Wednesday, March 2, 2016
1 Corinthians 10:6-10 ...Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor murmur, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer....
BE FAITHFUL TO OUR FAITHFUL GOD (3)
In ancient Corinth, Greece, Christians lived in a do-your-own-thing amoral society. So do we. Countless are Satan's temptations to sully and discredit the name of our Savior by bringing shame to His name.
Paul here speaks of three specific sins of which our Israelite forefathers were guilty. These sins "tempt Christ" because the Son is God even as is the Father.
First mentioned is the sin of idolatry. Weary of waiting for Moses to come down from his meeting with the Lord on Mt. Sinai, the Israelites erected the golden calf (Exodus 32) and came up with their own idea of worship -- dancing around the idol and living it up by indulging in sins of the flesh.
Could that, does that, happen today? How easy we tire of waiting for Jesus to return. How tempting to live as though He is never going to show up--even succumbing to some "pagan revelry" to pass the time?
Lord, have mercy! Lord, forgive!
Second on the list of sins which "tempt Christ" is sexual immorality. For this sin God commanded Moses to kill the guilty men.
And today? With all the living together before marriage (even among those who call themselves Christian), with all the divorces (even within the Christian community), with all the pornography so readily available in our society, do Christians take to heart God's commandment against adultery?
Putting this another way: Are Christians today always mindful that their body is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, a fact intended to influence their behavior in a God-pleasing way? (1 Corinthians 6:19).
Lord, have mercy! Lord, forgive!
Renew me, O eternal Light, And let my heart and soul be bright,
Illumined with the light of grace That issues from Thy holy face.
Destroy in me the lust of sin, From all impureness make me clean.
Oh, grant me pow'r and strength, my God, To strive against my flesh and blood!
(The Lutheran Hymnal, 398:1-2)
