WEBVTT 00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:11.359 Hello and welcome to the Sermon Podcast of Mission Hills Church, located in San Marcos, California. 00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:13.119 Thank you so much for listening. 00:00:13.279 --> 00:00:17.440 We pray that this message blesses you and your walk with Jesus. 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:21.679 1 Corinthians 10 1 through 11.1. 00:00:23.359 --> 00:00:34.640 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 00:00:35.039 --> 00:00:40.479 And all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink. 00:00:40.880 --> 00:00:45.840 For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 00:00:46.560 --> 00:00:53.679 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:01:02.320 Now these things took place as an example for us, that we might not share or desire evil as they did. 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:06.319 Do not be idolaters as some of them were, as it is written. 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:10.319 The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:18.000 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and 23,000 fell in a single day. 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:29.439 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:40.879 Now these things happen to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, not on whom the on whom the end of the ages has come. 00:01:41.439 --> 00:01:47.359 Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he takes stands take heed lest he fall. 00:01:48.159 --> 00:01:51.680 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:01:56.480 God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. 00:01:57.200 --> 00:02:03.439 But with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:07.680 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:10.879 I speak as to sensible people. 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.280 Judge for yourself what I say. 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:19.280 The cup of blessings that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:24.319 The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:29.599 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body. 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:32.639 For we all partake of the one bread. 00:02:33.439 --> 00:02:41.280 Consider the people of Israel, are not those who eat the sacrifices of participants in the altar? 00:02:42.800 --> 00:02:44.240 What do I imply then? 00:02:44.879 --> 00:02:49.360 That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 00:02:50.159 --> 00:02:50.479 No. 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:56.159 I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. 00:02:56.719 --> 00:02:59.439 I do not want you to be participants with demons. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:03.360 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:07.599 You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 00:03:08.400 --> 00:03:10.479 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? 00:03:11.120 --> 00:03:12.639 Are we stronger than he? 00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:17.680 All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:21.680 All things are lawful, but not all things build up. 00:03:22.080 --> 00:03:25.680 Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:35.280 For whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience, for the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:45.280 If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 00:03:45.840 --> 00:03:56.159 But if someone says to you, this has been offered in a sacrifice, then do not eat it for the sake of the one who informed you and for the sake of conscience. 00:03:56.560 --> 00:04:04.000 I do not mean your conscience, but it's for why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:07.520 If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced? 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:10.960 Because of the because of that for which I give thanks. 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:17.360 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:22.639 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the Church of God. 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:31.839 Just as I try to please everyone and everything, I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:33.519 11.1. 00:04:33.839 --> 00:04:36.480 Be imitators of me as I am of Christ. 00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:37.920 This is the word of the Lord. 00:04:38.240 --> 00:04:42.399 I'm one of your elders, and I have the privilege of bringing the word of the Lord to you today. 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:50.160 Over the past several weeks, we've been walking through this epistle of the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth. 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:53.439 We call this series Sinners and Saints. 00:04:53.680 --> 00:05:01.199 Because the reality of the Church of Corinth, which is the same reality of the church at Mission Hills Church, we're a mixed bag. 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:05.920 You know, God declares us saints, but in practice, we also find ourselves to be sinners. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:16.720 And as we've been walking through this book, we're we're learning what does it mean to live in that tension of what God has created in us and what God is still doing and the reality of where we find ourselves. 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:27.839 And as as I thought about preparing for today, uh, one of the things that my family and I have always gotten a kick out of, um, maybe your family does too, but it's uh warning labels. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.879 You know, sometimes you come across a warning label that makes you stop. 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:36.800 You do a double case, uh you do a bit of a double take and you say, This really needed be printed? 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:40.240 Like there's really somebody who who needed this warning. 00:05:40.399 --> 00:05:43.040 Um, some of them are just absurdly obvious. 00:05:43.199 --> 00:05:46.399 Um my Pop Tarts come with a warning. 00:05:46.720 --> 00:05:50.800 They warn me that pastry filling may be hot when heated. 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:52.720 Good to know. 00:05:53.439 --> 00:06:02.079 Um another warning instructed owners not to use their microwave oven as a device to dry household pets. 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:06.720 Again, somewhere someone thought that was a good idea. 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:13.120 So, as funny as those are, every one of them exists for a reason. 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:18.079 Somewhere, someone learned the hard way. 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:23.120 Manufacturers don't put warnings on products because they enjoy telling people no. 00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:30.560 They don't print them to ruin your day, they print them to keep people safe, to keep people from any needless harm. 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:36.720 And so as we come to the passage that Betty read for us today, it's exactly what we find: a warning. 00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:49.279 Not because Paul wants to restrict the Corinthian church's freedom, not because he's trying to take something away from them, but because he's trying to preserve something that's infinitely more precious. 00:06:49.600 --> 00:06:58.560 He loves the church too much to watch them slowly drift into something that he knows will ultimately destroy them. 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:03.759 So if you have your Bibles, I'd encourage you to open with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:15.519 One of the things that struck me this week as I've lived in this passage is Paul isn't simply going into this story at the beginning where he's just trying to do a lesson on Israelite history. 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:20.879 He's inviting the people to see themselves in Israel's story. 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:22.480 Notice how he begins. 00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:25.279 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers. 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:29.360 It's a figure of speech by saying, I don't want you to be unaware. 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:35.199 By using that double negative, what he's saying is this is something you really need to know. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:39.600 He's saying, church, lean in, don't miss this. 00:07:39.759 --> 00:07:41.920 And so I want to say that same thing to you as we start. 00:07:42.079 --> 00:07:44.000 Lean into this, don't miss this. 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:48.240 Um in the next verse, he does something somewhat unexpected. 00:07:48.319 --> 00:07:52.160 He calls the Israelites our brothers. 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:57.279 Now, if you'll recall, um, who are we talking to, or who is Paul talking to in this passage? 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:00.079 Well, he's talking to believers in Corinth. 00:08:00.319 --> 00:08:01.839 Corinth was a Greek city. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:06.560 It was largely, you know, the church was likely largely non-Jewish. 00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:07.920 These were Gentiles. 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:14.399 They weren't Jewish by birth, but Paul deliberately invites them to participate in Israel's story. 00:08:14.639 --> 00:08:18.319 Through Christ, they now belong to the people of God. 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:21.040 This isn't someone else's story, as it were. 00:08:21.199 --> 00:08:22.800 This is their story too. 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:26.399 And that's where this passage starts to press on each of us as well. 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:29.600 Because there's a part of us that naturally assumes we're different. 00:08:29.759 --> 00:08:31.680 Those were people who lived a long time ago. 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:32.320 They were different. 00:08:32.399 --> 00:08:33.919 What does that have to do with me? 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:42.240 Or maybe you look at the Israelite story and you start to wonder, and you say things like, how could they have done that? 00:08:42.559 --> 00:08:48.000 How could they have watched the Red Sea split in two and they walk through on dry land? 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:51.600 How could they eat bread that literally came from heaven? 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:59.600 How could they drink water that came out of a rock and after all of that still turn away from God? 00:09:00.639 --> 00:09:02.720 The answer that Paul gives is simple. 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:08.480 Don't distance yourself from them, rather see yourself in them. 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:11.519 Notice what he emphasizes here. 