This morning I invite you to turn with me to 1st Corinthians chapter 10. 1st Corinthians 10 as we read together the first 13 verses, the text being that 13th verse. Paul has been talking to the believers in Corinth about abuses with regard to Christian liberty. And just before chapter 10, the last few verses of chapter 9, he talks about running that race. Running that race properly and appropriately. And then beginning in chapter 10, beginning at verse 1, hear now the Word of God. For 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. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them. Their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now, these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts, literally means craving, setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 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. We should not commit sexual immorality as some of them did, and in one day 23,000 of them died. We should not test the Lord as some of them did and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble as some of them did and were killed by the destroying angel. These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall. 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. Let's bow together in prayer. Father, as we come before You again in this morning hour, we must confess, O Lord, that we are blind to the truth of Your Word apart from Your work in us. We pray, Lord, that indeed You would be gracious to us even in this morning hour, that You would illumine us by Your Holy Spirit, open our eyes and ears and hearts, that we might understand Your Word for us this morning. Father, he who brings it is weak, but You, O Lord, are very strong, and as our text says, You are faithful. We pray, Father, that You would be faithful to us in this morning hour and grant us all that we need as we hear now Your Word. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, this text before us this morning, this verse 13, is one that has been a great comfort to many believers. It's been a great comfort to many in times of sickness and disease or in times of death or in times of numerous different sorts of difficulties that we might experience. And in those times, this text has been quoted as a confession of faith. As a confession of assurance. A confession that I will get through this because God has promised to get me through it. He won't allow me to have more than I can bear. And how wonderful that truth and that promise is. Yet, we must understand the relationship of this particular text to the difficulties and the trials and the testings of this life that we might go through in the proper context. You see, this text is talking about temptation, not necessarily in the sense of tests and trials of life, but with regard to being tempted to live independently of God. To living independently of His will, of His Word, and of His worship. This is talking about Satan's temptation, however that might be, whether seduction or some sort of attraction or drawing us in, either directly or maybe even indirectly, through the trials and the tests of life. It's talking about Satan's temptation to cause God's people to forsake God and fall into sin. And therefore, when this text is used in the context of the trials of life, such as sickness and disease or death or hardship or stress, it must be used as a confession of faith that God will not let me deny Him because of this trial. One of the precious blessings of God's saving grace, which we claim in this life, is that God preserves His people in the faith. Satan will use the trials and the hardships of life that you and I experienced to tempt you and me. To cut off our relationship with God. To question God. To say, God, why are you letting this happen to me? God, are you real? God, are you really in control? But you see, God will not allow His children, those purchased by the blood of Jesus, He will not allow them to permanently fall away from Him. And this must be a comfort to our children, huh? It must be a comfort to our children as we promise as parents, as Steve and Catherine did this morning, as we promise to instruct them as soon as they are able to understand about Satan's deception. We must instruct them about that, parents. About Satan's deception. But at the very same time, about God's faithfulness. As well, this must be a comfort to those who stand up publicly before God and His church to profess their faith because when one does that, when one professes his or her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, that makes Satan's job more difficult. Yet that's when he gets more aggressive, huh? And he turns up the heat on one who professes to believe. But yet a text like this never ever means that we as believers can let our guard down and become careless in our walk with the Lord. Boys and girls, you don't drive a car a hundred miles an hour down the street ignoring traffic signs and signals and other traffic, expecting to be kept safe. It doesn't work that way. This text in no way wipes out the call for obedience. In fact, the very opposite is true. It is a call for obedience. And it is to give you and me confidence, not in ourselves, but in our God and His preserving hand. Our confidence, beloved, is in the faithfulness of God. That's the heart of this text. Paul says, God is faithful. And you know, that theme of God's faithfulness, if you think about it, it runs throughout Scripture. Let me give you just a sample. In Deuteronomy 7, verse 9, we read, Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments. In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul speaks of the God of peace and says, He who calls you is faithful. 