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Which way do you go when you march off the map?
Ron Hutchcraft tells of a Roman officer leading his troops on a dangerous mission far from home.
At one point they cross into land beyond any territory ever explored by the Empire.
The commander orders his troops halt and make camp, and sends his fastest courier back to Rome with a brief but slightly desperate message: “Have just marched off map.
Please send further instructions.”
I’ve been there, haven’t you?
I’ve ended up somewhere neither my map nor my GPS recognize.
It’s strange and frustrating not knowing which direction to go, longing for some familiar landmark, some road sign to give you further instructions.
Tonight I want to talk to you about another way we march off the map and need further instructions.
Every born again Christian believes the Bible is our road map for life’s journey.
God’s Word tells us how to get from where we are to God, how to get to heaven.
It gives us moral direction: the basics of what’s right and wrong, what pleases God and what displeases Him.
Yet in spite of all the clear directions of Scripture, there are times when we march off the map.
We face choices and issues that are never */clearly/* dealt with in God’s Word.
Such as:
· Which political party (if any) should you belong to?
· Should a Christian celebrate Halloween?
· Should a Christian invest in the stock market?
· When it comes to men’s hair, how long is too long?
· When it comes to women’s shorts, how short is too short?
The Bible doesn’t */specifically/* mention smoking, dancing, gambling, bowling, or mixed swimming.
When you deal with these kinds of issues, you are marching off the map.
How do you know */for sure/ *which way to go?
Is there any way to get further instructions, not in the form of new revelation, but some way to apply what the Bible says to these “off the map” issues?
I believe there is.
I think God gives us some clear “further instructions” about dealing with off the map issues in *1 Cor.
10:23, 24, 31*.
I want to offer these further instructions to you in the form of 3 questions, based on these verses.
Let’s begin looking in *vs.
23*.
*PRAYER*
* *The book of 1 Corinthians is full of questions asked by people of the church in Corinth to the apostle Paul.
This a church with a lot of problems./
/They are divided in factions, following different leaders.
They are tolerating gross sin in the lives of their members.
Their worship services are religious free-for-alls, where they misuse and misunderstand the Lord’s Supper, the gift of tongues, and the resurrection—as well as other important doctrines.
In other words, they were a lot like the church of today.
One issue that I think we’ve gotten past is the one Paul addresses in these verses.
You have to go all the way back to *1 Cor.
8:1* to find out he is dealing with the question of whether or not it’s OK for a Christian to eat meat that’s been sacrificed to idols.
Let me allow John MacArthur to explain this custom
The Greeks and Romans…believed…evil spirits would try to invade human beings by attaching themselves to food before it was eaten, and that the spirits could be removed only by the food’s being sacrificed to a god.
The sacrifice was meant…to cleanse the meat from demonic contamination…That which was not burned on the altar was served at wicked pagan feasts.
What was left was sold in the market.[i]
This meat was often sold for a much cheaper price.
The question: /is it OK for Christians to eat this meat or not?
/Paul goes into great detail exploring and explaining the issue, until finally in the verses here he sums up some further instructions on how to handle not only meat, but any other “off the map” issue.
I want to express his conclusions in the form of 3 questions which you and I should ask when we march off the map and need further instructions.
*Question #1: What is best for me? *(*v.
23*)
This seems like a little selfish question to begin with.
But be sure you understand the question: not what is best */to/*/ /me, , not /what do I want, /but what is /best /*for *me, no matter what I want.
Paul says plenty of things are /legal/, but not /helpful/; many things are not necessarily bad, but they aren’t /good for me/, /(not all things edify=build up/.)
The question is not /what can I get away with?
/But /what is best for me? /
This guideline makes more sense when you understand your life is a stewardship from God. God expects you to do whatever keeps you healthy in mind, heart, and body, and to stay away from things that are unhealthy.
There are many things the Bible doesn’t specifically call /sinful /but you know they’re not really good for you.
For example, nowhere in the Bible does it say it's a sin to smoke or chew or dip.
Many well-meaning Christians act as if the Bible says in black and white /thou shalt not use tobacco in any form whatsoever. /But I haven’t found that verse in my Bible.
But there are warnings pasted on every tobacco product in the USA which tell you /tobacco use causes cancer.
/It doesn’t say it /may /cause cancer—it tells you that it /has been proven /to cause cancer in human beings.
You have to take that into consideration when you ask the question /is this good for me? /
The same can be said about food—not just eating too much (a problem I am too well acquainted with) but what /kinds /of food you consume.
Nowhere in the Bible does it say /thou shalt not pig out on Domino’s pizza and coca-cola /but you don’t have to be a nutrition nut to know that’s probably not good for you.
I’m not telling you it’s a sin to eat a candy bar, but whatever you eat, it’s a good idea to ask /is this good for me? /
There are other things that really may not be wrong /in themselves /but they can still be harmful to you.
I’ve heard people claim media really doesn’t affect us much, if at all.
They claim that watching slasher movies or playing violent video game doesn’t automatically turn you into a serial killer.
That’s true, but then that’s /not /the question.
The question is /is this *good *for me? /
Advertisers have done the research.
They know if they can get your attention for even a 30 second commercial, it influences what you buy.
It certainly won’t /make /you buy something, but it will /influence /what you buy.
Some people tell me they only listen to the music, and ignore the lyrics.
Yet they can still quote word for word the lyrics.
Do you really believe you can have something memorized and it have no influence on you?
I’m not trying to tell you what to do or not do—my purpose is to get you to think.
If it’s clearly condemned in the Bible I have no problem telling you /that’s sin, that’s an offense to God, you need to quit.
/But when it comes off-the-map issues, my goal is to get you and me to begin with this simple question: /is this best for me? /
Last time I was at DQ I saw a sign at the drive-thru window warning people that food served there had peanuts in it.
That didn’t seem such a shocking revelation until I remembered how some people are deadly allergic to peanuts.
Imagine one of these folks getting angry.
/I have as much right to eat peanuts as anybody else!
I might even like the way they taste!
There’s nothing wrong with eating peanuts.
Why shouldn’t I have peanuts on my ice cream sundae?
/It’s not a question of right and wrong—it’s a question of what is good for you.
This is the first question when you march off the map and need further instructions: Not /what’s wrong with it, /but /is this good for me?
Does it build me up in my faith?
Does it help me draw nearer to Jesus, or does it tend to pull me away from Him? /If you will be open to the Holy Spirit, this question can guide you into knowing what you should do—or not do.
But this isn’t the only question Paul raises.
*Question #2: What is best for others?
(v.
24) *
* *When you march off the map, you don’t need to just think about yourself, but about others—especially those who are influenced by what they see you do.
Should a Christian eat meat used in idol worship, or should they refuse to buy or consume it?
He answers in *vs.
25-28*.
Paul here is concerned about the influence of these “off the map” issues are on those around us—especially people who may not be as grounded in their faith as you are.
He stresses this point back in *1 Cor.
8:9-13*.
Eating this meat offered to idols made some of the new Christians think /well, if it’s OK for him to eat this meat, then it must be OK for me to eat it.
Maybe it’s OK for me to go back to the temple and see my old friends.
Maybe there’s nothing wrong with worshipping with them either.
/
Paul’s point is: we need to think about how our decisions affect others.
Let me give you some examples.
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