it is likely that most of you have friends who have fallen into some big sin in the past. Maybe even as I say that, you can think in your minds of a fairly close friend or certainly a close acquaintance who maybe raised in the church, raised a Christian, but fell into some fairly major sin or public transgression of some sort. And perhaps it surprised you. One of the things that shocks me the most as a pastor is when I hear of other pastors who have fallen into sin, public sin. And it shakes you, doesn't it? It shakes you because Well, it's awful. It's terrible. There are consequences. Sin always has consequences, especially the big sins, the public sins. It's like a big tree in the forest. When it goes down, it takes other little trees with it. That's how it always goes. And it shocks us because of the consequences of sin, but also it shocks us because someone close to us, perhaps we would least expect it. You would say, but that's the last person I would think who would fall in that way or who would sin in this way. And it shakes you. Maybe not so much the younger ones here, but certainly we who are getting a bit older, we start to see that around us. And it shakes us also, not only because it surprises us, but It shakes us because, well, we also know our own hearts, and we know our own weaknesses, and we know the temptations and the struggles we experience. And if others fall, then certainly, certainly I might fall too. Like I said, sometimes I'm most shaken by others who have fallen in unexpected ways. Well, today the text actually speaks to the situation. It's a warning. It's a warning message this morning, a warning message with comfort, hopefully. But the text speaks to such situations, and so if you have friends like that, or even if you yourselves perhaps are being tempted perhaps to sin in a terrible way, well, certainly then this message is for you. The passage that we focus on today is from 1 Corinthians 10. Actually, verse 12 is my text. Let's read that together as we focus our minds on this passage. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 12, Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall. Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall. Actually, it's not for others today that you're listening. It's for you, and I'll listen for me. Because, well, God's word comes to us this morning, and in God's providence, this is the passage that we are to reflect on. Now, this passage, chapter 10, 1 Corinthians 10, is part of a larger unit. Chapter 8, 9, and 10 all fit together because Paul, in this letter to Corinth, is answering questions. There must have been some correspondents, and they wrote him a letter, and they're asking him questions. And so this letter, what we call 1 Corinthians, it's a series of answers to questions that the Corinthian church has asked. And chapter 8, Paul is referring to a question they asked about food offered to idols. So chapter 8, 9, and 10 is a response to that question. What about food offered to idols? Should we eat it? Should we not eat it? There's some questions here. Now, when is the last time you ate food offered to idols? Well, you say, but there's no idols here in Chilliwack, and certainly not the idols that there were in Corinth. The city was full of idolatry. And so, does this even apply to us? Well, yes, it does because it applies very much because it's actually the question below the surface, really the principles here, is the question about how do we interact with the culture around us that is sinful and that's engaging in sinful activities, idolatry? And how do we interact with this culture as Christians living in this world and yet not be polluted by the culture? And the specific question that the Corinthians asked about is, we're living in this city full of idolatry. When you go to the meat market, you buy meat, and some of that meat has been offered to idols. That seems to be the situation anyway. And should we buy that meat? Should we eat that meat? Should we go to other people's houses where they're serving us food that's been sacrificed and sacrificially offered to idols? And so this is a real question for the Corinthian church, and it's a real question for us too, not the sense of food, meat offered to idols, but how close can we get to the world without being polluted by the world? or rather, what should our relationship be with worldly things around us and the challenges of living as Christians in a society that is not Christian? That's the bigger picture here, 8, 9, and 10 of 1 Corinthians. And Paul deals with it section by section. In chapter 10 now, we don't have time to look at the whole thing, obviously, but chapter 10, he's zooming in on this, and he's speaking, well, there's two groups of Christians. There's two groups of Christians here. There are the so-called weak believers or weak brothers. who would say, no, no, no, no, stay away from any form of idolatry, any form of worldliness, just