WWUTT 1556 Take Heed Lest You Fall (1 Corinthians 10:9-12)

As we live in this age, we will be tempted by our flesh, by the devil, by the world.

God will provide for us the way of escape. Let us not put ourselves before more temptations than we already face when we understand the text.

Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text is committed to teaching sound doctrine and rebuking those who contradict it.

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Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. We're back to our study in 1 Corinthians 10 and picking up where we left off last week.

But I'm going to start by reading verses 1 -14 once again out of the Legacy Standard Bible.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was

Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not well pleased, for they were struck down in the wilderness.

Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.

Do not be idolaters, as some of them were, as it is written.

The people sat down to eat and drink and stood up to play. Nor let us act in sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty -three thousand fell in one day.

Nor let us put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.

Nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer.

Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction upon whom the ends of the ages have arrived.

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed, that he does not fall.

No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. And that statement we've had here a couple of times in this particular section.

So we end in verse 14 with flee from idolatry. It was also back in verse 7 where it was said, do not be idolaters.

And using the Israelites as examples to us, who though they saw the signs in Egypt, they saw the plagues, they saw the pillar of cloud, the pillar of fire that guided them.

They saw the Red Sea part. They saw God destroy the Egyptians who were pursuing them through the

Red Sea. They heard God speak to them at Mount Sinai. Despite all of these things they witnessed, they still turned and worshipped false gods.

And that's represented there in verse 7. They became idolaters, worshipping the golden calf.

And it's in that story of fashioning and worshipping that golden calf that it's quoted from there.

It's saying the people sat down to eat and drink and stood up to play. So they ate and drank in celebration of this false god that they had made.

And they stood up to play and dance around it. And then Moses, while he's up on Mount Sinai receiving the law from God, he hears a noise down in the camp.

And it turns out to be noise of celebration because they're worshipping a false god.

If you'll remember, Moses comes down with the Ten Commandments and he throws the commandments down and shatters them.

That represented the fact that the Israelites had just broken all of the commands of God because they neglected that first command.

I am the Lord your God and you will have no other gods before me. And here are the

Israelites worshipping false gods whom Aaron presented to them as the gods who brought them out of slavery in Egypt.

How easy it was for the Israelites to be led astray, to lead themselves astray.

Though they saw all these miraculous signs, they worshipped a false god instead.

So we should not think of ourselves as stronger than we really are. And that's the warning that Paul is giving in this particular section.

If the Israelites saw miracles and yet they worshipped false gods, then who are you to think that you won't be tempted to worship a false god?

It's likely that these Corinthians had thought very proudly of themselves that they could eat meat that had been sacrificed at an altar to a false god and it wasn't going to do them any harm.

I'm not going to be as foolish as those pagans who are worshipping this false god. I can eat this meat and it will be fine.

And indeed, as Paul was pointing out previously in chapter 8, eating the meat doesn't do anything to defile you.

Food goes into the stomach and it's passed right back out again. Food will not commend us to God. We neither lack if we do not eat nor abound if we do eat.

That was in chapter 8. So just because you've eaten the food doesn't mean that you've defiled yourself.

However, Paul said at the end of that chapter, if food causes my brother to stumble,

I will never eat meat again ever so that I will not cause my brother to stumble. So we must be mindful of one another.

But here in chapter 10, Paul is calling to attention your own self, that you would discipline yourself and not even put yourself in a position where you could potentially be worshipping a false god and fall.

That's what happened with the Israelites. It could happen with you as well if you are not careful.

And then Paul has been giving these illustrations, these examples from the Old Testament.

Let us not act in sexual immorality as some of them did, and 23 ,000 fell in one day.

We considered that story last week with the Israelites that were worshipping false gods.

And the judgment of God came upon them, and so that 23 ,000 of them died as a result of their sexual immorality.

Even the threat of the judgment of God that was coming upon them was not enough to prevent them from going after the thing that was displeasing to the

Lord. There are so many things we put in front of our eyes, and we think that we're going to be strong enough to resist the temptation.

TV shows that we watch, music that we listen to, movies that we go and see, books that we read, magazines we flip through.

Believe it or not, people do still read magazines. Or even webzines, different articles, websites, you probably shouldn't be on, but you've convinced yourself, hey,

I can be on this website. I can look at these things. I'll be fine. I'm a Christian.

I still believe in God. I'll believe in God before this article. I'll still believe in God after this article.

But what are these things that you're putting before your eyes? Are you sure? Can you honestly say that they are not motivating you to be tempted?

