This evening our Catechism reading is Lord's Day 52. You'll find that on page 257 in the Book of Forms and Prayers, or 896 in the Trinity Psalter Hymnal. Lord's Day 52. I'll read the whole Lord's Day, but the sermon will focus on the theme of the sixth petition, which is, and lead us not into temptation. Lord's Day 52 question and answer 127. What does the sixth petition mean? And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil means. We are so weak that we cannot stand on our own for a moment. And our sworn enemies, the devil, the world, and our own flesh never stop attacking us. And so Lord, uphold us and make us strong by the power of your Holy Spirit, so that we may not be defeated in this spiritual fight, but may firmly resist our enemies until we finally win the complete victory. How do you conclude this prayer? For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. This means we have made all these petitions of you because as our all-powerful king, you are both willing and able to give us all that is good. And because your holy name and not we ourselves should receive all the praise forever. What does that little word amen express? Amen means this shall truly and surely be For it is much more certain that God has heard my prayer than I feel in my heart that I desire such things from him. And then if you'll turn to the holy word of God, to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10, the verses one through 14. The sermon this evening will focus on verse 13. though we'll take in the two verses that bracket it just briefly as well. For I do not want you to be ignorant. or unaware brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did. Do not be idolaters as some of them were. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. We must not indulge in sexual immorality, as some of them did, and 23,000 fell in a single day. We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by serpents, nor grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed, lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful. and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. That's the reading of God's word. The Christian life is a life of war. We are constantly under attack from our enemies, the world which is around us, the flesh which is within us, and Satan, who is the mastermind of all schemes and stratagems against us. We are always at war. You don't have to be a Christian for very long to know that. The way Satan attacks us, the way sin arises from within us, the way the world allures us, we're always under attack. We're never at rest. We are always needing to be on our guard because of the relentless nature of our enemy. And it can become quite wearisome for us to be faithful, to strive after godliness in the face of such opposition. And sometimes it can become soul-destroying, and you can despair of any success at all. But I want you to know from the Word of God this evening that you can have success against sin. That failure is not inevitable. That God will deliver us from the evil one. And he will sustain us in the midst of our temptations. That's the great promise that we have this evening from 1 Corinthians 10 verse 13. where the apostle says, no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. And I want to look particularly at that verse, though I'm going to take in verses 12 and 14 as well, and look at this passage under four headings. First of all, the attack. Secondly, the assurance. Thirdly, the attitude. And finally, the action. So first of all, let us look at the attack. What is it that is happening to us as we strive faithfully to honor our Lord and our God? The Apostle Paul tells us about no temptation that has overtaken us. I think it would be better for us to translate that, no temptation has taken us. Because what the Apostle Paul is saying here is not that we are overtaken and defeated by our temptation. He's actually saying the exact opposite. He says there's no temptation that you encounter, that comes against you, that need inevitably to overwhelm you. In fact, the apostle talks there at the end of the verse that with every temptation there is a way of escape. And so what Paul is saying is that as we journey through life, there are always the attacks of the evil one who seeks to capture us and make us a prisoner of war. But, he says, that is not inevitable. It isn't always the case that we should see defeat to our enemy. No, we encounter temptations, but we are able to escape them. So what are these temptations that attack us? How does our enemy come against us? And it's important for us to know that, because then we can be better prepared. It's helpful for us to understand what kind of stratagems he uses when he attacks us, what he uses to weaken us, and ultimately his attempt to destroy us. So what are these temptations? Well, you probably know that the word translated temptation can also be translated as trial or test. And that's helpful for us to understand because this temptation to sin can come at us in a couple of ways. First, they can come as temptations. And that is an attempt from the outside aided by the flesh that is inside to pull us away from God. I think that this is what the Apostle Paul is referring to in a couple places earlier on when he lays out for us some of the history of the Israelites. For instance, in verse 7, he talks about how the Israelites were idolaters, referencing, of course, that great story, that sad and sordid history of Israel at Mount Sinai when Moses had gone up to receive the Ten Commandments, and the Israelites were tempted to build the golden calf. This was a temptation that came from the outside to pull them away from God so that they would not worship him as he had delivered them from Egypt to do. And they were instead tempted to