Being Tested： God Is Faithful! — James Jennings

The Christian Under Trial and Testing

My hope in this time together right now is to give you some thoughts specifically from v. 13 on God's faithfulness to the Christian in the midst of their trials and their times of testing that you and I face.

So 1 Corinthians 9. Could you shut that door, David, right there by chance? Thanks, brother. 1 Corinthians 9. Verse 26. So I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as one bears, but in contrast to that, I discipline my body.

I keep my body under control lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified. And then again, you have a chapter break that is not necessary because he starts with a connecting word, for I do not want you to be unaware, brothers.

So we think of this whole topic of people being disqualified, people not making it, people being apostate and abandoning the Lord. For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea.

So there's these things they all had in common. All were baptized, immersed into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. And all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink. So they had a whole lot in common.

That's what? Five, six things they all were a part of. They all partook in that. Yet, we're going to see something. Nevertheless, with most of them, these people who partook of all these things, God was not pleased.

For they were overthrown in the wilderness. And as you know, 1 Corinthians 10 is a massive church history chapter, you could say. It's giving biblical history for our own hearts' application right now in 2023.

Verse 6, Now these things took place as an example for us that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.

We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did. And 23 ,000 fell in a single day. And note here, that falling in a single day, what is that fall that they had happen? They were destroyed.

Alright, death. We must not put Christ to the test. And that's going to be something to think about this morning. Putting Christ to the test. Are you enduring in the test faithfully? Or are you testing God?

And the way they test God, it's right there. How did they put Christ to the test? And they were destroyed. Same thing. Not just the sexually immoral people who were destroyed, but those who put Christ to the test.

How did they put Christ to the test? Nor grumble as some of them did and they were destroyed. So amazingly, grumbling and sexual immorality both led to destruction. That's somewhat shocking for people.

But these sins are both significant offenses against God. Verse 11, Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come.

So this is for us. Verse 12, Therefore, in view of this, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. We need to think about how to define that word fall in view of how it was just used.

How the idea used above. And then we've got this verse interjected, verse 13, which is really what I want to focus on in the second half of the message. No temptation. It's overtaken you that is not common to man.

God is faithful and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, He will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

And then he goes on, but we'll stop right there. So let me pray and then we're going to consider some thoughts from God's Word right here. Father, Lord, I think about the biographies we've read. We think about the Old Testament that we've read again and again.

And we think about these examples that are given to us and even how Paul pulls them in right here and he applies them for us. And so Lord, I pray that we would learn from You, that we would learn from history.

Lord, we don't want history to repeat itself in any way. We want to be those who really take heed to what has happened and that we wouldn't live in ignorance, but we'd live in Your wisdom. And Lord, I just pray You would encourage the brethren today.

I don't know what trials and tests that different brethren here are facing or have faced this week, but Lord, I pray that if any are being even tempted to grumble in the midst of that trial, Lord, that You'd use this very sermon that highlights Your faithfulness as Paul highlights it here.

Lord, that You'd use that to strengthen that dear brother or sister. And so Lord, would You be with us right now at this time? Lord, help my stammering tongue and exhausted spirit. Lord, I ask for Your grace, Your power, Your Spirit.

In Christ's name, amen. Amen. Well, Paul's encouragement to the believers, I really believe is verse 13. It highlights God's faithfulness for a believer in a time of testing and trials and temptation.

The Context of 1 Corinthians 10:12–14

So I want to get there, but first let's consider the context. Because verse 13 tends to be quoted a significant amount of time. In verse 12, but often maybe the context has not been considered as much as it should be.

Now, according to chapter 9, which is where we started, because all this is connected, we must exercise self-control or we will be disqualified. And I think Craig, or I forget who, someone dealt with that passage not too long ago or referred to it.

And that disqualified is not a ministry disqualification because the very things he goes on to talk about make you realize this is really dealing with apostasy, people abandoning the Lord completely. And so right after stating what he does in verse 27, Paul decides to give an exhibit of those who failed to obtain the prize.

