Recently I went to Disneyland. I’ve been there a number of times, but this time something was different. Instead of one line for each ride – many had two lines. While waiting for the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – I watched in dismay as people walked right up to the front and got on what seemed like miles ahead of me. I felt like a second class person.
I learned their secret – it was something called a Fast Pass. You went to a kiosk and put in your ticket, and out came a Fast Pass with a time period for you to come back and go to the front of the line. I loved it! No more waiting – I felt like a special person, somehow exempt from the traditional waiting in line at Disneyland.
When it comes to maturing in our faith by undergoing hard times, or temptation – we also would love to be exempt. We want the joy, but not the trials that bring about true contentment by stripping us of everything except our need for God – which is all we really need anyway for true joy – and on and on.
Today Paul uses the example of the Jews to show Christians that no one is exempt – and in fact, trying to avoid difficulty can lead us away from God, not towards Him. Let’s begin by holding our place in Corinthians, and turning to Exodus chapter 13)
(turn to Exodus 13:20)
After escaping Egypt
:21 Pillar of cloud
14:10 trapped
:12 grumbling – wanted to go back
:19 pillar hid them from the Egyptians
:21 through the sea
16:4 manna
17:5 Strike the rock, so they got water
32:5 After the law, the people created a false god and worshiped it
Numbers 13 (the people didn’t believe the spies, so they were excluded from the Promised Land)
The trouble with the Israelis was that they 1, trusted their judgment more than God’s, and 2, longed for the bad but known old life more than the promise of the new, unknown one.
In short, they loved the world more than the Lord. At every step they complained – “we’re going to die” “we’re thirsty” “we want to go back to Egypt” “we’re hungry” “we don’t like you Moses” “we are afraid of God”
What did they get for this unfaithfulness? Death for some, wandering in the desert for all. They saw God’s work, but were unable to receive all the blessings God had for them through their distrust.
So, back to Corinthians – let’s see how this plays out:
1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers 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 over the desert.
Paul draws a line from the experience of Israel to the experience of the believer – rescued from sin, baptized into Jesus, taking communion which celebrates the body and blood of Christ – like the water that came out of the rock and the manna. Remember Jesus said: “Come unto me anyone that thirsts” and “I am the Bread of Life.”
Disobedience and not trusting in the Lord led Israel back into the desert and to death. And while God doesn’t kill the disobedient believer – if we act like the Israelis we too will experience dryness, and death.
Galatians 6:7-8 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
So why does Paul bring this up?
6 Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.
Learn from their mistakes, Paul says. We like to think “this won’t happen to me.” But it can and it does. Paul uses four categories of mistakes in his point:
7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry." 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did-and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did-and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did-and were killed by the destroying angel.
• Idolatry – is anything that stands before your relationship with God
• Sexual immorality is sex outside of marriage, or in a spiritual sense – being unfaithful to God (which is the same as idolatry).
• Testing the Lord is not trusting in God to act in your best interests – it’s impugning God’s motives.
• Grumbling – rebellion against God’s authority in your life.
11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!
No one is exempt from the temptation to do the four things Paul put in verses 7 through 10. Much later the Jews thought they were in God’s good graces simply by being Jewish. It wasn’t true – and today, just belonging to a church doesn’t get you to heaven.
And for us who are believers, the more we think we are strong in an area, the more we should watch out. “Be careful” Paul says. It means to “look carefully at.” As Christians we should take nothing for granted. You may feel you have gained total control over some area of sin in your life and you are beyond temptation. Let me tell you – just like an alcoholic is always an alcoholic, just a dry one, a sinaholic is always a sinaholic – and you are just one step away from sin – and it is only by the grace of God and the strength of the Holy Spirit that we don’t fall constantly.
One of our excuses when that happens is: no one’s been tempted like I have. Sorry, not true.
13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it.
Speaking of temptation, the Apostle Peter writes:
1 Peter 5:9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
There is no “special” temptation. But there is always a way of escaping it. God provides it, but do we take it? Sin, you see, is a conscious decision for the believer.
James 1:13-15 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
What are ways of escape? Maybe it’s turning on worship music, maybe its prayer or reading your Bible. Maybe it’s turning off the TV or shutting off evil thoughts. Maybe it’s leaving where you are, or cutting off a bad friendship, or praying for strength and then acting on it.
2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
So what is Paul’s advise?
14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
In the end, all sin is idolatry – putting something before your relationship with God. Paul says “run, don’t walk” away from it.
So: Pay attention, look for escape, then RUN!
So why is Paul saying all this – what is the situation in Corinth that he is addressing? It involves a common practice of idolatry in the day – but is applicable in a spiritual sense to everyone.
15 I speak to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.
The bread and juice of communion symbolize our oneness in Christ. We all break off a piece – but part of what nourished you now nourishes me. What I do affects you and what you do affects me. Next he uses the example of the Jewish sacrificial system:
18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered 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. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
So although in reality an idol is nothing - there is a demonic power behind it and our participation in that idolatry causes us to participate with that demonic power. Now I’m going to walk a fine line here, but I think it is important for us to examine our activities – is what we are involved with supported by demonic power? Do we really want to support the enemy that hates us?
Take the Ouija board, for example. Its power is derived from demons – I suggest that it would be a serious mistake to use one as a Christian. There may be other things – pray about them, use your discernment.
So what is the principal here?
23 "Everything is permissible"-but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"-but not everything is constructive. 24 Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.
Back in Chapter 6 Paul made almost this exact statement. Is what you are doing going to benefit your walk, strengthen you or strengthen the enemy? We need to ask ourselves that question. But we need to go beyond that – is what I’m doing benefiting or hurting someone else – especially someone who is younger in the faith and might be tripped up by my actions.
That’s where Paul is going:
25 Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, 26 for, "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it."
It’s a sort of “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Jesus said “it is not what goes into a man that defiles him, but what comes out of his mouth.” The meat itself is not changed from having been sacrificed to an idol – but:
27 If some 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 anyone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, both for the sake of the man who told you and for conscience’ sake- 29 the other man’s conscience, I mean, not yours. For why should my freedom be 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?
Back in chapter 9 Paul talked about becoming like others to win them to Christ. So if someone is obviously troubled by something I do, then I won’t do it – within reason. But if I don’t know, then I shouldn’t be paranoid either – that’s what verse 30 is about.
Paul sum it up this way:
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 32 Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God- 33 even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.
Conclusion
1. We are not immune to temptation (1-13)
Do you learn from others’ mistakes? Do you seek the way of escape from temptation?
2. We should not participate in the world’s idolatry (14-22)
Idolatry is setting up something that comes between me and God – something that precedes your walk with the Lord. Are you aware of it in your own life? Are you knowingly participating in activities that are in rebellion against God?
3. We should focus on the spiritual consequences of our behavior (23-31)
If are sowing to the flesh, to the enemy – the results are death. Maybe not eternal damnation if you are a believer, but certainly loss of fellowship, loss of growth, loss of blessing.
We like to think of ourselves as exempt, but if instead we realize how fragile we are, and how fragile others are, we would be more circumspect about our cavalier behavior sometimes.
In conclusion I want to repeat something I said earlier: The trouble with the Israelis was that they
1. Trusted their judgment more than Gods, and
2. Longed for the bad but known old life more than the promise of the new, unknown one.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
Psalm 37:4-6
4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
