1 Corinthians 10:1-13

This section for the most part is referring to Moses and the Israelites. Paul describes some of the blessings they experienced from God as God's people. But, even though they were blessed and were God's people, they failed in a sense. Well, of course, they kept sinning and falling from God's favour and well, most of them didn't even enter the Promised Land.

Anyway, the next paragraph continues to speak of some of their failures. How some of them were Idolaters (v7) and some of them were sexually immoral (v8) and so on. But Paul does have a point by saying all this as he initially states that they are examples to us (v6). It reminds me of a quote I heard in my high school days: "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" (George Santayana). Paul's warning those who think what they're doing is okay. "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (v12, NIV). Some of those must have been walking the same path the Israelites did. Maybe they were confident in their position as God's chosen people. Even though they were converted, they may have been sticking to their Jewish roots. However, clearly looking at the Israelites, it goes to show that it is the same path. And if they follow the same path, they will end up in the same place. They "...drank the same spiritual drink..." (v4) and "They all ate the same spiritual food" (v3), but they also fell into sin of idolatry (v7), or sexual immorality (v8), or testing the Lord (v9), or grumbling (v10).

However, there is good news ahead. What would be the point if Paul just ended it there? Paul ends the third paragraph with a comforting verse that I'm sure is a somewhat common verse that people memorize.

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.

(v13, ESV)

God is faithful. Don't give in to sin. Fight, stand firm and know that God is faithful. I hate how today people work their theology up to the point where they acknowledge that we are sinners and we'll never be perfect. Therefore, we'll always sin and even if we are repeatedly stuck in a cycle of sin we can never escape because... we're not perfect... and that's just the way the world works. NO. Though it's true that we are sinners and it's true that we'll never be perfect, that is the worst attitude. Don't stop there. Because we have this verse. God is faithful. Each and every temptation you encounter is not beyond your ability and there IS a way of escape each and every time. It almost seems like everyone has already been defeated because they stop at several truths. But that's not the whole story. We can have victory over sin. Jesus has victory over sin and over death.

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

(Romans 6:6, ESV)

We are no longer enslaved to sin, so don't live with this "ho hum" attitude that we can never escape it. It's the process of sanctification. At the end of the last chapter Paul was talking about running in a race and the prize. Don't run as if you're going to lose, run as if to attain the prize. It's possible. God is faithful.