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 3, But the Lord is faithful who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. Just a sample, you see, of Scripture's teaching that God is faithful. And beloved, His faithfulness is seen by you and me, particularly in certain circumstances of life. As Paul teaches here, that God demonstrates His faithfulness in the midst of temptation. We want to notice the ordinary character of temptation. The guarantee of survival in temptation. And also the promise of deliverance from temptation. Remember, Jesus taught us to pray and bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Knowing our weakness, knowing our proneness to wander, he teaches us to pray, God, do not lead us, do not bring us into temptation. Keep me from encountering temptation, but if I do encounter temptation, deliver me from evil, don't let me fall into it. And John describes Satan's worldly tools of temptation as the lusts of the flesh or the cravings of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes and the pride of life. You see, Satan tempts us to sin with our bodies, with our minds and with our hearts, with the goal that we might turn away from God. And His temptations we know come in different shapes and sizes and circumstances. Again, sometimes directly. Sometimes indirectly through the trials and the testings of life. But the point is, beloved, Satan's temptations to sin are very real. We must make no mistake about that. We must recognize that. But so is the believer's hope very real in the midst of temptation that's what we need to understand you see there is hope again paul has been addressing many problems in the corinthian church an abuse of christian liberty they were falling into sin with regard to church issues with regard as well with regard to moral issues and in the portion that we read together paul warns against idolatry sexual immorality tempting christ as well as grumbling and complaining and he reminds them He says, think back to your forefathers. He reminds them of what happened to the Israelites in the Old Testament. His point being, they were part of the covenant. They were part of the church of Jesus Christ outwardly. But you know what? That didn't save them. That didn't save them. And the same is true for you. You who claim to be believers in Corinth. You who participate in baptism. In the Lord's Supper. Those outward signs. Those things don't save you. And then, of course, in verse 12, he warns them against overconfidence when he says, so if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall. You see, it's hard to see in our English translation, but Paul is saying, if you think you are standing firm, you are deceiving yourself. You have a false sense of security. Your confidence is misplaced. In other words, he is saying be careful. Be careful not to be overconfident in your own strength. Be careful not to play with fire. Be careful not to think that you are in control. Beloved, it is a sin not to be cautious. But on the other hand, as a believer, it is also a sin to fall into despair as if there is no hope. There is hope when you look in the right place. Paul says again, God is faithful. And we must understand that God's faithfulness is seen as well in the ordinary character of temptation. That may sound strange. God's faithfulness and temptation. Paul says, no temptation has seized you except what is common to man. Now often this is considered to mean that we will not experience any temptation that is new or that someone else has not experienced before us. In other words, our experiences with temptation are not unique. After all, the writer of Proverbs says there is nothing new under the sun. And in a sense, that all may be true. What new temptation could there be that man has not faced before? Yet how we deal with them, how they affect us, of course, is very personal. It's unique. This idea may indeed be included in what Paul says, but it's not the whole idea. It's not even the main idea. It's true that when we consider Bible history, Satan's worldly tools of temptation, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, these things have been at work over and over and over again. We can think of Joseph being tempted by Potiphar's wife. Satan worked hard on Job to get him to curse God and die. David was tempted with lust for Bathsheba. Daniel was tempted to pray to the king and his three friends were tempted to worship the king. Achan was tempted to steal and to lie. Nebuchadnezzar was tempted with the boastful pride of life. And then there's Judas Iscariot and Peter who both fell to temptation. How many of these have you and I found ourselves in? These kinds of temptations that the men of old, the people of old, had to deal with. But the ordinary character of temptation is talking about more than the fact that we suffer the same temptations. What is translated common to man has the idea of belonging to man or suited to man. We might say things that man is attracted to. This is talking about human temptations, temptations that appeal to our senses and to our humanness. In other words, human temptations, as someone said, are those that are in proportion to man's strength or they are suited to man's weakness. We might say, tailor-made for you and me. Or