1 Corinthians Chapter 10

CORINTH: RICH GREEK CITY/STATE

(Acts 18:1 [KJV])
After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth;

(Acts 18:8 [KJV])
And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized.

(Acts 19:1 [KJV])
And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples,

(1 Corinthians 1:2 [KJV])
Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called [to be] saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

(2 Corinthians 1:1 [KJV])
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy [our] brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

(2 Corinthians 1:23 [KJV])
Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.

(2 Corinthians 6:11 [KJV])
O [ye] Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged.

(2 Timothy 4:20 [KJV])
Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.

Lots of good, fresh water
Lots of good, arable soil
Lots of good clay for ceramics, pottery, etc., hence "Corinthian Pottery"
Shops, fountains, carved stone temples to the Greek gods, porticos, metal workshops abounded
As a part of a major shipping lane, Corinth has four ports, on the Gulf of Corinth, between two seas
A temple to Apollo was there
Another temple was one to Aphrodite, an acropolis known as Acrocorinth, which was associated with prostitutes for the seafaring men, which made it a rich city
Perusing the two letters Paul wrote to them, it is obvious that they were apostate and backslidden.

1 CORINTHIANS 10: ISRAEL'S EXAMPLE AND OUR ADMONITION TO FOLLOW CHRIST

THROUGH FAITH, OUT OF THE WORLD

(1 Corinthians 10:1 [KJV])
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

Moreover...."In addition", "Let me continue", "And furthermore"
No Christian need be ignorant in America, having the Word of God in every home, something they did not have then, just the Old Testament and some epistles from Paul, etc.
The cloud was to ensure that they trusted God, not seeing what the future was, but walking forward because God was leading
Darkness of night was unable to guide, so God gave them a pillar of fire, and no mention that the cloud lifted, or that it was smokeless, so that they again, cloud or smoke, cloudless or smokeless, they walked by faith

THE DAY AND NIGHT CLOUDS

(Exodus 13:21,22 [KJV])
And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night: He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, [from] before the people.

(Exodus 14:19 [KJV])
And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:

(Exodus 14:24 [KJV])
And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,

(Numbers 12:5 [KJV])
And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood [in] the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.

(Numbers 14:14 [KJV])
And they will tell [it] to the inhabitants of this land: [for] they have heard that thou LORD [art] among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and [that] thy cloud standeth over them, and [that] thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

(Deuteronomy 31:15 [KJV])
And the LORD appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud: and the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.

(Nehemiah 9:12 [KJV])
Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go.

(Nehemiah 9:19 [KJV])
Yet thou in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to shew them light, and the way wherein they should go.

(Exodus 40:38 [KJV])
For the cloud of the LORD [was] upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

(Psalms 78:12-17 [KJV])
Marvellous things did he in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, [in] the field of Zoan. He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap. In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire. He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave [them] drink as [out of] the great depths. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.

(1 Corinthians 10:2 [KJV])
And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

Having trusted God to get them out of bondage and out of from their enemy Egypt, and so as to be separate from the land of Egypt with its inhabitants, lifestyle, practices-which represent the world- they were literally under the water which God held back, stood up for them like walls to the sides, as in being submerged in a baptism
Naked, exposed, being ardently, aggressively, angrily chased by the world and the enemy, no different than us today, only God to save them, preserve them, protect them, by faith they got through the Red Sea, through no doing of their own

(1 Corinthians 10:3,4 [KJV])
And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

They believe in the LORD, knot knowing His Name was Jesus
Moses initially struck the Rock and water came out, a blessing to them who thirsted. This is the death of the Messiah, crucified for us, giving us living water, so that spiritually, we would never thirst for answers elsewhere the rest of our lives
Moses was told to speak the next time to the Rock, but he smote it again crucifying the Son of God afresh (fake religion of the R.C.C.), which officially teaches in their "catechism" that Christ dies every time mass is held, again

(Hebrews 6:6 [KJV])
If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put [him] to an open shame.

THE SAME SPIRITUAL MEAT: MANNA

(John 6:48-59 [KJV])
I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.

THE SAME SPIRITUAL DRINK: LIVING WATER OF CHRIST

(Exodus 17:6, 7 [KJV])
Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

(Numbers 20:7-13 [KJV])
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink. And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts [also]. And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
This [is] the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.

