TODAY IN THE WORD

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 2:1-10
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. - Romans 1:16
TODAY IN THE WORD
In one of his sermons, noted preacher Harry Ironside told the story of a little girl who was terrified of God. She lived during the time of the Protestant Reformation and was uncomfortable with the thought that God was always watching her. She thought of God as someone who was aware of all her sins and eager to punish her for them. One day she visited her father’s printing shop and noticed a portion of the Bible that he was printing. After she read it, her fear was gone. When the girl was asked what had changed, she explained: “I found a piece of the Bible that says, 'God so loved that He gave.’ If he loved us enough to give anything, I am not afraid.”

The simplicity of the gospel is more powerful than human eloquence because its power comes from God. This was the basis for Paul’s confidence when preaching to the Corinthians. Paul first arrived in Corinth “in weakness and fear, and with much trembling” (v. 3). He had been beaten in Philippi, forced to leave both Thessalonica and Berea because of opposition, and had been ridiculed by the philosophers in Athens (Acts 16-17; 1 Thess. 2:2). It is not surprising, then, that while preaching in Corinth Paul did not place his confidence in his own persuasive ability but in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s honest description of his feelings while in Corinth is proof that being nervous while sharing the gospel is not the same as being ashamed of the gospel. Paul was nervous while in Corinth–but he was not ashamed.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Is there someone with whom you would like to share God’s message of love? Many gospel presentations divide the message into four major points: God’s love, our need, Christ’s work, and the need for personal faith. Using these four points, look for key Bible verses that can help you explain them to others. When you are finished, you may want to find another believer to listen as you practice your presentation. Above all, pray that God will give you an opportunity to share what you know with someone who needs to hear.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 2:11-3:4
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. - 1 John 4:1
TODAY IN THE WORD
Spiritual experiences are not unique to Christians. A surprising majority of Americans, for example, acknowledge that spirituality is an important part of their lives. A Newsweek poll taken a few years ago revealed that 58 percent of those who responded felt a need to experience spiritual growth. A slightly smaller, but still surprisingly large, 33 percent said that they have had mystical experiences. Is there such a thing as “non-Christian” spirituality?

In today’s passage Paul uses the human spirit’s knowledge of a person’s innermost thoughts as an analogy to explain the Holy Spirit’s role in revealing divine truth. “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man,” he asks, “except the man’s spirit within him?” (v. 11). This implies that everyone has a spiritual nature. Those who have never been born again, however, have a problem. Because they don’t have the Holy Spirit, they are unable to accept the truths that God has revealed in His Word. The spiritual experiences of those who do not know Christ are one-sided. Theirs is a spirituality that does not acknowledge the true God.

The mere fact that someone has a spiritual experience does not guarantee that God is its source. There are spirits that do not come from God and who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord. That is why the Scriptures warn that all spiritual experiences must be tested.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Does one of these two categories describe you? If you have never personally trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are the person “without the Spirit.” Place your faith in Christ today, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. He will help you understand God’s truth and will give you the power to obey it. If you have already trusted in Jesus Christ, ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal whether you are responding to God’s truth as you should. Ask for His help in implementing its principles in your daily life.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 3:5-4:5
You are to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. - 1 Peter 2:5
TODAY IN THE WORD
The story is told about a pastor who died and went to heaven. As he stood in line at the Pearly Gates waiting for his reward, he noticed that the man in front of him was a rough-looking character in a black leather jacket. Saint Peter commended him for his work on God’s behalf and gave him a beautiful silk robe and a golden staff. When the pastor saw this, he thought, “If a rough fellow like that receives such a reward, imagine what I will get.”

When his turn came, the pastor was given a plain cotton robe and a wooden staff. Upset at the difference, he asked, “Why did you give me a reward like this, when you gave that rough-looking fellow a silk robe and a golden staff?” “The answer should be obvious,” Saint Peter explained. “His work brought people closer to God.” “How can that be?” the pastor objected. “I was a minister in the church for 43 years!” “True,” Saint Peter replied. “But he was a taxi driver in New York. While you preached, people slept. When he drove, people prayed.”

