Living Freely, Loving Wisely

Living Freely, Loving Wisely (1Cor 8:1-10:33)
Intro: Context
'Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, & do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage' (Gal 5:1)

1. Love for our brothers & sisters in Christ (1Cor 8:7-13, see 8:9,12-13)
   'He who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; & whatever is not from faith is sin' (Rom 14:23)
   'We then who are strong ought to bear w/the scruples of the weak, & not to please ourselves' (Rom 15:1)

2. Love for the lost (1Cor 9:1-22, 10:27-30; see 9:12,15,19-22)
   He uses his liberty for their benefit. He's free from all men. But he's become a servant of all, all things to all men, to win some. '... do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you...' (1Cor 10:27-29)

3. Love for our own souls (1Cor 9:23-27)

Ex #1: Athletes (9:23-27)
'All things are lawful... but all things are not helpful. ... I will not be brought under the power of any... not all things edify' (1Cor 6:12, 10:23)

Ex #2: Israel in the wilderness (1Cor 10:1-6)
'let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall... Flee from idolatry' (10:12-14)

Conclusion: (1Cor 10:31-33)
'In Russia, Christians are tested by hardship, but in America you are tested by freedom. And testing by freedom is much harder. Nobody pressures you about your religion. So you relax & are not so concentrated on Christ, on His teaching, how He wants you to live' (Pavel Poloz, exiled from Russia in 1987).