He basically takes us into a museum and he shows what all got dug up. And he says, look at this and hear what happened. And under one of those labels, you know, you've got these people right here who were bitten by serpents and these people who perished over here and it says they grumbled and tested Christ, right?

And Paul's putting that before us. He's taking us on this tour to see these deceased people that have been uncovered who didn't cross the finish line, right? They were in the race, they didn't finish.

That's pretty important for you and I because that's kind of where we're at, right? We're in the midst of the race right now. And then we get to this point in verse 12. And I want to think about verse 12 for a moment.

Paul reiterates his point by again, referring to this category of professing believers who to me, he's saying they thought they were above falling. They thought they were above falling. And it's important, I think, to realize here the falling in verse 12, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

I really used to take that as a new Christian, this idea that, oh, if you're proud and self-confident, then you might go fall into sin. That's a true reality. But in the context, is that really what he's getting at here?

Because he's already described people earlier on in the chapter who've had all these blessings, right? And what ends up happening? They have these blessings, they're testing Christ, and Christ destroys them.

So their type of fall was being destroyed, right? This wasn't just a Christian who was proud and self-confident, and oh, he fell in the lust because he was too self-confident in himself. I don't think that's what verse 12 is aiming at here in its context.

I don't think this is about some fall into sin. I think it's about those who are currently in sin and they think they're okay. And he says, you think you stand? You think you're okay currently living in sin?

Practicing pagan idolatry? You better take heed lest you be destroyed. I think it's really what Paul is hitting at right there. And he connects it, verse 12, therefore, so he's connecting it with what is previously stated in the chapter.

And people often quote the fall here just being an individual fall into sin. Well, these people, they're already in sin. They think they're okay. And Paul's conclusion to them in verse 14 is flee from idolatry, right?

And you had a problem at Corinth where individuals were partaking of idolatry and of Christianity, and they think it's okay. They think they're okay in this type of situation. And we have a similar idea in the book of Jude in Jude 1, 5.

Now I want you to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus who saved the people out of the land of Egypt afterward destroyed those who didn't believe. And so there, Jude kind of describes 1 Corinthians 10, those who got destroyed, the real issue was they weren't really believing.

They didn't really believe and continue on with the Lord, and the Lord destroyed them. Now, what would lead someone to think they're above falling? Right, what would lead someone to think that? And if you look a little further, you kind of get a good definition in verse 21.

He says, right before verse 21, I do not want you to be participants of demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? You can see right there, Paul sees this is a mindset of those in the church, right? They've got this idea that we can partake of the Lord's supper here on a Sunday, and then we can go over there to a temple and we can partake of some manifestation of demon worship.

But because we partook of the supper, because we were, as he says right at the start of the chapter, all baptized into Moses, all ate the same spiritual food, verse four, all drank the same spiritual rock.

It's like the Corinthians had this idea because we've partaken in these rituals, because we've partaken in these ordinances, we're okay even though we're over here engaged in idolatry. I was baptized.

I partake of the Lord's supper, right? I've done these activities. I've done these ordinances. Thereby, people wrongly reason that their attendance at an idol temple cannot affect or is not an indicator of their true standing with God.

And Paul's whole point is no, no, no, that's not it at all. If you say you're one of the people of God and you think that you're standing, look at these other people who had the same idea. They thought they could stand.

They could go and make this golden calf. They could go do all of these things. But because they partook, because they were baptized into Moses, they're okay. And Paul is adamantly saying you're not okay.

So Paul's trying to tear down this wrong idea of security in sin and idolatry that these people were finding based upon the fact that they were part of the church. And so is that some new idea? Or do we find that same thing happens in 2023?

The same idea happens all the time in this very year we live in right now. People will try to serve two masters and embrace some form of Christianity while at the same time embracing some form of paganism.

And it gets to the point where what's pagan is now actually being called Christian. Right? Things, views on sexuality and all of this. It's like now it actually ends up being under the banner of Christian.

