“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.”
~ 1 Corinthians 10:13
Hi James and Ellen,
What does it mean to you to be Christ-followers? What do you think that it meant to be a Christ-follower for the guys and gals who were active in the Corinth Christ-follower community? Ask your dad to explain the effects of sin to you. Paul – in 1 Corinthians 10, explains sin’s pitfalls. One of Paul’s definitions of sin is when the heart of a guy or gal is overtly set on doing evil. Sin is inherent in every kid who is born on planet Earth. No guy, gal or kid can escape the effect of sin. Paul used Old Testament case models to support his contention that conscious acts of sinning will lead to death. Paul told the guys and gals who were active in the Corinth Christ-follower community that worshipping manmade idol gods that were handmade from wood, clay, stone and metal was an absolute no-no to God – that when His specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people groups guys and gals, worshipped manmade idol gods that were handmade from wood, clay, stone and metal, that God did a number on them. Over 1450 years earlier, God’s specially chosen guys and gals joined the Moabite people group of guys and gals as they worshipped their pet idol god who was called Baal of Peor. When God’s specially chosen guys and gals began worshipping Baal or Peor and living aberrantly, they pushed God’s hot button which led to God having 23,000 of His specially chosen guys and gals killed. Another time when God’s hot button was pushed by His specially chosen guys and gals was when they began bellyaching about the food – that was called manna, that He was sending them to eat and about having to wander aimlessly in a hot, miserable desert. God sent poisonous snakes this time to get their attention. It was only after Moses erected a bronze serpent – which God’s specially chosen guys and gals were instructed to look at, that they stopped dying. Then when God’s specially chosen guys and gals began to grouse about the leadership of Moses and Aaron, God sent His destroyer angel to kill a number of them. Paul made it very clear to the guys and gals who were active in the Corinth Christ-follower community that to worship manmade idol gods that were handmade from wood, clay, stone and metal and to have illicit, immoral relationships were absolute no-noes to God. That possibly was a no-brainer to God’s specially elected guys and gals who were active in the Corinth Christ-follower community as they probably were very familiar with the Ten Commandments and with the Torah. Paul also made it very clear to the guys and gals who were active in the Corinth Christ-follower community that grumbling about their life circumstances were also an absolute no-no to God. Paul in verse 13 told the guys and gals who were active in the Corinth Christ-follower community, “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.”
Paul wanted the guys and gals in the Corinth Christ-follower community to realize that they were going to be tempted. Paul wanted the guys and gals in the Corinth Christ-follower community to know that they had an escape from their temptation. The verse that your grandpaa chose is one of first verses that your grandmaa and grandpaa memorized when they memorized 100 or so verses when they lived in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Your grandmaa and grandpaa know that they are going to be tempted all the time to do something that is an absolute no-no to God. Every guy, gal and kid is and will be tempted. Even Jesus was tempted. The tempter is a fallen angel. The fallen angel’s name was Lucifer. Lucifer is known today as Satan or the devil. Satan is really tricky at tempting God’s specially elected guys, gals or kids to do what is an absolute no-no to God. There is absolutely nothing that Satan can do to any of God’s specially elected guys, gals and kids that he has not been given the okay by God to do. God’s specially elected guys, gals and kids must keep their eyes open for Satan’s trickery. Satan will do anything to have a Christ-follower guy, gal or kid – who God specially elected, compromise his or her faith in God so that what the guy or gal did will cause another guy, gal or kid to do what is to God an absolute.
Paul used a common practice to help the guys and gals who were in the Corinth Christ-follower community to get it as to what would be the right thing for them to do. Animals were being sacrificed to manmade idol gods that were handmade from wood, clay, stone and metal. The meat of an animal that was sacrificed to a manmade idol god was then sold in the market. Paul says in his letter that it was best just not to ask where any meat came from but if a Christ-follower guy or gal was told that the meat that was being served was from an animal that had been sacrificed to a manmade idol god, that he or she should not eat the meat even if the meat was being served to them in the home of a non-Christ-follower friend. Some guys and gals who are Catholics who are living in rural areas in Bolivia will give as an offering one of their animals to the area Catholic Church. Because the Catholic faith is a work based faith, a guy or gal who gives an animal to his or her area Catholic Church believes that he or she has ‘earned points’ with God. Your grandpaa was asked the question one day as to whether or not a Christ-follower guy or gal could buy and eat the meat of an animal that had been given to the Catholic Church as an offering. Your grandpaa does not recall how he answered the question. Your grandpaa would answer that question today by saying that it would not be a sin to eat the meat of an animal given by a guy and/or gal to his or her Catholic Church but . . . it is always important to very thoughtfully and cautiously reflect on the context as to know what to do that would not make it a no-no to God.
1 Corinthians 10 (570)