stay far away from it. We used to be like that, but that's not who we are now. The weak brothers, and then there were the so-called strong brothers, or the informed ones who had knowledge, and they're saying, but you know, it's just, you know, it's just meat, it's not idolatry. We used to be part of that, but we're liberated from that. We're Christians, aren't we? We're followers of Christ, and to us, everything is lawful, and this is what Paul is, grappling with in these chapters. So there were the weak brothers and the so-called strong brothers. And he's particularly talking to the strong brothers in this chapter, the first part of this chapter, verses 1 through 14. In fact, that's why he ends in this section, verse 14, wherefore my dearly beloved flee from idolatry. That's how the section ends. But we're going to zoom in on verse 12, particularly, and let that be our window into this passage, particularly verses 1 through 14. So, verse 12, wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. It's a faithful warning from a man of God, the Paul, the apostle speaking to the church in Corinth, and now the Holy Spirit speaking to each one of us this morning. Not my words, it's the words of the Spirit that come to us and speaks to you and to me this morning. Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. Let him, it's general, isn't it? Some translations have it, let anyone who thinks they stand, It's a proverb, a general statement that applies to all people. And the idea of standing, while physically standing, sure-footedly, not falling over, immovable, securely grounded, that's the idea of standing, standing strong. Of course, we apply this proverb to all of life's situations. standing firm in life, not being blown about by the winds of false teaching, not shifting, not stumbling over heresies or sins or other temptations, not falling into temptation. That's the picture here in this verse. Let anyone who thinks he stands The idea is in our minds, isn't it? This is not to someone who is falling or who is standing. It's talking to all of us who think that we are secure where we are now. Suppose this is to be true. And falling is the danger that we are alerted to. No longer standing, unsettled. Falling into temptation. Falling into sin. Falling away from the truth. This is how the language of the New Testament is about this particular concept. Falling away from the truth. And even we use it that way. They fell into sin, or they were tempted and they fell. That's how we even think of it today, don't we? And so the command, the word with all the weight in this proverb, take heed. Take heed. If you want to underline it or write it in your notes, this is the major word here. This is the verb in the imperative, take heed. Understand, look, pay attention, watch out, consider carefully, take heed. We see this truth in Scripture elsewhere, too, particularly in the Proverbs, because this here is like a proverb, a proverbial statement that Paul makes, a warning truth expressed in simple language. Proverbs 16, verse 18, pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Or Proverbs 28, 14, happy is the man that feareth all way, but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief. And so, as others have fallen, so we also are able to fall. You know, the Nuremberg trials after World War II, when they tried many of the German leaders for the war crimes. I was reading, I think it was Ravi Zacharias, I forget who it was now, but someone was quoting from one of the journalists who were present at these trials. And he made the statement, I forget the source, but I still remember the statement, the thing that shook this journalist the most about those trials was that those gruesome, terrible acts that disgusting activity, just bizarre, right? Even now we hear bizarre things in this world. It was the fact that it was another human person who committed such evil. If it was an animal that did it, it'd be one thing. But a fellow human, I myself, that's what the journalist said, I myself am capable of doing that. And I think that's the same that we should say to ourselves, too, when we read a proverb like this. As others have fallen, and we know of examples, you can all think of examples of those who have fallen into temptation, either publicly or perhaps privately, maybe even in your families or in the church family. Being an outsider here, it's a little bit of an advantage because I don't know all the personal situations. But we can all think of things, people in our mind who have fallen, and as they are able to fall, so we, too, are able to fall. And so Paul reminds them to strengthen them against such things. And he reminds them of the Old Testament. Verse six, verse six. Now these things were our examples to the intent we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. So these Corinthians, who Paul is writing to, he says, remember the examples of the Old Testament church. Church