Like you see some of the worldly things that you will entertain yourself with, and are they not tempting you to do that which is displeasing to the

Lord? The psalmist in Psalm 119, that psalm that is praising

God for his law, for his commands that he has given to us. It's in Psalm 119, beginning of verse 33, where it says, instruct me,

O Yahweh, in the way of your statutes, that I may observe it to the end.

Cause me to understand that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart.

Cause me to walk in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Cause my heart to incline to your testimonies and not to dishonest gain.

Listen to verse 37 here. Cause my eyes to turn away from looking at worthlessness and revive me in your ways.

Cause your word to be established for your slave as that which produces fear for you.

Cause my reproach, which I dread to pass away, for your judgments are good. Behold, I long for your precepts.

Revive me in your righteousness. It's a very famous passage in Philippians chapter 4.

We use this very often when it comes to thinking about right things. The apostle

Paul said there to the Philippians, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is dignified, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, and if there is anything worthy of praise, consider these things.

That's Philippians 4 .8. If you are meditating on those things that are praiseworthy, that certainly give honor and glory unto the

Lord, then you will not be tempted by any of those things that are not honoring to the

Lord. So let us put before our eyes, even those things that are honoring to God, not putting worthless things before our eyes, because that would lead us in a direction of being tempted, of going after the things that are of this world, and displeasing

God by going after sin rather than hungering and thirsting for righteousness.

This is the warning that Paul is giving to the Corinthians here, that they would love that which is good and abhor what is evil.

Don't even think too much of yourself that you put yourself in a position to be tempted, but humble yourself before God.

Continue to hold fast to Christ. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. As it says in James 4.

Don't find ways that you can be entertained by the devil's little tricks.

I like the way those things make me feel. Maybe I can still indulge in it a little bit and still be a

Christian, right? Just because you've sinned once doesn't mean that you've lost your salvation, but why would you go after those things that are not of God?

Let us devote ourselves fully unto Christ, for who knows that you may be so weak that in going after those things that are worldly, you actually cause yourself to fall and you were not careful.

The Apostle Paul warns against sexual immorality, once again here in 1 Corinthians 10 .8.

That's been a warning over the course of the letter. In verse 9 he says, Nor let us put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the serpents.

The Apostle Paul is putting Christ in the wilderness with the Israelites, by the way.

So this is, of course, a pre -incarnate Christ. He has not yet become the God -man and dwelt among us, but Jesus is nevertheless

God, and he was indeed with the Israelites while they were in the wilderness. It starts with the reference back to the rock.

In verse 4, They all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them, and the rock was

Christ. So do not put Christ to the test, as some of them did. Christ who was with them in the wilderness, the

Lord their God who was with them. And because they put Christ to the test, because they did not listen to him and disobeyed, they were destroyed by the serpents.

This is in reference to the story of the bronze serpent that we read about in Numbers chapter 21.

And I happen to be able to read this today from the Legacy Standard Bible. Used to be that whenever I would read from the

New Testament, I would read only from, or if I was reading from the

LSB, I could only read the New Testament. We'll put it that way. If I read anything from the Old Testament, well,

I had to pull up my ESV, or the NASB, because the LSB, the

Legacy Standard version, was not yet available in the Old Testament. But now it is. If you go to read .lsbible

.org, then you can read the entire Legacy Standard Bible. So I'm pulling up Numbers 21 here in the

Legacy Standard. They have the whole Old Testament release now. And if you order Bibles from Steadfast Bibles, you can receive a

Legacy Standard Bible in the mail. Okay, so anyway, Numbers 21, beginning in verse 1. Then the

Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim.

And he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. So Israel made a vow to Yahweh and said,

If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.

Then Yahweh heard the voice of Israel and gave the Canaanites over. So they devoted them and their cities to destruction.

Thus, the name of the place was called Hormah. Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the

Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way.

And the people spoke against God and Moses. This is a familiar theme going on throughout the

Pentateuch, right? Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food, the food that God had been giving to them, the manna and the quail.

So Yahweh sent fiery serpents among the people. And they bit the people so that many people of Israel died.

Then the people came to Moses and said, We have sinned because we have spoken against Yahweh and against you.

Pray to Yahweh that He may remove the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

Then Yahweh said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent and set it on a standard. And it will be that everyone who is bitten and looks at it will live.

And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard. And it happened that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent and lived.

This same story is referenced by Jesus when He is talking with Nicodemus in John chapter 3.

He says in verse 14, As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the

Son of Man be lifted up, so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

So just as Moses had put a bronze serpent on a pole and had placed it in a spot where the people of Israel could look at it and be healed of their snake bites.

So Jesus Christ is lifted up. He is raised up on a cross. He was crucified for our transgressions.

So that anyone who believes, who looks at Him will be healed of the sin that we have been afflicted with.

