West Loop Church UBF

Key Verse 13

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

In the last three chapters of 1 Corinthians, we have been studying about Christian freedom.  In chapter 8, we learned that although we are free in Christ, we should use our freedom to encourage weak Christians rather than to discourage their fragile faith.  In chapter 9, we learned that we should not be aimless with our freedom, but discipline ourselves like a runner who has a clear goal.  Today in chapter 10, we learn about the dangers of pride and despair in relation to our Christian freedom.  May God bless us to receive his word in our hearts.

First, because God is faithful, we can overcome temptations (1-13)

Let’s read verses 1-5,”1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”  In the time of the Exodus, God rescued the ancient Israelites from slavery in Egypt.  The Israelites experienced God’s deliverance, his miracles, his providence, his guidance, and his companionship.  They experienced many privileges that are similar to the privileges that Christians experience.  However, in spite of all the blessings that they received from God, the Israelites committed many sins against God.  They set their hearts on evil things (6), they made idols (7), they were immoral (8), they tested God (9), and they complained (10).  God was not pleased with most of them, and they died in the desert without being able to enter the Promised Land.  The Corinthian Christians of Paul’s time committed many of the same sins as the Israelites.  Even though they had a better knowledge of the saving grace of the Gospel of Jesus, they took it for granted.

The gospel of Jesus gives us true freedom.  Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins, and rose again to give us victory over sin and death.  Jesus set us free from the need to earn our salvation by good works.  It is so wonderful to be free in Jesus.  When the early Christians first met Christ, Paul gave them only two rules: don’t commit idolatry or adultery.  Beyond that, they were free from many rules and regulations.  However, these are the exact two things that they did.  The Corinthians’ problem was that they were overconfident.  They abused their freedom in Christ, and became presumptuous and careless.  There are many nominal Christians in the modern church.

They enjoy Christian privileges and fellowship, but they haven’t been transformed by the Gospel of Jesus.  These Christian cultural privileges cannot provide any immunity from God’s judgment.  Even genuine Christians who have met Christ and believe in him can become overconfident.  Assurance without holiness can easily degenerate into presumption.  It is easy to mistake confidence in ourselves for confidence in God. Though the Bible promises that true believers cannot lose their salvation, there are many things they can lose through careless living, such as their respect, their relationships, their blessings, and their assurance.  Paul warns Christians who are overconfident not to take the freedom of the Gospel for granted.

Let’s read verses 12-13, “12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”  The opposite problem from overconfidence is underconfidence.  Underconfident Christians do not need to be warned, they need to be encouraged.  In a liberal culture like Corinth, sin was everywhere.  Some Christians felt trapped by sin and despaired that they could ever get out of it and have victory and right living before God.  When they turned on the TV, there was sin.  When they went on the internet, there was sin.  When they walked down the street, there was sin.  When they talked with others, there was sin.  They despaired because they could not get away from it.  But Paul encouraged them about one thing, that God is faithful.  God is faithful to make promises and to keep them.  God promises not to let us be tempted beyond what we can bear, and God also promises to provide an escape route from temptation.  It has been said that temptations and escape routes always go in pairs.

Temptation could be compared to a maze.  It may be difficult to get through, but there is always a way out; often there is only one way out, but sometimes there are several.  There is no such thing as a maze that has no way out.  Then it would be a trap.  Paul assured underconfident Christians that they were not trapped by sin.  The main reason why there is a way out is because Jesus shed his blood on the cross, not only to forgive our sins, but to break sins power.  Sometimes the way out is just to flee away from a sinful situation, like Joseph in the book of Genesis who fled from Potipher’s adulterous wife.

Sometimes the way out is to talk to a Christian friend or to participate in Christian fellowship where the Holy Spirit is working to reveal God among his people.  Sometimes the way out is to study the Bible until one promise of God encourages and strengthens us to find hope.  Sometimes the way out is to pray and depend on God rather than on ourselves.  Sometimes the way out is to accept Jesus’ forgiveness for the sins that we have been trapped by.

Our lives often fluctuate between overconfidence and underconfidence.  But God is always working to balance these two extremes and lead us to the level ground of faith.  John Stott, an English pastor, said, "Overconfidence is to believe what there is no good grounds for believing. Underconficence is to not believe what there is good grounds for believing. Faith is to believe what there is good grounds for believing."  Isaiah 40:4 says, “Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.”  God raises up our valleys of despair through his encouraging promises.  God makes our mountains of pride low through warnings to lead us to repentance.  Because of our fallen sinful nature, our lives tend to be like roller coasters of pride and despair.  But God is always working to straighten us out.  Through warnings and encouragements, God is always leading us to the level ground of faith.  And through the gospel of Jesus, God is always leading us out of the trap of temptation and sin.

Second, because God is faithful, we should not compromise with idolatry (14-22)

Let’s read verses 19-20, “19 Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons.”  Paul had taught the Corinthian Christians not to be afraid of food that had come from pagan sacrifices.  If they thought about all the sins that may have happened in the course of preparing the meat, they would become neurotic about every little thing.  However, some Christians went to the pagan feasts and compromised with idolatry.  Christians should be cautious about the spiritual environment surrounding food and drinks at pagan celebrations.  The eating and drinking accompany a culture which is possessed by demons.  We cannot serve God and also demons.  It is not the food itself, but the pagan culture that accompanies it that we should avoid.  Although we don’t need to be afraid of pagan superstitions, demons are real, and the Bible says that the devil is like a lion seeking someone to devour.  Idolatry is the root of all other sins.  The first two of the Ten Commandments are against idolatry, because idolatry leads to breaking the other eight commandments.  When we love Jesus and find full satisfaction in him, we can avoid compromising with idols.

Third, because God is faithful, we can make decisions that glorify him (23-33)

Let’s read verses 27-30, “27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience. 28 But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. 29 I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? 30 If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?”  The opposite of compromise is legalism.  Some Corinthian Christians were served food from an unbeliever, and they criticized the food and questioned where it came from.  In attempting to track down every possible sin that might have been involved in preparing the food, they offended the host, and probably discouraged their host from participating in the Christian community.  In chapter 10:31 to chapter 11:1, the Apostle Paul's 5 guidelines on how to best use our Christian freedom:  First, do all for the glory of God (31) - not insisting on my freedom.  Second, try to please everyone in every way (33) - not claiming my rights.  Third, seek the good of many (33) - not my benefit or fulfillment.  Fourth, seek that many may be saved (33) - not be preoccupied with myself.  Follow the example of Christ (11:1) - not concerned about my reputation.  But we must remember that these guidelines are based on the freedom Christ gives us. Otherwise we will also do them legalistically.

In today’s passage, we thought about how to make the best decisions based on our freedom in Christ.  But we must first remember that our freedom comes from the gospel of Jesus and the life he sacrificed on the cross.  Next, we must be cautious of overconfidence and underconfidence.  God warns those who are overconfident not to be careless with their freedom or they could lose a lot.  God also encourages those who are underconfident that he always promises to provide a way out of temptation.  All the promises and privileges that we receive as Christians are not based on our faithfulness but on God’s faithfulness.  Because of his faithfulness, we can enjoy many freedoms.  But we need to use our freedom wisely.