in the New Testament, remember the examples that are given to us from the Old Testament of different cases of those who have fallen into temptation. And he lists four, four common temptations that we see there. First is idolatry. We must not be idolaters as some of them were. What is idolatry? Idolatry is worshiping something other than God. Do we have any idols in our lives? Well, we don't bow down to wood and stone. We're not Buddhist here. We're not—well, they wouldn't say they're idolaters, but I think they are. We're not Hindus. We're not practicing these things. But what is the sin of North America? The sin of North America is materialism. Materialism is the sin of worshiping things rather than God. things, money, possessions, or popularity. Those of you who are using Facebook, how often do you check how many, is it likes, or friends, or what is the status there? How many friends, how many virtual friends you have, or how many people hit your webpage, or how many people, how much popularity did you get, or how many people are paying attention to you? And we somehow then worship a status, don't we? We are judging ourselves and measuring ourselves against each other by a status, idolatry. Or the second thing that Paul mentions here, immorality, verse 8, we must not commit fornication. So this is a second temptation that was common, common to the Old Testament church and common to the church in Corinth. We must not commit fornications, sexual immorality. And what does the media do? The media is doing its best often. Many forms of media are doing their best to make us fall into this sin. Just analyze the media sometime. Well, maybe you don't want to even do that, but so much of it is geared around committing the seventh commandment and the passions and the lust of sexual relations outside of marriage the way God created it to be. We must not commit fornication, Paul says, as they did in the Old Testament. And he refers to, actually alludes to Numbers 25. Regarding idolatry, Paul alludes to Exodus 32. Here in verse 8, he alludes to Numbers 25, the example of the Old Testament Israelites who fell into that sin. Verse 9, we must not tempt Christ. And here Paul alludes to Numbers 21. trying to manipulate or… Well, let me give you an example. Samson. Samson was given great strength by the Lord, wasn't he? The Lord was with him as long as, well, his hair, the symbol of the Lord's presence, was not cut. But Samson put himself in situations that led to his demise. He was tempting the Lord in that way. That's what Satan wanted Christ to do when he took Him to the top of the temple and said, jump. Jump because even the Lord's Word, Psalm 91, says you will be protected. We must not tempt Christ. We must not live close to temptation, thinking that somehow superhuman strength will deliver us from it when others have fallen. A good example of this is a seatbelt, right? We say, wear your seatbelt. Why? Well, doesn't the Lord protect us? Don't we pray for protection when we drive? Yes, of course we do. But we wear our seatbelt because that's the means that God has given us to keep us from temptation. So we must not tempt Christ. That's what verse 9 says. And verse 10, the fourth one, we must not murmur or grumble, as the Israelites did, Numbers 16 and 17. complaining like unthankful children. These are all temptations that the church in the Old Testament experienced. And Paul uses them as examples, warnings to the church in the New Testament. In fact, who is he speaking to in Corinthians, chapter 10 of Corinthians? He's speaking to believers. He actually calls them saints in chapter 1, those who have been sanctified, made holy through justification in Christ. He calls these people, the recipients of his letter, saints. And he's speaking to the church there in Corinth. And, in fact, he says, as we are the church, he's saying to the people in Corinth, so too also these people of God in the wilderness in the Old Testament. They were baptized. They were all rescued from Egypt, redeemed, as the word of the law says. They went through the Red Sea, symbolically being baptized through the Red Sea. They were all protected by the cloud. They all drank from the rock. And Paul is saying, these are people who were guided by the Lord. These are people in the church, in the wilderness. But with many of them, verse 5, with many of them, God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. And you see what Paul is doing here? as they were part of the church and as they were following the Lord in the wilderness, and yet many of them fell away. Many of them died. They were overthrown in the wilderness. And so what is Paul saying to the Corinthians? Be careful. Be careful. You may be church members. You may be baptized. You may even have partaken of holy communion. But you are still able to fall, as did the church in the wilderness. Be careful, he's saying, and be warned. Be warned, you so-called strong