PART B: HISTORICAL LESSONS ON SALVATION
PART B: HISTORICAL LESSONS ON SALVATION
(1 Corinthians 10:1-14)
In the first part of this article on the historical lessons on salvation, Paul highlighted idolatry as one of the characteristics of those that have not fully believed the Lord in their heart. It is a lucid fact that a born again believer naturally puts the matter of God as first priority. This is taught in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might”.
The blessed Apostle also pointed out three other common sins that so easily bewitch those that have not fully believed. I hope the exposition of these common sins will help readers to be circumspect of their behaviour and soberly consider the forfeiture of their salvation when they habitually indulge in these highlighted sins.
• Fornication
The reference to fornication is in 1 Corinthians 10:8. This relates to the incident in Numbers 25:1-9. In that incident, the Israelites committed whoredom with the Moabites. God punished the Israelites and twenty-three thousand died in one day.
The act of fornication involves unlawful sex which includes harlotry, adultery and any sexual conducts outside the wedlock. In the present era, it is becoming the norm to indulge in sex out of the wedlock and many times, “modern parents” even promote it for their children.
God is very much against this sin because the body that we possess when we believed in Christ, becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). The teachings go further and in 1 Cor 6:13-15, the reason is given clearly:
vs 13: ...Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body.
vs 14: And God hath both risen up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
vs 15: Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid”.
When a person accepts the Lord Christ, the Holy Spirit resides in our body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. Since we are indwelled by the Holy Spirit, it is our responsibility to keep our body holy. The careless attitude towards our body is a sign of disbelief in Christ.
• Tempting Christ
The Corinthians were reminded that in Numbers 21:4-6, the Israelites, tempted Christ. The word tempt is to test thoroughly, and in this case, the limit of Christ’s patience. In that incident, the Israelites were not contented with the Lord’s provision and tempted Christ by unreasonably claiming that there is no water and they hate the heavenly manna that God feeds them. It is sad to note that this incident occurred just after God had delivered the Israelites from King Arad the Canaanite (Num 21:1-4). The people were just unsatisfied with the journey in verse 4 and this led them to tempt Christ that there was no water and they loathed the manna sent by God. It is clear that the people were unreasonable to state that there was no water. If there was absolutely no water, the people would not survive. I believe it is a situation of scarcity of water. In His anger, God sent fiery serpents to bite the people and many died. The punishment awakened the Israelites. They confessed their sin and the brazen serpent symbol was created to heal them.
Discontentment is one of the principal forms of sin and most people tempt the goodness of God by attributing their discontentment to Him. Today we may not meet fiery serpents but when God is tempted, the repercussions can be in many forms. Sometimes we are not satisfied with the blessings we possess and covet our neighbours’ blessings. This form of covetousness can extend beyond the material possessions to the social realm, the physical and even in spiritual matters. The natural man is always unsatisfied with their state. Strong men wanted to be stronger and pretty ladies wanted to have more of all the desirable qualities. Socially, they wanted their children to be smarter than their neighbours. Materially, those with reasonable income envy rich businessmen and even spiritually, many envy those that are gifted by God.
The above discontentment and comparison only prove that those that covet have not fully believed. They are earthly and are not contented with the blessings accorded by God to them. That makes them prone to tempt God. A Christian, in the new nature, is not interested in all these earthly comparisons and will not tempt Christ in any situations. Horatio Spafford's song, “It is well with my soul,” sums up a Christian attitude well. In verse one he wrote, “Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.” This affirmation was written when he lost his children in a shipwreck.
• Murmuring
The word 'murmur' means to grumble or complain. This verse in 1 Corinthians 10:10 can be referenced to Numbers 14:2 and 16:3-11 when the Israelites murmur against Moses and Aaron. Since both of these characters are servants of God, such murmuring ultimately landed up with murmuring against God.
In Numbers 14:2 they murmured against Moses for taking them out of the land of Egypt. Instead of being grateful, they complained about their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The cause for their murmuring is indeed pathetic. In the preceding chapter, the people were at the Promised Land and they were about to enter when the people suggested to send in spies first to survey the land. Their request was recorded in Deuteronomy 1:19-24 and God allowed their request. In the survey, the spies, other than Caleb and Joshua, told the people of the difficulties of possessing the land and the Israelites rebelled against the decision to enter the land. They murmured against Moses for bringing them out of Egypt. The punishment was the forty years of wandering in the wilderness.
In Numbers 16:3-11, the son of Levi, Korah with a few leaders murmured against Moses and Aaron. They alleged that Moses and Aaron were promoting themselves as leaders in the Israelites' camp. They did not believe that Moses and Aaron were appointed by God. Moses requested the Lord to intervene and judge the matter and the judging resulted in the rebels to be swallowed up by the earth in an earthquake.
The sin of murmuring, on the surface, appears benign or harmless. Today, with so much emphasis on the importance of self-confidence and the concept of free speech, people tend to speak out their mind without much consideration of others. The result is a wild and reckless society. We see this state manifested in the senseless demonstrations against various modes of Governments and causes. Careless speaking, gossips and defiance against authorities are the various forms of murmuring.
An inevitable question
I expect the question will be raised in one’s mind whether a born again believer will be impervious to the above-highlighted sins. Firstly, it is important to know that even when we are born again, defined as having believed in our heart (the Lord Jesus), we are still in our flesh which is weak.
Yes, we are susceptible to sin but the difference is a Christian's reaction to sin is like a fish out of the water. It is a very uncomfortable environment. Although the Holy Spirit does not control us, we are constantly reminded of the evil nature of sin and the believer is spiritually discerned. God has made the remedy available for the occasional sin committed by the believers (1 John 1: 8-9).
On the other hand, the professing believer’s nature is still fleshly, and they do not have the feeling of discomfort like a Christian. As an illustration, the professed believer can indulge in murmuring against their spiritual leaders as exemplified in Korah’s murmuring but they do not feel any discomfort in such activities. Even a direct rebuke by Moses did not stop Korah and his clique from their murmurings!
May God help all of us to be circumspect in our ways as we strive to secure the eternal crown.
1 Corinthians 9:25: And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
With God’s blessings,
CL
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