“You
Can Get Past This!”
This review is brought to you by the Kentucky First Jurisdiction Church of God in Christ Sunday School Department.
LESSON AIM: By the end of the lesson, we will; ponder Paul’s warning about
yielding to temptation; sense the joy of resisting the temptation of sin; and
pray over the specific needs of one another for God’s help in overcoming
temptation.
BIBLE TRUTH: Yielding to temptation is a sin.
1 Corinthians 10:9-22
| King James Version (KJV)
9 Neither let us tempt
Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
10 Neither murmur ye,
as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
11 Now all these
things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him
that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
13 There hath no
temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
14 Wherefore, my
dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
15 I speak as to wise
men; judge ye what I say.
16 The cup of blessing
which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which
we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
17 For we being many
are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.
18 Behold Israel after
the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?
19 What say I then?
that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is
any thing?
20 But I say, that the
things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God:
and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
21 Ye cannot drink the
cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's
table, and of the table of devils.
22 Do we provoke the
Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?
Paul returns this week
in our lesson to really HELP the Christian Corinthians out! He reminds them of
how important it is to stay focused, learn from their previous generation, and
do not tempt Christ!
Paul began to draw out
the similarities between the current generation and the previous one. When God
provided SO many ways for the Israelites in the wilderness, they yet remained
ungrateful. He gave them manna…it wasn’t good enough and they complained. He
provided water from the rock…that wasn’t good enough. Yet, the cloud remained,
as a symbol that God was with them…they yet doubted and murmured. Well, it
looks like some things never changed. The Christians at Corinth were
complaining as well. They were still participating in the pagan feasts and
rituals, as if partaking in the body and blood of Christ wasn’t good enough for
them and they had the wrong spirit when they came to The Lord’s Supper, which
is why Paul chastens them in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.
Paul brought back to
their remembrance how God had an angel come down and burn some of the folks who
were lodged on the outer portions of the camp (Numbers 11:1-3). These
Christians didn’t particularly appreciate Paul warning them to stay away from
the pagan feasts, so they too mumbled and complained.
SIDE NOTE: Have you ever complained after hearing the teaching from your pastor, teacher, or leader in church? Understand that since your leader is led of the Lord, you must be willing to hear God through them. These instructions don’t come to hurt you, but rather to build you up and set you up to be in the blessing-flow of God! Listen and do! Stay away from crowds who seek to complain against leadership. Their negative attitudes and points of view have an uncanny way of overpowering you if you linger around them enough.
In verse 12, Paul speaks to those who are super confident in themselves. These would be the people who really “think” they are right in what they do. And, he also refers to those who feel like they are “strong” enough to be in the midst of sin.
SIDE NOTE: A young minister was showing great promise as he was quick to grasp the meaning of God’s word and was confident in his walk with Christ. He built himself up with prayer and strengthened his spiritual walk each day as he communed with stronger men of God and shared in the Word of God. As part of his training, he was instructed to never consult with a woman alone and in a private place. He was warned that, unfortunately, with the nature of today’s society, anything could happen legally or otherwise, and someone who could witness an account of activities should always be there. One late evening, the young minister received an alarming phone call while he was at home. It was a young female saint. She was upset because her husband left and she wanted him to pray for her RIGHT NOW! The young minister felt like prayer was in order. Surely he didn’t need “back-up” and could easily console this woman of God, with something as basic as prayer. He rushed over to her home and rang the doorbell. She answered the door in tears and was glad to see him. They went to her seating area and discussed the issue briefly, after which the young minister said, “Okay Sis, let’s go to the Father in prayer. God is able!” He closed his eyes and prayed heaven down, right in her living room…”in Jesus’ name we pray….amen”. When he opened his eyes, the woman was standing across from him and she had removed all of her clothes. That night the young minister fell.
Paul let them know that God will always provide a way to overcome temptation. We must believe in Him and look for the way out. He wanted them to stop putting themselves in the way of temptation. Instead of seeing how close to the fence we can walk, we should be walking closer to Christ, trim out of our lives the things that are questionable, and stop overestimating our abilities and strength to “handle” the situation.
The further parts of
our lesson talks about what we know today as communion. But, how should we feel
about it towards one another when we partake of it? We understand that it is
the body and blood of our Lord. Paul is sharing that, as Christians, we should
feel unity and be more unified each time we share in this feast together in
verse 17. Furthermore, don’t double-dip! You can’t attend the pagan feast on
Saturday and then, share in the Lord’s Supper on Sunday. It’s just a reality.
Finally, Paul put it to them like this…”You’re making God jealous every time
you do this! It’s silly to provoke God, as if you are as strong and mighty as
He is. That’s a powerful statement because since God is a jealous God (Exodus
20:4-5), He will chasten us if we are found here.
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