believers. Remember, it's in the context of this question about worldliness. How close can you get to the world without falling, without stumbling, is what the strong believers were saying, right? And he says, be warned. Be warned, strong believers. You're able to fall. You may have knowledge, yes, wonderful. You may have insight, yes, thank the Lord. You may have a good experience, but you're not immune to temptation. Paul cautions these experienced Christians in Corinth, take heed, beware, watch out, pay attention, be ready, be on the lookout, be prepared to respond in the right way. Because it seems as if some of these strong believers—we read that later when we use 2 Corinthians as well—it seems like some of these strong believers were being self-confident, presumptuous. Presumptuous. What is presumption? Presumption is not stealing the Lord's blessing for yourself. I know people have used the word in that way. The Lord offers forgiveness. Jesus Christ stands and says, whoever believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. The gospel is offered to all, and all those who believe receive. And there's no stealing of grace because grace is freely given. That's not presumption. Presumption is when we are trusting in our own self. When we're somehow thinking we're strong enough to stand against temptation by ourselves. When we're overstepping our bounds or taking liberties that we shouldn't. Actually, C.H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon actually in a sermon on Psalm 19 speaks about presumption. He says there must be one of four things in order to make it presumptuous. It must either be a sin against light and knowledge, or sinning in a way against better knowledge, knowingly sinning Number two, a sin committed deliberately, so knowing that it's wrong and yet still going through with it. A sin, Spurgeon says, committed with a design of sinning merely for the sake of sinning. Oh well, it's just a little sin. And then number four, it must be a sin committed through a man's rash confidence in his own strength. And that's what I think Paul is talking about here. A sin committed, a temptation that we fall into because we're just confident that we ourselves are strong and immune to such dangers. Presumption. Self-confidence that leads to destruction. Samson is a key example, isn't he? Samson. He was there sleeping with Delilah again for the third time, I think. Again, he's sleeping with that lady. And he's there and he stands up when she wakes him and says, the flistons are upon you. We all know the story. And he stands up and it says there in the text, he thought to throw them off as he did before. He was trusting in his own strength. And my friends, It's easy for us as Christians to act the same way. You know, I don't like that story of Samson. I'm actually tempted to skip those chapters when I get to it because it's such a story with a bad ending, right? But it's so important for us, that truth. These things are written for our example because we can get into that same mold, can't we? Thinking that we're going to stand up as we did before and throw off that temptation. This time I'm going to treat it just like the last time, you know. I got close to sin, but I got away with it. But this time, I'm going to do it as I did before. Presumption. That's what Paul is talking about here. Let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall. You know, back in the recession of 2008, many of the banks, many of the financial institutions in North America, America especially, and the banks, they had this saying, too big to fail, too big to fall. Remember that? Some of you might remember that saying. And so the large banks, the large financial institutions were too big to fall, is what they said. Well, I don't think that's true. First of all, from an economic point of view, But I think it's a good illustration. Sometimes we big Christians, like pastors, we're too big to fall. And so we get close to some, we allow temptation to come close, trusting in our own strength. Peter says, I will not deny you, Lord. I will not fall away. Though everyone else falls away, I will not deny you. And then what do we find Peter doing a few hours later? Take heed, brothers, take heed. These things are written to warn us. These things happen to them for examples. For our admonition, it says in verse 11, not just take note of, mental note, that's right, possible, but take heed, do something about it. Do something about it. What should we do? What should we do if we, if this is a warning light, you know, what if there's a warning light and you actually see the warning light now, you hear the buzzer, it's going, you hear it, what should we do? What should we do if we feel that maybe the Holy Spirit is saying right now to you, be careful, and he's reminding you of something too, perhaps. I don't know who you are, but the Lord does, and he's speaking to you. What should we do? Paul gives