TESTING LEADS TO FAITH AND OBEDIENCE; TEMPTING LEADS TO DOUBTING GOD AND DISOBEYING HIS COMMANDMENTS.
“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
If you have ever flown on a commercial airplane, you are probably familiar with the routine that takes place before takeoff. After everyone is seated the flight attendants go through the safety demonstration. They demonstrate how to latch and unlatch your seatbelt (in case you hadn’t figured that out), and then they explain what to do in the event of some sort of crisis. They point out where the exits on the plane are they tell you that you can follow the lights on the aisle, and they tell you that you can use your seat cushion to float if you need to. They may even show you the proper way to slide out of the plane.
Airlines don’t do this to scare you, they do it because they know that in a crisis situation you need to know that there is a way of escape—and not only that, but you need to know how you can make that escape. They know that you need to know how to get out before the crisis hits because once it’s upon you it’s too late. This morning, as we look at 1 Corinthians 10:13, we find that Paul takes a similar tactic. He tells us that for Christians, there is a way of escape when we are faced with the crises of life. When we are tempted to sin, there is always a way out.
Paul has just finished talking about the importance of learning from the mistakes that others have made before us, and cautions the Corinthians not to get overconfident, lest they fall. After that caution, he immediately proceeds into the verse we are considering. Paul intends to encourage believers by telling us that no matter what the temptation, we are able to stand up under it.
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man,” (1 Cor. 10:13a) is how Paul begins this verse. Our temptations are not unique—we all face them every day. The victory comes when we realize there is always a way of escape. Where do you go to smooth out the ripples of the day—you go to the word of God—He will always provide an answer and a way of escape for whatever you are facing. Temptations will come to all of us and are common to man, but God is always ready to give us a way out and keep us close to Him. The fact is, no matter how highly we like to think of ourselves or how great we like to imagine our crosses to be, our situation isn’t much different from that of everyone else.
Paul explains that our temptations are common among men because he wants to encourage us. He wants us to know that our temptations are not unbearable. We can look around at others and see that they have succeeded in overcoming these temptations as well. This is the reason that support groups are often so effective. Everyone in the group is facing the same basic temptation. By looking at others and seeing that they have had success, and sharing with one another the ways they have resisted these temptations, each member of the group is stronger than if he were alone.
Think about a person who is grieving. Someone who has lost a loved one often feels self-conscious about the fact that they continue to struggle with grief for months or years after the fact. Grieving people are encouraged to know that others are not coping as easily as they first thought. They are encouraged that other people are sharing their struggle. Paul wants us to understand that because our temptations are common, we can find strength in resisting them together.
God never tempts men to sin (1 Corinthians 10:13; James 1:13). James says it as clearly as it can be said: “… God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt any one” (1:13b). Paul very carefully words verse 13 to say that temptation may overtake men, but there is no indication that this temptation comes from God. The same Greek word (peiradzo) is translated “tempt” and “test” in the New Testament. In one sense, temptation is very different. Temptation never comes from God, but from our own flesh, or from Satan. (James 1:12-14; Matthew 4:1-11; 1 Corinthians 7:5). God does “test” us, to prove and to enhance our faith. Temptation has as its goal sin and death (James 1:13-15). Testing has as its goal our purification and sanctification, and eternal life (James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:6-9). There are some similarities between “testing” and “tempting.” Both temptation and testing are prompted by trials and adversity. Both tempting and testing expose what is in our hearts (Deuteronomy 8:1-2; James 1:12-15). The same circumstances which result in unbelief and disobedience for one person produce a deeper faith and greater obedience in another.
It is in times of adversity that we may persevere through the time of testing and grow stronger in our faith, or we may surrender to temptation and sin. Suffering and adversity is the context for both testing and growth and for temptation and sin. The difference is who we are, and what is within us. Somebody once said that suffering is like boiling hot water; it makes a potato soft and an egg hard. Because the Israelites had hard hearts and stiff necks, their adversity seemed almost always to lead them to doubt God and to disobey Him. For Paul, suffering and adversity was a context for service, and a means of knowing Christ more intimately (see 1 Corinthians 4:9-13; 9:1-23; Philippians 3:10).
Obedience does stem from trust, just as disobedience flows from a lack of trust. The faithfulness of God is the foundation for trusting and obeying Him. And God is faithful! God is faithful to keep us from any situation in which we would have no choice but to fall. God never puts us in situations in which we must fall. He will not allow us to be tested or tempted beyond our capacity to stand. When our Lord was tested, He was tested to the ultimate extreme. When we are tested, it is a measured testing. Some, like Job, faced greater tests than others. But whatever tests and trials come our way, we can be sure that God has allowed them, knowing that we are not being tested beyond our ability to stand. That ability does not come from within us, but from Him.
Let us be very careful to note here that God never promises us that we cannot fall, but rather He encourages us that we need not fall. The Book of Jude contains a great deal of warning, for there are many false teachers who are denying the gospel. Jude writes the words above to assure us that God is the source of our strength, so that we need not fall into sin. But the book is also an encouragement to guard the purity of the faith, and to make use of the resources which God has provided. We will not fall when we trust and obey, when we appropriate the resources which God Himself has provided.
The “way of escape” is mentioned as an encouragement; so that we are assured that we do not have to fail. It is not pointed out as an incentive to live carelessly, but as an encouragement to those who fear that enduring the trials and temptations of life is impossible. God has not promised to get us out of trouble, if we carelessly wander into it. Too many times, I have heard people misuse this promise as an excuse to toy with temptation. We continue to pursue a course of action we know to be wrong, falsely confident that God will bail us out of trouble at the last moment. To live in this way is to “put God to the test.”
We must remind ourselves that our strength, our ability to resist does not lie within us—but rather with God. He is the one who is in control of the situation, and He is the one who provides us with what we need to endure it, so we need to look to him to help us. To do this we must deliberately stop and turn to Him. Instead of fretting, running, or churning we must stop and seek His strength. How do we do that? We need to pray; to recall God’s promises; and to recall God’s track record. God has been faithful in the past so we can trust that he will deliver once again. Obviously our greatest resource is the Lord. We need to trust God. However, we can also enlist the help of others. Remember, there are other people dealing with the same temptations you are. Go ask a friend to help you. Ask them to help you remember God’s promises. Tell them about the struggles you have in trusting God, and ask them to help you. Ask them to pray for you and perhaps with you. If we want to overcome temptation, we need to remember that we can’t do it alone.
I’m not to the point where I can consider it pure joy when I am faced with temptations or trials, but I’ve found that if I can take a step back, look at the situation, and see that God is ultimately working for my good, to make me mature and complete, not lacking anything, I’m a little more willing to endure the hard times. And not only am I willing to endure them, I’m more eager to resist them. As you go into this week I can make you a promise: you will be tempted. When the temptation comes you must remind yourself that you are not the first person to face this temptation. Remind yourself that you do not have to face the temptation in your own strength. Turn to the Lord, confess your struggle, recall His promises, and rely on His strength. I can’t tell you that your life will be easier or more comfortable if you resist temptation. In truth, it is much easier to simply give in. However I can tell you that with God’s help you can have victory (a way of escape), and you can become mature and complete, not lacking anything. That sounds like a battle worth fighting.
