1 Corinthians 10

1 Corinthians 10:1-5

And, to awaken you to run your Christian race with care, diligence, and resolution; and to guard against every idolatrous or other deviation from it, observe, with the utmost attention and deepest concern, the fate of God’s highly-favoured Israelitish nation;—how,—after he had conducted them by a pillar of fire and cloud, and led them through the Red sea, thereby solemnly initiating them into a peculiar covenant revelation with himself by the mediation of Moses,—and nourished them with excellent manna from heaven, and water from flinty rocks, which prefigured Christ, and followed them through the Arabian wilderness; and which, as symbols, represented the light, comfort, and deliverance, of the gospel church, their solemn instalment in their happy state, and their marvellous and unceasing nourishment,—he was so offended by their apostasy, unbelief, idolatry, murmuring, and other provocations, that almost that whole generation were cut off by miserable deaths in the wilderness, falling short of the promised Canaan, and many of them of the heavenly inheritance

1 Corinthians 10:6-10

Now these things happened to them, and are recorded in scripture, as awful examples, representing to us what fearful judgments we may look for, in time and eternity, if we indulge ourselves in the like murmuring against what God provides for us, or in desiring what he forbids. Let none of you therefore, like them at Sinai, partake of idolatrous feasts, or in any direct or indirect acknowledgment of heathen idols, lest God’s wrath overtake you as it did them.—Neither indulge yourselves in uncleanness, as some of them committed whoredom with the Midianitish women, and were punished, by the death of 23,000 in a plague, and 1000 more in a legal process of the magistrates.—Neither let any of you distrust the power, faithfulness, and grace, of Christ to help you under difficulties and discouragements, or through presumptuous sinning, try his patience, or defy his power and justice, as they did, and were destroyed by fiery serpents.—Neither indulge dissatisfaction and repining complaints of the dispensations of God, or of the afflictions which ye suffer for Christ, or against the persons, dutiful behaviour, or divine doctrines, of any of his ministers, as they often did in the wilderness, and were destroyed by one judgment after another

1 Corinthians 10:11

Now all these public calamities happened to God’s ancient professing and favoured people as examples of what we may expect if we imitate them in wickedness: and they are recorded in God’s word for warnings to us who live when the Jewish dispensation is just ending, and under the last dispensation of grace which God intends for his church in this world, that we may avoid their sins, in order to escape their punishment

1 Corinthians 10:12

Let therefore self-conceited professors, who pride themselves on their gifts, privileges, attainments, strength, and stability, watch and pray, and, in a dependence on God’s grace, use every other mean of his appointment, to prevent backsliding and apostasy

1 Corinthians 10:13

And let those of you, who having no confidence in yourselves, trust wholly to Jesus Christ and his free grace for your preservation in the way of duty, remember that no afflictions or temptations have happened to you but such as are common to men in this evil world and imperfect state, and may, through divine help, be borne or overcome; and that God who has granted you so many promises of support and deliverance, will infallibly fulfil the same, and will not suffer you to be troubled or tempted beyond the measure of strength which he bestows upon you; and knowing that ye cannot always bear up under them, or struggle with them, will, in due time, grant you an honourable and complete deliverance from them

1 Corinthians 10:14

Therefore, my dear fellow Christians, awed by these alarming examples on the one hand, and encouraged by the hopes of all needful assistances on the other, detest and avoid to the utmost all idolatry, and all appearances of it, or approaches to it

1 Corinthians 10:15

These solemn warnings I give you, as persons who are acquainted with Christian principles, and even value yourselves upon your superior wisdom and knowledge; and I appeal to your own reason and conscience, and desire you to ponder the weight of what I am going to say

1 Corinthians 10:16

Is not our partaking of the consecrated bread and wine in the Lord’s supper an open profession, token, and mean, of our joint holy fellowship with Christ in the benefits of his incarnation, obedience, and suffering,—and a public acknowledgment of our obligations and purpose to yield all holy obedience to him?

1 Corinthians 10:17

And does not our partaking of the same loaf or cup signify that, however different our persons or circumstances be, we are all spiritually connected in the one mystical body of Christ’s church?

1 Corinthians 10:18

And did not the ancient priests and Israelites, by eating their respective shares of the peace-offerings, profess their joint fellowship with, and dedication to, that God to whom part of it was burnt on the altar?

1 Corinthians 10:19

I do not, by these instances, insinuate that the nominal gods of the Heathens have any real divinity in them, or that meats are made any worse in themselves by being offered to them

1 Corinthians 10:20

But what I intend to suggest is, that the Heathens, by sacrificing to these idols, and feasting on their sacrifices, do really worship and hold fellowship with devils: and I would by no means have you to hold fellowship with these unclean spirits or their worshippers

1 Corinthians 10:21

For ye cannot, in consistency with the honour of Christ and his Father, or with your Christian profession or edification, at once hold fellowship with Christ and his people in his holy supper, and with devils and their worshippers in their idolatrous feasts

1 Corinthians 10:22

Should we then, who are espoused to Jesus Christ as our spiritual Husband, dare to provoke his jealousy by honouring pretended deities? Are we more able to escape or resist the almighty strokes of his wrath than the Israelites were?