we might say that these are temptations that attack the human life in relation to God and our neighbor. Satan hits us where we are at. And in a sense, therefore, that's kind of a rebuke for those that think that they stood strong that Paul was talking to, thinking that it would take something extraordinary to knock them off their feet to cause them to fall. Paul says, no, be careful. When you least expect it, expect it. The Corinthian believers face temptations that fit with human experience and in that respect, therefore, they have not been seized by anything out of the ordinary, anything that would be a surprise to them. And seized here has the idea of being overtaken, being held in one's grasps. And the temptations common to man do seize us and even possess us at times, don't they? We even give them a name at times. We call them addictions. We do live in a tempting world. The prince of this world makes it his point to surround us at every turn with temptations in every place we go, in every condition we meet, in every relationship, in every bit of employment or enjoyment that we might face. The temptations of Satan are all over the place. Yet our comfort and encouragement, beloved, is to be that God sets limits. And because God sets limits, His faithfulness is seen in the guarantee of survival in temptation. The text says, God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. As one commentator says, either our trials will be proportioned to our strength, or strength will be supplied in proportion to our temptations. Now, we need to be reminded, though, of course, that the temptation does not originate with God. James 1, verse 13 says point blank, nor does He, that is God, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. Sometimes we might use the words temptation and test interchangeably. They can be used interchangeably at times. But we can distinguish between them by saying that temptation is with the goal of leading one into sin. While testing is with the goal of strengthening one's faith. God sends trials to test the genuineness of our faith and to strengthen our faith. Satan tempts us to fall into sin. God tests us in order to strengthen our faith. And indeed, the same situation can be and often is both a temptation from Satan and a test from God. Think of Job. Think of Job. Certainly, his situation was a temptation from Satan. That was Satan's goal, to get him, as his wife encouraged him to do, to curse God and die. But at the same time, it was a trial to prove the genuineness of his faith by God and as well to strengthen his faith. I've used the example of my diagnosis with cancer and many of you can say the same thing. When that diagnosis came, that was a test from Satan, a temptation from Satan. You believe in God, but look what He allowed to happen to you. You think He loves you? Forget it. But God is saying, do you trust Me? Even if it costs you your life, do you trust Me? God doesn't send temptations, but He controls temptation. He helps us by giving us strength. You see, beloved, Paul isn't saying here that the temptation or the trial that Satan might use to lead us to temptation, Paul's not saying that it will necessarily be removed. It might be. But it very well might not be. But he is saying that God guarantees we will survive it. We will be able to stand under its weight. How? Only by the strength of His Spirit. He gives us the strength to resist and to stand firm. Again, with Job, we know that God set fixed boundaries by which the devil had to abide. Daniel, with the prospect of the lion's den, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego with the prospect of the fiery furnace, these men were faced with more than you or I could ever bear, I suspect. Yet God gave them the strength to carry the load before them. If you've ever done any reading about the Christian martyrs of many, many years ago, even some today, you read about the fact that they too were given courage and strength to withstand the burden that was placed upon them, even to run to the fire that would take their life with joy. The beauty here is that in the face of temptations common to man, we might say natural temptations, God's supernatural providence guarantees you and me sufficient aid. Beloved, God may allow us to be pushed to the limit, to the point of falling. How many of us have ever said, I don't know if I can take any more. Yet in the end, for those who trust Him and find their strength in Him, He reduces the tempting power so that it is not beyond our God-given power to resist. He may use different means to help us bear the weight of temptation. It might be by appealing to our conscience. It might be through the encouragement from a friend. It might be through the prayers of God's people. For someone here this morning, It might be by the very reminder of this text. Simply reading it. But whatever means, these are only effective because of His promise of deliverance from temptation. The text says, but when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. God's people are unable to stand up under the weight of temptation for the duration, however long that temptation might be, because God provides a way out. A way of escape. He provides a different path to take than the path of sin. We need to admit, don't we, that we are still frail. Every one of us is still all too human. We are still on the journey of everyday life in this dark world with a prowling devil who desires to devour us. And although God