Okay, so lots of thoughts going so many different directions, maybe some of you, loyal readers, can help me make sense of it all (in other words, help me make sure my head is on straight about this). Reading in I Corinthians 10, intending to follow up on some thoughts from the previous post, it struck me that I might have been paying lip service to these verses for a long time without spending the effort to really get at what they were saying. People, and by that I mean at least myself (I'm a person, and i'm sure someone else has done it, sometime, somewhere), have spouted forth verse 13 as a first line of defense against temptation. It sounds so nice, so simple, to say "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." But contextualized and reexamined in light of other passages have given verse 13 a different flavor than a simple God provides a way out mentality. Paul writes this verse as a concluding statement to the trials of the Israelites in the wilderness. Verses 6-10 offer a brief catalog of temptations faced and given into and the fatal consequences. Tempted => Sinned => Died !!! Paul transitions from those points, into his concluding point on temptation, before launching off on a "therefore" in verse 14.
I have always thought of the "way out" in verse 13 as something of a giant neon arrow sign saying, Go this Way, almost a, DANGER, Bridge out ahead type message. But drawing a corellation from the Israelites in the wilderness, I think the message takes a slightly different tone. God's provision for the Israelites was nearly complete, lacking only Christ. They were fed, dressed, protected, and guided to the promised land as well as given the Law by which they were promised success and prosperity. That does not mean that the Israelites were not tempted by their earthly wants, wants which seemed real necessities. Success in resisting these temptations might come from Paul's fixing our eyes on the unseen, Christ's do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink. The example might come from Christ's resistance of the Devil by scripture in Matthew 4 (whence came much of the previous post). But I think a major component to all of these would be the message at the end of Hebrews 4 (a favorite of mine/excuse the starting with a therefore, but...):
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let s hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find GRACE to help us in our time of need."
Grace is the provision, grace is the key, grace is the grease that makes the whole thing tick. Grace allows everything to be permissible (going back to I Corinthians), but seeking to feed the wants a la the Wilderness Israelites, will not be beneficial, and save God's ultimate provision, the blood of Christ shed on the cross and his resurrection, the result is the death mentioned in the examples from history.
Don't feed the flesh, feed the Spirit, discipline yourself for war, and rely on the God's grace for the strength to stand. Sounds like a plan to me.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
good thoughts man! Keep it up!
That's a good connection - back to the Israelites. I hadn't really thought of that. As I was reading it also struck me that the reason the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness in the first place was because of their disobedience in disbelieving God. Add to that the fact that we are commanded to flee temptation. I think sometimes it's easy to not flee temptation and then get in a situation where we give in. Then we get upset at God and wonder where His provision was. I think that God's provision (through Christ as you said)is always there, but sometimes the way out is at the beginning of a long tunnel. We refuse it there and then wonder why it's so much harder later on. Anyway...I'm not sure if that really connects:) Just some thoughts that popped into my head.
Fleeing temptation is huge. I think most people, myself iincluded, underestimate the importance of actively fleeing positions where you have been tempted (really starting to get this point. I hope). For me, the stupid, prideful thought process is, "well, I got got last time, but I won't be caught this time. I'm on my guard." HAH! I need to be much more like Joseph, who literally fled the house of Potiphar. Joseph fled, leaving his cloak behind. How many times do we want to flee, but take something with us? "I'll go, but only if..." famous last words.
Post a Comment