(1 Corinthians 10:5 [KJV])
But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

The Church is not Israel, nor does it replace Israel; however, that same discipline applies to us now, if we do what they did
The next chapter deals with this, in verse thirty
God overthrew them in the Old Testament with plagues, the sword, captivity, opening the earth to swallow a few, etc. All sorts of manners of cursing

THE SICK AND DYING DISCIPLINED

(1 Corinthians 11:27 [KJV])
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink [this] cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of [that] bread, and drink of [that] cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many [are] weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

(1 Corinthians 10:6 [KJV])
Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

An example means watch yourself as the same thing can happen to you as a discipline, a consequence
We are not under judgment but, as God's Children, adopted, we are subject to discipline and consequences for our actions, up to and including sickness, disease, tragedy, death
Will we go to heaven? Yes. Can we sin against God? Yes, we cannot NOT sin. Are there consequences?
ALWAYS!

(1 Corinthians 10:7 [KJV])
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.

What can and Christian worship today? Famous people, movie and tell-a-vision "stars", sports players, expensive things, our achievements-anything put before God is an idol
Moses goes to talk to God Himself, Who rescued them from bondage shortly before, "takes too long" (for their liking, for their impatience) and they go right back to the Egyptian paganism, idolatry, worshiping the creation (of their own hands, not even God's Hand) rather than the Creator Who just freed them

(Exodus 32:1-6 [KJV])
And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for [as for] this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which [are] in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring [them] unto me.
And all the people brake off the golden earrings which [were] in their ears, and brought [them] unto Aaron. And he received [them] at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These [be] thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw [it], he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow [is] a feast to the LORD. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

PLAY, v.i.

To use any exercise for pleasure or recreation; to do something not as a task or for profit, but for amusement; as, to play at cricket.
The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. Exo 32.
To sport; to frolick; to frisk.
The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to day, Had he thy reason, would he skip and play?
To toy; to act with levity.
To trifle; to act wantonly and thoughtlessly.
Men are apt to play with their healths and their lives as they do with their clothes.
To do something fanciful; to give a fanciful turn to; as, to play upon words.
To make sport,or practice sarcastic merriment.
I would make use of it rather to play upon those I despise,than trifle with those I love.
To mock; to practice illusion.
Art thou alive, Or is it fancy plays upon our eyesight?
To contend in a game; as, to play at cards or dice; to play for diversion; to play for money.
To practice a trick or deception.
His mother played false with a smith.
To perform on an instrument of music; as,
to play on a flute, a violin or a harpsichord.
Play, my friend, and charm the charmer.
To move, or to move with alternate dilatation and contraction.
The heart beats, the blood circulates, the lungs play.
To operate; to act.
The engines play against a fire.
To move irregularly; to wanton.
Ev'n as the waving sedges play with wind.
The setting sun plays on their shining arms and burnish'd helmets.
All fame is foreign, but of true desert,
Plays round the head, but comes not to the heart.
To act a part on the stage; to personate a character.
A lord will hear you play to-night.
To represent a standing character.
Courts are theaters where some men play.
To act in any particular character; as,
to play the fool; to play the woman; to play the man.
To move in any manner; to move one way and another; as any part of a machine.

(1 Corinthians 10:8 [KJV])
Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.

Talk about a warning to not sin!
Fornication: Sexual relations outside of marriage
Again, examples for us, so as to not think we are immune to God's discipline and Holiness

FORNICA'TION, n. [L. fornicatio.]

The incontinence or lewdness of unmarried persons, male or female; also, the criminal conversation of a married man with an unmarried woman.
Adultery. Mat 5.
Incest. 1 Cor 5.
Idolatry; a forsaking of the true God, and worshipping of idols. 2 Chr 21. Rev 19.

SIN IN THE CAMP: FORNICATION

(Numbers 25:1-9 [KJV])
And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel. And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor.
And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who [were] weeping [before] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw [it], he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.

(1 Corinthians 10:9 [KJV])
Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.

Here is the Messiah, the Christ, known in the Old Testament, their LORD, rejected
Destroyed=killed
Some, not all.........a remnant, always

SIN IN THE CAMP: TEMPTING GOD, THE FIERY SERPENTS, THE ORIGIN OF THE CADUCEUS

(Numbers 21:1 [KJV])
And [when] king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took [some] of them prisoners. And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah. And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for [there is] no bread, neither [is there any] water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

(1 Corinthians 10:10 [KJV])
Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.