The theology of this humorous story may be suspect, but its basic principle is confirmed in today’s passage. A day is coming when God will test the works of every believer. This will not be a test to determine whether we can enter heaven. According to verse 15, even those whose work fails to pass the test will be saved. Rather, it is a test to reveal the quality of what we have done for Christ, especially (as the context of 1 Corinthians 1-4 indicates) relating to how we have helped to promote unity in the Church.

This testing does not undercut the principle of grace. Paul makes it equally clear that while there may be a difference in workmanship, the glory for what is done doesn’t go to the one who does the work. The Lord assigns the task to each person, and He is the one who causes the church to grow. Those who labor on God’s behalf are simply servants.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Paul indicates that the ability to minister and the results of our ministry are God’s responsibility. We are accountable for the quality of the workmanship. There is only one foundation, but there are a variety of materials available to those who build upon it. What contribution are you making to the building project in today’s passage? According to verse 12, some build upon the one foundation of Jesus Christ with gold, silver, and costly stones. Others build with wood, hay, or straw. What words would you use to describe the quality of your workmanship?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 4:6-21
Do not think of yourself more highly than youought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment. - Romans 12:3
TODAY IN THE WORD
Winston Churchill once awarded the Victoria Cross to an Air Force sergeant who had climbed out onto the wing of his bomber while it was thirteen thousand feet above the sea with only a rope attached to his waist. His effort saved both the plane and its crew. At the ceremony the man was so overwhelmed by Churchill’s presence that he could barely speak. “You must be feeling very humble and awkward in my presence,” Churchill observed. “Yes, sir,” the sergeant replied. “Then you can imagine how humble and awkward I feel in yours,” Churchill humbly responded.

It is often the characteristic of great men and women that they possess a genuine sense of humility. Humility is one of the things that makes them great. The apostle Paul was a person like that. He not only thought of himself as a servant, he lived the life of a servant by spending himself for the well-being of the church. For Paul this often meant a life filled with hardships, including poverty, hunger, rough treatment, and homelessness (v. 11). Paul reminded the Corinthians of this, not to rouse their pity, but to motivate them to imitate his example (v. 14).

True humility is marked by a realistic assessment of one’s position and abilities. Paul understood the nature of his gifts as well as the grace that had endowed him with them. As a result, he could urge the Corinthians to follow his example without being conceited.

The Corinthians, on the other hand, failed to look at their gifts through the lens of God’s grace and did not appreciate the sacrifices others had made while ministering to them. The abilities that had become a source of church pride had been gifts given on the basis of grace rather than merit (v. 7). Others had labored to make them what they were, but the Corinthians had begun to take the credit. They were acting like kings, when Christ had called them to live like servants.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Andrew Murray observed, “The chief mark of counterfeit holiness is its lack of humility. Every seeker after holiness needs to be on his guard, lest unconsciously what was begun in the spirit be perfected in the flesh, and pride creep in where its presence is least expected.”

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 5:1-12
But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do. - 1 Peter 1:15
TODAY IN THE WORD
In some circles it is common to refer to practices like the use of marijuana and prostitution as “victimless” crimes. This indicates a belief that these practices are a matter of individual choice. Since those who engage in such actions are the only ones who suffer the consequences, they should not be penalized for choosing such a lifestyle. In reality, however, there is no such thing as a victimless crime. An individual’s actions affect the entire community. This is doubly true of the church, where “each member belongs to all the others” (Rom. 12:5). Like the physical body, the spiritual health of one member of the body of Christ affects the other members.

