Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Today's Passage

1 Corinthians 10:14-22

Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry... Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. Are we trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Paul specifically reminds us to flee from idolatry. The church at that time was arguing that eating food sacrificed to idols is nothing. From one perspective, our God is greater than anything in the world, so there is nothing that can defile us. However, from a human's perspective, when we sit down to eat and drink with another person, we are associating ourselves with them. Hence Paul says, "Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar?" As such, we see that when we eat things sacrificed to idols, we participate in the altar and become an idolater. Paul also said, "I do not want you to be participants with demons." It can be seen from this that eating food sacrificed to idols, from a human perspective and based on the culture at that time, implies participation with the demons. Hence, we all need to be watchful about these things.

In the Chinese society, ancestral worship is another issue. The truth is Christianity does not oppose remembering our ancestors. The whole Bible contains ideas and concepts of the commemorating ancestors. When the Jews talked about their ancestors, they would say, "The God we believe in is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." This shows that the Israelites remember their ancestors, and they believe in the same God that their ancestors believed in. In the Chinese society, people often pray to ancestors, asking them for blessings. In doing so, they have essentially put their ancestors in the place of God, which is contrary to the teachings of the Bible. The Bible does not say not to remember your ancestors, or not to have memorial gatherings, or not to be thankful for what your parents or ancestors have blessed you with. The Bible only opposes the form of ancestral worship.

Pray that God gives us wisdom to understand the influences of culture that are behind these ceremonies. Let us know how to use wisdom to overcome these influences in order to be a glorious witness for the Lord.

Pray with Pastor Tong Liu

Lord, we thank you once again because you are the God who gives wisdom. Although there are different influences in different cultures, we pray Lord you will grant us wisdom and strength, to be your glorious witness in various different circumstances. We thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!