Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13

Theme: One of the surest ways to fall into temptation and sin is to become overconfident in our Christian liberty.

The mature, loving Christian does not try to stretch his liberty to the extreme, to see how close to evil he can come without being harmed.

Date: 11/07/2021 Title: 1_Corinthinas_17 ID: NT07-10

In chapter 8 Paul sets forth the principle that, although Christians are free to do whatever Scripture does not forbid as being morally wrong, not everything we may be free to do is good for us.

In chapter six we heard Paul say, ““All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful.

“All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything.”

(1 Corinthians 6:12, ESV).

He repeats that admonition here in 1 Corinthians 10:23.

Although Christians are free to do whatever Scripture does not forbid as being morally wrong, if we love as God calls us to love, we will limit our liberty for the sake of weaker believers, and also for our own sake.

In chapter 9 Paul illustrates this limitation from his own life and ministry.

To keep from giving anyone in Corinth reason to think he was preaching for the money, he accepted no wages from those to whom he was ministering.

He also modified and adapted his life-style in order to witness more effectively.

The second half of chapter 8 and all of chapter 9 illustrate how using our freedom affects others.

Chapter 10 illustrates how our use of freedom affects our own lives.

In verses 1–13 Paul shows how misuse of liberty can disqualify us from effective service to Christ.

Paul has repeatedly referred to weak brethren and strong brethren.

The spiritually weak brethren are those believers who tend to add rules and regulations to the Christian experience in order to establish guidelines for one’s sanctification.

It’s reminiscent of the Jewish practice of khumra.

The Rabbis referred to it as building a fence around the Law.

The rationale for khumra comes from Deuteronomy 22:8, which states that when one builds a house, he must build a fence around the roof in order to avoid guilt should someone fall off the roof.

This reminds us that fences are often erected to keep people from getting too close to something — such as the edge of a roof.

They are often meant to keep us safe.

In ancient Judaism a whole system of rules and regulations were developed to keep faithful Jews from getting too close to the Law so that one wouldn’t break the Law.

For example, instead of not doing work for the 24 hours of the Sabbath, they made it 25 hours to guard against even accidently breaking God’s law by working on the Sabbath.

Well, even that begs the question, What constitutes ‘work’?

And so the Rabbis had to decide what ‘work’ was.

One result — you could only walk so far on the Sabbath (a “Sabbath day’s journey”) — one step further and you were ‘working’ and therefore breaking the Sabbath.

In a similar way, some Christians are tempted to add rules and regulations to the faith to keep faithful believers from getting too close to sin so that we don’t actually sin.

Most of you have heard the old Evangelical adage, Thou shalt not smoke, and thou shalt not chew, and thou shalt date those who do.

In that adage, not only is the use of tobacco “sin” but being in a relationship with one who uses tobacco is also to be avoided because it puts you in “too close” a proximity to sin.

Rather than allowing a believer to use discernment and wisdom in the use of tobacco or being in a relationship with those who do, we just establish and extra-biblical rule to keep us from getting to close to sin.

We want rules that are easy to follow; check lists with bite-sized pieces of law that we can obey and feel good about ourselves and how we match up to others.

But there is the opposite problem, and that’s what Paul actually speaks to here in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13.

The temptation is for the spiritually strong brethren to be overconfident in one’s ability to resist temptation.

In Corinth certain believers thought they were strong enough to freely associate with pagans in their ceremonies and social activities and not be affected morally or spiritually, as long as they did not participate in outright idolatry or immorality.

Paul tells them they were self-deceived.

Abusing their liberty not only harmed weaker believers whose consciences were offended but also endangered their own spiritual lives.

One cannot live long on the far edge of freedom without falling into temptation and then into sin.

Three points are found in this chapter

A Sobering Illustration

A Shameful Ignorance

A Sanctifying Instruction

I.

A SOBERING ILLUSTRATION

1. Paul uses a sobering illustration to remind the self-confident believers among them that pride in one’s spiritual maturity often precedes a spiritual fall

“For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink.

