1 Corinthians 10
After exhorting the believers to run the Christian race and finish well, Paul went on to share about how God was displeased with most of the Israelites in the wilderness after the exodus from Egypt. He recounted how God led them through the Red Sea, guided them and provided for them in the desert. Despite the privileges they enjoyed from God, their responses were repulsive and many of them died in the wilderness without entering the promised land.
We see the dangers of taking our privileges for granted and becoming presumptuous in our Christian walk as we learn from the negative example of the Israelites. Privileges from God do not guarantee that in the end we will not incur Godʼs displeasure. External identification with Godʼs work and involvement in Christian activities, meetings and even listening to Godʼs Word preached and taught do not guarantee that we will be acceptable to God in the end.
When we become presumptuous and careless in our response toGod, assuming that our privileges and activities provide immunity for us in our spiritual lives, let us not be surprised when God decides tolay His chastening hand upon us.
Let us not forget that privileges and grace from God requireresponses of gratefulness, perseverance and fulfil our spiritual obligations sincerely before Him.
One of the biggest threats to perseverance in the Christian life is presumption; it is the assumption that we can muddle through in the end no matter how we live and how we conduct ourselves as believers. As believers, we have greater blessings than the Israelites in the wilderness, and for us to drift away because of presumption would be a greater tragedy. We need to recall Paulʼs exhortation to run the race well and to finish well, not ignoring the need for discipline and self-control, in dependence on Godʼs Holy Spirit.
The Apostle then pinpointed the fact that the stories of the Israelites are examples for us to take heed that we do not end up desiring evil as they did. We therefore need to pay close attention to them. Complacency may lull us into spiritual dullness. Then, we may fail to identify the danger we are in and think that we are standing spiritually when in fact we are on the verge of falling. The church of Corinth was in such a precarious state.
The truth of God, as it illuminates our minds, affects ourdirection in life, stimulates our emotions and moulds our behaviour. If there is no radical positive change in character and behaviour, something is definitely amiss.
Three problem areas were highlighted by Paul: idolatry, sexual immorality and grumbling. All of these were seen in the lives of the Israelites in the wilderness.
Israel was guilty of worshipping the golden calf when Moses was up on the mountain with God. We must remember that anythingor anyone that occupies the centre of our lives, in place of, or alongsideGod is an idol.
We need to evaluate what is the driving force in our lives. Whattakes first place in our choices when it comes to the bottom line? Whatis it that we cannot live without? These questions help us determinewhether anything or anyone matters more to us than God.
Together with idolatry, Israel immersed herself in sexualimmorality. Self-gratification and sexual pleasure at the expense of holiness to God is tantamount to self-worship. This is the root of sexualimmorality and we see it exposed in the church of Corinth.
The people of Israel tested Godʼs patience and grumbled against God again and again. They even rebelled against Moses and the leaders, longing to go back to Egypt, the place of bondage. In the process, they forgot Godʼs gracious providence, His miraculous deliverance fromEgypt in the great exodus, and His preserving grace.
Let us be clear that in one key way we are no different from the Israelites. Idolatry, immorality, and grumbling are endemic in the human heart. If we do not appreciate the ugliness of sin and we do not appreciate the good news in Jesus, then these sins easily surface in ourlives. Only deep gratitude to God will keep us away from presumptionand careless living.
It is comforting that Paul shared that although trials and testing are used by God to mould us into the image of our Lord Jesus, the Lord God knows our limits and He regulates in His love and kindness. He offers a way of escape and we need to take hold of it by battling the flesh, the world and the devil, in the strength He provides through His Holy Spirit. We shall not be spiritually wrecked if we continue to trusting a faithful God.
Paul ended the chapter by telling believers to flee from idolatry. Although Paul had indicated earlier on that food offered to idols means nothing, yet behind them are something sinister – participation in worship of demons and evil. Here is a call for believers to refrain from having anything to do with demonic activity. Besides obvious occult practices and their associations, believers should beware of less obvious and subtle inroads made by the evil one; these include materialism, greed in gambling, the addictive power of sex, pornography, drinking, drugs, and lastly the relentless quest for power, status and wealth.
In ending, Paul, in outlining Christian behaviour among unbelievers exhorted believers to do all to the glory of God and to seek the good of many, giving no unnecessary offence to any whenever possible. There should be no compromise though when it comes to honouring God and being faithful to Him. He told believers to imitate him as he imitates Christ.