They don't even call it pagan anymore. And so in the midst of this, Paul's reminding the Corinthians that they too are susceptible to falling away under the divine judgment of God just like those Israelites did.

He's showing them, you guys got something in common. Right? Yeah, they were baptized into Moses. Yeah, you were baptized. Not by Paul, but you were baptized by Cephas and these other people. Great, what happened to those people who were baptized?

They didn't make it. What's gonna happen to you all if you continue partaking of the demons and the fellowship and all of this and you're trying to serve two masters? Paul's telling them, if you think you stand, you're not.

You're gonna fall. The same thing is going to happen to you. You're basically putting Christ to the test. You're testing God. And he says that in verse nine, we must not put Christ to the test. And I think if someone says, what does it mean to put Christ to the test?

I think verse 22 that we already read kind of helps you. When you put Christ to the test, what happens? Verse 22, you provoke the Lord to jealousy. And then look at Paul, he puts a question, are we stronger than he?

I mean, what's the answer? No, you're not. And Paul's point is, why would you test him who you're not stronger than and you can wipe 23 ,000 people out just like that? Or you can send serpents and wipe all these individuals out.

So this is almost a description of what it means to test the Lord. You conduct yourselves in a way that prompts and arouses God to jealousy. And remember, if you're a new Christian, you might hear the word jealousy and always associate it with some sinful response.

That's not how the Bible uses the word. Often the Bible talks about a jealousy as a righteous response. And so clearly that's the type of response from God right here. It is righteous. God does not sin.

And by doing so, provoking him, defying the one who is stronger than they are, Paul says, are we stronger than he? In other words, is this a fight you really want to pick? And he's saying, look at the history of it.

If you guys want to pick a fight at Corinth and say it's okay to take the Lord's Supper and be baptized, and it's okay to also have my hand over here. Paul's just saying, look guys, look at history. I mean, look at the fight you're picking.

You're going to be destroyed. You guys have lost your minds. If you continue on like this. And so then he calls them flee from idolatry in verse 14. Right, so that's what's happening here around this verse, verse 13, that I really want to look at.

But some here might need to take heed to verse 12 that we just considered. In Psalm 78, it says, they provoked him to anger with their high places. They moved him to jealousy with their idols. When God heard, he was full of wrath and he utterly rejected Israel.

Right, Paul is also showing here that God right there in Psalm 78. He's the same God today. If you're going to... You know, you hear people say, don't take God's name in vain. When we, how do you even define not taking God's name in vain?

People tend to think it's, don't say his name like verbally. You know how you can take God's name in vain by saying you're a Christian and then going and living in a contrary way. You're burying his name in vain.

It's useless. It means absolutely nothing. And that's clearly what was happening here at this church. And Paul is strongly admonishing them. They think they're okay serving two masters. Paul says, no, you're going to fall just like those in Israel.

Doesn't matter if you've been baptized. Doesn't matter if you partook of the Lord's Supper. So this is really a strong warning from the Apostle Paul. And again, you and I might say, well, I would never provoke the Lord to anger.

But remember, you might not do it with idolatry, but what was another way they provoke the Lord to anger? Grumbling, right? I think that could be more of a place you and I could fall. Nor grumble as some of them did.

And what ultimately is grumbling? When you grumble against God, what are you saying to the Lord? You're challenging the Lord's authority. Like a child who rejects the parent's command. And then they kind of look at the parent out of the corner of their eye.

They're challenging, not only do they disobey the parent, but then give the parent the eye. And they're basically saying to the parent, I don't have to obey you anymore. And that's basically what those at Corinth are doing.

They're expressing dissatisfaction, unhappiness towards God. And that rightly provokes God to jealousy based on their response, because God has not failed them. And if God was not moved in righteous anger at their sinful response, that would be wrong of the Lord.

The Lord has to respond in this way to be consistent with His divine character. So, if you look back at this grumbling and impatience in Numbers 21, don't turn there, but it says they became patient along the way.

You notice that phrase along the way? Not at the beginning, right? We tend to not fall into impatience and grumbling at the beginning of the trial. It says we're getting further along. That's when it enters in.