In today’s passage Paul compares sin to yeast because it has the potential to work its way through the entire congregation. The proof of this can be seen in the Corinthians’ tolerance of the kind of sexual immorality that shocked their unsaved neighbors. The presence of such sin among one of their members should have been enough to silence their boasting. Instead of thinking so highly of themselves, the Corinthians should have grieved and taken steps to discipline the guilty party. In this case, the appropriate form of discipline was to “expel” the offender from the congregation (v. 2). Such a response may seem harsh and unloving, but it has the goal of redemption and reconciliation. Expulsion from the congregation underscores the seriousness of sin and gives the offender an opportunity to learn from the consequences of disobedience.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The Corinthian church had to publicly rebuke the sinning believer described in today’s passage because they had failed to confront him in private. Is there someone in your life who needs a word of loving confrontation? If so, think about what you will say in advance and prayerfully share your concerns with that person. God may use your rebuke to move them to repentance. Before you go, take the time to examine your own life. How open are you to the loving confrontation of others in the body of Christ?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:1-8
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. - Ephesians 4:3
TODAY IN THE WORD
In his book The Peacemaker, author Ken Sande tells of the time Abraham Lincoln addressed a class of law students. “Discourage litigation,” Lincoln told them. “Persuade your neighbors to compromise whenever you can. Point out to them how the nominal winner is often a loser in fees, expenses, and waste of time.” In today’s passage Paul provides another incentive for avoiding litigation. In some instances it’s a sin!

Conflict in the church of Corinth had escalated to such a degree that members were suing one another in court. Paul doesn’t identify the exact nature of the lawsuits but implies that the cases involved fraudulent behavior. In the NIV Application Commentary on 1 Corinthians, Craig Blomberg notes that most cases of litigation in Greek culture involved property disputes. “The verb 'cheat’ in verse 8 means to 'defraud,’ so some sort of complaint concerning property or business dealings seems to have been the problem.”

Corinthian believers sought the help of secular courts to settle their disputes because they felt unqualified to handle such matters themselves. Ironically, these courts were even less qualified. Judgment, according to Paul, is more than the church’s obligation; it is its destiny. The day is coming when the saints will be called upon to judge angels (vv. 2–3).

Church members also turned to secular courts for help because they were eager to “win.” Yet to call on unbelievers to resolve its conflicts was already a defeat (v. 7). It told the world that there was no power of reconciliation in the gospel and suggested that there was no fundamental difference between believers and unbelievers. Using irony to make his point, Paul observed that the church would have been better off to appoint its own people as judges or simply to suffer the loss than to look to those who don’t know Christ for a solution to its problems (vv. 5–6).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
The root problem in Corinth was not the court system but the conflicts that had divided the church and alienated its members. The best solution was to settle such disagreements privately before they reached a point where mediators were needed.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:9-20
Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life. - Romans 6:13
TODAY IN THE WORD
Every major city has a street like it–lit by marquees advertising the latest pornographic films and lined with shops euphemistically called “adult” bookstores. Its corners and doorways are littered with the human wreckage that accompanies such pursuits, as prostitutes and drug dealers attempt to peddle their wares to those who pass by. Attempts to clean up such areas face opposition from those who use a strange defense to argue that these theaters and bookstores should remain in place. They claim that they are fundamental to the preservation of liberty.

Is liberty really the freedom to do whatever one pleases? Not in the Christian life. Because the Corinthians misunderstood the concept of Christian liberty, they adopted slogans like “everything is permissible for me” and “food for the stomach and the stomach for food.” This one-sided view dichotomized the spiritual life and did not give the body its proper place. The body is not an end in itself. Its role is far more than one of mere enjoyment or display. It is “for the Lord” (vv. 12-13).

The Corinthians embraced a dangerous philosophy known as dualism. Dualism held that what was spiritual was good and what was material was not. They reasoned that since the body was material in nature, it didn’t matter what you did with it. It was destined for destruction. Paul countered that God has a plan for the body. It will one day be resurrected (v. 14).

Furthermore, the bodies we now have are “members of Christ himself” (v. 15). This truth has important spiritual implications. Whenever we use our bodies in a way that displeases Christ, we commit an offense against Christ Himself.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We may be free, but we are not free agents. The freedom of the Christian is the liberty to serve God with our bodies. Both now and in eternity our bodies are for the Lord (v. 13).

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 7:1-9
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. - Hebrews 13:4
TODAY IN THE WORD
A number of years ago a cartoon showed a young man talking to his father as he sat in his armchair reading the paper. “Dad, what did your generation use for safe sex?” the boy asked. “A wedding ring,” the father replied. Scripture would agree with his answer. Not only is marital fidelity one of the best preventative measures against sexually transmitted diseases, it is also God’s remedy for sexual immorality.

