Tuesday, March 13, 2018
If you
think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your
life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the
temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way
out so that you can endure.
1
Corinthians 10:12-13(NLT)
Paul’s wild-child
in the faith was the Corinthian bunch, a church planted in a garden that was a
rampant sinful culture; it was sexually-charged, superstitious, arrogant and
unrestrained. That certainly sounds like
the 21st century in the good ol’ USA!
The letters Paul
wrote to the church at Corinth were heavy on correcting their wrong ideas about
how to live the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ. And in these three short sentences we find
some of the greatest (and sometimes most misunderstood) advice to any believer
endeavoring to live the life in-Christ when residing in a culture that is a
moral cesspool.
There is a caution:
Paul says that human
nature is now what it has always been; what is written in Scripture about those
who fell into sin is there to teach and remind us of just how powerful and
insidious moral failure can be. In the
current day we should not need such words; our culture would probably make 1st
century Corinthians blush!
There is a reminder:
Paul reminds his
fellow believers that God is faithful, and will not allow a temptation in your
life greater than you are able to withstand.
This is one of those verses that is so-often misunderstood. Sometimes temptation comes that is way over
our pay grade. That doesn’t mean God has
laid-down his faithfulness; it usually means we have wandered off the straight
path and gone looking for forbidden fruit.
There is a light:
Notice Paul didn’t
write in his letters to the believers IF you are tempted; he used
the more definite WHEN you are tempted.
Temptation is a little like trials and tribulations. You’re either in the middle of one, just come
out of one, or, brace yourself because you’re about to bump-into one.
The great reformer
Martin Luther analogized temptations as the picture of birds circling
overhead. His teaching was that you
cannot help it if they land on your head, but you certainly have something to
say about them building a nest up there.
Temptation is a
fact of life in the fallen human race.
But Paul points to the light that God will always provide a sure path to
defeat temptation. The light Paul offers
in his advice to the Corinthians is equipped with the switch, so-to-speak, that
is in our hands. God will show you the
way out IF you’re ready to cooperate with the Spirit and do the
right thing. If you’re pre-disposed to
claiming victim status – that you can’t resist – the temptation is too strong,
what you’re really saying is that Christ in you is a lie, and God’s promise is
untrue.
My dear Christian
friends, save the cards, letters, and emails about the power of addictions and
the pitiful nature of those with poor genetic inheritance; temptation is an
offer of sin against Almighty God, whom you have promised to worship and
obey. Like you, I have a carnal nature
within that feels the pull of temptation.
I also have the Spirit within fighting against that nature. Which is going to win that spiritual war
going on? The answer is much like the
owner of two fighting dogs – the dog that is equipped to win is the one the
owner feeds. Feed your
temptation/addiction/genetic-disposition with its cravings…or feed your spirit
that which dwells on a higher plane.
For You Today
God has promised to provide a pathway through, around, or over the
temptations that come your way. The
choice comes down to the straight and narrow, but sometimes really hard way…or
the one our culture offers. The choice
is always ours!
You chew on that as you hit the
Rocky Road; have a blessed day.
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