And that's really going to matter because the verse we're going to look at in v. 13, if you notice the end of v. 13, he says, "...the way of escape that you may be able to...". To what? Endure. Right?

Testing God or Trusting God in the Trial

So this really... v. 13 is not some promise that the trial vanishes in a moment. It's promise for grace in the midst of enduring in the trial. And if you notice in Numbers 21, that's where they started to mess up.

Along the way, they weren't initially impatient. They became impatient in the midst of their present trial. When is it going to end? Let's go back to Egypt, the food, you know, all of that. And it led to them making this statement, which is evidence of grumbling at God.

They said, why have you brought us out of Egypt to die? Right? Unbelief, we're going to die. Questioning God, saying why. So when it comes to you and the Lord, we're kind of transitioning here, are you, this is a helpful way to think about it, with whatever trial you're in, or burden you're bearing, are you testing the Lord or trusting the Lord?

Are you trusting the Lord? Or in the midst of the trust, is it transitioning into testing and challenging God through your grumbling? Or even in a greater way, and maybe it's wrong to say greater way, because those who grumbled got the same judgment in 1 Corinthians 10, but you get to the point where you've been adding in some false religion to your Christianity and maintaining it's okay to group them both together.

Because we saw there in the chapter, Paul's saying you can't do that, you can't partake of the demons and you can't partake of the Lord. You think you're going to stand while embracing that? And Paul's like, no, you think you're going to stand, you're going to fall, flee from that idolatry.

But am I testing or trusting? Paul's really warning us against this deliberate acts that a professing believer does. Deliberate, willful acts that happen because there's a false security from chapter 10, verses one to four, of all the things you could say that they partook in, and they're putting God to the test.

They dare to judge God. It's not going to do anything, and they're okay because they were baptized and partaken of the Lord's Supper. That's the idea. And so that's a strong warning. We want to take heed to that, but that's not the main thing I want to look at in this message.

So you and I don't want to be that person. Because you know what it implies if you're that person? Is Paul promising divine aid? This is really important here. Paul puts verse 13 that we're going to look at.

He interjects it here. But is there a promise of divine aid for those who are partaking of the temple of demons? And partaking of the Lord's Supper and saying that it's okay? Was there divine aid for Israel, who he pulls in for this example, when they were partaking of all of these things?

No, there was judgment that came. We don't want to approach verse 13 in a wrong way, right? The judgment is very firm and strong that Paul's asserting is going to come upon people who are at this point.

These people are beyond being tested and tempted. They're fully indulging willfully in rebellion against God. And there are pronouncements of judgment upon them for this treatment of the Lord. So, then we have verse 13, which I love this verse.

I've loved this verse 15 years I've been a Christian. And I hope if you haven't had a relationship with this verse where it's one that you run to, that maybe after this message, you'll kind of be put in that repertoire for you to have as a friend, right?

That's what Proverbs 7 says, call wisdom your intimate friend. And we want to have certain verses that are like close friends that we go to when we're in the midst of a trial and we remember those truths and that encourages our faith to not quit in the midst of the trial.

So, verse 13. And I was surprised by this. And I guess it kind of showed how much I didn't understand the verse in its context. But many commentators, they start off by saying they don't know why Paul even put the verse here.

They don't know why Paul even put it here. Because it's true. If you remove verse 13, verse 12 to 14 flows perfectly, right? Therefore, let anyone thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. Therefore, my beloved, flee from my valetry.

Right, that makes total sense in the context, right? And so, many would say, commentators would make this statement. They say, in typical fashion, Paul cannot bring himself to the end of all of this on such a strong word of threat.

And I appreciate that thought there. If you do actually survey the Apostle Paul, I mean, he makes really strong threats, right? Rightly so. But it's amazing how he will bring in there encouragement. And he's bringing in even this encouragement here about the faithfulness of God to these Christians in the midst of the church at Corinth.

And so, I think that is, if that assertion is right, there's definitely encouragement there. That'd be something to think about. All the places Paul gives a warning and what does he follow it up with?