In response to a question posed by the Corinthians, Paul affirmed that “it is good for a man not to marry” (v. 1). The Greek text literally says, “It is good for a man not to touch a woman.” The Corinthians’ implied question seems to have been, “Is it good for a man not to touch a woman?”

Although this may seem like an odd question to us today, it’s not surprising in view of Corinthian culture. The city was so marked by sexual immorality that to call someone a “Corinthian woman” was the same as calling her a prostitute. Some in the church had responded to this by advocating a lifestyle of celibacy. More than this, they seem to have overreacted so much that they concluded that the sexual relationship was itself defiled and that even husbands and wives ought to abstain from sexual relations. By asserting this they were denying one of the basic designs of the marriage relationship. In this passage Paul uses the language of obligation when he speaks of sexual relations within the context of marriage. God does not command marriage for everyone, nor does the single person have less value than the married person. Each state has its own advantages and obligations (v. 7). Most, however, will find that God’s purpose for their lives will include marriage–a relationship that has both physical and spiritual dimensions.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
If you are struggling in this aspect of your marriage, it is likely that the problem did not develop overnight. Do not expect it to be resolved overnight. Contrary to the secular myth, a satisfactory marital relationship takes time and effort. It takes regular maintenance to keep a marriage relationship in good working order. Most important of all, it requires a mutual commitment to the well-being of the other person. It is those who learn to be “one in spirit” who will derive the most satisfaction from becoming “one flesh.”

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 7:10-24
Live such good lives among the pagans that they may see your good deeds and glorify God. - 1 Peter 2:12
TODAY IN THE WORD
When George trusted in Christ as Savior, his wife Vicki thought he had lost his mind. At first she tolerated his new faith with an attitude of scorn, hoping that it would go away. George was determined, however, to live out his faith in his marriage. He also began to talk to Vicki, gently but persistently, about her need to accept Christ as her Savior. At first, Vicki reacted to George with anger. She even began to consider getting a divorce. When she saw that she was unable to shake his faith, she started to ask George questions and eventually surrendered and gave her heart to Christ.

Believers who have trusted in Christ while married to someone who does not know Him as Savior have an opportunity and a responsibility. They have been strategically positioned in the marriage as a representative of the gospel (v. 14). Those who were in these spiritually “mixed” marriages in Corinth needed this important reminder. Perhaps as a result of those who incorrectly taught that God wanted spouses to live a celibate lifestyle, they had begun to question whether they should remain in their marriages. Paul reminded both married Christians and Christians who were married to unbelievers that it was their duty to stay. Unfortunately, some unsaved spouses refused to remain in the relationship. In such cases, Paul’s counsel to the believing spouse who had done everything to preserve the marriage was to let the unwilling partner go (vv. 10-15).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Most of us have multiple roles. They may include friend, employee, spouse, and parent. The biblical concept of calling that Paul describes in these verses gives dignity and significance to all of them.

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 7:25-40
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. - Matthew 6:33
TODAY IN THE WORD
It is a quirk of human nature that people are rarely satisfied with their circumstances. The single person longs for marriage while the married person believes that the single doesn’t know how good he has it. The employee can’t wait for retirement while the retiree chafes to get back into the work force. One person is frustrated with his career and thinks that he should enter the ministry while another is frustrated with the ministry and wants to get a “secular” job.

Our plight is much like the story that has been told of the two teardrops who met while traveling along the river of life. One said, “I am a teardrop from a woman who met the man of her dreams and lost him.” The other replied, “I am a teardrop from the woman who found him.”

Is it better to be married or single? The answer depends upon a combination of factors that include timing, circumstances, and God’s purpose for an individual’s life. When the Corinthians asked Paul whether those who were single should get married, his advice was that they should remain in their present condition. This was not because he saw marriage as a flawed state but because of the “present crisis” the church faced at the time (v. 26).

