The apostle, being specially and divinely inspired, claimed to have authority in the Church of Christ. Yet it is observable that he did not require an unintelligent and unreasoning assent to his doctrine and counsel. If his words were true and right, he had the reason and the conscience of the rational and the spiritual upon his side. Hence the frankness and fearlessness of his appeal. If Paul took such a position, his language may well be adopted by teachers and preachers of Christianity, who, whatever their abilities, piety, and zeal, do not profess to enjoy the special and supernatural guidance vouchsafed to an apostle.

I. THE SPIRIT AND METHOD PROPER TO THE CHRISTIAN PREACHER AND TEACHER.

1. He should not speak as to the ignorance of the ignorant, as if his aim were to take advantage of, to impose upon, persons whose slender knowledge, ability, and opportunities incapacitated and forbade them to receive and appreciate the truth.

2. He should not address himself to the credulity and superstition of men; for there are too many who are content to believe upon the authority of man, when they ought to inquire with regard to what comes to them whether it comes with the authority of truth, of God.

3. He should not appeal to the selfish interests or the selfish fears of men; for these are methods which are certain to produce an immediate and powerful effect, but are unlikely to work real good.

4. But he should speak as unto wise men, inviting their attention and inquiries. Christ and his apostles proceeded upon this method; they appealed to the thoughtfulness, the conscience, the right feelings of those whom they addressed. Compare the language of Scripture with that of arrogant priests, of domineering pastors, of superficial revivalists; and what is the result of the comparison? It is to produce the impression - How just, temperate, thoughtful, reasonable, convincing, persuasive, are the arguments, expositions, and appeals of Scripture!

II. THE SPIRIT AND METHOD PROPER TO HEARERS AND READERS OF THE WORD.

1. Let them cultivate wisdom; for it is to wise men that the Word of God is addressed. In the Old Testament, especially in the Proverbs, there are innumerable eulogies of wisdom, and the sons of men are entreated to listen to the voice of wisdom, to cherish, seek, and pray for it. And in the New Testament, our Lord's discourses evince the same appreciation of this quality of mind. Christ commends the wise man who built his house upon the rock, the wise virgins who took oil in their vessels, the wise and faithful servant who did his Lord's will, the disciples who are wise as serpents. Not a pretentious and proud spirit, but the wisdom of humility, is the preparation for the kingdom; the wise of this world, the wise in their own conceit, are not in the way for the blessing.

2. Let them judge the religious teaching they receive. This admonition, of St. Paul's is a copy of that of Christ himself: "Why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?" It was an admonition which the apostle seems often to have repeated: "Prove all things;" "Judge ye if it is not unseemly," etc.; "We who are spiritual judge all things." There is abundant material for judging, in nature and in revelation; there are canons and counsels of judgment which all may use; and each Christian has a certain ability and opportunity to judge for himself. Happily the most really important matters are the least difficult to judge.

3. Let them judge with a view to practical conduct and under a constant sense of responsibility. We are not called upon to judge other men, but to judge of what relates to our duty as followers of Christ Jesus. The questions for us to decide are questions of pressing moment for ourselves. The responsibility of deciding such questions cannot be shifted from our shoulders to those of others. The messenger and minister of Christ speaks as unto wise men; as wise men let the hearers of the Word hear, judge, and act. - T.

I. WHAT IS IDOLATRY? The worshipping of anything besides God.

1. Outwardly.

2. Inwardly.

II. WHAT IDOLS MUST WE NOT WORSHIP?

1. Heathenish (Romans 1:23).

2. Jewish (1 Kings 12:28).

3. Papistical.

(1)The Cross (Isaiah 44:19).

(2)The host.

(3)Images (Exodus 20:4).

(a)Of Christ.

(b)Of saints.

(c)Of God (Exodus 32:4, 5; Deuteronomy 4:12-16).

III. WHAT OUTWARD WORSHIP MUST WE NOT GIVE TO THEM?

1. Praying (Isaiah 44:17).

2. Thanksgiving (Judges 16:23, 24; Daniel 5:4).

3. Sacrifices (2 Kings 17:35).

4. Incense (Jeremiah 18:15; Jeremiah 44:17).

5. Temples or altars (Hosea 8:14; Hosea 12:11).

6. Asking counsel (Hosea 4:12).

7. Bowing down to them, and so adoring of them (Acts 10:25, 26; Revelation 22:8, 9).

(Bp. Beveridge.)