That could be something we could learn, right? In your counseling, do you just warn people all day? Or do you follow it up with some sort of encouragement in the midst of it? I'd also think there's something to consider, commentators who say that Paul here, in verse 13, speaks to a different category of people than he's thinking about above.

He's now speaking to those who are in the midst of true testing. Not those who have tested God. He's already made it clear what's going to happen to them and that they've got to flee from idolatry. And so, some would say he's actually interjecting, verse 13, as an encouragement for those at Corinth who are in the midst of true testing.

They've not given in. And he's encouraging them in the midst of all this giving in that people are doing. He's wanted to encourage those brethren, don't quit. Don't quit. God is able, God is faithful to you in the midst of what you're going through.

Now either way, however you might take that, clearly it's a verse of encouragement to the believer. So let's consider verse 13. You know, if you think of it this way, if the test is from God, right, which he speaks about in verse 13, and it's not you testing God, what's verse 13, let's read it again, make you come away with, no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.

God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, the test, He will provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. I mean, if you're right now in your life, you're not out there willfully testing God, trying to partake of the demons in the Lord's Supper on Sunday, guess what?

As you leave this building today, it doesn't matter whatever trial you face, because you're not trying to keep two feet, one foot here and one foot over there. You can live this week with a sense of security that whatever you face is going to be okay.

God will give you the grace for what you're going to face. Compared to the person who thinks they're okay while they're partaking of the table of demons and coming and being baptized and partaking of the Lord's Supper, and they think this is okay.

You know, I've done these rituals. I'm now safe. That person, they're not going to have a promise of divine aid. They've actually got a promise of judgment from Numbers 21 hovering over them. And so we want to be in this camp, the people who are facing ordinary trials and temptations.

And we're finding that the Lord is helping us to endure through those one by one. You can really say, if that's you, you're not in danger of falling away. If you're not testing God, if you're not willfully rebelling against Him and in that stage of moving in a negative direction and you're just facing trials, there's a sense of security there.

This verse should leave you with that type of confidence in the Lord. All right. So first, we need to consider a specific word in this verse. And it's the word temptation. No temptation has overtaken you.

Does anyone have a version that doesn't have the word temptation? Just shout out what word it has there. Maybe everyone has an ESV here, right? What's the NESB say? Okay. Yeah, if you search that word in the Greek, and when we say Greek from the pulpit, the majority of the New Testament is written in that language.

The original language is what we're referring to. The Greek word, it's the same word as trial. In all these other places it's rendered, you've got the word trial, test. And so you find temptation, trial, test.

So multiple versions don't even use the word temptation in verse 13. They use the word no trial has overtaken you that is not common to man. And so it can depend on the context of where it's used on how it should be rendered.

And obviously those in the ESV committee in this chapter felt like the word temptation would convey it more. And you could do a whole sermon on this, but we do need to remember a few things about temptation.

Temptation is a test in that you might, you know how we say I felt tempted? Well, if you're actually using that language appropriately, is that you admitting to sin? No, if you're saying you felt tempted, it meant that there was a temptation sin in and of itself.

And we could go to Hebrews 4 where it talks about the Lord Jesus Christ and it says He was tempted in every way as we are yet without sin. So clearly you can be tempted and it not be sin. It says in Matthew 4 that Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil.

Well, I think a better word there is tried. But in the midst of trials, there are temptations, which we read in 1 Corinthians 10, you could describe the temptation, something is coming upon you that your desire is wanting to give in and go and do something or believe something about God that is not right, that is a sinful response in the midst of your trial.

And so there's different nuances. Some right when they hear temptation, it's this point before you've been seduced to sin, right? You're being tested to be seduced into sin, but it hasn't actually yet happened.

And so the point of trial, I'm in a trial and then temptations are coming in the trial. And if I give into the temptation, I'm being seduced to sin and to not bear up under it. And I think I mentioned this years ago, but you could almost look at it in this way.