The exact nature of this crisis is not stated. Some scholars believe that the church was facing localized persecution at the time. Others suggest that the statement refers to an impending crisis.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
We all live in a world of career pressures, monthly bills, and daily appointments. Whether married or single, you could benefit from doing a “spiritual audit” of your weekly calendar and your monthly expenses. What priorities do they reveal? Are you most concerned about the things of Christ or the affairs of this world?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. - Romans 14:1
TODAY IN THE WORD
Bill was shocked when Jack showed up one Sunday wearing a tiny gold earring. The next day Bill stopped by the pastor’s office and asked him what he intended to do about it. When the pastor asked Bill why he thought Jack should change, he answered, “Because I am offended by it.” The pastor suggested that Bill speak to Jack about it, and the next day Jack showed up at the pastor’s door. He was offended by Bill’s suggestion that he should remove the earring. “I don’t see why he should tell me how to dress,” Jack complained. “It seems to me that he’s the one with the spiritual problem. He is judging me.” Who really had the spiritual problem? Probably both men were at fault. Each was primarily interested in his own rights and personal tastes rather than in the welfare of the other.

The church of Corinth faced a similar struggle over the question of Christian liberty. It was a common practice in Corinth for meat that had been sacrificed in pagan worship at the temple to be sold in the marketplace. Some Christians believed that the meat was defiled and refused to eat it. Others looked down on these “weaker” believers and flaunted their liberty in this area because they knew that the idols this meat had been sacrificed to were “nothing” (v. 4).

Which of these groups was right? In a way, both were partially correct. Those who asserted that the idol was nothing were technically right. The fact that the meat had been sacrificed in pagan worship did not invest it with a “spiritual” quality. It was the same meat after the sacrifice that it had been before the sacrifice.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Take an informal survey of several members of your church and ask them to identify some of the things that people consider “stumbling blocks.” Examples might be working on Sunday, certain styles of worship, or a particular kind of dress. Analyze the responses you received. Were they matters of taste or conscience?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 9:1-14
The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. - 1 Timothy 5:17
TODAY IN THE WORD
Jerry became upset when he heard that his church was calling a new pastor. “There is only one reason he came to our church,” he complained of the new minister. “We offered him more money than he was getting at his last church.” To some extent, Jerry’s dismay was understandable. He was a close friend of the former pastor and had been grieved to see him leave. But Jerry seems to have felt that mixing money with ministry was a dangerous combination.

Few practical issues are more sensitive in the local church than that of the pastor’s salary. On the church’s side, it can be the focus of heated debate or embarrassment. From the pastor’s perspective, it is often a source of discouragement. The church has an obligation to meet the material needs of those who serve in vocational ministry (v. 14). It may surprise some people to learn that Paul refers to this as a “right” and lists it along with several other “rights” that were his (v. 12).

Paul based his argument partially on common sense by comparing those in ministry to the soldier, the shepherd, or the farmer. Each expects to be supported by his work.

Paul’s strongest argument came from God’s Word. Quoting the Old Testament law regarding the treatment of oxen, he noted that Deuteronomy 25:4 commanded God’s people not to muzzle the ox while it was in the process of threshing. Instead, God commanded that the ox be allowed to eat the grain. If God cared so much about the animals who served His people, how much more must He care for the people who serve them?
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Is there some way that God can use you to meet the needs of those who minister to the church? One couple offers to watch their pastor’s small children for the weekend so he and his wife can enjoy some needed time alone. Another offers the church’s pastor the use of their cabin in the woods each summer. A mechanic fixes his pastor’s car when it’s in need of repair and a doctor offers free medical care when the need arises. Why not ask God to show you some simple and practical ways that you can show your appreciation for your pastor’s ministry today?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 9:15-27
I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. - Romans 1:14
TODAY IN THE WORD
During the 1980s the Chrysler Corporation faced a financial crisis so great that many feared that it would go bankrupt. One step that chairman Lee Iacocca took during this period was to reduce his own salary to $1 a year, following a principle that he called “equality of sacrifice.” Iacocca reasoned that he could not ask the average worker to make a sacrifice that he himself was not making. In a sense, he hoped to win over the employees in his company by showing that he was one of them.

This was the same philosophy behind Paul’s ministry. He demonstrated it in two important ways. First, by refusing to take advantage of the right of support that was his as an apostle, he modeled a lifestyle of sacrifice on behalf of the gospel (v. 15). Second, he employed a missionary strategy of becoming “all things” and employing “all means” in order to “save some” (v. 22). Paul compared his manner of ministry to the Olympic athlete who made every effort to train in the hope of winning.

