Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:11-13

Temptation will always be a part of life, as long as we are still living in our fallen bodies. We shouldn’t be naive to think we will never be tempted, however we should have the trust knowing God said “We will not suffer you to be tempted above or beyond what you are able” When we fall for sin, we can’t blame God, we must take the accountability for ourselves and repent

We live in a society and culture today that takes no responsibility for their sin. They will just say “God made me this way” So they will continue to live in their sin freely, while their conscience has been seared (1 Timothy 4:2) to the point, where sin no longer bothers them. We can’t make the excuse I was Born this way, because God said “He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear” (v13)

This is why Jesus said “Nobody can see the Kingdom of God unless they are Born Again” (John 3:3) You have to become regenerated by the Holy Spirit, you can’t enter into the presence of God in your sinful state, you have to become a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Satan is called  “The Tempter”  (Matthew 4:3) Multiple times Satan tried to tempt Jesus Christ with different strategies,(Matthew 4) if the Devil will try to tempt the Son of God, you better believe Satan will try to tempt you! Notice how Christ defeated Satan, by rebuking him with the Word of God, the Bible is your sword to fight off the devil’s schemes

Notice what Paul says here also “But with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it” There is no temptation that is greater than the power of the Holy Spirit that is living inside of you. Don’t allow the excuse “You are Born This Way” to destroy the Temple of God, be cleansed by the blood of Christ and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Amen!

Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 1 Corinthians 10:6-10

Continuing in the context of the teaching here by Paul, the Apostle is referencing the Israelites in the wilderness, when they were continually disobedient to God, seeking pleasures of the flesh, worshiping false idols, even though they specifically saw the miracles of God firsthand. There are non believers and atheists that would say “If God showed me this or that, they would believe” That’s not necessarily true, as many Isralites witnessed the miracles of God first hand ,yet still rejected Him and fell away

Paul’s message to the Church “We should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted” Again we should learn from the Israelites, if you are Born Again, we are to seek the things of God not the world. Don’t be idolaters, many just attribute this to worshiping a pagan deity, but this is not just the case. We can make anything our idol, money, sex, drugs, anything we put in front of God is an idol. As Jesus said “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul (Matthew 22:37) Hence All Your Heart, not just part of your heart. So what has captured your heart? Is Jesus or the world the love of your heart?

Another interesting subject here is Paul attributes sexual immorality to idolatry. In today’s generation, we see this first hand, people’s sexuality has become their idol. But as Christians , we are The Temple of God, the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, to be disobedient to God is idolatry, you are placing things above your love for God

The Apostle Paul makes an interesting statement here “Neither Let Us Tempt Christ”, notice the context of the Israelites tempting God in the wilderness, is the same context of tempting Christ. Paul is demonstrating the deity of Christ , and just because we are under grace of Christ, we should not be disobedient to the Holy Spirit and tempt Christ

Again the question goes back to “Do you truly love The Lord God with all your heart, mind, and soul? It doesn’t matter how religious you believe you are, doesn’t matter how many good deeds you believed you performed, if you truly love God, then Jesus Christ would truly be your Lord (Master). Don’t tempt The Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the author and finisher of life, Amen!

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 1 Corinthians 10:1-5

There is a popular preacher who was instructing people to “unhitch from the Old Testament”, of course his name is Andy Stanley and he made himself famous for making this statement. Well , if we did disregard the Old Testament, we would have no idea or context of what Paul is teaching us here . The Apostle Paul is referencing the Israelites in the Wilderness going though the Red Sea, eating the qual , and Moses striking the Rock that provided them continuous water.

So the first point we should make, the entire Bible is relevant and important for all of us to know and study. Secondly Paul makes alot of references here, and we could preach a sermon on all of them, so let me try to briefly describe my thoughts on these scriptures.

Paul first says “How that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the seas” Now obviously this is a reference to Moses leading the Israelites through the Wilderness and the Red Sea. Most Christians might say “This has nothing to do with me today” But your wrong, this was a foreshadow of the baptism of faith we have today in Christ.

Water Baptism, which was introduced by the prophet John the Baptist, hence the name, is an outward confession of our faith in Jesus Christ. In fact, The Lord himself went through water baptism to give us an example. The Apostle Paul is saying here when the Israelites by faith went through the Red Sea, it was a spiritual baptism of their own

Think about the event of the Red Sea, what did the Israelites have to do to save their lives? DId they fight the Egyptians? No, Did they persuade the Egyptians to leave?no, they simply trusted what God told them and did it. Their obedience to God , which we call faith, is what saved them

How are we saved? We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8) This is exactly what the sign of baptism is, its an act of faith, profession, and declaration I trust The Lord Jesus Christ to save my soul. Period, we can’t earn it 

Now I know we can argue , how can I get my faith? We know we are called or elected by God, we know the cleansing of the blood of Christ, and we know the regeneration work of the Holy Spirit, is all essential to us having faith. Simply put, Faith in Christ alone is all you need for your salvation , Amen!

Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

How would you describe your Christian walk? Some people think you make a profession of faith, and you got a golden ticket into Heaven. This is not the life of a Born Again Christian. When you truly become saved, you become Born Again, a regeneration, the baptism of the Holy Spirit (John 3) This is not just a profession of faith, this is a transformation of your life

So the Apostle Paul here, describes the Christian walk like an athlete competing in sports. As Paul says “So run, that you may obtain”. We are not to live our Christian life just coasting waiting for the Rapture to come! We should be competing just like a professional athlete competes to win. There should be a drive and hunger to serve The Lord. Athletes don’t go into a contest, waiting for the end or unprepared, they go into a contest and give everything they have until the final sound

Now you might ask “Why should I do this”? Well again, if you are truly Born Again , you have a new heart for God. The fire of the Holy Spirit is inside you, you can’t resist but to serve The Lord. Listen to what Paul says here “Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible” Many athletes will literally almost kill themselves to win a Super Bowl or win a Stanley Cup, however our prize is greater, eternal life to serve an eternal God in an eternal Kingdom! Hallelujah

I want to bring another point here , Paul says “But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection” We know that professional athletes spend the majority of their time training, why? Because without training, you won’t be ready for the big game! Well we as Christians need to be continually training also, we need to continually study the Word of God, continually pray to God, continually be led by the Holy Spirit, continually submit ourselves to Jesus Christ our Lord. 

We should hold ourselves to a higher standard, its not only a great privilege to serve The Lord, but its a great responsibility. Paul says here “when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” When we represent Christ as his servant, we don’t want to bring shame to God, we want to honor God by giving our best effort. Zeal is great, but without knowledge or discernment , it can be destructive. 

The bottom line is Run Your Race, as Jesus said “Deny yourself, Carry your Cross Daily, and Follow Jesus, Amen!