By Samuel Parrish, Campus Director, LH
Charleston, SC
"Therefore let anyone who thinks that he
stands take heed lest he fall. No
temptation has 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." (1
Corinthians 10:12-13 ESV)
When the
enemy has beaten you down with the same sin strongholds for decades, when the
flesh will not relent from offering a seemingly unending fountain of desires,
when the world continually offers up unending opportunities to choose something
other than God’s best, Paul’s teaching that indicates God will always “provide
the way of escape” from temptation can sound more like a fairy tale than the
gift of the Holy Spirit. For those of us who have been walking with Jesus with regularity,
these verses can even become so cliché that they actually serve to help us
discount the dangers of sin and temptation rather than keep us from falling.
Within the context of his letter, we see that Paul intends to do more than share
a great word of comfort to those burdened by sin. Instead, he calls the
complacent to not merely walk in the protection and blessing of the Holy Spirit,
but to overcome sin by the power of the cross.
To drive
home this point, Paul begins this section of the letter by reminding the
Corinthian church of the journey Israel took from captivity in Egypt to the
Promised Land. Beginning with the account of Moses parting the Red Sea so that Israel
could escape through the waters on dry land, Paul reminds his readers of how God
repeatedly provided for both the physical and spiritual needs of His people,
feeding them with manna—or “bread from heaven”—and twice bringing water forth
from a rock. Additionally, God physically joined them on this journey, allowing
His children to rest securely in the shadow of the pillar of fire at night
while simultaneously receiving direction by following the cloud during the day.
And yet,
there were those who experienced these blessings, but did not follow Him as
Lord. They turned to sexual immorality when Moses spoke with God on the
mountain. They turned to grumbling when God’s sustaining grace became mundane. They
turned to disbelief when they saw the “power” and “strength” of the people
inhabiting the land God promised them. Because of their choice of fear over
faith, the Lord judged the entire generation, prolonging their time in the
desert forty years.
Paul’s text
says plainly that his words were recorded for our instruction. We, as those who
live on this side of God’s work on the cross, stand to make the same kind of
mistakes as the people of Israel. Paul warns that these errors can be just as
costly for us as they were for God’s people thousands of years ago. We are cautioned
to take care and search for the “way of escape” God provides whenever
tempatations come our way. Thus, we are not passive in the process of our
sanctification. Instead, as God grants us the faith to believe in him, and the
grace to obey him, we have the responsibility to follow His commands.
Paul
continues in the chapter with a command for us to “flee from idolatry.” His
verb choice in this command—φεύγω, or a legal term meaning to run in order to
save one’s life—reveals that our sin is not simply a bad habit we hope to grow
out of. Rather, it is an enemy to flee, albeit a defeated enemy. Because of
Christ’s work on the cross and resurrection from the dead, we can stand
confidently as long as we stand on the truths of who we are in Him. We do not
have to fear sin and temptation because we know He will never leave us or
forsake us.
As you pray
this week, ask the Lord to show you where your confidence stands. Are you resting
merely on His blessings, or on an identity named and shaped by God? When has He
sustained you in a way you never expected? What two specific aspects of that experience
can you use to remember his goodness in the future?