will allow us to be tempted, He will not refuse us aid in time of need, nor again will He lengthen out, will He stretch out the temptation when we are ready to sink under the load of it. He knows what we can handle because He gives us the strength. Our strength comes from Him. He will not allow us to be overwhelmed by it. Instead, He makes us able to endure the temptation, even when we think we can't. Because He provides that way out. The idea from the Greek in this phrase of the text is talking about what one can bear up under. I think of a pillar holding up a roof. Boys and girls, look at the pillars here on the side of the church building. They hold up this building to bear up under, to hold a heavy load. Temptation can feel like a heavy load upon one's shoulders. And boys and girls, if you've ever carried something heavy on your shoulders, like a full duffel bag or your school backpack, these things are heavy. You've got to wear them on your shoulders, or maybe put one of your friends on your back to give them a horseback ride. After a while, the weight gets to you. It makes you unsteady. It makes your legs wobble. It slows your pace. It can make you weak and fall down because your legs simply can't handle the load. We talk about carrying a heavy burden on our shoulders in a figurative sense. And what we mean is we are anxious and we are uneasy inside and we are restless. And sometimes that's caused by worry or stress or different things. But when that stress is removed, what do we say? We say that it feels like a weight. has been lifted off my shoulders. If you've ever carried the burden of unconfessed sin, hiding sin, like David speaks of in Psalm 32, then maybe you've felt like David describes. Your strength was sacked like in the heat of summer. No breath of life in you. But yet, then when you have confessed your sin and you have the assurance that God has heard your prayer and forgives your sins. It's like new life is breathed into you. David describes it in Psalm 51 as the joy of salvation being restored. Burden. Lift it off. If you were locked in a room with no windows or doors, no cracks, you would fall into despair. You would crumble under the weight of hopelessness because there would be no hope of escape. But even the smallest opening provides hope, doesn't it? God provides the light at the end of the tunnel. He provides the hope of getting clear away from the struggle. And when that hope is there, then you can endure the weight of temptation. Well, what then is the way of escape from temptation? The way out for a child of God? That way out involves stopping the temptation at the door. Every temptation, whether the lust of the flesh or the lust of the eyes or the pride of life, Whatever Satan can throw at you is first of all a thought that's introduced to your mind. And Paul tells us how to stop the temptation from the start when he says in 2 Corinthians 10, verse 5, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Boys and girls, did you hear that? Bring every thought into captivity. When something is in captivity, that means it's not free to wander wherever it wants to go. And that's what Paul is saying. Our thoughts are not free to wander wherever we want them to go. Our thoughts are to be in captivity to one thing. The obedience of Christ. That means that at all times and in every situation, we must consciously think, we must consciously ask ourselves, how can I or how will I obey God in this situation? Any temptation of sin must be stopped dead in its tracks by subjecting it to obedience to Christ. And when the thought is taken captive, then it must be evaluated. And Paul tells us how to do that in Philippians 4, verse 8. He says, Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. If the temptation doesn't line up with God's truth, if yielding to temptation doesn't fit with obedience to Christ, especially as characterized by what Paul says to meditate on, then run away from it, boys and girls, young people. Brothers and sisters, run away from it. We don't do enough running, do we? At least not running away. Sometimes we all too willingly run toward the temptation. Run away! We have this idea in our society that running is a sign of being a coward. Not when it comes to sin and temptation. Run away. God's way out from temptation to sin is through obedience to Christ for the child of God. That's the exit path away from temptation. In times of trial and difficulty, whether again that be sickness or death or persecution, or a direct temptation to sin like coveting or adultery or boys and girls when you're tempted to smack your brother or sister or to call them a bad name. We are called to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ because when you are in obedience to Christ, you are not in sin. And when we do by God's grace, the temptation again may not be removed, but the power of it is and we are given the strength to stand up under the burden and resist the devil's temptation to sin. We must be comforted by the words of 2 Peter 2 verse 9 which says the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation. And that is to be comforting especially with what we must still confess. And that is that we must confess that we often do not bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Sometimes we ignore the way out. We give in to the temptation, falling straight into sin. Yet, beloved God is faithful. He comes to the rescue of His people even when we place ourselves in circumstances that