Murmuring takes no energy or action, just hearts, expressed with words
God took them out of Egypt, they complained-repeatedly
All they (and we) had to do was rely on God for their needs

(Psalms 106:23-30 [KJV])
Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy [them]. Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not his word: But murmured in their tents, [and] hearkened not unto the voice of the LORD.
Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to overthrow them in the wilderness: To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and to scatter them in the lands.
They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. Thus they provoked [him] to anger with their inventions: and the plague brake in upon them.
Then stood up Phinehas, and executed judgment: and [so] the plague was stayed.

(Exodus 16:1-3 [KJV])
And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which [is] between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, [and] when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

(Exodus 17:2-4 [KJV])
Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore [is] this [that] thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.

(Numbers 14:26-36 [KJV])
And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, How long [shall I bear with] this evil congregation, which murmur against me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. Say unto them, [As truly as] I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you: Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me, Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, [concerning] which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.
But your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised. But [as for] you, your carcases, they shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, [even] forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, [even] forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die. And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land,

(1 Corinthians 10:11 [KJV])
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

What this means is that it can happen to us, so we have to check ourselves, constantly
An ensample (today we say example) means just that, something to look at, observe, watch and not ignore
Punishment for crimes is a deterrent, unlike what the world today lies about and claims it is not
The blessings and providence of God poured upon Israel was typical of His dealings with His children, both them and us
The sins, rebellions, backslidings of Israel are normal to us as well
Therefore, the disciplines they received should be expected by us. THe national judgments of them should be expected by and of any nation that walks away from God

(Deuteronomy 13:6-11 [KJV])
If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which [is] as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; [Namely], of the gods of the people which [are] round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the [one] end of the earth even unto the [other] end of the earth;
Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.

(Deuteronomy 17:8-13 [KJV])
If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, [being] matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose; And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment: And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the LORD shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee:> According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, [to] the right hand, nor [to] the left.
And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.

And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.

(1 Corinthians 10:12 [KJV])
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

There is no room for pride in the Christian walk with the LORD Who humbled Himself
This for sure would include "Baptist Pride", et al
No matter who or what or how much you know, you can always, always know more, and you know nothing compared to the source of all knowledge and wisdom, God, through His Word

(1 Corinthians 10:13 [KJV])
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].

God does not let you, but we do push that envelope
We think we have a temptation no one else has, no one else has ever had, but that is simply not so, and never was, nor ever will be
We must always pray, even ahead of time, that we do not get this far out from God

(Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 [KJV])
The thing that hath been, it [is that] which shall be; and that which is done [is] that which shall be done: and [there is] no new [thing] under the sun. Is there [any] thing whereof it may be said, See, this [is] new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. [There is] no remembrance of former [things]; neither shall there be [any] remembrance of [things] that are to come with [those] that shall come after.

(1 Corinthians 10:14 [KJV])
Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

It does not say here to stop practicing it...it says to FLEE from it

(1 Corinthians 10:15 [KJV])
I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.

You cannot ask fools to properly judge, but they will anyways
Paul starts by telling them that he knows that they are smart enough, wise enough, to get what he is about to say (perhaps should even know it!)
You can ask and invite wise men to judge right and wrong, as a general rule of law, in people, in societies, nations, civilizations
This would only by men with godly wisdom, not worldly wisdom

(1 Corinthians 10:16 [KJV])
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?

Communion = common + union = the Blood of The LORD Jesus Christ
Communion = common + union = the Body of The LORD Jesus Christ, to be in communion with God Himself

God does not hang out with the enemy of the world, the enemy of the Cross of Christ, our enemy, HIS enemy. Why should we, by practicing abominations?

Jesus did this to unite us through the offering of Himself for us, so we had better not trample that Blood and Body through unbelief in His Word

(1 Corinthians 10:17 [KJV])
For we [being] many are one bread, [and] one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.

This bread......needs to be bread, bread that is not tainted with pagan sacrifices, associated with them in any way
This means that this communion we have is to be with believers, not pagans, not anyone who thinks that ti is a LITERAL sacrifice all over again, every time, like the Catholic hierarchy teaches

(1 Corinthians 10:18 [KJV])
Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?

Whichever sacrifices, clean or abominable, one offers, it is going to the altar of God. Make sure it is an acceptable, clean offering and a sacrifice, pleasing to God, for His Glory (v.31)
If it is sacrificed to our idols.....it is nothing, a waste
Israel went into captivity, was conquered, etc. for violating this, repeatedly in the Old Testament
The actions of the nations around Israel were forbidden to be adopted by Israel, and that was done in multiple warnings. One should have been enough!
So then, that said and seen, what makes the church think that eating things sacrificed to idols is a good witness to the unbeliever, seeing we do the same thing, making us the same and no different?

