Text: 1Corinthians 10: 1-13
Last week, we met Jesus on the road to Jerusalem. We met our Savior whose commitment to go the way the cross was unshakable. He was that committed to his Father’s will, that committed to save us from ourselves that he traveled that road. And if you remember the movie, the Passion of the Christ, you got a glimpse of what your God and Savior went to suffer for you and me and all people.
He traveled that road to a place where he was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our sinful failures. And now through faith in him, we get to travel a much different road than before to a much different destination. This life in Christ is not a road that ends with our last breath. It is not a dead end journey. Because of Jesus, we travel a road that leads to the promised land of heaven.
But drive down any road and what will you see? Sooner or later there will be a sign to warn you. Watch out for that sharp curve. Watch out for that railroad crossing. Watch out or something terrible could happen.
Well here St Paul uses a tragic example to teach us. Watch out , there is danger we dare not ignore — and yet every step of the way, we can know. We do not travel this road alone. So we say:
ON THE ROAD TO THE PROMISED LAND
I. Get careless, you could fall.
II. With your faithful God, you will stand.
How could it happen? He had so much going for him? Why did he choose to do such a foolish thing and throw it all away? Too often we see people do that in their lives. Or maybe we’ve seen it in our own. Bad choices that brought sad consequences. How could it happen?
We might say that about the Israelites that God rescued from slavery and put on the road to the promised land of Canaan. How blessed they were. How blessed they as they followed Moses, the man, God provided. When their backs were up against the Red Sea and the Egyptians threatened to slaughter them, God made the waters part so they could safely escape. Then there was that towering pillar of cloud that they could look to and be assured, God was with them. How blessed they were. Then as they made their way through that dry, barren Sinai desert God provided for them. Who else but these Israelites could speak of how God made water gush out of rocks for them — and day after day. Who else but these Israelites could tell us how the Lord provided manna from heaven for forty years?
And here the apostle Paul makes an amazing statement. Christ accompanied them. Like us, they could not see him. But he was with them every step of the way in that dry, barren desert. How blessed they were.
5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. What had happened? They got careless. Careless about their relationship with God. Careless about their life as God’s children. If you read on, you’ll see what I mean. Some turned to idols. Others to sexual immorality which went along with idol worship. Others refused to be content. They grumbled and complained bitterly against the Lord and his servant Moses. They got careless and they fell. They fell under God’s judgment. They fell in the desert on the road to the promised land.
But how could they? What they had seen and experienced! God’s faithful love. God awesome power wielded to bless them. With each step God was bringing them that much closer not just to a promised land but to one who would one day be born there. One promised to Abraham who would be a blessing to all peoples. How could they have forgotten? How could they ignore all this? How could they fall? But many did. Only a few who left Egypt survived to enter the promised land of Canaan.
Why did Paul bring this up to these Christians in Corinth, most of whom were not Jews. Why did he hold up this sad chapter in Old Testament history? Well not so that they or we would sit back, shake our heads and say: What fools they were. 11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.
For we too are blessed, even more than those who saw God make an escape route through the Red Sea. We are so much more blessed than they. For the Christ has come just as God promised. He lived for us and shed his blood for us. And he has risen. He has risen that we can know and believe. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is the good shepherd. He is the resurrection and the life. How blessed we are.
But Paul wants us to look back and see what can also happen to us. Get careless, careless about your life with God, and you could fall. So Paul writes here with the love of a father for his son or daughter, if you think that you are standing firm, be careful you do not fall. Be careful that you do not fall and lose what you now have. For what a tragedy that would be for someone like you or me ON THE ROAD TO THE PROMISED LAND.
Yet God has more for us here than words of warning. He helps us to make our way. Yes, GET CARELESS, YOU COULD FALL. BUT WITH YOUR FAITHFUL GOD, YOU WILL STAND.
Do a police ride along and it’s a real eye opener. You get to see up close and personal some of the people we share the road with. Some are drunk and impaired and pose a real danger to the rest of us on the road.
Well on this road, we face some hazards. Think of the day in which we live. Our Christian beliefs are under attack. Some insist the creation account is just a myth. Others like Bill O’Reilly the other night, claim the Gospels are full of errors. Some even say they are just made up stories. Sadly, some who claim to be Christian.
And we are tempted every day. We are tempted to go with the flow of this godless culture where evil is sometimes called good and good, evil. We are tempted by the sinful nature that lives in each of us. And the devil is no dummy. He always seems to come at us where we are weakest
So we might wonder. We might look at our children and ourselves and wonder. How can we stand? How can anyone live and die a faithful follower of Jesus in this day in which we live? I know some of you worry about that.
Well the first thing to realize is this. 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. Notice Paul doesn’t say that standing against temptation is easy and painless. It’s not. But he does say this. What we experience in our lives is not something unique to me. It’s not like Satan has brought out the big guns and trained them on you alone. Every person struggles with doubts and discouragement. Every person struggles with sinful desires and impulses. That’s what we find out when we get to know each other as God’s people. We’re not alone in the struggle.
And here is what we have going for us on the road to the promised land. God is faithful. Say that: God is faithful. He is our faithful Father in heaven who has promised never to leave us or forsake us. He is our faithful Lord and Savior who bled and died for us. And he is the faithful Holy Spirit who has come to live in your heart as a guarantee of the hope that is yours in Christ. Yes God is faithful.
Here your faithful God promises. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. It’s like the Lord has a weigh station along the road of your life. No, that one’s too much for my child. But that one he can bear. He can hold on to his faith, even grow in it. He can stand against it —and you can.
Now of course, you might ask, why? Why does God allow any temptation to come your way. You’ll have to come back another time for that answer–when I’m not here. For I can’t tell you why. But I can tell you this. Here your faithful God promises: when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. Our God gives us a way that we can stand against those doubts. He promises us a way to stand against those depressed feelings that can lead us to despair. That way is often so clear. Let God’s Word speak to your doubts, those depressing thoughts. Come to his supper where Jesus comes to you. Come together with your fellow Christians. And then there is prayer. Have we trials and temptations…take it to the Lord in prayer.
And when those urges and impulses come at us I would suggest one way that God provides is this: Look to the cross and see what God thinks of that which tempts us. Look there and see what those sins cost the innocent Son of God. Then turn away. Turn away from it. But then look once more at your suffering Savior. For there you see your faithful God who has shown you the way of forgiveness. There’s the way for all the times you and I have fallen into sin. His forgiving love in Christ.
And He calls out to us now. Every one of us who have stumbled and fallen. From a cross, an empty tomb, in a cup of wine and bread, in the water of your baptism, in this Word. Jesus calls out to us now. Your sins are forgiven. Now come. Follow me. Follow me on the road to the promised land. Amen.