1 Corinthians 10:23

No pretence of the indifference of things offered to idols, or of our intending no respect for the idols thereby, can warrant our eating of them: for things very lawful in themselves may become very inexpedient and unedifying in some circumstances, by stumbling others and drawing them into sin

1 Corinthians 10:24

In such cases Christians must not do what serves their own pleasure, honour, or temporal benefit, but what will tend most to the real and lasting advantage of their neighbours

1 Corinthians 10:25

But, though it would be highly criminal and dangerous for any of you to eat meats offered to idols in their temples or idolatrous teasts, yet ye may freely eat whatever is sold in the public market without any scruple or inquiry whether it has been offered to an idol or not

1 Corinthians 10:26

For God, who is Creator, Proprietor, and Governor of the whole earth and of all its product, and has now, under the gospel, abolished the ancient typical distinction of meats, allows you to eat whatever can contribute to your health

1 Corinthians 10:27

If therefore any of your Heathen neighbours invite you to a meal with them in their own houses, and regard to good manners, and an intention to promote their spiritual edification, incline you to go, eat freely whatever is set before you on the table, without any scrupulous thought or inquiry whether it has been offered to an idol or not

1 Corinthians 10:28

But if he, who invited you to the entertainment, or any other, by telling you that it had been offered to an idol, should hint that your eating of it would be a practical allowance of some honour to the idol, then, that neither his, nor your own, nor any other’s, conscience may be defiled or wounded, and to testify your high detestation of idolatry, eat not of it: for God, who is the proprietor of all the animal and vegetable food on earth, has granted you enough beside what has been offered to idols

1 Corinthians 10:29

Nor ought ye in such points chiefly to regard your own conscience, but the consciences of your neighbours, that they may not by your conduct be grieved, or emboldened to any thing unlawful to them: for why should you or I, by an imprudent and unseasonable use of our Christian liberty, tempt other men’s consciences to pass a wrong judgment upon our conduct?

1 Corinthians 10:30

For, if, through the bounty of God’s providence, I have an opportunity, and, through the grace of the gospel, have liberty, of feeding indifferently upon whatever food is presented to me, yet why should I indulge myself so far as to give any one occasion to reproach me for eating such meats as I receive with prayer to him for his blessing on them, and with religious thankfulness to him for providing and allowing them to me

1 Corinthians 10:31

To close this argument with some important rules:—Not only in your eating and drinking, but in all your conduct, civil or religious, keep the glory of God before you as your principal and last end, and behave as is most conducive towards this

1 Corinthians 10:32

Always carefully avoid whatever can prejudice the minds, and hinder the conversion, of either Jews or Heathens, or may stumble either Jewish or Gentile Christians, or grieve, discourage, or pervert any church member, strong or weak

1 Corinthians 10:33

And, on the contrary, in Jesus’ strength, labour, after my example, to deny yourselves, and study to do or forbear things, as is best suited to the peace, comfort, spiritual advantage, and eternal salvation, of all around you

REFLECTIONS UPON CHAP. X.—No visible relation to God, no sacramental privileges, can screen idolators, fornicators, tempters of Christ, unbelieving murmurers, or any similar transgressors, from his just vengeance. And instances of other men’s sins and punishment should deter us from sinful indulgences or self-confidence, lest we fall into the like condemnation. Great is the mercy that God’s faithfulness and grace secure, for his watchful and humble saints, mitigation of, support under, and seasonable deliverance from, all their troubles and temptations; that our Redeemer is so mighty, that we may safely trust him; and that he knows best what afflictions we need, and how long we should be exercised with them.—What a great and holy God we have to do with—infinitely jealous of his own honour! And highly do we affront him if in the least we countenance the worshipping of vain idols and impure spirits in them. Marvellous is his condescension and kindness in allowing us intimate fellowship with himself, and appointing solemn ordinances for that purpose. And totally inconsistent with our communion with Christ, and one another as his members, are the very smallest approaches towards fellowship with devils or lusts, or towards giving occasion of grief or sin to the weakest saints or neighbours. Things that are lawful in themselves must never be needlessly or unseasonably used to the ensnaring of others. God, to whom all things pertain, has given them to be used freely, or with restraint, as best tends to edification. And his glory therefore, and the spiritual advantage of our neighbours, ought to be our leading aims in all our actions, natural, civil, or religious