I. INWARD IDOLATRY (Ezekiel 14:7) is —

1. Covetousness (Colossians 3:5; Ephesians 5:5). A covetous man —

(1)Minds his riches more than God.

(2)Takes more pains for them (Matthew 6:24).

(3)Loves them better (1 Timothy 6:10).

(4)Fears to lose them (Acts 19:25).

(5)Puts his trust in them (Luke 12:18, 19; 1 Timothy 6:17).

(6)Makes them his chiefest good (Luke 18:19).

(7)Sacrifices both body and soul for them (Matthew 16:26).

2. Carnal pleasures (Philippians 3:19). A voluptuous man —

(1)Loves pleasure more than God (2 Timothy 3:4).

(2)Takes more delight in them (Romans 8:5, 6).

(3)Takes more pains for them (Romans 16:18).

3. Popular applause (John 12:43). The ambitious man

(1)Desires his own honour more than God's.

(2)Prizes it more (Daniel 4:30).

(3)Is more troubled at the loss of it than of God's favour (2 Samuel 17:23).

4. Sin, especially beloved sin, which —

(1)You prefer before God.

(2)Will not part with for His sake.

(3)Venture more for than for God.

5. Satan.

(1)You prefer him to God (John 8:44).

(2)Are more pleased with his works than God's.

II. WHENCE PROCEEDS THIS INWARD IDOLATRY? From —

1. Ignorance in the mind.

2. Perverseness in the will.

3. Disorder in the affections.

III. HOW DOES IT APPEAR THAT THIS IS PLAIN IDOLATRY?

1. Others worship idols with their bodies, we with our souls.

2. These give the principal part of Divine worship to these things.

3. These things alienate our minds from God (Ephesians 2:12).

(Bp. Beveridge.)

The "wherefore" carries us back to the previous verse, and reveals the apostle's train of thought. He had been warning these Corinthians in chap. 1 Corinthians 8 against partaking of meat that had been offered to idols, not because it was wrong in itself, for an "idol is nothing in the world," but because of "weaker brethren," who believed in the reality of heathen divinities. This leads him, in chap. 1 Corinthians 9, to refer to his own example of self-denial, and he then passes on, in chap. 1 Corinthians 10, to justify his warnings by quoting the melancholy example of Israel, who were placed in circumstances in many respects similar to those of the Church at Corinth, and in their temptations and sins the latter might see the danger that threatened themselves. Still, the temptation was not irresistible (ver. 13). "Wherefore," St. Paul adds, "flee from idolatry": that is, do not see how near to it you may approach without being entangled, but avoid it altogether.

I. IT MIGHT SEEM THAT SUCH A PRECEPT WAS UTTERLY NEEDLESS IN THE PRESENT DAY. For we have reached an intellectual position exactly the opposite to that occupied by the ancient world. They believed in "gods many, and lords many"; we find it difficult to believe in any God at all. They saw divinities everywhere; we see God nowhere. Their sin was believing in gods who had no existence; our sin is disbelieving in One who alone exists.

II. BUT IF IDOLATRY BE THE ENTHRONING OF ANYTHING IN THE PLACE OF GOD, THIS IS A SIN TO WHICH WE ARE JUST AS PRONE.

1. The Roman, e.g., is an idolatrous church. And this not because it formally worships the Pope — although the extravagant homage of those who call him "our Lord God the Pope" comes perilously near to rendering him Divine homage — but because it has dogmatically declared that the voice of a fallible man has the authority of the Word and Spirit of God over the intellect and conscience of man.

2. But Protestants, who reject this with indignation, may themselves be in danger of a similar sin. Roman Catholics complain that we have substituted an infallible Book for an infallible Pope. And it must be confessed that when human interpretations of the Bible have been placed on a level with its Divine verities, when theories of the Atonement have been confounded with the great fact, when a human creed has practically been asserted to be an infallible exposition of Divine truth, or when the authority of the Bible has been used in support, not of religious truth, but of historical and political and scientific theories, all of which have turned out to be false, and when men have been branded as misbelievers because they have refused to submit to the claim thus made upon them, then we have been guilty of a sort of idolatry.