us some instruction here, and we can talk about practical guides here, and I want to do that toward the end, but let's first look at what Paul says, several doctrinal truths, particularly verse 13 and verse 14. Verse 13 says, therefore, or rather, verse 13, there hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but with the temptation also make a way of escape, a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it. That's a beautiful verse, verse 13. Several truths here, let me just highlight a few of them. First, God's word reminds us that temptations are common. not just this verse, but throughout the Bible. Temptations are common. We see it in the Old Testament church. Paul gave some examples. We see it in the New Testament church, and certainly through church history. Temptations are common. Outside, out there, of course, there's many sins and brokenness and temptations and lust and all kinds of evil, all manner of evil. But in the church as well, it's no surprise to us It's no surprise to us that God's people are tempted, because that's particularly the very people that Satan wants to see fall. Satan wants you to fall. He wants the church leaders here to stumble and to fall, because when the big trees in the forest go down, ah, many others go down with them. That's Satan's desire, and temptations are common. We should not be surprised by them. We should be ready for them. We should not even be surprised that some fall. It always shakes us when we hear of close friends perhaps falling into temptation, or even pastors. It always shakes me. And yet it shouldn't really surprise us because, well, that's what Satan is trying to do, and that's what we see happening even in church history. Idolatry, in other words, worldliness or false worship, sexual immorality. trying to manipulate God, making God work for me, testing Christ, that is, or discontent, what a big temptation for us today. You know, sexual immorality, that comes big and bold with flashing lights, and so we want to avoid that one, but discontent? It's so much easier to let that weed grow in our gardens, in our hearts, that weed just, and it gets bigger and bigger, right? Discontent, not happy with a particular situation. Discontent, comparing yourself with others and judging yourself by others, not happy with what the Lord has given you. And that grows and it grows. But we should not be surprised by these temptations. And even when we are tempted, Jesus himself was tempted by the devil. A man, a perfect man without sin. He was not caught off guard by the devil's attack in North Cherubi. That's the first truth. Secondly, verse 13b, God is faithful who will not suffer you, not allow you to be tempted above that you are able. In other words, not beyond your ability. Let's just focus though on those words, God is faithful. God is faithful. Maybe you're being tempted right now. Maybe it's pornography. Pornography is a terribly addictive sin, I'm told. Or maybe it's greed. Greed, selfishness. Selfishness is also very addictive. And somehow it can go undetected longer. Maybe you're being tempted in one of these ways or some other way, right? Remember these three words, these three little words, God is faithful. God is sovereignly overseeing all situations, even of that temptation. He's not trying to make you fall, like, you know, manipulate it so He's trying to make you fall. He didn't do that even to Abraham when He tested Abraham. But He is sovereignly in control of that temptation. He's always in total control, even when we're out of control because of sin. And if God is our Father in Jesus Christ, as He is, as our Heidelberg Catechism says so beautifully in the Lord's Day on Providence, if He's our Father in Christ who is both able and willing to care for us, then we can be sure that He will somehow use even this testing for our good, as He did in the life of Abraham. God is faithful. God always remains faithful. But the question is, it's more a question of, are you trusting the faithfulness of God? in every situation. You're being tempted. You're being tempted at work, perhaps. Are you trusting the faithfulness of God in that situation? When we're tempted, we're often tempted to—we may forget this truth. We fall because we're trusting in ourselves. We're being presumptuous. But it's a matter of where our faith is placed. Are we trusting in ourselves or are we remembering God's faithfulness and trusting in Him? And trusting in God's faithfulness who sent His Son to die for those who are tempted and who have fallen into sin. God forgives sin. He forgives our sinfulness and our unfaithfulness. Through Jesus Christ, God is faithful. He sent His Son to die for sinners. God is faithful. He sends His Holy Spirit to convict sinners and to make that red flashing light and that warning buzzer. He is faithful because He restores us from sin, forgiving us and restoring us as fallen sinners. You see, God is faithful. Perhaps that's