More Than You Can Bear Life’s Greatest Temptation

More Than You Can Bear

Life’s Greatest Temptation

What is your greatest temptation?

What do you find hard to resist?

As I started to write this devotional my intentions were

To point out the greatest temptation is to deny God

It is true things that tempt us are the things that cause us

To deny God and His Word

But the text of 1 Corinthians 10 is about corruption of God and His Word

You and I need to be aware of the temptations this world offers us

You can go to church and participate in the table of the Lord

Then go home and indulge in a movie of sexual immorality

We can leave church and stop by some friends and grumble

About the way churches do or do not do things

It is a common temptation to “indulge revelry”

Don’t participate, don’t compromise your faith for those who do not have faith

Don’t compromise your faith for self-indulgence

Remember we are to seek the good of others and do it without harming others

Life’s greatest temptation is Compromise     

Life’s Greatest Temptation

What is your greatest temptation?

What do you find hard to resist?

As I started to write this devotional

my intentions were to point out

the greatest temptation is to deny God.

It is true things that tempt us are

 the things that cause us to

deny God and His Word.

But the text of 1 Corinthians 10 is

about corruption of God and His Word.

Verse 11 of 1 Corinthians 10 says…

  

These things happened to them as examples

and were written down as warnings for us.

So what are “These Things”?

Paul takes us back to the time of Moses…

Spiritual, supernatural events that God did

for the children of Abraham when He took

them out of Egypt and through the wilderness.

Paul is writing these things to keep the Corinthians

from setting their hearts on evil as the Israelites did.

  

So what did they do?

"The people sat down to eat and drink

and got up to indulge in pagan revelry."

1 Corinthians 10:7

This event is found in Exodus 32.

The people had seen Moses was gone for a long time.

Moses was gone for 40 days, receiving instruction

from the Lord on how His people were to worship Him.

It was at this time, God gave Moses

the two tablets with the commandments.

The people wanted other god’s

and Aaron made them a golden calf.

The people offered up sacrifices

and in verses 6 of Exodus 32 it says…

Afterward they sat down to eat and

drink and got up to indulge in revelry.

This is the reference Paul is

making in 1 Corinthians 10:7.

Paul mentions the Lord’s Supper as a meal

that was compromised in the same way the

Israelites compromised their spiritual celebrations.

God called the Israelites to feasts and celebrations.

 God called us together to celebrate

with love feast and the Lord’s Supper.

The Israelites allowed the culture of

Egypt to corrupt their spiritual life.

The Corinthians allowed the culture

of Corinth to corrupt their spiritual life.

So what happened?

They ate and drank then

“got up to indulge in revelry”.

Revelry is to make sport, to laugh, mock, play.

In Egypt and Corinth and the United States,

 indulgence in revelry is everywhere.

Paul says these times of indulgence

included sexual immorality and grumbling.

 

Paul says…

"Everything is permissible"-but not everything is beneficial.

"Everything is permissible"-but not everything is constructive.

1 Corinthians 10:23

As in Egypt and Corinth, sexual immorality

and grumbling are accepted in the United States.

You and I need to be aware of

the temptations this world offers us.

You can go to church and participate in

 the table of the Lord and go home…

Then indulge in a movie of sexual immorality. 

We can leave church and stop by

some friends and grumble about the

way churches do or do not do things.

It is a common temptation to “indulge revelry”.

Don’t participate.

 Don’t compromise your faith

for those who do not have faith.

Don’t compromise your faith for self-indulgence.

Remember we are to seek the good of

others and do it without harming others.

Life’s greatest temptation is Compromise.      

Scripture Reading

1 Corinthians 10:11-13 NIV

11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 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.