we know we shouldn't. Think of Lot. Lot was an example of that. He had no business moving his family to the regions of wicked Sodom in Gomorrah. In 1 Peter 1.5, Peter speaks about believers who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation. Kept, guarded, protected by God. And we need to understand that that promise is not for those who willingly and habitually fall into sin and therefore give evidence that they do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. But it's for those who struggle and fight by God's grace. God is faithful. He will renew them. When we fall, beloved, the way out that He gives to us is through confession of our sin and repentance. He restores us. Why is this our comfort? Because of Jesus Christ. Plain and simple. Our Lord suffered all temptations common to man. Hebrews 4 verse 15 says, For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. He did not submit to the devil's temptations. If you think back to the devil's temptations, again, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And instead, Jesus Christ remained perfectly righteous and obedient in your place and mine. Yet He also endured that which is not common to man, as He submitted to death on the cross, suffering the torture of hell for those who believe on Him. He did not give in to the temptation to bypass the cross. Instead, He endured it, scorning its shame. And therefore, He is victorious over Satan, sin, and death. Beloved, we may not use temptation as an excuse for sin. We may never say, well, the devil made me do it. Or I just couldn't help myself. Paul is teaching us here that it is never, ever necessary for the believer to sin. Because God provides a way out. Yet we are responsible for our sin. But our hope is in nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Christ's obedience saves our souls for eternity. And through our obedience to Him, by God's grace, God brings us through this life of temptation. Obedience to Christ is God's way out for us from temptation as we face it in this life. We are to keep our eye on that way out. Keep our eye on obedience. Through obedience to Christ, God gives strength to stand up under the weight of temptation. Through obedience to Christ, we can endure the trials of life without falling prey to Satan's temptation to sin. Yet there's one other burden, isn't there? And that's that burden of obedience. Becoming burdened because, well, I can't keep God's law perfectly. I can't be perfectly obedient to Christ. Yet, we are to be comforted, aren't we? Why? Because we are to recognize that Jesus Christ already conquered every temptation for us. And he says, apart from me, you can do nothing. But at the very same time, he promises that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Our victory over temptation in this life is only because of Christ's victory over sin and temptation on our behalf. Our victory is through His strength given to us by His Spirit who transforms our hearts that we might put away the lusts of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life and instead put on Christ. But also when we do ignore obedience to Christ and fall, God picks us up. He restores us to the narrow path because of Christ's victory over temptation. He alone is our ultimate escape from the eternal hell reserved for the devil and his followers. And those who desire to live independently of God and instead are captive to the obedience of Satan, they will find one day that there will be no escape from the snare of the devil. And theirs will be a future of punishment for sin which resulted from their falling to temptation, but for those who find God's way of escape by His grace, through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they will enjoy eternal deliverance from temptation and sin as God's power keeps them for salvation. Take comfort, beloved, because as a child of God, you're never trapped. You're never trapped, but you are kept by God. What does God keep us from? And what does God keep us for? Jude says to Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy, the only God our Savior, be glory, majesty, power, and authority. Beloved God is faithful. He has faithfully provided a way out of the curse of sin and misery through His Son. And He faithfully makes us able to find our way to Himself, which is only through His Son. And He will faithfully bring us through this sinful life to the sinless life of eternal glory in His presence. To God be the glory. Great things He has done. He is doing. And He will continue to do. Amen. Shall we pray? Dear Heavenly Father, Indeed, Your Word this morning hits us where we are at. Because we face trials and tests, And in the midst of those temptations, each and every day, sometimes more subtly than other times, sometimes quite directly, other times we don't even see them coming. We pray, Father, that You would work in our hearts and lives, that You would give to us the strength that You promised to us, that You would help us to remember at all times that You are the one who provides a way out, Father, help us to see that way out, the way of obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, cause each one of us to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. May that be our every desire, each and every moment of every day. Father, thank you for your promise, your promise of deliverance, your promise of our survival, both now and forever, through Jesus Christ our Lord. In His name alone we pray. Amen.