This approach was consistent with the Bible’s theology of grace. No amount of effort will provide an entrance into the Christian life. We are saved by grace through faith apart from human effort (Eph. 2:8–9). Once we are saved, though, it’s impossible to serve Christ without effort (Rom. 14:19; 2 Peter 3:14).
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
When Lee Iacocca made his sacrifice, it was because he hoped to persuade the Chrysler workers to do something for him. Paul’s motive was radically different. He became a servant to others because he hoped to do something for them. Is there a relative, friend, or neighbor who needs to know Jesus Christ as Savior? What would it take for you to become “all things” and to employ “all means” in an effort to reach them with the good news of the gospel?

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. - Proverbs 16:18
TODAY IN THE WORD
During one of his trips through the African bush, British missionary and explorer David Livingstone was startled by a noise. Turning around to find out what had caused it, he saw a lion in the act of springing. The lion caught Livingstone by the shoulder and began to shake him the way a dog or cat does when it has its prey in its teeth. “It caused a sort of dreaminess, in which there was no sense of pain or feeling of terror, though quite conscious of all that was happening,” Livingstone recalled afterward. “It was like what patients partially under the influence of chloroform describe, who see all the operation, but feel not the knife.”

Imagine what it was like for Livingstone being caught in the grip of a deadly enemy, with no sense of pain or feeling of danger. Instead, he was entranced and captivated by an agent whose only intent was his destruction. This is what it like when the believer is captivated by the attraction of sin. It is possible to respond to temptation with the same kind of “dreamy” consciousness that a temptation is occurring but without the sense of distress or fear that would provide a motivation to flee. In today’s passage Paul provides believers with a needed “wake up call” and a two-pronged strategy for saying no to sin.

The first element in Paul’s strategy is to be aware of danger of complacency (v. 12). Religious experience alone is no guarantee of God’s grace. Many merely “go through the motions” and seem to be a part of God’s family, when in reality they are not. Jesus warned, “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). Habitual disregard for sin may be an indicator that one is merely religious and not truly saved.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Recall a time when you were able to resist temptation. What helped you to say “no” to sin? How did God provide a “way of escape?”

[Soldier4Christ]

Read: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22
Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. - 1 Corinthians 10:14
TODAY IN THE WORD
You have probably heard people describe themselves as a “spiritual person” when you knew they were not believers in Christ. According to national bookstores, some of the hottest selling books are about the practice of paganism, a pseudo-religion that claims to give deep spiritual experiences apart from any belief in God or a divine presence.

We shouldn’t be surprised by this. The Bible teaches that all spiritual experiences do not necessarily originate with God. It’s possible that some experiences that people consider “spiritual” are purely psychological. The feeling of awe that one gets while watching a beautiful sunrise may be nothing more than an emotional response to the aesthetic beauty of what is seen. It is also possible to have a genuine spiritual experience that does not originate with God. Paul warned the Corinthians that when they participated in idolatrous worship, even though the idols themselves did not exist, demonic forces were at work. The Christians who attended such festivities, perhaps motivated by the thought of getting a free meal, were engaging in a kind of demonic “communion” service (v. 20).

These Corinthian Christians foolishly believed that they were immune to the spiritual dangers of pagan idolatry. In reality, the very least that could have happened was that some might have misunderstood their presence in the idol’s temple as an endorsement of pagan religion. Even worse, by participating in idol feasts they exposed themselves to dangerous temptations, since sexual immorality was often featured at such events. They also opened themselves up to the real spiritual influences behind pagan idolatry.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Today’s passage warns of a two-fold threat. First, it warns against the danger of needlessly exposing ourselves to temptation. Past success should not embolden us to place ourselves in harm’s way when it comes to temptation. Past success does not make us immune to future failure, especially with sexual temptation. Second, it warns against the danger of using experience to test our theology instead of measuring our experience by God’s truth. Every experience, like every spirit, must be tested by the standard of God’s Word.