worship the golden calf. And then he talks about the temptation to sexual immorality. This, I believe, is a reference to that story surrounding the events of Balak and Balaam in Numbers 23, where Balaam recommended to the king of Balak that they allure and seduce the men of Israel by their own women. And so there again, there was a temptation to sin, to do the very thing that God had forbidden his people to do, as he called them, first of all, not to have any relations with those who were outside of Israel, and certainly not to engage in sexual immorality with those with whom they were not married. So there are temptations that Satan throws against us to pull us away from the Lord, to allure us from the ways of the Lord so that we walk in forbidden paths. But these temptations Or these trials can also come at us in another way. So temptations tempt us to pull away from the Lord, but trials tempt us to push away from the Lord. And they're the references to the events and the circumstances in our life that at times are confusing to us and make us to question the goodness and the wisdom of our God. And I think the Apostle Paul is speaking about this in verses 9 and following where we must not put Christ to the test as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents. That's the story from Numbers 21. Nor grumble as some of them did and were destroyed by the destroyer. This happened numerous times with the Israelites en route to the promised land. There was no water. There was no food. Their situation was uncomfortable. And it caused them to put God to the test. Are you able to provide for us or not? Or it caused them to grumble against God because they were dissatisfied with his provisions for them. And so there was this temptation in the midst of their trials. to think evil of the Lord and to doubt his goodness and grace. So that these trials became the occasion for temptations. So it's helpful for us to understand from the Bible's perspective that trials are temptations and temptations are trials. that there is ability to distinguish between the two, but they're so interconnected and interwoven so that every time we're tempted, that's a trial to the people of God. And every time we go through trials, there's always a latent temptation to sin. And because of these distinguishing features between trials and temptations, it's also possible to distinguish the actors behind them. so that any attempt to get us to turn away from the Lord, either by temptation or by trials, of course, that's the scheme of our enemy, Satan. He is malicious. He always wants to divorce you from faithfulness to the Lord and will stop at nothing to do so. And so when you're going through a crisis, a trial, a cancer, or a disagreement among family members, or marriage breakup, there he is in all of his dastardly designs on you to tempt you to turn away from God and to reject his ways. And so Satan is always behind the trials and temptations that we experience. But if Satan is behind them, God is always above them. That these trials and temptations are tests from God. They are given for us to test our faithfulness to him so that we might cling ever more tenaciously to the God of our salvation. So here's the attack that we read about here, trials and temptations as they come at us from our enemy. And the second question I want to ask then is, is there any assurance that we will stand firm? Is it inevitable that we will give in to these trials and temptations so that we will always sin against the Lord? And here the Apostle Paul speaks with such encouragement to us when we're faltering and doubting, when we're wavering in our faith, and says, here's the assurance that all these trials and temptations, the hardness of life that comes upon you, they will not ultimately destroy you. And the reason they will not ultimately destroy you is because of the faithfulness of God. It is his faithfulness that makes this promise invincible, unassailable, impregnable against all attack. It will not ultimately destroy you. Why? Because Paul says, God is faithful. And he says four things here about the faithfulness of God that should be such an encouragement to you if you're facing, or perhaps when you're facing, as we always do, trials and temptations. First of all, he points out that God is absolutely sovereign in all the affairs of man. I get this from what it says there at the middle of verse 13. God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. So what Paul is highlighting there is that we are not left to the malicious enemy, Satan, and to his schemes and designs. That Satan does not have free reign in our lives. That he cannot do whatever he wishes to do. If he could, we would undoubtedly be destroyed. But that behind the power of Satan is the sovereign, permissive, and ordinating power of God. so that he's in absolute control. He's the one who lets cancer come in your life. He's the one who lets the sexual allurements come into your life. He is the one who permits things to happen. That should be a solace to you because you know that God in Jesus Christ is not against you and has your best interests at heart at all times. God is sovereign. This is wonderfully illustrated, isn't it, in the story of Job. Job who had such incredible trials which led him to temptations to curse God and die. It was God who had given Satan permission and had set the limits upon Satan's machinations. You may do this, but you may go no further. You may do what you wish, but you may not touch his body. God is sovereign. And so when you are going through difficulties and struggles and burdens, it's not that God has forsaken you. It's not that God is no longer in control. that he wishes he could intervene, but his hands are tied. No, whatever you have has come to you because God has let it