3. Just in the same way scientific men and philosophers are in danger of idolising the intellect. To claim for the logical understanding sole authority in the discovery or the verifying of truth, to deny that we can go beyond all phenomena and hold converse with the Author of them all, to refuse to allow the supreme facts of the spiritual nature of man any place in the facts of human consciousness, is an idolatry offensive to God and perilous to man.

4. Perhaps the most dangerous is practical idolatry. Money is man's chiefest idol, and it is, unhappily, only too possible to retain it in the heart, even after we have professed to be servants of Christ. But "no covetous man who is an idolater hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." To us all, in one form or other, the warning belongs —"Flee from idolatry."

(R. W. Dale, LL.D.)

I. THE GOSPEL APPROVES ITSELF TO ALL WHO ARE TRULY WISE —

1. As a revelation.

2. As a remedy.

II. IT IS THE DUTY OF EVERY MAN TO EXERCISE HIS JUDGMENT IN RELATION TO IT. With —

1. Care.

2. Candour.

3. Prayer.

(J. Lyth, D.D.)

Let us look upon the text —

I. AS PRESUMING A CAPACITY IN MAN FOR THE EXERCISE OF JUDGMENT IN MATTERS CONCERNING HIS MORAL AND SPIRITUAL INTEREST. The text presumes —

1. A natural capacity for judgment (Romans 2:14, etc.).

2. A cultivated capacity; a mind that has passed under the hands of the cultivators of mental soil. A cultivated mind sees God in a thousand things which the less-informed cannot comprehend. Its charms are thrown into the writings of Paul.

3. A spiritual capacity (1 Corinthians 1:2; Romans 8:5).

II. AS SUGGESTING THE SUBJECTS ON WHICH TO EXERCISE THIS JUDGMENT. "Judge ye what I say."

1. The Jews in their rebellions and judgments are ensamples to us (ver. 11).

2. We must guard against light thoughts of sin, and presumptuous confidence in God's grace (ver. 12).

3. Divine support in temptation (ver. 13).

4. That we merge all minor difficulties that stand in the way of Christian usefulness or communion (vers. 27-33).

III. AS URGING INVESTIGATION AS A MATTER OF IMMEDIATE IMPORTANCE. "I speak as to wise men, judge ye what I say." And this in order —

1. To the purity of the Church.

2. Its prosperity.

3. Its unity.

(W. Morris.)

Corinthians, Israelites, PaulCorinthIntelligent, Judge, Judges, Persons, Saying, Sense, Sensible, Speak, Wise, Yourselves1. The sacraments of the Jews are types of ours;
7. and their punishments,
11. examples for us.
13. We must flee from idolatry.
21. We must not make the Lord's table the table of demons;
24. and in all things we must have regard for our brothers.

1 Corinthians 10:14-20

     8770   idolatry, in NT

1 Corinthians 10:15-16

     7922   fellowship, with God

1 Corinthians 10:15-31

     5773   abstinence, discipline

Ninth Sunday after Trinity Carnal Security and Its vices.
Text: 1 Corinthians 10, 6-13. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us make trial of the Lord, as some of them made trial, and perished by the serpents. 10 Neither murmur ye, as …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

December the Twelfth Relating Everything to God
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God." --1 CORINTHIANS x. 23-33. And so all my days would constitute a vast temple, and life would be a constant worship. This is surely the science and art of holy living--to relate everything to the Infinite. When I take my common meal and relate it to "the glory of God," the common meal becomes a sacramental feast. When my labour is joined "unto the Lord," the sacred wedding turns my workshop into a church. When I …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

Mental Prayer.
"Pray without ceasing."--1 Thess. v. 17. There are two modes of praying mentioned in Scripture; the one is prayer at set times and places, and in set forms; the other is what the text speaks of,--continual or habitual prayer. The former of these is what is commonly called prayer, whether it be public or private. The other kind of praying may also be called holding communion with God, or living in God's sight, and this may be done all through the day, wherever we are, and is commanded us as the …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII

Doing Glory to God in Pursuits of the World.
"Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."--1 Cor. x. 31. When persons are convinced that life is short, that it is unequal to any great purpose, that it does not display adequately, or bring to perfection the true Christian, when they feel that the next life is all in all, and that eternity is the only subject that really can claim or can fill their thoughts, then they are apt to undervalue this life altogether, and to forget its real importance. …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