CORINTH: PAGANISM GALORE

Matthew Henry:
"They had a temple among them dedicated to Venus (that is, to lust), with above a thousand priestesses belonging to it, all common prostitutes. How needful was a caution against fornication to those who lived in so corrupt a city, and had been used to such dissolute manners, especially when they were under temptations to idolatry too! and spiritual whoredom did in many cases lead to bodily prostitution. Most of the gods whom the heathens served were represented as patterns of lewdness; and much lewdness was committed in the very worship of many of them. Many of the Jewish writers, and many Christians after them, think that such worship was paid to Baal-Peor; and that fornication was committed with the daughters of Moab in the worship of that idol.
They were enticed by these women both to spiritual and corporal whoredom; first to feast on the sacrifice, if not to do more beastly acts, in honour of the idol, and then to defile themselves with strange flesh (Num. xxv.), which brought on a plague, that in one day slew twenty-three thousand, besides those who fell by the hand of public justice. Note, Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge, in whatever external relation they may stand to him, and whatever outward privileges he may bestow upon them. Let us fear the sins of Israel, if we would shun their plagues. 4. He warns us against tempting Christ (as some of them tempted, and were destroyed of serpents, v. 9), or provoking him to jealousy, v. 22.
He was with the church in the wilderness; he was the angel of the covenant, who went before them. But he was greatly grieved and provoked by them in many ways: They spoke against him and Moses, Wherefore have you brought us out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for which reason God sent fiery serpents among them (Num 21:5; Num 21:6), by which many of them were stung mortally. And it is but just to fear that such as tempt Christ under the present dispensation will be left by him in the power of the old serpent. 5. He warns against murmuring: Neither murmur you as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer (v. 10), by a destroying angel, an executioner of divine vengeance.
They quarrelled with God, and murmured against Moses his minister, when any difficulties pressed them. When they met with discouragements in the way to Canaan, they were very apt to fly in the face of their leaders, were for displacing them, and going back to Egypt under the conduct of others of their own choosing. Something like this seems to have been the case of the Corinthians; they murmured against Paul, and in him against Christ, and seem to have set up other teachers, who would indulge and soothe them in their inclinations, and particularly in a revolt to idolatry. Rather let them feast on idol sacrifices than bear the reproach, or expose themselves to the ill-will, of heathen neighbours. Such conduct was very provoking to God, and was likely to bring upon them swift destruction, as it did on the Israelites, Num. xiv. 37. Note, Murmuring against divine disposals and commands is a sin that greatly provokes, especially when it grows to such a head as to issue in apostasy, and a revolt from him and his good ways."

If one thinks about it, there was as much ministry opportunity as Hollywood Boulevard and 42nd St. in New York!

(1 Corinthians 10:19 [KJV])
What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?

It is not the animal body, clean or unclean (except for health-see Leviticus 11), but it is the heart that worships idols, or even gives the appearance of doing so by participating in it
This is worshiping the creature more than the Creator

(1 Corinthians 10:20 [KJV])
But [I say], that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

So we see it is not the food from just any (fatted fowl, cow, bull, oxen, goats, sheep), it is the heart of worshiping idols, telling people, "That is what we sacrifice these animals to, our gods"
If we participate knowingly, then we sin, knowing that the creature was sacrificed to devils...do we really want that?

(1 Corinthians 10:21 [KJV])
Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.

Pick a side; this is a war
Pick a table, they are two tables, two different temples, apart from each other, impossible to sit at both
Scientifically, biologically, blood is red and white cells, plasma, water, etc.
Spiritually, there is now the Blood of Christ, sacrificed for us, once for all, to save us and the blood of pagan sacrifices, offered daily, to pagan gods (devils) that are idolatrous, do not save, always lead to evil, always associated with fornication, drugs, etc. EVIL

PAGAN SACRIFICES-ALWAYS EVIL

(Leviticus 17:7 [KJV])
And they shall no more offer their sacrifices unto devils, after whom they have gone a whoring. This shall be a statute for ever unto them throughout their generations.

(Deuteronomy 32:17 [KJV])
They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new [gods that] came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.

(Acts 15:20 [KJV])
But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and [from] fornication, and [from] things strangled, and [from] blood.

(Ephesians 5:11 [KJV])
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove [them].

(1 Corinthians 10:22 [KJV])
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?