For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.”

(1 Corinthians 10:1–5, ESV)

2. when a Christian becomes so confident of his resistance to temptation that he thinks he can handle any situation, he is overconfident and in great danger of falling into sin

a. the central thought of the chapter is found in vs. 12

“Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

(1 Corinthians 10:12, ESV)

b. the danger is not of falling from salvation but of falling from holiness and from usefulness in service

A. GOD’S INCREDIBLE GRACE

“For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers ... “

1. through an incredible display of God’s power, Israel had been called out of Egypt, preserved from the plagues and delivered from the Egyptian army when God parted the Red Sea

a. they experienced His presence, protection, and faithful provision in the wilderness

b. every day for forty years God’s presence was manifested by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night

2. spiritually speaking God has done the same for us

a. through an incredible display of God’s power in the cross of Christ, and the redemption of our soul through faith in the atoning work of Christ, God has called us out of the world, preserved our lives from the plague of sin and has delivered us into His kingdom

b. we experience His presence, protection, and faithful provision in the wilderness of this world

c. in our lives his presence is manifested by the infilling of His Holy Spirit

3. although the Israelites enjoyed the privileges of being God’s chosen people, they failed to remain faithful to Him

a. they grumbled and complained

b. they staged insurrections against God’s chosen leaders and ...

c. they flirted with idols

4. Christians are not immune to falling away from God despite His abundant blessings

B. OUR UNDENIABLE RESEMBLANCE

1. in these first five verse Paul is going to explain the spiritual resemblance between the Israelites spiritual experience with God and ours

a. the Hebrews were under the cloud, and they passed through the sea and were all baptized into Moses

1) through these events which Paul sees as a symbolic baptism of the Israelites, they were identified as God’s people by being “baptized into” Moses

2) as Paul explains in Romans 6:1–10, our water baptism is an outward symbol of our spiritual union with Christ in His death and resurrection

a) immersion in water symbolizes the baptism of the Holy Spirit believers experienced when God’ Spirit quickened our dead souls, making them alive in Christ and then taking up residence in us

b) the theological term for this is regeneration

b. the Hebrews also ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink

1) this is a reference to the manna and water — which Paul calls spiritual drink — that God regularly and miraculously supplied Israel while in the desert

2) Paul writes that the water they drank came from a spiritual Rock that followed them

ILLUS.

The Jews had a popular legend, still known and believed by many in Paul’s day, that the actual rock that Moses struck followed Israel throughout her wilderness travels, providing water wherever they went.

a) Paul’s argument is “Yes, a rock did follow Israel in the wilderness.

But it was not a physical rock that provided merely physical water.

It was a spiritual rock — the Messiah — whom you have long awaited, who was with our fathers even then”

3) as Christians we also eat spiritual bread and drink spiritual drink — we did so last Sunday when we participated in the Lord’s Supper

a) neither save us, but they are a reminder of the One who spiritually sustains us ... his name is Jesus

ILLUS.

During the Feast of Tabernacles in the seventh chapter of John’s Gospel Jesus declared that he is the Living Water and if we are thirsty we are to come to him.

After feeding the five-thousand, Jesus tells the crowd that he is the Bread of Live (John 6:35).

Paul’s theological connection is this: Just as Christ was the source of Israel’s life then, Christ is the source of our life now.

2. Paul’s conclusion is in vs. 5

“Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.”

(1 Corinthians 10:5, ESV)

ILLUS.

“Most of them” is certainly an understatement!

When you look at the narrative of the Exodus and Israel’s wilderness wanderings, of all those over the age of twenty who exited Egypt, God was only “pleased” with two — Caleb and Joshua.

They were the two of ten spies who brought the “minority report” about Israel’s ability to conquer the Promised Land.

They said We can do it when all the rest bemoaned the “giants in the land.”

Even Moses, himself, didn’t make it into the Promised Land because of his disobedience that robbed God of His glory.

3. so Paul is attempting to draw this spiritual comparison between Old Testament saints and New Testament saints