, or participating in board games that have a heavy occult emphasis,
or consulting the horoscope in the daily newspaper, as though their Christian
liberty permitted such activities.

Paul, in addressing this issue, appeals to the fact that the Corinthians are
intelligent men (vs. 15.) He is not being sarcastic; on the contrary, he is urgently
seeking to have them view this issue with understanding and intelligent
discernment. The argumentation he presents for their consideration in verses 16‐
18 is as follows: those who partake of the sacrificial and sacramental meal are
experiencing spiritual communion with the deity. In the case of Christian
communion, there is spiritual communion with Christ the Lord. But, as Paul will
point out, in the case of a pagan sacrificial meal, there is communion with demons
(note verse 20)

Before coming to his main point, Paul first makes several qualifying remarks to
avoid misunderstanding. He inquires, by way of clarification, “[Am I saying] that
meat offered to idols has [any] special significance? [No!]” He reaffirms the fact that
there is nothing inherently wrong with eating meat that had been previously
offered to idols. Such meat has not become polluted, there is nothing evil about it,
it is not under a curse or inhabited by demons; it is neither dangerous nor sinful
to eat such meat. He goes on to inquire, “[Am I saying] that an idol is anything?
[No!]” He is reasserting the fact that no pagan idol is any god at all; there is only
one true God, the God of the Bible, He alone is the true object of reverence and
worship.

But now in verse 20 Paul comes to the point of his concern. Although the idol is
no god and represents no actual deity to be worshiped as God; nevertheless, there
is a very real spiritual presence behind the idol and involved in idolatrous
worship, that is the presence of demons. Note how the Word of God defines pagan
worship and religion: such religious practices have a very real spiritual
dimension and reality, but that spiritual dimension is the presence and activity of
demons, not that of the living God. Therefore, because of the very real but unholy
spiritual presence that accompanies and permeates pagan religion, Christian
people must not become involved in such practices.

Let us flee from idolatry, because it brings one into contact with demons. Beware,
too, of such music, movies, and T.V. shows that have a heavy emphasis on the
occult, the mystical, or the activity of unholy evil supernatural powers. Be alert to
the unholy religious dimension to so much of what is presented as “harmless”
 entertainment, or even as educational instruction, or healthy exercise,
specifically, the practice of yoga. Yoga is a commonly known generic term for
physical, mental, and spiritual disciplines that originated in ancient India. Hindu
monks brought yoga to the West in the late 19th century. In the 1980’s, yoga
became popular as a physical system of health exercise across the Western world.

II. Flee from Idolatry, Because Christ is a Jealous God (10:21­22)

The view of religion propagated by the world is that all religions have a common
source, all religions are basically the same. Such was the theme of a Parliament
of Religions, which met in Chicago in the summer of 1993. According to the
newspaper account of that conference, “leaders of the mainstream of the world’s
religious communities have largely stopped seeing one another as potential
converts, and have begun to accept the integrity of other faiths” (The Sheboygan
Press, Sheboygan, WI.) This was also the theme presented in a T.V. adventure
movie that began by transporting its leading character back to his boyhood days
in India. As the character reminisced about those days, the camera showed
various scenes of India, finally focusing in on the Ganges River. As the viewers
took in the sights of the Ganges, with its muddy brown water and with its banks
crowded with Hindus who consider the river to be sacred, the voice of the lead
character could be heard commenting, “All the world’s religions flow from here.”
–i.e.; all the world’s religions have a common source, they are all basically the
same, such was the message of this program.

But all of this is in striking contrast to the biblical view. John the Baptist, under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, made a radical distinction between the
religious teachers of the world and the Lord Jesus Christ:

The one who comes from above [John is here referring to the Lord Jesus
Christ] is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and he
speaks of the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32He testifies
of what he has seen and heard. (Jn. 3:31‐32a)

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself declares, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life;
no one comes to the Father, except by me” (Jn. 14:6.) By the prophet, Isaiah, the
Lord Himself declares, “Look unto me … for I am God, and there is none other”
(Isa. 45:22.)

It is a lie that the whole world worships the same God, merely calling Him by
different names and serving Him in different ways. If such were true, why would
the Lord Jesus Christ have issued the Great Commission?

Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. 19Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching
 them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you
always, to the very end of the age. (Matt. 28:18‐20)

If such were true, why would the Apostle Paul have called upon the men of
Athens to repent?

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see
that the city was full of idols … 22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the
Areopagus and said, Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very
religious. 23As I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship,
I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what
you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24The God
who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and
does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands,
as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and
everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, [intending] that
they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them
and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would
seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from
each one of us—28for in him we live and move and have our being. As some of
your own poets have said, We are his offspring. 29Therefore since we are God’s
offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or
stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. 30In the past God passed over
such ignorance, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent; 31because
he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has
appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.
(Acts 17:16,22‐31)

Furthermore, Paul commends the Thessalonians for turning "to God from idols to
serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised
from the dead" (1 Thess. 1:9‐10.)

The fact is that the world has willfully and wickedly turned away from the God of
heaven, inventing false substitute gods of their own choosing:

… although they knew God, they neither glorify him as God, nor did they give
thanks … 23they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to
look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles … 25They exchanged
the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served created things rather
than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. (Rom. 1:21,23,25)

Anthropologists have discovered that tribal peoples throughout the world

confess to having a primeval recollection of the one great God of heaven, but
have degenerated into pantheism and spirit worship.
 The fact is that men need to turn away from their religions and their idolatries
and turn to the one true and living God. This was the commission the Lord Jesus
Christ gave to His apostles, and which He explicitly stated in His divine call to
Paul:

I am sending you to the Gentiles 18in order to open their eyes and turn them
from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may
receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith
in me. (Acts 26:17b‐18)

Writing to these Corinthian Christians who were thoughtlessly engaging in the

pagan religious ceremonies of their neighbors, the Apostle Paul asks, “Are we
trying to provoke the LORD to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” (vs. 22.)

Let us flee from idolatry, because the LORD is a jealous God.

And God spoke all these words, 2I am Jehovah your God, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3You shall have no other gods
beside me. (Ex. 20:1‐3)

I am Jehovah, that is my name. I will not give my glory to any other, neither
[will I give] my praise to idols. (Isa. 42:8)

Conclusion

Living in a society in which we are constantly confronted with pagan religious

concepts and practices, and being told that such expressions of religion are worthy
of respect and are perfectly legitimate, we need to give special heed to the
admonition of Scripture that exhorts us to be discerning and to flee from idolatry.

Rather than accept a paganism that is both sinful and dangerous, let us heed the
exhortation of the Psalmist:

Sing to Jehovah, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. 3Declare his
glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples—4for great is
Jehovah, and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. 5All the gods
of the nations are idols, but Jehovah made the heavens. 6Splendor and majesty are
before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. 7Ascribe to Jehovah, O families
of nations, ascribe to Jehovah glory and strength. 8Ascribe to Jehovah the glory due
his name; bring an offering and come into his courts. 9Worship Jehovah in the
splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth. 10Say among the nations,
Jehovah reigns. The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge
the peoples with equity. (Psl. 96:2‐10)