Why would Paul ask or even have to ask them such a silly question? Precisely because of their silly practices!
Perhaps they did not know that they were provoking the LORD to jealousy, or perhaps they did not care

OUR JEALOUS GOD: "THE LORD, WHOSE NAME IS JEALOUS, IS A JEALOUS GOD"

(Exodus 20:5 [KJV])
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me;

(Exodus 34:14 [KJV])
For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous God:

(Deuteronomy 4:24 [KJV])
For the LORD thy God [is] a consuming fire, [even] a jealous God.

(Nahum 1:2 [KJV])
God [is] jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and [is] furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth [wrath] for his enemies.

(Numbers 25:11 [KJV])
Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.

(Deuteronomy 5:9 [KJV])
Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me,

(Deuteronomy 6:15 [KJV])
(For the LORD thy God [is] a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.

(Deuteronomy 29:20 [KJV])
The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven.

(Deuteronomy 32:16 [KJV])
They provoked him to jealousy with strange [gods], with abominations provoked they him to anger.

(Deuteronomy 32:21 [KJV])
They have moved me to jealousy with [that which is] not God; they have provoked me to anger with their vanities: and I will move them to jealousy with [those which are] not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

(Joshua 24:19 [KJV])
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he [is] an holy God; he [is] a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

(1 Kings 14:22 [KJV])
And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done.

(Psalms 78:58 [KJV])
For they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.

(Psalms 79:5 [KJV])
How long, LORD? wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

(Ezekiel 8:3-5 [KJV])
And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where [was] the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy. And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel [was] there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry.

(Ezekiel 16:38 [KJV])
And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.

(Ezekiel 16:42 [KJV])
So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.

(Ezekiel 23:25 [KJV])
And I will set my jealousy against thee, and they shall deal furiously with thee: they shall take away thy nose and thine ears; and thy remnant shall fall by the sword: they shall take thy sons and thy daughters; and thy residue shall be devoured by the fire.

(Ezekiel 36:5 [KJV])
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all [their] heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.

(Ezekiel 36:6 [KJV])
Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen:

(Ezekiel 38:19 [KJV])
For in my jealousy [and] in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;

(Ezekiel 39:25 [KJV])
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;

(Joel 2:18 [KJV])
Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.

(Nahum 1:2 [KJV])
God [is] jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and [is] furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth [wrath] for his enemies.

(Zephaniah 1:18 [KJV])
Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

(Zephaniah 3:8 [KJV])
Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination [is] to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, [even] all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.

(Zechariah 1:14 [KJV])
So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.

(Zechariah 8:2 [KJV])
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury.

(Romans 10:19 [KJV])
But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by [them that are] no people, [and] by a foolish nation I will anger you.

(Romans 11:11 [KJV])
I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but [rather] through their fall salvation [is come] unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

(2 Corinthians 11:2 [KJV])
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present [you as] a chaste virgin to Christ.

(1 Corinthians 10:23 [KJV])
All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.

Paul is merely stating that he is no longer under the law that kept him away from God as a Pharisee, nothing more
Not being under the law, breaking it does not send us to hell; "keeping" it does not send us to heaven, not even 99 ^44/100%
We were already bound for hell when Jesus saved us
It is impossible not to break God's Law(s), not to mention that our sin nature itself, not just our sins, was keeping us from God, from Heaven, from eternal life
Getting saved gives us the license to not sin and the ability to not sin by the Holy Ghost living in us
"Not being expedient" simply means that there are consequences; it is not good to do the unlawful things

1 Corinthians 6:12 [(KJV)]
All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

(1 Corinthians 10:24 [KJV])
Let no man seek his own, but every man another's [wealth].

We are to do actions with the motive of enriching others, as a witness to others
When we do things with that motive, we bless them, bless God and will receive blessings-if not in this life, then the next, eternal rewards
This is because Jesus is our example, being God, coming to earth as fleshly man, going through whatever we go through, but doing that for us, not Himself

(Galatians 6:9 [KJV])
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

(2 Thessalonians 3:13 [KJV])
But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.

