Do I Sit In False Security?

A Sermon By Jim Hammond from (1 Corinthians 10:1-12)

Corinthian Questions Series

A Life-Saving Choice

Bill Jeracki was faced with a life saving choice.  Who would ever dream of amputating his own leg? Nobody-- unless that person had lost his mind or was faced with the grim choice of losing either his leg or his life. That was Bill Jeracki’s terrible predicament, according to The Denver Post, when he was out fishing alone in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. He was trapped when a boulder fell on his leg, and he was unable to free himself. Knowing that as night came on he might die of exposure, Bill did what he knew he had to do. Relying on his skill as an assistant to a doctor at a Denver hospital, he took a nylon rope out of his tackle box, tied it tightly above his knee, and cut off his leg with his knife. He then dragged himself to his car and drove 10 miles to the nearest town. He not only survived the trauma, but with an artificial limb he is out fishing again. What a decision--your leg or your life! But what if the stakes were even higher? Suppose you had to choose between giving up some habit, ambition, or relationship, and giving up heaven. The Lord made the issue of following Him that decisive. He said, "What profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Matthew 16:26). It’s a question you and I must answer.[i]

The Wealthy Owner of A Oil Drilling Company

Some people don’t realize Jesus made the issue of following him just that decisive.  A wealthy owner of a oil drilling company found himself in a crisis and reached out to his pastor for help.  This man had money and he had power and status in his community.  Because of this when he spoke, the political rulers listened to him.  They listened because he had money and he had influence with his money.  He was married, and in his office he had a very expensive portrait of his family hanging on the wall behind his massive desk.  Unfortunately the picture of a happy family was just that, only a picture.  This powerful, influential man, also kept several mistresses in conveniently located condominiums.  He didn’t want a divorce, he only wanted what he wanted, when he wanted it.

The reason he called on his pastor was this;  his teenager was demonstrating some bizarre behavior.  The pastor guessed the reason for this was a cry of help, trying to get his father’s attention.  This wealthy business man said, “I just don’t understand this.  I’ve raised him correctly.  I’ve been baptized, I tithe, and give generously beyond my tithe.  I’ve taken my son to church, he’s been baptized also.  What happened?”  [ii]

Paul’s warning to the Corinthians was a warning that this man needed to hear.  He was sitting in false security.

How does this happen?  How is it that someone would sit in such false security?  It usually doesn’t happen until we begin to justify our own sin.  It usually doesn’t happen until we are stuck in sin. 

Focus:  The false security from the rituals of religion will not protect you from the disaster that will occur if you neglect your relationship with God.

I.                   Don’t Trust the Rituals of Religion more than the Reality of Relationship

A Covenant Concept

Let’s learn this concept from a parallel example.  If a husband trusted the rituals of a wedding more than the reality of relationship he might rest assured he has a healthy marriage because he holds a signed wedding license.  But those of us who have been married for any length of time know that it takes more than the initial commitment to maintain a happy and meaningful marriage.  It is the same with our covenant relationship with God.   Don’t trust the rituals of religion more than the reality of relationship.  It takes a lot of our time and energy to keep the relationship healthy.

A Lesson from History

Paul had just written about the need for strong self discipline, training like an athlete, so that a Christian would not become disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:25-27).  Paul then in chapter 10 illustrates from history this principle, the possibility of disqualification due to the lack of self discipline.

¹For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea.

Here Paul begins a lesson from history.  This is a reference to the Israelites following the glory cloud of God’s presence when he led them out of Egypt and through the sea (Exodus 13:21-22 describes this cloud that led them.  Exodus 14:22-29 describes the parting of the Red Sea).  Note the parallels that Paul is drawing here.  He parallel’s that experience from history, with the Christian experience of baptism.  Just as the Israelites were rescued from the bondage in Egypt, Christians were rescued from bondage to sin.

²They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

Paul describes the Israelite experience of history by using the key words “baptize” and “spiritual food” to draw out the parallel.  The point he will be making is as follows:  Both “baptisms” initiated the people into the fellowship of the God’s chosen people.  Participation in the spiritual experiences, (even the spectacular ones) does not relieve us of the ethical responsibilities.  Neither do they give us immunity from the spiritual dangers inherent in participation in pagan activities or worship.