the most important words in these verses. God is faithful. Proverbs 3, verse 25 and 26, Do not be afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence and shall keep thy foot from being taken. Trusting in the faithfulness of God is the opposite of presumption. Trusting in God's faithfulness is the opposite of trusting in ourselves. And the third truth. God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape that you may be able to bear it." God gives endurance. That's a grace, isn't it? It's a grace not given to sinners who haven't repented. It's not a grace that's freely given to unbelievers. No, unbelievers need to repent and trust in Jesus. Then they will be given endurance. But all of God's people are given this grace called endurance, perseverance, able to endure. He will not allow you to be tempted above that which you are able. Have you ever thought of that? How will I make it to the finish line? You know, when you hear a message like this, when you reflect on how others have fallen into temptation, into sin, you say, but how am I any different, really? When we know the sin in our own hearts, and we know our own weaknesses, when we know that, well, sin clings to us, how are we going to make it to that finish line? Well, in our own strength, we can't. But Christ endured, didn't He? For the joy that was set before Him He endured the shame, the wrath, the spitting, the rejection, the mocking, the taunting. Christ ignored it all. He bore it all. He heard it, but He bore it. And He endured for the joy set before Him. He gained the victory. He was victorious over sin and death and hell. And He gives us that grace to endure. He gives us that grace. So maybe you're struggling with a personal lust or pride or some other sin in your heart. I don't need to list all the details. And you're wrestling. And you're wrestling in prayer. God, I need help. I'm afraid. Maybe you've fallen even in the past and you've been restored, but you're afraid you're going to fall again because you know yourself. And you know the weaknesses and the temptations out there, and you know the dangers, and you've seen others fall. Christ gives this grace freely. It's not presumptuous to claim it. He offers it freely. He says, here it is, come receive more. In fact, isn't that why we come to church on Sunday? Isn't that why we witness the sacraments, baptism? It's a reminder to strengthen faith. The means of grace are here at our disposal to strengthen faith. We stand together in the church. We can't miss a Sunday. We need each other to challenge each other, to strengthen each other, to pray for each other. We need God's grace in our lives so that we will endure and we'll stand strong against these temptations. Christ gives grace. freely. And He gives victory, too. There's a song, you know, Victory in Jesus, and I've heard churches sing it that are perhaps a little less sound in their doctrine, and you kind of wonder, but this is a song that's true. Victory is in Jesus. It's nowhere else. There's no victory in ourselves. There's no way through our prayers that we're going to overcome. Victory is in Jesus. And so when we look to Him, He gives us this grace to overcome. In fact, isn't that what He Himself says? By faith we will overcome. He gives us this grace. And He's praying for us, too. Christ is praying for each one of His people. The so-called strong believers, He's praying for them. The so-called weak believers, He's praying for them. And he's giving them grace, and he's praying. I'm praying for you, Peter, that your faith does not fail. He's praying. On high, our high priest. with holes in His hands, is praying for us, saying, Lord, Father, I died for that one. I paid for that temptation. Even that sin He just committed, I paid for it. Keep Him strong. Keep her strong. Help her to fight against these things, discontent, pride, jealousy. slander, all of these sins that cling to us, we can endure because Christ forgives and graces and prays for us. And then the fourth truth, verse 13 again, God will also provide, He will make a way to escape. God will also make a way to escape. Every temptation has an exit door. Every temptation has a way of escape. For the believer, for those who are trusting in Christ, even with very, very, very weak faith, there's an exit door, and the signs are well lit. There's signs. God has put up signs where the exits are. It's his word. Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Every temptation has an exit door. So if you're struggling with something now, there's a way to escape. Actually, Christ is the door, too, isn't He? I suppose I'm mixing metaphors now, but Christ is the door. We run to Him. He's the way to escape. He leads the way. He shows us the way. God has designed every temptation for a purpose for His people, to try them, perhaps, and to strengthen their faith, certainly. And He makes a way to escape as well so that there's an opportunity. And this keeps us, this guards us, doesn't it, from fatalism? Because so often Satan uses fatalism in the life of a believer. Just give in. Just give in and get it over with this time. It's already too late. You've gone too far. Just get it over with now and then move on. Fatalism. It's not possible for you to fight against this one. There's no escape route. Just choose the lesser of evils. Do your best. But there's an exit door. God's Word gives us an exit door. I'm thinking of the book of Revelation, chapter 2, the words of Christ to one of the churches. Revelation 2, verse 24, I say unto thee, no, Christ says, I say, but unto you I say and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not had this doctrine, which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak, I will put upon you none other burden but that which you have already hold fast till I come." Christ knows our limits as His people, and He makes an exit door for us. Can we thank God for His mercy in this? Yes, we can. So, where are you placing your trust? Are you claiming it for yourself, trusting your own confidence, or trusting in Christ's faithfulness, in God's faithfulness? Consider the different outcomes. Unbelievers, well, they're often tempted, and they usually fall because, well, there's nothing to keep them from stumbling. There is no protections, no defense, no one there to pull them back from the edge of the cliff. except Christ who stands and invites them and says, come to me, come to me, I have the solution. But then other Christians who trust in themselves, well, they fall at times, don't they? We know examples. We know examples from our own lives. We don't have to point fingers at others. But God strengthens faith. And maybe even through this message, He wants to strengthen your faith, to show you Christ, the exit door, and to strengthen your faith, to say, no, Satan, this one is not for you. Christ is overcome, and he is already victorious. And by his grace, I will resist these sinful thoughts. I will take every thought captive for my Lord, and I will say no to the temptations of the devil through the strength, through the grace that Christ has given. In the time that remains, I want to look with you at four or five responses that we should have, how Christians, how believers should respond to this truth. Actually, all people, not just believers, how we should respond to this truth that Paul gives us in 1 Corinthians 10. And the first is simple. I've said it many times already. I need not say much here. The first action, the first response is simply the word, take heed. Take heed. I want you to know, says Paul, I want you to have proper knowledge. These strong, so-called strong Christians thought they had knowledge. They knew all about idolatry, and they knew how to interface with it. But Paul says, I want you to know this. This is the knowledge I want you to have. Take heed. Pay attention. Be careful. Watch out. Don't trust in your own ability. Trust in God and His Christ alone. Take heed. And second, trust in God alone. Trust in God alone. Only God alone, only Christ alone. In Christ alone my hope is found. Many of us probably know that song. Beautiful lyrics, that. In Christ alone my hope is found. That's how we should live. That's how we're supposed to live. I didn't say that's how we always live. In fact, that's why we fall into temptation, because we aren't living that way. But when we are living that way, when by God's grace the Spirit is leading us to live, not just to make the confession, not just to sing the song, in Christ alone my hope is found, but to live that way, to make every decision, to make every valued judgment, to take every action with that truth as our guide. In Christ alone, my hope is found. Christ forgives my sins. He's forgiven me in the past. He's cleaned me and restored me, as he restored Peter. Yes, I know there's many skeletons in my closet, but Christ forgave them. and He's forgotten them even. Amazing, hey, God forgets sin, it says. Psalm 103, I think. Christ forgives, Christ cleans, Christ restores, and Christ is praying for us. In Christ alone, my hope is found, and His grace will give me grace, will give me courage, will give me endurance, the endurance that I need to face temptation. Not to live recklessly, not to put Christ to the test, but to trust in Christ alone as we are called to live. Not like Samson, presumptively trusting in his own abilities, but like Christ as he faced Satan in the wilderness, trusting God alone. But then third, and here's where the homework really begins, inspect your defenses. Do you have a genuine faith in God? Or is it false? Is it misguided? Is it temporary? Is it built on the wrong things? Is it because your parents were religious, were true Christians, true believers? You know your parents are true believers, but is your faith only just a copy of theirs and not genuine? Have you perhaps been deceiving yourself? These are diagnostic