(Philippians 2:1-4 [KJV])
If [there be] therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, [being] of one accord, of one mind. [Let] nothing [be done] through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

(1 Corinthians 10:25 [KJV])
Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, [that] eat, asking no question for conscience sake:

We have a list of foods which were given as clean and unclean in Leviticus 11, Deuteronomy 14
These are given for health reasons, not for salvation
Should we daily eat anything bad for us, expecting no consequences? No.
For instance, shellfish, seafood that has no fins and scales, pigs (very nasty and lowers immune response), animals that walk on paws, such as rabbits, squirrels, opossums, bear meat, etc. - not good, for health reasons
This says nothing of sacrifices to the devil, but which animals are healthy to eat, which not
So why would we avoid it? Health reasons only, not legalistic ones

(1 Corinthians 10:26 [KJV])
For the earth [is] the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.

God owns it all and gives us bountifully to eat, providing for us undeserving sinners all of our lives
The earth is not man's, even though he claims it is his
We are mere stewards, caretakers, not the owner, and we must remember that we only work for the owner, Who is God

(1 Corinthians 10:27 [KJV])
If any of them that believe not bid you [to a feast], and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake.

Your testimony is that you are saved, not in your religious fervency to a strict diet
Otherwise, you are under the law, making yourself a target for those who say things like,
"Oh look! They are not eating the pig we roasted, beuing so holier than thou, but did you hear them just cuss? Did you hear what they said above Marty and Dian just now behind their back? They call themselves CHRISTIANS! What a bunch of hypocrites!"
Witness, testimony lost completely.

(1 Corinthians 10:28 [KJV])
But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice unto idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth [is] the Lord's, and the fulness thereof:

Any food sacrificed to devils was to be prepared God's way and eaten for the the glory of the LORD, the Owner of earth
Seriously, could we eat something knowingly sacrificed to devils? What if they mocked us for not eating it? OK. So? So what if they did? Would we be weak enough to succumb to mocking? We should never be, and the taunting, mocking would almost be inevitable

(1 Corinthians 10:29 [KJV])
Conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other: for why is my liberty judged of another [man's] conscience?

Again, it does nothing for us to eat or not eat, as it is just food. But to the pagan, it is EVERYTHING. It is sacrificed to his god
They will think it strange that you do not want their food, not understanding the problem
We have freedom, liberty, free will. It is a choice not to eat it, not a law, as we are also free NOT to eat it

(1 Corinthians 10:30 [KJV])
For if I by grace be a partaker, why am I evil spoken of for that for which I give thanks?

We are evil spoken of because even unbelievers know that a Christian should not partake in eating sacrifices to their own pagan gods, and recognize it
Again, it is a witness/testimony matter, which can hurt and hinder the gospel message
Think about it...do we say grace, bless and give thanks for a pagan sacrifice and think this is OK to God?

(Romans 14:6 [KJV])
He that regardeth the day, regardeth [it] unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard [it]. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

(1 Thessalonians 5:22 [KJV])
Abstain from all appearance of evil.

(1 Corinthians 10:31 [KJV])
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

To knowingly partake in the eating of a pagan sacrifice is not to the glory of God, but to the enemy of God
"or whatsoever ye do"......anything and everything
ye, as in plural for "you"

(1 Corinthians 10:32 [KJV])
Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:

This one verse, while not alone, destroys the "Replacement Theology" crowd's ridiculous idea that God is finished with Israel
This is unbelieving Jews, unbelieving Gentiles, believers (Jew and Gentile) who are now one in Christ
God is reopening the book on Israel, stored nearby, after 2,000 years, if we pay attention to what is happening there
Further, this negates the idea taught by some that we are "Jew ISH", like the Jewish Roots Cult, Hebrew Roots Cult, Mennonism (legalism), "Seventh Day Adventism" (Sabbath Keepers), etc.
This further defeats the ridiculous notion that the Church is under the Old Testament Law, the Torah, and must follow it to follow Jesus, and must follow it to gain favor with the Father, who they call "Yeshua", a word found no place in Scripture
Keeping the Old Testament Law is offensive to God and to Christians, as we know through the Gospel, cover to cover, that it did not, does not, could not, will not ever save anyone, and THAT, my friends, is why Jesus came to earth in the first place, to save us from that law of sin and death

(Galatians 6:16 [KJV])
And as many as walk according to this rule, peace [be] on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.

(Romans 8:1-4 [KJV])
[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

(1 Corinthians 10:33 [KJV])
Even as I please all [men] in all [things], not seeking mine own profit, but the [profit] of many, that they may be saved.

Trying to be inoffensive today is hard, since so many are thin skinned, do no careful study on their own, know very little of God's Word, ardently believe what they are told
The purpose of trying to be all things is one fold-
TO GET THEM SAVED

Links to studies by book or topic are on the right menu.

1 Corinthians 11