Is This a Test?
I
Corinthians 10:13,14
Introduction: Most months we celebrate the Lord’s Table together
on the first Sunday at our church. We do it regularly, as a God given reminder
of His saving grace in Jesus. It causes us to reflect on the great drama of
redemption: a good creation was plunged into chaos as the result of human
rebellion; but God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which
He loved us, sent the Son to provide salvation for all those who would turn to
Him in faith. It reminds us that He did
for us what we could not do for ourselves. By His death we have been set free
from the penalty of sin. This is the crux of kingdom living in a fallen
world: though we have been saved from the penalty of sin, if we are in Christ,
the consequences of sin, and the struggle against sin, still rage within us and
all around us. We live as kingdom
citizens, but at the same time as pilgrims in a fallen world. Today’s short passage
in I Corinthians meets us right where we live, as those who are redeemed, and
regenerated, but not yet made perfect. We’ll meet here in these few lines both
the temptations that come from the world, the flesh, and the devil, and the tests
that are directed by the sovereign hand of our loving Father, guiding us along
the path of life to teach us and to mature us in our faith. Have you ever been
in a crisis and asked, “Is this a test?”? As we look at this passage we’ll see that, at
some level, it probably was!
The Big Idea:
We need to trust God in times of trial and resist the temptation to sin,
seeking to make choices that honor Him.
I.
Whatever you are dealing with, others have been there before! “No
temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man…”
First of all take note of the word
“temptation.” The Greek word is peirasmos, which can mean “trial, test, or
temptation.” The translators of the
Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, used the verbal form of
the same word in Genesis 22:1, where we read, “After these things, God tested Abraham…” God allows trials
to test us and help us grow, the devil would tempt us to sin… (cf. Gen 22:1;
James 1:13,14). And for Abraham, what a
test it would be! Abraham and Sarah had been promised a son, and in their old
age God had given them Isaac. And then God commanded him to take the boy up
Mount Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering! We don’t have all of the
dramatic details, but the writer to the Hebrews tells us that Abraham believed
God, he trusted in his promises, and he believed that even if he sacrificed his
son God was able to raise him from the dead. He brought the boy up the hill. As
Jesus would carry his cross, on the same hills, 2000 years earlier Isaac
himself carried the wood up the hill for the sacrifice. Abraham arranged the
wood for the offering, and placed Isaac on the pyre and raised a knife to slay
him. God intervened. God provided a sacrifice to be slain in place of Isaac.
And he said to Abraham, “Now I know you believe…” You passed the test.
Your faith was revealed through your obedience. Why does God allow tests in our
lives? It is not just our ultimate
destination that interests God, but he is interested in the journey, he is
involved in our story as it unfolds. He
knows us already, he knows our hearts. He knows our limitations. The truth is,
I think, He knows us better than we know ourselves. He uses times of testing
stretch us and grow us and build our faith.
There is
another character that interjects himself into our story. He is called our
enemy, the accuser of the brethren. Remember
the story of Job in the Old Testament. Take a look at this exchange near the
beginning of the book…
6 Now there was a day when the sons
of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among
them. 7 The LORD said to
Satan, "From where have you come?" Satan answered the LORD and said,
"From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on
it." 8 And the LORD said
to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him
on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from
evil?" 9 Then Satan
answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around
him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work
of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and
touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face." 12 And the LORD said to Satan,
"Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch
out your hand." So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD (Job 1:6-12).
That is how it started. It is one of the few examples
in Scripture where we are allowed to glimpse behind the scenes of the stage of
human history and see the spiritual purpose of trials in the lives of
believers. Satan’s intention was clear,
to cause Job in his pain to turn from God, he wanted to entice him to sin: “Take away your protection God, and he’ll
curse you to your face!” From God’s perspective, the trials he allowed in
Job’s life were “tests,” designed to reveal and deepen his faith. Later God allows Satan to go even further,
and his health is taken away. It is interesting that the same group of words in
both Hebrew and Greek can mean “try,” “test,” or “tempt,” and in Job’s case we
can see where the same trials were “temptations” from the devil’s perspective,
and “tests” from God’s perspective. God never “tempts” us, that is, His
intention is never to lead us into sin. James said,
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am
being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself
tempts no one. 14 But each
person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has
conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death
(James 1:13-15).