When you're being tested, it's like being given the test by a teacher. And if you give into temptation, you're basically cheating on the test, right? You're no longer trusting the Lord to help you to pass the test.

You're going outside of those given means and you're cheating. Well, that's a sin. You're sinning against God right there. And so when you look at this verse, don't just think, oh, temptation, you know, and have some narrow view about, oh, I was tempted to be impatient.

Or I was tempted with fill in the blank. No, no, this is just trials and tests in the Christian life. It's not just something that fits with one specific test or trial as a Christian. Yes, it's one of those that you're in the wilderness as a Jew and you're being tempted to grumble and complain about the treatment that you feel like God has failed.

You feel like God's failed. If you gratify that, you're sinning by giving in to that thought, right? So, but here's a promise to be in a trial and not ever be seduced into any type of sin which will keep you from being in the place they were at in the earlier part of 1 Corinthians 10 where they're now willfully in rebellion against the Lord justifying it because they have religion.

Right? We don't want to get to that point. And so here is an encouragement to us as we face ordinary tests and trials and temptations that there is the grace from a faithful God for you and I to endure.

And you and I do not have to give in to whatever it might be that is trying us to grumble, to self-pity, to sin, to be unfaithful in some way. So let me give a few observations from verse 13 for your encouragement.

God’s Faithfulness in the Midst of Trials

And this is really under the heading, God is faithful. If you look at verse 13, right after he says, no temptation is overtaking you, there's not common demand, meaning there's nothing out of the ordinary, which is an incredible, that's an incredible statement in and of itself.

Because how many of us, you're in a trial and you feel like this is really unique. You know, no one can relate to me. This is such a unique situation. Paul's just like, you know, can't think that way, right?

What's interesting, if you don't agree with Paul here and you do paint yourself in a unique situation, guess what that could now make you more vulnerable to do? To question God's love for you. Why would he put me in this situation?

No, I mean, no one else is in that situation, right? And so same thing with appealing to the Lord Jesus in Hebrews 4. We get this sense of God's able to relate with us in our trial and we don't have to be discouraged.

We don't have to think that this, you know, this is such an uncommon thing. But that statement, God is faithful. What's it mean to be faithful? It's to be completely dependable. It's to be true to their word, right?

That God swears to His own word and you better believe it, He doesn't change. He doesn't change His word. He's not a shifting shadow. He remains constant in His love. You know, we see His exemplified faithfulness in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He's done on the cross.

He's faithful to His promises, isn't it? Who is it, Joshua? Who said in the Old Testament, not one word of all of the Lord's promises fell to the ground and returned void. I mean, that's incredible about the Lord.

And this goes hand in hand with you and me enduring as Christians. Listen to these verses, 1 Corinthians 1. He says, the Lord will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful by whom you were called. 1 Thessalonians 5, you'll be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it. 2 Thessalonians 3, but the Lord is faithful.

He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. Hebrews 10, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. What did almost all of those verses deal with when thinking about the faithfulness of God?

Say again? Promises, but promises of enduring to the end, to the returning of the Lord Jesus Christ. I mean, Paul knew we needed that as Christians. We needed encouragement and hope to get from here to the end.

Especially as you see others not getting from here to the end. Paul recognized that reality. And so, so many of these places where Paul appeals to the faithfulness of God, it's in the context of being sustained to the end.

And enduring. So we see from verse 13, God is faithful in our trials. And I already made a comment on that first part of the verse, but listen to the NET. I like the NET has some good ways of translating it that help the English reader comprehend in a clearer way some of what's being communicated.

No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. Right, that's the idea. The first statement Paul is making there. He tears down this idea that I mentioned that we're in some unique situation. Well, let's think, God is faithful.

Number, I think I have three reasons here. Not 20. Someone mentioned I had like some sermon where I had 20 points and they said, don't even say the number, James. It just kind of discouraged me at the outset.

I think I have three. 30 or three? I don't know. God is faithful. Now get this. You know what hit me with this passage? God is faithful, yet a trial has overtaken you. Look at the verse. No tribulation has overtaken you that is not common.