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:15.279 Five times in a few verses, he uses this word all. 00:09:15.600 --> 00:09:20.720 And a good principle when you're studying the Bible is when you see terms repeated, that's probably there for a reason. 00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:33.840 Paul says, all were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses, all ate the same spiritual food, all drank the same spiritual drink. 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:37.679 The two things that stand out to me, one is like this was universal. 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:39.519 Everybody participated in this. 00:09:39.679 --> 00:09:44.080 And what Paul's doing is he's piling up privilege after privilege after privilege. 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:46.639 Look at the way these people were blessed. 00:09:46.960 --> 00:09:48.639 They were all under the cloud. 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:53.279 Throughout Israel's wilderness journey, that cloud represented God's presence. 00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:58.559 The God who had redeemed them, who had rescued them from Egypt, was walking with them. 00:09:58.879 --> 00:10:01.679 He was traveling with them as they passed through the sea. 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:07.200 You know, the waters that became salvation for Israel became judgment for it for Egypt. 00:10:07.759 --> 00:10:09.840 Their rescue wasn't something that they accomplished. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:13.440 It was wholly something that God was doing on their behalf. 00:10:13.679 --> 00:10:34.639 So Paul, when he says that they were baptized into Moses in the cloud of the sea, he's not saying that, to be clear, he wasn't saying that they were practicing Christian baptism, but just like baptism in our context marks our identification with Christ, the crossing of the sea marked their identification with Moses, the covenant mediator. 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:37.679 It was a different covenant, but it was still this identification. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:38.879 They'd been transformed. 00:10:38.960 --> 00:10:41.200 They were no longer slaves who lived in Egypt. 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:43.600 They were God's redeemed people. 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:46.159 But then came the wilderness. 00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:48.240 God fed them with manna. 00:10:48.480 --> 00:10:50.559 He brought water from a rock. 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:52.159 That's impressive. 00:10:52.399 --> 00:10:57.759 Day after day, year after year, God faithfully sustained them. 00:10:59.200 --> 00:11:00.000 Can you hear? 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:03.200 Do you capture there what Paul's doing? 00:11:03.360 --> 00:11:09.759 He's intentionally describing Israel's experience in language that would have resonated with the Corinthians. 00:11:10.080 --> 00:11:12.159 Israel passed through waters. 00:11:12.399 --> 00:11:15.039 The Corinthians had been baptized. 00:11:15.360 --> 00:11:20.720 Israel ate spiritual food, water and manna, bread. 00:11:21.039 --> 00:11:24.879 The Corinthians gathered at the Lord's table to partake of the elements. 00:11:25.440 --> 00:11:27.600 Israel drank spiritual drink. 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:30.399 The Corinthians share the cup of Christ. 00:11:30.639 --> 00:11:34.399 The experiences weren't identical, let's be honest, but they're analogous. 00:11:35.200 --> 00:11:40.159 Like Israel, the Corinthian church were recipients of astonishing grace. 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:45.039 Then Paul says something that's kind of astonished readers for centuries. 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:49.840 He says, they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them. 00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:52.639 And the rock was Christ. 00:11:53.279 --> 00:12:00.720 See, in the Old Testament, in the story of Israel's wilderness wanderings, there's two occasions where God miraculously brings water from a rock. 00:12:00.879 --> 00:12:06.080 One occurs early on in Exodus chapter 17, where Moses strikes the rock and water comes out. 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:10.480 And there's another one nearly 40 years later where again Moses strikes the rock and water came out. 00:12:10.720 --> 00:12:22.000 Now, because these stories are so similar, a Jewish tradition actually developed that imagine the rock itself followed, it was the same rock and it just kind of followed them around. 00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:23.679 Now, Paul's not commenting on that. 00:12:23.759 --> 00:12:29.840 He's not saying, yeah, this was some kind of magical rocky water fountain that just moved around with them. 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:34.960 But he he uh alludes to the tradition to point to something that's more important. 00:12:35.120 --> 00:12:45.120 He says that rock was a source of life, but then he goes further and says, that source of life was Christ himself. 00:12:45.759 --> 00:12:57.519 Long before Bethlehem, long before the incarnation, the eternal Son of God was present with his covenant people, sustaining them, preserving them, providing for them. 00:12:57.759 --> 00:13:01.840 Because someone might say, well, Israel didn't have what we have. 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:05.440 You know, we, if only they had known Christ, they probably wouldn't have fallen. 