Paul tells the Corinthians
that the trials they experience are not unique, or even unusual, they are what
is “…common to man…” i.e. part of the
common human experience. In other words,
others have been where you are before! We can be comforted by the fact that others
have passed through whatever it is that confronts us. Remember, it surprised
us, but it didn’t surprise God, He is omniscient and He is omnipotent. He is
sovereign. And we can trust Him. We need
to trust God in times of trial and resist the temptation to sin, seeking to
make choices that honor Him.
II. God is
trustworthy and He knows our limitations. He guides circumstances and
designs a path that we can walk… “…[but] God is faithful, who will not allow you to be
tempted beyond what you are able…”
Notice that Paul first points
to the character is God as a basis for encouragement in times of trial. “God is
faithful…” The idea seems to be that God is trustworthy, reliable. We can
count on Him to keep his promises. Because of who He is, because of his
character, his attributes, we can trust him. Some of you remember Art
Linkletter. He had a way of talking to children. There was one situation where a little boy
was drawing a picture, and Art Linkletter asked him what it was. The little boy
answered, “God.” Linkletter said “Well,
nobody knows what God looks like!” The
little boy answered, “They will when I get through!” What does God look like? The Bible paints a picture for us, not of his
physical form or appearance, but his character, his attributes. What does God
look like? One of His attributes, clearly revealed in the Bible, is that He is
faithful, absolutlely trustworthy. Remember the story of the little boy who ran
up to an elderly lady on the beach who was sitting under an umbrella. “Are you
a Christian?” he asked. She smiled and answered, “Why yes, I am!” He asked her, “Do you read you Bible every
day?” She answered, “I do!” He continued his interrogation, “Do you pray a lot?”
She answered, “Yes!” He then asked, “Will
you hold my quarter while I go in the water?”
He wanted someone trustworthy!
God is faithful. This week we
looked at Psalm 117 in our devotional for Wednesday night prayer meeting. The
short psalm reads like this in the ESV,
1 Praise the LORD, all nations! Extol him, all
peoples! 2 For great is his
steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD!
The second
verse, beginning with the word “for,”
gives the motivation for the nations to praise God. The psalmist uses a pair of
terms that appear together frequently in Scripture: God’s “steadfast love” [chesed]
and His “faithfulness” [emet]. God’s promises are true and
reliable, He always keeps His word. He is faithful. Paul tells us the same thing here in I Corinthians
10:13, “God is faithful…” What does
that mean to us in times of trouble? He
promises to be with us always, to never leave us or forsake us. So even when we
are in the thick of it and we might feel deserted or alone, when we feel we can’t
go on, God is there. He also promises
that He is active in our story, and that somehow, even if we don’t understand,
He will cause all things to work together for good to those who love God, to
those who are called according to His purpose. That’s a promise we can count
on. That is a promise that gives hope in the midst of the darkness!
Notice in our text that “God is faithful…” and the He “…will
not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able…” God knows our limits
– Remember Job, God only let the accuser go so far, and he could not pass the
limits that God allowed. We might expect
too much of someone or misjudge their capabilities. I’ve told you before of the
time Mary Ann and I were bringing some things into our first apartment and I
gave my little nephew Raymond, maybe 4 or 5 years old, something to carry. He
said “I can’t Uncle Steve, too heavy!” I replied, “Come on Raymond, are you a
man or a mouse?” Without any hesitation he said, “I’m a mouse!” We might be given work or responsibilities at
our job or even in our family that is not our area of strength and may be
beyond our ability. People may misjudge us because they know us only in part. But
God knows us perfectly. Whatever we pass through, He is present, and we can
trust Him because He knows us better than we know ourselves. We need to trust God in times of trial and
resist the temptation to sin, seeking to make choices that honor Him.
III. God will make a way for us to stand
firm and to be victorious if we will trust Him… “…but with the temptation he will also provide the
way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
Take this a phrase at a time. First, “…but with the temptation He will also
provide…” Remember the word
“temptation” can also be translated “trial,” or “test.” We know from James 1:13,14 and from the
character of God revealed in Scripture as a whole, that God does not tempt us, i.e.,
He does not seek to entice us to sin. He wants us to endure, to persevere, and
even to grow and be strengthened. But notice here, He is in control, He is sovereign even
in those difficult, trying, moments in life.
He doesn’t just provide a way out of the traps the enemy sets for us,
but His sovereignty is such that he is guiding our story and the circumstances
we pass through. As one writer said, “Nothing touches us that has not first
passed through the hands of our loving, heavenly Father. Nothing.”