The Limits of Liberty
'All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. 24. Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth. 25. Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake. 26. For the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. 27. If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed togo, whatsoever is set before you eat, asking no question for conscience sake. 28. But if any man …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

Men Often Highly Esteem what God Abhors.
Ye we they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts for that which is highly esteemed among men, is abomination in the sight of God." -Luke xvi. 15. CHRIST had just spoken the parable of the unjust steward, in which He presented the case of one who unjustly used the property of others entrusted to him, for the purpose of laying them under. obligation to provide for himself after expulsion from His trust. Our Lord represents this conduct of the steward as being wise in the …
Charles G. Finney—Sermons on Gospel Themes

God's Glory the Chief End of Man's Being
Rom. xi. 36.--"Of him and through him, and to him, are all things, to whom be glory for ever." And 1 Cor. x. 31--"Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." All that men have to know, may be comprised under these two heads,--What their end is, and What is the right way to attain to that end? And all that we have to do, is by any means to seek to compass that end. These are the two cardinal points of a man's knowledge and exercise. Quo et qua eundum est,--Whither to go, and what way to go. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Communion with Christ and his People.
AN ADDRESS AT A COMMUNION SERVICE AT MENTONE. "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread."--1 Cor. x. 16, 17. COMMUNION WITH CHRIST AND HIS PEOPLE. I WILL read you the text as it is given in the Revised Version: "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ?" …
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come

The Rock of Ages
(Ninth Sunday after Trinity.) 1 Corinthians x. 4. They drank of that Spiritual Rock which followed them; and that Rock was Christ. St. Paul has been speaking to the Corinthians about the Holy Communion. In this text, St. Paul is warning the Corinthians about it. He says, 'You may be Christian men; you may have the means of grace; you may come to the Communion and use the means of grace; and yet you may become castaways.' St. Paul himself says, in the very verse before, 'I keep under my body, and …
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

Heaven on Earth
1 COR. x. 31. "Whether ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." This is a command from God, my friends, which well worth a few minutes' consideration this day;--well worth considering, because, though it was spoken eighteen hundred years ago, yet God has not changed since that time;--He is just as glorious as ever; and Christian men's relation to God has not changed since that time; they still live, and move, and have their being in God; they are still His children--His …
Charles Kingsley—Twenty-Five Village Sermons

Touching Jacob, However, that which He did at his Mother's Bidding...
24. Touching Jacob, however, that which he did at his mother's bidding, so as to seem to deceive his father, if with diligence and in faith it be attended to, is no lie, but a mystery. The which if we shall call lies, all parables also, and figures designed for the signifying of any things soever, which are not to be taken according to their proper meaning, but in them is one thing to be understood from another, shall be said to be lies: which be far from us altogether. For he who thinks this, may …
St. Augustine—Against Lying

But, as I had Begun to Say, Whether the Fruit an Hundred-Fold be virginity...
47. But, as I had begun to say, whether the fruit an hundred-fold be virginity dedicated to God, or whether we are to understand that interval of fruitfulness in some other way, either such as we have made mention of, or such as we have not made mention of; yet no one, as I suppose, will have dared to prefer virginity to martyrdom, and no one will have doubted that this latter gift is hidden, if trial to test it be wanting. A virgin, therefore, hath a subject for thought, such as may be of profit …
St. Augustine—Of Holy Virginity.

Here Peradventure Some Man May Say, "If it was Bodily Work that the Apostle...
14. Here peradventure some man may say, "If it was bodily work that the Apostle wrought, whereby to sustain this life, what was that same work, and when did he find time for it, both to work and to preach the Gospel?" To whom I answer: Suppose I do not know; nevertheless that he did bodily work, and thereby lived in the flesh, and did not use the power which the Lord had given to the Apostles, that preaching the Gospel he should live by the Gospel, those things above-said do without all doubt bear …
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

Nor, Because I Called Ruth Blessed, Anna More Blessed...
10. Nor, because I called Ruth blessed, Anna more blessed, in that the former married twice, the latter, being soon widowed of her one husband, so lived long, do you straightway also think that you are better than Ruth. Forsooth different in the times of the Prophets was the dispensation of holy females, whom obedience, not lust, forced to marry, for the propagation of the people of God, [2242] that in them Prophets of Christ might be sent beforehand; whereas the People itself also, by those things …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