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:09.279 And Paul quietly says here, no, they did. 00:13:10.159 --> 00:13:13.360 Not in the fullness that we on the other side of the cross know him. 00:13:13.519 --> 00:13:23.360 You know, we know the cross, we know the resurrection, but the same covenant Lord who sustains his people today was the same covenant Lord who sustained his people then. 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:32.720 So everything they had, every privilege, every provision, every blessing ultimately came from the Lord, came from Christ. 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:36.720 And this is exactly the point that Paul wants the Corinthians to see. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:43.360 Like Israel before them, they shared an extraordinarily abundant grace. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:46.559 And that's where every Christian story begins. 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:49.840 With a faithful God who graciously rescues. 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:06.320 But then with one word, this entire chapter changes. 00:14:06.799 --> 00:14:07.919 Nevertheless. 00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:12.399 I think this might be the saddest word in the chapter. 00:14:12.879 --> 00:14:29.120 After all that grace, after all that provision, after Christ Himself had faithfully sustained his people, Paul writes, nevertheless, with most of them God wasn't pleased, and they were overthrown in the wilderness. 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:32.000 It's heartbreaking. 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:35.679 Not because God failed his people, but quite the opposite. 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:46.799 The tragedy of Israel's story is that after everything God had done for them, they stopped trusting God, the God who never stopped being faithful to them. 00:14:47.200 --> 00:14:51.679 So again, our instinct is to ask the question, how could they? 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:59.120 But Paul didn't just tell this story so we could stand at a safe distance and shake our heads and point at them and say, You fools. 00:14:59.360 --> 00:15:00.960 He called them our fathers. 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:04.080 He invites us to see ourselves and them. 00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:07.360 So the question isn't ultimately, how could they? 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:10.559 It's how could we? 00:15:12.080 --> 00:15:17.519 What Paul goes on to do is he points to four episodes in Israel's wilderness journey. 00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:21.519 Um I mean, if we're honest, if you've read this story, he could have chosen many others. 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:26.480 Israel's story contains no shortage of failures on behalf of the people. 00:15:26.720 --> 00:15:29.759 But these four reveal the same underlying reality. 00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:35.600 There are four pictures, four glimpses, four windows into the same human heart. 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:38.639 The first takes us to Mount Sinai. 00:15:39.039 --> 00:15:41.840 Moses goes up to the mountain to meet with God. 00:15:42.159 --> 00:15:45.279 And as days pass, the people start to get a little bit restless. 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:47.039 What's going on here? 00:15:48.799 --> 00:15:52.240 They wanted something they could see, something they could control. 00:15:52.399 --> 00:15:54.559 It was kind of, this is what they were used to. 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:57.759 And so they fashioned the golden calf. 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:04.639 It's tempting to reduce that story to idol worship, but I would argue that the issue runs much deeper than just idol worship. 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:09.519 Israel did not understand itself simply to be abandoning Yahweh for some unrelated God. 00:16:09.679 --> 00:16:14.639 Aaron actually announced as they were participating in this that it would be a feast to the Lord. 00:16:14.799 --> 00:16:27.039 They still wanted God, but they wanted a God they could see, a God they could control, a God they could manage, a God that would fit into their timetable, that would perform the way they wanted this God to. 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:31.360 They got tired of waiting for God to act, and so they took matters into their own hands. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:34.320 The idol was just the symptom. 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:36.879 Distrust was the disease. 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:44.080 The second example that Paul gives here is Israel's encounter with Baal Payor in Numbers 25. 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:50.879 You know, they're seduced by the women of Moab, and so the people enter into sexual immorality and pagan worship. 00:16:51.039 --> 00:16:53.039 And again, that behavior matters deeply. 00:16:53.120 --> 00:17:09.279 I'm certainly not trying to minimize the importance of not engaging in those practices, but beneath it all, what you have is Israel looking somewhere other than the covenant Lord for life, for satisfaction, for meaning. 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:16.079 The third example may be the most striking because Paul says we must not put Christ to the test. 00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:21.279 The one Israel repeatedly questioned in the wilderness was that covenant Lord Himself, Jesus. 00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:27.200 Again and again, they would ask questions that would imply is God really with us? 00:17:27.759 --> 00:17:30.319 Can God really be trusted? 00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:32.640 Will God really provide? 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:38.240 Now, we talked a lot about how God did all those things, so their problem wasn't a lack of evidence. 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:43.119 But they began doubting the very character of the God who had saved them. 00:17:43.839 --> 00:17:46.160 Finally, Paul mentions grumbling. 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:48.960 I mean, who doesn't complain? 00:17:49.279 --> 00:17:56.000 It might seem very tame compared to things like idolity and sexual immorality, but this is something that's important to Paul. 00:17:56.160 --> 00:17:57.279 That's why he brings it up here. 00:17:57.359 --> 00:18:02.720 And I'd argue that Israel's grumbling is more than just complaining about difficult circumstances. 00:18:02.960 --> 00:18:06.799 Every complaint implicitly was an indictment against God. 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:13.599 Every murmur implied that the old life, life in Egypt, was actually better than life with God. 00:18:13.839 --> 00:18:18.960 It was like this idea that maybe God's promises couldn't be trusted. 00:18:19.279 --> 00:18:22.240 Maybe his presence wasn't sufficient for us. 00:18:22.559 --> 00:18:24.319 Do you see the thread? 00:18:24.880 --> 00:18:29.440 Different circumstances, different sins, but the same heartbreak. 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:34.640 In every case, what we see here is the nation of Israel stopped trusting. 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:42.799 Stopped trusting that the faithful God who had rescued, provided for, and sustained them would continue to be enough. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:47.759 And that's why Paul tells this story to the Corinthian church. 00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:51.839 He wants them to recognize that spiritual drift happens. 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:56.400 Nobody wakes up one morning and says, you know what I'm going to do today? 00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:59.039 I'm going to abandon the Lord. 00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:09.119 It begins quietly, subtly, almost imperceptibly, a small compromise here, you know, reasonable justification there. 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:17.519 You know, slowly but surely your heart starts looking elsewhere for the life that only God can give. 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:24.240 And before long, what once seemed unthinkable is suddenly perfectly reasonable to us. 00:19:24.480 --> 00:19:27.599 And that's the tragedy of Israel's story. 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:33.680 And Paul's burden here is that Israel's story need not become our story. 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:38.720 In verse 11, he writes, these things happened for them as examples. 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:43.599 They were written down for our instruction, on whom the ends of the age has come. 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:48.240 Israel's story is far more than just ancient history. 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:57.519 These events were preserved so that we would recognize the ways our hearts are prone to wander from God, the God who's been unfailingly faithful to us. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:20:00.000 Paul's interest here is not nostalgia. 00:20:00.079 --> 00:20:02.160 Oh, remember those, remember that, remember those days? 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:03.920 Wasn't that interesting? 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:06.400 You know, the emphasis here is not Bible trivia. 00:20:06.480 --> 00:20:09.519 Like, who can answer the question, you know, what happened at Baal Payor? 00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:11.920 Like, that's not what we're talking about here. 00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:14.799 What Paul's interested in is formation. 00:20:15.519 --> 00:20:19.200 Israel's story has become our teacher. 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:23.200 And so everything we've seen so far leads Paul to his first warning. 00:20:23.599 --> 00:20:27.359 If Israel's story teaches us anything, it's this. 00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:35.680 Don't presume that yesterday's experiences of God's grace guarantees today's faithfulness. 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:38.319 Listen to how Paul says it. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:44.480 Therefore, if anyone thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. 00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:48.000 Now, I don't think Paul is primarily speaking about arrogance. 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:52.240 I think he's speaking about something a bit more subtle, presumption. 00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:55.200 The Corinthians had been baptized. 00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:57.279 They gathered at the Lord's table. 00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:01.519 They possessed spiritual gifts that gave them all kinds of blessings. 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:04.000 They prided themselves on their knowledge. 00:21:04.160 --> 00:21:05.119 They knew a lot. 00:21:05.359 --> 00:21:09.759 It would be easy to conclude, I understand, Paul, but like we're different. 00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:11.519 That would never happen to us. 00:21:11.759 --> 00:21:15.200 But Paul gently warns them and he says, be careful. 00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:20.640 Don't confuse familiarity with Christ for faithfulness to Christ. 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:26.720 Israel also experienced God's presence, received his provision, lived up under his covenant. 00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:29.039 Christ Himself sustained them in the wilderness. 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:34.319 Yet none of those privileges could be a substitute for a heart that continued trusting God. 00:21:36.079 --> 00:21:41.200 And I think the warning is every bit as necessary for our church today as it was for the church in Corinth. 00:21:41.440 --> 00:21:48.079 It's possible to know the language of faith, it's possible to participate in church life, to say the right things, to do the right things. 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:59.519 I know the words to all the songs, I receive communion, I go to a life group, I study scripture, I'm involved in ministry, and slowly we start to place our confidence in those experiences. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:03.440 Rather than in the God to whom they point. 00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:10.480 Communion, baptism, these are gifts of grace, but they're signposts, they're not destinations. 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:16.640 They point us to Christ, but they're never intended to be a substitute for living in covenant fellowship with him. 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:24.240 Paul speaks words here that many times we've heard these, and oftentimes they're kind of detached from their context. 00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:32.480 He goes on to say, No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to man, and God is faithful. 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:38.799 You know, these words are some of the most familiar and maybe some of the most misused or misunderstood in the New Testament. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:43.599 You know, we hear these verses, and sometimes we think that this applies to any temptation we face. 00:22:43.759 --> 00:22:52.480 Like, I might be tempted to lie, to cheat, to steal, to look at pornography, to give into some other private sin. 00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:59.039 And, you know, and what God's saying here is like, you know, God's going to prevent any of those things from happening to me. 00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:08.559 While the truth of God's faithfulness speaking to those circumstances is certainly true, that's not the specific issue that I think Paul's addressing here. 00:23:09.680 --> 00:23:17.200 In this passage, Paul's not talking primarily about isolated individual temptations to commit individual sins. 00:23:17.359 --> 00:23:25.359 He's talking about the testing of our covenant faithfulness, the same wilderness test that Israel faced and repeatedly failed. 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:27.680 He's not suddenly changed the subject. 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:28.960 He's still talking about Israel. 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:30.960 He's still talking about Corinth. 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:32.880 He's still speaking about us. 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:39.680 The test confronting the Corinthian church that Paul was addressing is the same one that Israel confronted in the wilderness. 00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:48.160 Would they continue to trust the faithful God or would they seek life somewhere else? 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:51.519 So Paul's saying, in effect, you're not the first person. 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:55.039 You might think you're the first person to face this test, but you're not. 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:03.680 Every generation of people who followed God have faced similar moments when faithfulness seems difficult to reconcile with their experience. 00:24:03.920 --> 00:24:07.599 Every generation's been tempted to take matters into their own hands. 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:14.319 When God's ways became difficult or mysterious or slow, okay, God, I've got this, I'll take this now. 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:17.279 You know, I know you say I should do this, but I'm going to do that. 00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:26.400 And that and precisely there, this is where Paul directs our attention, not to ourselves, but to our, not to our resolve, not to our faithfulness. 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:34.799 Paul's point here, the resolution of this testing, of this temptation, is not try harder, dig deeper, be better. 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:40.160 He points us to the covenant Lord, whose faithfulness has been the dominant note of the entire passage. 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:45.680 He says, When facing temptation, remember this God is faithful. 00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:48.799 Those words are not a new development in the story. 00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:51.599 This is the constant that's been running through it the whole time. 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:54.640 The God who called Israel is faithful. 00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:57.839 The God who rescued Israel is faithful. 00:24:58.079 --> 00:25:05.519 The God who fed them, sustained them, pursued them, and remained patient with them when they rebelled is faithful. 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:08.079 Israel's circumstances changed. 00:25:08.240 --> 00:25:11.680 Throughout Scripture, we see Israel's hearts changed. 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:13.680 God never did. 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:22.000 Our confidence has never rested on our ability to hold on to God, but his faithfulness to hold us fast. 00:25:23.519 --> 00:25:29.039 Now, to be clear, what Paul's not promising here in this is an easy life. 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:34.799 He's not saying that God's never going to allow us to face temptation or trials or testing. 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:39.920 He's not saying that the God will never permit us to face more than we can handle. 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:42.000 The wilderness itself proves otherwise. 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:46.480 Left in themselves, Israel repeatedly discovered they can't bear it. 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:49.680 Paul's confidence rests in the character of God. 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:53.839 The faithful God who calls them doesn't abandon his people. 00:25:54.240 --> 00:26:02.559 So within every test, he faithfully provides a path of obedience by which people can continue trusting him rather than surrendering. 00:26:03.279 --> 00:26:05.200 Notice how Paul describes it. 00:26:06.160 --> 00:26:11.039 He says that God provides a way of escape, so you may be able to endure it. 00:26:11.200 --> 00:26:11.839 That's important. 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:20.720 Because sometimes we read this and we focus on the escape part, as though this is some kind of an escape hatch, as though I can, you know, get out of the wilderness, get out of the trial. 00:26:20.799 --> 00:26:23.359 It's like get out of temptation free card. 00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:28.000 He says, you know, so you may be able to endure it. 00:26:28.559 --> 00:26:34.960 God's faithful provision is that he gives us the ability to endure faithfully within the wilderness. 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:39.359 The goal was never to get Israel out of the wilderness, out of the desert. 00:26:39.519 --> 00:26:43.200 The goal was to bring them through the wilderness. 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:48.240 God's not primarily committed to making our lives easier. 00:26:48.799 --> 00:26:50.640 And I'm sorry if I have to say it that way. 00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:54.079 He's committed to bringing his covenant people safely home. 00:26:54.559 --> 00:27:00.079 And so his faithfulness doesn't eliminate the trial, the test, the difficulty, the hardship. 00:27:00.880 --> 00:27:02.559 He sustains us through it. 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:06.240 And as I read these words, I can't help but think of Jesus. 00:27:06.720 --> 00:27:08.960 You know, he too passed through the waters. 00:27:09.440 --> 00:27:11.279 He too entered the wilderness. 00:27:11.599 --> 00:27:14.319 He too in the wilderness was tested. 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:19.839 Yet where Israel doubted the faithfulness of the Father, Jesus trusted him completely. 00:27:20.079 --> 00:27:24.559 Where Israel sought another way, Jesus submitted and remained faithful. 00:27:24.799 --> 00:27:30.880 He walked the path of covenant fidelity perfectly, and now he calls us to follow him. 00:27:31.599 --> 00:27:35.519 And so only now are we ready to appreciate the wisdom in Paul's warning. 00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:43.279 The wisest Christians aren't those who go out to prove how much temptation they can handle. 00:27:43.440 --> 00:27:44.079 I can do this. 00:27:44.240 --> 00:27:45.920 I'm some kind of super Christian. 00:27:46.160 --> 00:27:50.000 The wisest Christians are the ones who realize they don't need to find out. 00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:57.839 Their confidence never rested in themselves, they've always rested in the faithful God who rescues, provides, sustains, and delivers. 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:06.880 While the warning is real, the bigger reality is this: the final word belongs to God. 00:28:07.279 --> 00:28:09.440 He's the one who is faithful. 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:17.599 And so here in this passage, having warned us not to presume upon God's grace, Paul now moves from warning to command. 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:28.240 So if the danger of spiritual drift is real, and if God is faithful, how does that show up in our lives? 00:28:28.400 --> 00:28:29.279 What then should we do? 00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:31.759 And so we get the first imperative of this chapter. 00:28:31.920 --> 00:28:40.640 Paul says, so in light of everything I've just said, therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, flee from idolatry. 00:28:41.680 --> 00:28:42.960 The word therefore matters. 00:28:43.119 --> 00:28:46.160 Paul's not, again, he's not introducing a new subject here. 00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:48.799 He's drawing a conclusion from everything he just said. 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:58.640 If Israel's story teaches us anything, it's that none of us is as immune to spiritual drift as we imagine we would be. 00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:07.839 And because the danger is real, Paul doesn't say things like, you guys need to be careful, you know, tread lightly around idolatry. 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:12.319 He says, run, run away from idolatry. 00:29:12.640 --> 00:29:14.400 At first it almost feels abrupt. 00:29:14.559 --> 00:29:20.559 You know, Paul just spent 13 verses talking about how faithful God is and how he's going to see us through. 00:29:20.720 --> 00:29:24.880 So why does the application suddenly become run away? 00:29:25.839 --> 00:29:36.240 And I think it's because people who believe they can safely linger near rival allegiances are already beginning to forget the lesson that Israel learned. 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:41.359 Wisdom isn't demonstrated by how close we can get to danger before we fall. 00:29:41.599 --> 00:29:48.160 Wisdom recognizes that we're vulnerable, that our hearts are prone to wander, that we're likely to misstep. 00:29:48.240 --> 00:29:59.599 And so rather than test ourselves unneededly, the best thing we can do is remove ourselves from situations that are going to invite us to have divided loyalty. 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:02.880 Paul doesn't stop with a command, he reasons with them. 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:05.599 He's like, come on, guys, I'm talking to reasonable people here. 00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:06.640 Judge for yourselves. 00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:08.240 Listen to what I say. 00:30:08.960 --> 00:30:09.759 Think of this through. 00:30:09.920 --> 00:30:12.480 Consider what your actions actually mean. 00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:18.160 You see, the Corinthians question had never really been about food. 00:30:18.880 --> 00:30:25.119 They said, or the question was, is it permissible to eat meat sacrificed to idols? 00:30:25.279 --> 00:30:29.759 But all along, in these past couple chapters, Paul's answering a deeper question all along. 00:30:30.079 --> 00:30:39.359 The occasion was the meat, but the pastoral burden, what's really Paul needs to communicate to them is the issue is communion, fellowship. 00:30:39.599 --> 00:30:43.359 The issue is not dietary ethics and what should I eat and not eat? 00:30:43.440 --> 00:30:44.799 It's covenant fidelity. 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:49.119 And so to make that point, Paul turns to the Lord's table, to what we call communion. 00:30:49.440 --> 00:30:55.519 He says, the cup of blessing that we bless, is it not participation in the blood of Christ? 00:30:55.759 --> 00:31:00.000 The bread that we break, is it not participation in the body of Christ? 00:31:00.240 --> 00:31:03.200 That word, participation, is key to this section. 00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:08.240 Because when we gather at the Lord's table, we're not just remembering something that happened long ago. 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:13.119 We're declaring out loud where life is found. 00:31:13.519 --> 00:31:17.759 Our fellowship, our identity, our hope, our future. 00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:20.160 It's all bound up in Christ Himself. 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:21.759 This is covenant communion. 00:31:21.839 --> 00:31:23.839 This is what we celebrate at the Lord's table. 00:31:24.079 --> 00:31:31.920 That's why Paul can immediately add something like this: because there's one bread, we, who are many, are one body. 00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:37.200 Around one table sits one people, united to one Lord. 00:31:37.440 --> 00:31:40.160 The table is an expression of belonging. 00:31:40.640 --> 00:31:48.720 So then Paul points back to Israel and he says, they ate portions of the sacrifice, they weren't simply spectators, they weren't simply sharing a meal. 00:31:48.960 --> 00:31:52.960 The meal expressed fellowship with the altar. 00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:56.400 It declared allegiance, it proclaimed communion. 00:31:56.559 --> 00:32:03.200 And so it helps us to understand why Paul reacts so strongly to the Corinthians' casual attitude toward idol feasts. 00:32:03.440 --> 00:32:08.640 The issue isn't the meat, the issue is what sharing in the meal means. 00:32:09.680 --> 00:32:12.000 Maybe an illustration can help here. 00:32:12.640 --> 00:32:17.200 Melissa, my dear wife of 20 years. 00:32:17.440 --> 00:32:24.000 More than two decades ago I entered a new covenant with her, and I pledged to her my love and my devotion. 00:32:24.720 --> 00:32:35.119 Now, suppose I were to say to her, Melissa, you don't need to worry, but every Thursday evening I'm going to be having dinner with another woman, but it's only dinner. 00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:40.480 No husband or wife hears that and thinks the problem is food. 00:32:44.720 --> 00:32:51.359 The meal matters because of what it represents: affection, intimacy, devotion. 00:32:51.599 --> 00:32:55.440 The concern isn't stake, the concern is relationship. 00:32:55.599 --> 00:32:58.640 And that, guys, is precisely Paul's point. 00:32:59.279 --> 00:33:02.319 The Lord's table is the covenant meal of God's people. 00:33:02.480 --> 00:33:06.240 It's where we confess that our life is found in Christ alone. 00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:12.960 Why would those who belong to Christ willingly cultivate communion somewhere else? 00:33:14.319 --> 00:33:21.599 Why seek another table when all that we would ever want or need has already been given to us at his? 00:33:22.640 --> 00:33:25.839 So at this point, Paul anticipates the obvious objection. 00:33:26.000 --> 00:33:28.400 Well, he says, what do I imply then? 00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:30.720 That food offered to idols is anything? 00:33:30.880 --> 00:33:32.720 Or that an idol is anything? 00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:34.640