And so, along with the trial that He
has allowed, even ordained that we should pass through, “…he will provide the way of escape also…” I remember many years ago,
a family friend, along with his young wife and baby, lived in a basement
apartment. It was well built, he was a skilled carpenter, but there was one
fatal flaw, there was only one way out. There was a house fire, and they were
trapped, all three died. When my brother-in-law built an extra bedroom in his
basement some time after that, he put in a large egress window that could serve
as an emergency escape. God knows every
possibility, and the promise is that HE will provide a way of escape. His plan
might be different than we would expect, as the next phrase demonstrates.
“…that you may be able to endure it…” The word “endure” is from the Greek term hupofero, “bear up under…” You might
think, “Wait a minute, I thought God was providing an exit, a way out of the problems and trials of life?”
The escape may not be what we would expect, at least in the short term.
“Endure” comes from a compound Greek word that implies having the strength to
bear up under the weights of our trials. The way out may be the strength to endure as
we pass through the trial. During
those times we need to trust God and resist the temptation to sin, seeking to
make choices that honor Him.
IV. Knowing
God is faithful, we can trust Him, and we must choose to resist the temptation
to sin. “Therefore, my beloved, flee idolatry” (14).
“Therefore…” – remember the
axiom of Bible Study, “When you see a ‘therefore’ ask what it is ‘there’ for!” In the previous context, Paul pointed to the
example of Old Testament Israel.
Repeatedly, when they confronted times of difficulty, times of testing,
rather than turning to God in faith, they grumbled, they doubted, they even
fell into idolatry! V.13 reminds us that trying times will come, and during
those times, we can trust God and
find comfort in his presence and faithfulness. But we are not merely passive in
times of trial, we don’t simply ignore temptation and hope that it will
pass. This interplay of divine
sovereignty and human responsibility is reminiscent of a passage we looked at
some time ago. We read in Philippians 2:12-13,
So
then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only,
but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and
trembling; 13 for it is God
who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
God’s sovereign work in us and in our
circumstances is a motivation to obedience, to “working out” the implications
of our salvation day to day.
Notice that Paul here calls the
Corinthians, “…my beloved…” He called
them in chapter 4, “my beloved children” and
he will call them in chapter 15 “my
beloved brothers,” but here he simply calls them “my beloved.” Paul’s tender affection for them, his pastoral heart, he
urges them to live differently. He’s opened his heart to them and urges them,
with one simple imperative…
“…flee
idolatry…” Remember the sin of Israel when Moses delayed returning from the
mountain, they asked Aaron to construct an idol, a god they could see, one that
could go before them. Aaron agreed and
pronounced the next day, “a feast to
Yahweh (the Lord).” He used
the language of faith, even the name of the God of the Bible, but his action of
making an idol was completely contrary to God’s revelation. Idolatry at its core is essentially
unbelief. Faith means we believe God, we take him at his word. If we try to define God based on what seems
right to us, or what makes sense or seems reasonable, or even on what people want to believe, and not based on what
he has actually revealed about himself in the Bible, we are making an idol. And
that is sin. Paul’s word to the Corinthians, and God’s word to us is as direct
as it is simple: Flee idolatry! Don’t just turn away from the temptation
to not believe God, don’t simply resist or look away, separate yourself from
that situation: get out of there!
What is God saying to me in this passage? We need to trust God in times of trial and resist
the temptation to sin, seeking to make choices that honor Him.
What
would God have me to do in response to this passage? Could it be that you are passing through a difficult
time right now? Whether work related, or health, or financial, or in a
relationship? Have you perhaps asked, “Is this a test?” It may be! In fact, at
some level, it probably is! We know that
we have an enemy who would love to sap our strength and cause us to doubt or to
be angry with God. If those thoughts come, don’t entertain them for a moment.
They come from darkness. God is light. He is good, He loves us, and He
is faithful. One of the gifts that God
has given us, to help us in the Christian life, is each other. God designed the
church because we need accountability and we need the help and encouragement of
others. And they need us. We need to
develop relationships with other believers where we can put away the masks and
be transparent. Where we know we are loved, because we are a family, we have
the same Father. We need to have people
in our lives that can keep a confidence and who will pray for us and with us. And
we need to be willing to be that person to others in the church as well. We
bear one another’s burdens, we encourage one another, we build each other up. Because
we love each other. That is the kind of community the Lord has designed us to
be. By our love for one another, men will know that we are His disciples. As we
fulfill our calling to be the church, He will be glorified. Think about how you
can be more effective in fulfilling your part in His mission. AMEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment