First Corinthians 10 Part 6 Listen To The Warnings Of Scripture

Listen to the Old Testament scriptures because they will warn and help us. 

1 Corinthians 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 

There is a purpose God has for including the historical narratives concerning the Israelites. 

People in the Bible are introduced to us with their triumphs and failings, their faith and struggles with unbelief.

Their stories, victories and hardships are told in the context of God advancing His kingdom throughout history.

Thus, we have good examples of faithful men and women and we have examples of those who wavered from time to time. 

We have many examples of epic moral failures and all of these are meant to instruct us in our walk with the Lord.

Each successive generation of believers have more light from God than the preceding generation. 

Therefore each generation has greater accountability to God for the light they receive.

This is what Paul means when he tells us that we are those upon whom the ends of the world are come.

Jesus Christ has been building His church for two thousand years. 

The church age will end when Christ comes for His church at the resurrection of life and the rapture of the church (See John 5:24-27 & 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). 

What are the Christian's responsibilities until the Lord returns? 

To walk worthy of our Lord (See Ephesians 4:1). 

To pursue holiness because God is holy (See 1 Peter 1:14-17).

We have a duty to glorify God in all that we say, think and do.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20)  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. 

Our task we must pursue as Christians is learning how to glorify God in all aspects of our lives. 

We are to be witnesses for Jesus by sharing His gospel with those who do not know Him. 

Jesus said we must disciple them, teaching new believers to obey Christ's commands.

We are to encourage new believers to make a public profession of their faith in Christ, by sharing their testimony and by partaking in believers baptism.

When we feel strong and confident in our faith, watch out, for we will fall.

1 Corinthians 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 

The harm sustained by others falling when they started out with many blessings from God should caution us. 

A Christian who thinks he stands should not be confident and secure. 

Instead he or she must stay alert and on guard because our great enemy is always prowling, looking for souls to destroy.

Other strong believers have fallen, and so may we. 

Let him take heed who confidently stands and who has conviction in his conscience that his heart is right with God. Take heed when we think our mind is right in the truth. 

We must take heed lest we fall from this faith, and from the holiness in which the grace of God has placed us.

King David committed adultery and murder. 

2 Samuel 12:1-14  And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 2)  The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: 3)  But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. 4)  And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. 5)  And David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: 6)  And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 7)  And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; 8)  And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. 9)  Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 10)  Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 11)  Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. 12)  For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun. 13)  And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. 14)  Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die. 

King David was a man after God's own heart, and the sweet Psalmist of Israel. Yet, he fell into serious sin in his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband.

God sent His prophet Nathan to rebuke the king and to pronounce His judgment. 

Jehovah put away David's sin but the king lived with the consequences of his sin for the rest of his life.

The worst part of David's failure was that the enemies of God had a reason to blaspheme Jehovah.

David was a strong king at that point in his life, but he fell into sin. 

King Solomon started well in his walk with the Lord. 

1 Kings 3:3  And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. 

David's son, Solomon was well instructed by his father, king David. In addition, Solomon started his walk with the LORD very well. 

God blessed Solomon probably more than any other man has been blessed. The young king asked for wisdom and God gave him great wealth, possessions and a long life in addition to vast wisdom.

Solomon fell into idolatry and immorality. 

1 Kings 11:1-8  But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; 2)  Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. 3)  And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. 4)  For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5)  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6)  And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. 7)  Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. 8)  And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. 

When he was older, Solomon did that which God commanded Israel not to do. He took strange wives instead of marrying Israelite women.

His strange wives turned his heart away from Jehovah and Solomon embraced idolatry and immorality.

Solomon had more than any other king on earth and yet he fell into sin.

Paul's message is very clear. We cannot think we are strong because we will lean on our own understanding and will fall like those men of old did.

We are most likely to fall when we are most confident of our own strength. That is the time that we may be off our guard. 

Have no confidence in our flesh because no good thing dwells in it. 

Philippians 3:3  For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. 

Paul gives us such good and practical guidance. He reminds all Christians that we can never have confidence in our flesh. If we do, we will fall into sin.

Romans 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 

Paul also reminds us that nothing good dwells in our flesh. The old man and it's sinful tendencies are very much alive. The lust of our flesh can be inflamed with sinful desires. 

Proverbs 3:5-7  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6)  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7)  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

King Solomon should have followed his own wise counsel.

Each believer in Christ should fully trust in Jehovah. We should never think we know it all and have all the things of God figured out. To do so would be leaning on our own flawed and limited understanding.

Acknowledge God in all our ways. Praising God for our skills, abilities and talents. Praising God for any good thing in our lives. Praising God as He helps us walk a worthy walk with Him.

When we yield to God's direction, He will guide our steps. He will show us where to go and what He wants us to do.

If we have confidence in our fleshly ability to follow Christ, then we will fall. We must have reverence and respect for God at all times, and flee evil.

May the Lord help us learn from these Old Testament examples. 

May we learn to yield to His leadership in our lives.

May we learn to walk with God in humble dependency.

Bob