³They all ate the same spiritual food

The spiritual food of history Paul was referring to was the “manna” of (Ex 16:4, 35).  Paul makes the parallel with the Lord’s Supper, the manna from heaven was Jesus, the bread of Life. 

This section helps us keep proper perspective about Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  Neither by themselves guarantees that a person is right with God.  We must not emphasize the ritual over the relationship.  It is not the water, or the bread and wine that have saving effect, it is the cross, and our real connection to it, by faith.  Baptism and Communion are powerful because of this real connection.  But the connection is not guaranteed just because you participate in them.  Neither do these protect you if you continue in hard hearted sinfulness.

⁴and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

 The drink of the Old Testament was the supernatural provision of water in the wilderness (Ex 17:6; Num 20:11).  Paul sees that provision coming through Christ even in the Old Testament.  He draws the parallel with the life giving “spiritual drink” of “communion”.  But don’t miss the point.  His point is you can have all these and still miss God’s will, as he is about to show.

⁵Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.

In the Old Testament, not all the Old Covenant community who had been baptized, and ate the same spiritual food, made it.  Many were judged.  With this warning from history, Paul teaches the Corinthians (and us) what to watch for.  He sounds off a list of negative commands.  But in them you can see what positive features we are to guard and keep.

A.    Beware of False Security

B. True Security comes from a right relationship and Includes:

1.  An Appetite For Good Things (vs. 6)

1 Corinthians 10:6 (NIV) Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.

Apparently, the Corinthians had a tendency to think they were immune to the dangers of evil influences.  They tended to take great assurance in their ritual observances.  That’s where they placed there faith.  They did this so much that they participated in dangerous and evil things.  They needed to be warned.  We also need such warnings.

Be careful where you set your heart.  Your heart can be trained.  We all have a developed pattern of cravings.  Before we became Christians we had patterned our cravings.  Guess what?  Patterns of cravings are not automatically erased when we became Christians.  We have to train our cravings.  We have to train our hearts to have an appetite for what is good.  But that appetite will be there by God’s power if we avail ourselves of him in a relationship with him.  When you spend time with God, God influences your whole being.  His desires rub off on you.  I have a favorite verse about this concept. 

Philippians 2:13 (NIV) ¹³for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

 When you keep your relationship open and right with God, God works in you to will and to act.  In other words he works in our desires, changing our desires AND he gives us the ability then to follow through on those transformed desires.  But we must bring ourselves before God regularly in relationship to Him for this to happen as he designed it to for us. 

10:6 “to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.”  can be translated more literally, “To keep us from lusting after evil.”  Paul gives us four examples of lusting after evil in verses 10:7-10.

Here’s Paul’s warning.  If you feed the wrong cravings, watch out, or you will experience disaster!  It was true of the Israelites in the Old Testament.  It was true of the Corinthians in the early church.  It is still true today.  Carefully guard your heart.  Carefully guard yourself, because you can train your cravings. 

2.  A Satisfying Primary Affection (7)

1 Corinthians 10:7 (NIV) Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.”

Here Paul refers to Exodus 32:6 when the Israelites turned to the idolatrous worship of a golden calf while Moses was up on the mountain receiving the ten commandments.  The positive side of this command is that God designed us to be satisfied, but not until we make Him the most important relationship in our life.  When he is our primary affection, all other affections bring satisfaction.   If he is not our primary affection, the enemy will have his way even with good things to cause our hearts to take them and get them all twisted up.  Soon we will either become slaves to our cravings, or damaged by wrong affections. 

The Israelites of the Old Testament who said they would only serve one God, fell into idolatry.  The Corinthians also needed to watch out for the deception of their own hearts offering their affections to the spiritual mistresses that called out to their passions.  We must guard our faithfulness to God as well.

3.  Approval of God’s Design (8)

1 Corinthians 10:8 (NIV) We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.

Paul is probably referring to Numbers 25 when the Israelite men engaged in sexual immorality with Moabite women.  Thousands were judged by plague.  Numbers says 24,000, Paul uses 23,000.  Either round numbers are being used in both accounts, or Paul’s number was the number of those killed by the plague in one day, and the other number the final tally possibly making allowance for those killed by the judges, or the extra 1,000 dying the next day as a result of the plague. 