The judgment of God that has come upon us. If we don't believe in Christ, we will perish under the judgment of God.

So just as the serpents were sent into the Israelite camp as a judgment against them. They were bit by these serpents and died.

So also we are under the judgment of God because we have sinned and we have rebelled against God.

We will perish under that judgment unless we look to Christ who is hanging on the cross for our sins.

Well, hung on the cross, was buried in a tomb and rose from the grave.

The cross is empty and the tomb is empty. So Jesus Christ is our salvation.

And even this story of the serpents points to Jesus Christ. Paul says let us not put

Christ to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by the serpents. Nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer.

And we see that over and over again. The people grumbling against God. Though He released them from slavery.

Though He promised them a land. Though He did all these miracles for them and gave them so many good things yet they continued to grumble against God.

And they were destroyed for it. The destroyer in this case is Christ. He is the one whose judgment came upon them who did not obey

God and did not fear Him. Who grumbled against the Lord when they came to the land of promise and the spies came back with this report that it's full of people who will destroy us.

They were like well we can't go into the promised land now. We'll go in and we'll be destroyed. So God prevented them from going into the promised land and made them wander in the desert for 40 years until that generation died.

And they were indeed destroyed but it wasn't by the Canaanites. They were destroyed by God. But God was merciful to Israel.

He could have wiped the entire nation out. He did not. He preserved for Himself a remnant who received the promised land.

Paul says here in verse 11, now these things happened to them as an example and they were written for our instruction upon whom the end of the ages have arrived.

Previously we were in the book of Romans and in chapter 15 verse 4 it says for whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction so that through the perseverance and the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.

The scriptures give us hope and it's also through the scriptures that we're given a warning that we not go the way that they went.

That we not desire the evil that they desired and then so perish. But these things were written for us for our instruction and then the second part of verse 11 upon whom the ends of the ages have arrived.

Well this is the end of the age. We are living in the end of ages.

There are two ages left. There's this age in which we live and there's the age to come in which we will dwell with God forever.

And the event that happens between these two ages is the return of Christ. That's what we're waiting for. So the ends of the ages have arrived.

These are the last days. There are no other major events that are going to happen in human history except the return of Christ and his judgment.

That's what we're looking for next. And then we will be with God forever in glory in the new heavens and the new earth.

Paul goes on in verse 12 to say therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

Once again stating that we should not think of ourselves as being stronger than we really are.

We must humble ourselves before Christ and he will lift us up at the proper time.

Now verse 13 says no temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man but God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also so that you will be able to endure it.

Now you have surely heard it said God will never give you more than you can handle. Now if you apply that axiom to this particular verse it's true.

You take that proverb and you attach it to first Corinthians 10 13 and yes

God will never give you a temptation that you are unable to resist.

Even these temptations that we experience in this world God has given us a way of escape that we would be able to endure it and these temptations that we are faced with are still present they're still around us so that we would learn to resist those things and turn to Christ.

Therefore my beloved Paul says in verse 14 flee from idolatry.

Let us not go after those things that could tempt our flesh and cause us to fall to become worldly apart from Christ but let us cling to Christ and he will sustain us.

Consider the words of James I've quoted to you briefly but let me look at it more specifically

James 4 verse 7 be subject therefore to God resist the devil and he will flee from you draw near to God and he will draw near to you cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double minded be miserable and mourn and cry let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom humble yourselves in the presence of the

Lord and he will exalt you. It is the Lord who sustains us who will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to resist but will give us the way of escape that way of escape is

Christ turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and we will never fall as Jude concludes his epistle second to last book in the

New Testament he says in Jude 24 now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory blameless with great joy to the only

God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory majesty might and authority before all time and now and forever amen notice there that Jude says it is he who keeps us from stumbling and makes us stand in his presence in the presence of his glory blameless with great joy

Christ has done this for us so let us draw all the more near to Christ that we not be led astray by the schemes of Satan the desires of our flesh and the ways of this world but rather we walk in Christ though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death it says in Psalm 23

I fear no evil for you are with me your rod and your staff they comfort me these are instruments of guidance and correction and they're a comfort to us when we consider the word of God and keep it and do what it says heavenly

Father I pray that we're convicted in these things that we not continue after things in this world thinking that we can partake in this and not fall into temptation help us to realize how weak we truly are in our flesh yes we are

Christians yes we have been set free but let's not put Christ to the test but continue to cling to Christ all our days until we are with you ultimately in glory forgive us of our pride and may we humble ourselves before God for at the proper time you will exalt us in glory with you forever it's in Jesus name we pray

Amen tune in tomorrow as we continue our