Perseverance of Saints.
FURTHER OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 4. A fourth objection to this doctrine is, that if, by the perseverance of the saints is intended, that they live anything like lives of habitual obedience to God, then facts are against it. To this objection I reply: that by the perseverance of the saints, as I use these terms, is intended that, subsequently to their regeneration, holiness is the rule of their lives, and sin only the exception. But it is said, that facts contradict this. (1.) The case of king Saul is …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

The Saint Resumes the History of Her Life. Aiming at Perfection. Means Whereby it May be Gained. Instructions for Confessors.
1. I shall now return to that point in my life where I broke off, [1] having made, I believe, a longer digression than I need have made, in order that what is still to come may be more clearly understood. Henceforth, it is another and a new book,--I mean, another and a new life. Hitherto, my life was my own; my life, since I began to explain these methods of prayer, is the life which God lived in me,--so it seems to me; for I feel it to be impossible that I should have escaped in so short a time …
Teresa of Avila—The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus

Of Resisting Temptation
So long as we live in the world, we cannot be without trouble and trial. Wherefore it is written in Job, The life of man upon the earth is a trial.(1) And therefore ought each of us to give heed concerning trials and temptations, and watch unto prayer, lest the devil find occasion to deceive; for he never sleepeth, but goeth about seeking whom he may devour. No man is so perfect in holiness that he hath never temptations, nor can we ever be wholly free from them. 2. Yet, notwithstanding, temptations …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Man's Chief End
Q-I: WHAT IS THE CHIEF END OF MAN? A: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever. Here are two ends of life specified. 1: The glorifying of God. 2: The enjoying of God. I. The glorifying of God, I Pet 4:4: That God in all things may be glorified.' The glory of God is a silver thread which must run through all our actions. I Cor 10:01. Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.' Everything works to some end in things natural and artificial; …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

But one Sometimes Comes to a Case of this Kind...
24. But one sometimes comes to a case of this kind, that we are not interrogated where the person is who is sought, nor forced to betray him, if he is hidden in such manner, that he cannot easily be found unless betrayed: but we are asked, whether he be in such a place or not. If we know him to be there, by holding our peace we betray him, or even by saying that we will in no wise tell whether he be there or not: for from this the questioner gathers that he is there, as, if he were not, nothing else …
St. Augustine—On Lying

Indeed in all Spiritual Delights, which Unmarried Women Enjoy...
27. Indeed in all spiritual delights, which unmarried women enjoy, their holy conversation ought also to be with caution; lest haply, though their life be not evil through haughtiness, their report be evil through negligence. Nor are they to be listened to, whether they be holy men or women, when (upon occasion of their neglect in some matter being blamed, through which it comes to pass that they fall into evil suspicion, from which they know that their life is far removed) they say that it is enough …
St. Augustine—On the Good of Widowhood.

For that Both History of the Old Testament...
8. For that both history of the Old Testament, and ætiology, and analogy are found in the New Testament, has been, as I think, sufficiently proved: it remains to show this of allegory. Our Redeemer Himself in the Gospel uses allegory out of the Old Testament. "This generation," saith He, "seeketh a sign, and there shall not be given it save the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so also shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights …
St. Augustine—On the Profit of Believing.

W. T. Vn to the Christen Reader.
As [the] envious Philistenes stopped [the] welles of Abraham and filled them vpp with erth/ to put [the] memoriall out of minde/ to [the] entent [that] they might chalenge [the] grounde: even so the fleshly minded ypocrites stoppe vpp the vaynes of life which are in [the] scripture/ [with] the erth of theyr tradicions/ false similitudes & lienge allegories: & [that] of like zele/ to make [the] scripture theyr awne possession & marchaundice: and so shutt vpp the kingdome of heven which is Gods worde …
William Tyndale—The prophete Ionas with an introduccion

The Lord's Supper
And as they did eat, Jesus took bread,' &c. Mark 14: 22. Having spoken to the sacrament of baptism, I come now to the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is the most spiritual and sweetest ordinance that ever was instituted. Here we have to do more immediately with the person of Christ. In prayer, we draw nigh to God; in the sacrament, we become one with him. In prayer, we look up to Christ; in the sacrament, by faith, we touch him. In the word preached, we hear Christ's voice; in the …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments

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