Friday 20 March 2020

Psalm: Psalm 20

Background

In this passage, Paul expresses his belief that the idols to which animals have been sacrificed do not exist and so the meat eaten is not harmful. He also says that although the idols do not exist he does believe that there are demons and it is these demons that are behind the sacrifices. Paul believes that, through sacrifices, these demons tempt people away from worshipping the one true God. This is the real danger behind attending feasts where meat sacrificed to idols is served or by eating meat bought at markets that may have been sacrificed.  So the harm to some believers will be that their previous conduct as pagans and their deep-seated belief about eating sacrificed meat will work upon their minds and draw them back into paganism.

Paul argues that just as taking the bread and wine at the Lord’s Supper is a participation in that bread and wine, the body and blood of Christ, so too, through eating meat sacrificed to idols the person is in effect taking part in the pagan sacrificial ceremony.

If a person eats the meat sacrificed to idols and then attends the Lord’s Supper and partakes of the bread and wine it is as though they have attended both a pagan and a Christian ceremony and is defiled by the former.

Doing this is potentially harmful both to the individual but also to the fellowship and so to the unity that there should be amongst all those who come to the Lord’s table.

To Ponder:

• Paul says, "I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves." Do you feel that church congregations are given enough opportunity to "judge for [themselves]"?
• Have you ever felt the need to "flee from idolatry"? If so what was the ‘idolatry’ in your case?
• How do you square the fact that, by partaking of the Lord’s Supper, Christians are all united as one and yet many fellowships have divisions in them? What do you think stands in the way of unity between all Christian denominations?