1 Corinthians 10:1-5 NIV
“For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.”
The Jews were God’s chosen people until Jesus died on the
cross for our sins and he made Jew and Gentile one in Christ, through faith in
Jesus Christ. They were God’s people by physical birth, not spiritual birth. So,
they still had to believe in God and obey him. Scriptures are clear that
disobedience was (and still is) equivalent to unbelief (Rom 11:17-24; Heb
3:7-19).
There are many people today who have been in the gatherings
of the church since childhood, or for a long time, who were taught the Scriptures,
who had the Scriptures read to them, and who maybe even taught the Scriptures
themselves.
They were blessed with the freedom of worship and the fellowship
of the saints, Bibles in their own homes, Bible study guides, sermons on audio
and video, too, plus hundreds of the hymns and other Christian music, etc. They
were not and are not lacking in the knowledge of what God’s word teaches.
But for all their religious activities, their church
attendance, their teaching, their learning, and all they have been blessed with
in this life, God is not pleased with them. And, although they claim Jesus as
their Lord and Savior, and heaven as their eternal destiny, hell is what awaits
them, not heaven.
1 Corinthians 10:6-10 NIV
“Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry.” We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.”
God is not pleased with them, because they will not
surrender their lives to him. In their pride and stubbornness, they are
continuing to live in sin, in idolatry, in sexual immorality, in greed, in
filth, and the like, while still making excuses for why they are not yet
walking in victory over sin.
Even though they know right from wrong, they continue to do
wrong habitually, yet knowing full well that what they are doing is evil, and
that it is in direct disobedience to God, and even knowing that they are hurting
those who love them, by their sins they regularly commit against them.
They are lovers of self-indulgence, self-pleasure, and
self-gratification. They are selfish, in other words, and think of what makes
them feel good, regardless of who gets hurt in the process, even knowing what
God’s word teaches about those who practice such things (Gal 5:16-21; Eph
5:3-6).
Like pigs who keep returning to wallowing in the mud, they habitually, willfully, and even premeditatedly return again and again to what is filth, garbage, immoral, greedy, gluttonous, selfish, crude, dishonest, deceitful, and betraying.
And then they have the nerve to make all kinds of excuses
for why they are the way they are, or for why they haven’t yet conquered their
sinful habits, and to even claim that it could take many years to rid their
lives of all the garbage they have stored up in their hearts.
Again, even though they know what God’s word teaches, so
they are not ignorant, even though everyone is without excuse, and they know
the warnings in Scripture, they ignore them, for they don’t really believe God
will do what he said he would. So, they test Christ.
And that is exactly what the Jews in the wilderness did,
too. They knew the truth. They knew what was required. They were warned over
again, but they ignored the warnings and went with their stubborn hearts. And
because they did, many of them died without hope and without God.
1 Corinthians 10:11-13 NIV
“These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it.”
Now we need to understand that this was written to the
church, some of whom had probably made false professions of faith in Jesus
Christ, but not all of them. We should not be living in sin, habitually
committing what we know is evil, in God’s face, knowing, too, that we are
hurting others.
For, we need to understand, too, that salvation is not
guaranteed to all who profess faith in Jesus Christ or to all who once made a
confession of faith. It is not guaranteed to any of us who have walked in
fellowship with our Lord, either, for our salvation is conditional. God set the
conditions, too.
We must walk (conduct our lives) according to (in agreement
with) the Spirit of God and not according to our flesh. We must die with Christ
to sin and live to Christ and to his righteousness on a daily basis, as a continual
course of our daily lives. For, if we hold on to our old lives and we continue
to walk in sin (to make it our habit), we do not have eternal life with God.
[Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Lu 9:23-26; Gal
5:16-21]
So, if you think that because you prayed a prayer to receive
Christ, or you made a public confession of Christ as Lord, or you are regular
in your “church” attendance, or you tithe, or you serve the church in some way,
or you have daily devotions, or you teach the Bible, etc., that it guarantees
you heaven when you die, then think again.
Or, if you are a professing Christian, but you are still
addicted to particular sins, and you have a few good days or weeks where you
don’t fail in that particular area, don’t get cocky and prideful and think you
have conquered your sin. You are bound to fall again and again until you
surrender your heart and life to Jesus Christ and let him be your Lord (master).
Or, even if you have been walking with the Lord for years,
don’t get prideful thinking you are now beyond temptation. None of us are!
Daily we must say “NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives in the power of God’s Spirit. Every day we must choose
the Spirit or choose the flesh (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Tit 2:11-14).
But know this, no matter where you are in the scheme of
things. There is not any temptation that you have faced or will face that is
not common to all of us.
And for those who truly believe in Jesus Christ, please know
that GOD is faithful! Amen? He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can
bear in his strength and power, as you yield control to him.
He has already provided the way of escape through his death
on a cross and through our faith in him. We just have to take the way out he
provided, which is to die with him to sin and live to him and to his
righteousness; to walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.
We just have to say “NO!” to the flesh every day, and every
day we must say “YES!” to the Spirit, one moment and one day at a time. God
will give us all we need to do so. We just have to listen to what he teaches us
and do what he tells us to do. If we don’t, then we will end up like the children
of Israel did, who chose their idols over obedience to God.
For
Our Nation
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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