4.  A Determination to Trust God to meet all your needs (9)

1 Corinthians 10:9 (NIV) We should not test the Lord, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes.

Paul is referencing Numbers 21:4-9, when the people complained against Moses and God about the hardships of the desert. 

Numbers 21:5-7 (NIV) ⁵they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”  ⁶Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. ⁷The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

Have you ever felt like your life was like a lost soul wandering through the desert?  Have you ever felt like complaining to God?  Why have you brought me here?  Where’s the satisfaction?  Where’s life the way it was meant to be?  Where’s the good life?  Perhaps you’ve been complaining to God.  Perhaps you find it difficult to trust him through your desert.  We need to focus again on the things God has done.  We need to remember, and thank him for what he has done.  He has sent Jesus to redeem us.  Just like he sent Moses to redeem those wandering people.  Sure the desert was hard for them.  Just like living out our lives before we go to heaven is hard for us.  We experience what they experienced.  It does us good to learn from their mistakes so that we don’t have to learn from ours.  We need to remember the goodness of God and trust him through the desert.  He has good things in store for us, but they don’t come to those who do not trust him, or rely on him. 

What God wants most from us, his children, is dependence.  What God wants most from his creation is dependence, the recognition that he is God and we need him.  We need a determination, a settled resolve within us to choose to trust God.  This is the kind of relationship we have whether we realize it or not, however, it gives God pleasure and we can have satisfaction and peace when we recognize this truth.  We are dependent beings.  So we need to live out a life of dependence upon God.  The lie of the good life, or the lie of the world, or the lie of the enemy is the lie that says to our hearts, we don’t need God.  We can do it on our own.  We are in a greater danger in our circumstances even than the children wandering in the wilderness.  If we don’t see our need, we don’t think we need God at all.  Whereas the Israelites saw their need and got mad at God, we who don’t feel like we are in a desert tend to meet our own needs and ignore God.

Paul confronted the false security the Corinthians, and he confronts our false security also.  Be determined to trust God.

5.  A Positive Outlook (10)

1 Corinthians 10:10 (NIV) And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.

Grumbling became a habitual pattern for the Israelites.  Numbers 16:41-50, tells of the time such grumbling led to a plague that killed 14,700.  Another occasion of grumbling (Numbers 14:26-35) resulted in a prediction of the death of almost everyone over the age of twenty.  Only Joshua and Caleb, of the original adult generation that were brought out of Egypt actually made it into the promised land.  These were the two that notably had a positive outlook, a view of faith in God to overcome the giant enemies in the land of Canaan.

FACE TRAINING OR HEART TRAINING

Denny was not a happy man. He had attended church his whole life, but he had never been happy, not just about church, but about life in general. Even the expression on his face was perpetually negative, so much so that one day a deacon asked him, "Denny, are you happy?" Denny answered, "Yeah." The deacon replied, "Then tell your face."

II.                 Don’t trust your own strength (10:12-13)

Paul repeats the warning of verse six in verse 11

1 Corinthians 10:11 (NIV) ¹¹These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

We can’t help but think of the many spiritual leaders who have fallen in sin.  I know of too many personally.  How do we grow to the point of standing firm?  It isn’t from coming and listening and filling in blanks in bible studies, or from sermons.  It comes from exercising the disciplines Paul refers to in the last part of chapter 9.  Self discipline, bodily discipline, strict training--these are the words he used.  This is serious business.

¹²So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

Former heavy-weight boxer James (Quick) Tillis is a cowboy from Oklahoma who fought out of Chicago in the early 1980s. He still remembers his first day in the Windy City after his arrival from Tulsa. “I got off the bus with two cardboard suitcases under my arms in downtown Chicago and stopped in front of the Sears Tower. I put my suitcases down, and I looked up at the Tower and I said to myself, ‘I’m going to conquer Chicago.’ “When I looked down, the suitcases were gone.”[iii]

At Dawn We Slept

In the Gordon William Prange’s book At Dawn We Slept, he quotes Clarke Beach, a journalist, who wrote this on Sept. 6, 1941: “A Japanese attack on Hawaii is regarded as the most unlikely thing in the world, with one chance in a million of being successful. Besides having more powerful defenses than any other post under the American flag, it is protected by distance.”

¹²So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!

 Don’t Fall!  Keep your relationship with God, dependent, open, real, and current.