questions that are healthy to ask at times, not to end in ourselves, certainly not, to end in Christ. But they're good questions, because even in the Old Testament, all those people who died in the wilderness, they were baptized in the Red Sea, and they all drank from the rock in the wilderness, which is Christ, Paul says. And yet, with many of them, God was not pleased. And that's a warning to the church, isn't it? God knows where we are and what we need, and we do well to test ourselves, to examine ourselves, to see if we are in the faith, as Paul instructs, elsewhere. And then beyond that, do you have the proper firewalls? Not on your computer, that too. Sometimes I think the cell phones are more dangerous than the computer, because the sins of the cell phone perhaps now far surpass the sins of the computer. But either way, do you have proper firewalls in your life? Do you have a firewall in your mind protecting you there, taking every thought captive to the knowledge of Christ, guarding you, guarding your eyes, guarding the inputs, keeping everything protected? What are you doing to guard yourself? You know, many people can hear the warning buzzer. They can see the flashing light. But these warnings mean nothing if we ignore them. You know, it's like that virus protection thing that always comes up on the screen. And somehow you just know, why does this window keep opening up? And you always just click OK, click OK, just to get rid of that window. And you don't even read it anymore, what it says. And it's so easy just to click OK and get it away, and you don't hear the warnings anymore. and there's no protections. Do you have the proper firewalls? On your devices, certainly, but on your mind, especially. Spiritual firewalls, fences. David says, how I love thy law, O Lord, because it's a fence that protects us. God's law is such a wonderful guide, such a wonderful guard. It's like guardrails as you go around mountain curves. Just in case we went off, there's the fence to protect us. Avoidance. Avoid, flee idolatry is the word that Paul gives us in verse 14. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee idolatry, flee worldliness. Don't see how close you can get to the world, but rather stay away from it all. It's dangerous, the sin of the world. Avoid any associations with uncleanness, unholiness, and guard yourself with habits of holiness. These are means that the Lord encourages us to pursue in our lives to protect us from the dangers that certainly exist. And the spiritual controls, too, of a daily walk with the Lord, prayer life, and accountability, spiritual accountability partners, these are all so necessary. Yeah, even the virus protection, the virus detection software, the spiritual detection of biblical thinking and biblical worldview and spiritual discernment. We're so blessed, aren't we, that we grow up in a church that have these teachings, Christian worldview from our youth, because that gives us discernment to detect where there are dangers so much quicker. What a blessing. What are you doing to protect yourself from temptation? Or are you just ignoring the warning lights and the exit signs? And then finally, finally, offer yourself to God, wholly, fully, sincerely. Offer yourself to God. David prayed, Psalm 19, keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Offer yourselves to God. Here I am, Lord. Use me. Fill me with Thy Spirit. Guide me. Teach me Thy way. Here I am. I want to do Thy will fully, sincerely, promptly, without reservation. Offer yourselves to God as a daily sacrifice, and He will protect us. He will sanctify us as His treasured possession. He will keep us holy, filling us with His Spirit, giving us grace each day to say no to temptation, like Daniel, living for the Lord in a worldly environment for years, decades. God will preserve us, and He will gain the victory through us, as He has promised. Let's pray together. Almighty God, we know our own weaknesses, and we rejoice as we come to know thy great strength and power, not just in nature around us, but the power of grace in our lives, the power of thy spirit to convict us, to call us back from the edge of the cliff, to keep us from stumbling Lord Jesus, and to present us spotless on the last day to thee. We thank Thee for the power of Thy grace that has already gotten victory over every evil and sin and death and hell itself, and pray that we may be in Christ, protected in Him, and that each person here may recognize that outside of Christ, only the cliff falling over the edge is all that really awaits into hell forever. But Lord, that through thy son, we have eternal life and protection and joy. We pray that Thou wilt bless Thy Word this morning. Bless us as we rejoice in it this day. In all the means of grace this day, Lord, that Thy blessing may rest upon them, so that we may know Christ better and follow Him more consistently in our lives. In this we pray in Christ's name. Amen.