come to you. The sovereignty of God. And then secondly, I want you to notice that all temptations and trials are designed by God. They're not haphazard, but they are all designed by him. First of all, you see that in verse 13, no temptation has overtaken you. That is not common to man. So that whatever trials and temptations you're experiencing, they're not the trials and temptations that are reserved for angels. or for super humans. No, they're the garden variety human temptations. They are what all humans experience. It's not beyond your abilities or in a different class than you yourself exist. No, they are human temptations. But more than that, notice what Paul says here very particularly. God will not let you be tempted beyond your ability. So there's nothing haphazard about it. God understands you. He knows your frame. He knows your weaknesses. He knows your proclivity to certain sins. He knows everything about you. And the temptation or the trial is tailored designed to never go beyond your breaking point. That is, so that you must and can do no other than give in by the grace of God. No, whatever trial you have, God will enable you, will give you the ability to overcome it. He will not tempt you beyond your ability. I don't know if some of our young boys have ever been involved in a popsicle stick building competition. I've had the experience of having to do so twice. And I'm no engineer. I just look at things and try to mimic what other people have done and who've had some winning designs. But I have no idea when it's all built how much load my bridge will bear. Just throw another brick on. Let's cross our fingers and see if it holds. And at some point it crashes. It always does, and usually it crashes early on in the contest, very rarely near the end. But God is not like that. He knows exactly what you can bear, what load you can bear, and He knows exactly Once the trial weighs. And so he doesn't just throw another trial in your life and see if you sink or swim. He knows precisely what you by his grace are able to handle and sustain. He is a master engineer. who knows everything about you and about the trials, and will never let you be tempted beyond your ability." So God is sovereign. God is an engineer who designs the trials. The third thing that I want to point out here is that along with every trial or temptation, God provides the way of escape. Thomas Goodwin illustrates this by novelists. He says, you know, when people tell a story, they get their main characters into fixes, but they never get them into dilemmas that they haven't already thought of the way they're going to get them out of their dilemmas. Along with the temptation, there is the escape. And that's what Paul is saying for the believer. That whenever there is a temptation or trial in your life, giving in, falling prey to the enemy's schemes is never inevitable. And you know what the design is, of course. The design is to get you to sin against God, to break His commandments, or in the midst of trials to doubt God or to disbelieve His goodness and mercy. And Paul is saying it's never inevitable. You never have to give in to sin. There's never a time when you are tempted to sin, where you say, I couldn't do anything else. I just had to give in. Now, you might feel that way at every temptation, but your feelings are askew. It is never inevitable. There's always a way of escape by the grace of God. And you might become so overwhelmed with your trials that you want to shake your fist at God and give up on serving Him. You might feel that way, but your feelings are askew. There is never any trial or temptation that God doesn't at the same time provide for you a way of escape. Sin and unbelief is never inevitable in the Christian life because of the faithfulness of God and His promise of grace. And so the sovereign God who designs all your trials and temptations also accompanies them with an escape. And then finally, and this is important and perhaps surprising, the escape is Endurance. The escape is endurance. See, I think it's common for us to think that if God is providing an escape in the times of trials and difficulties, the assumption is that we are no longer under these trials and temptations. That they somehow dissipate. That we don't have any more struggles or challenges in the midst of them. But notice what Paul says here. He will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it. So it's not the removal of the trial. It is strengthening and sustaining you in the midst of the trial so that you do not give in to the schemes of the enemy and curse God or disobey His commandments. God gives you the fortitude. He sustains you so that you can endure in this trial. I find what the Apostle Peter says so helpful in 1 Peter 2 verse 19. He's talking about servants who have to be subject to their masters, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the unjust. And then listen to this. For this is a gracious thing, when mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. You endure sorrows in the midst of your suffering. That's what the Apostle Paul is saying as well. That God, in the midst of the attack of the enemy, God doesn't leave you to yourself. He's faithful to you. He doesn't cast you upon your own resources and tell you to sink or swim on your own. No, not at all. But he sends aid to you. He encourages you. He sustains you. He gives you the fortitude and the endurance and the strength that you need so that you do not give in. He gives you the escape by enabling you to endure through the trials and difficulties. And he does this in a variety of ways. You can be facing temptation. And then all of a sudden, a Christian brother texts you, asks how you're doing. and you're distracted from the sin and God has given you the strength to endure. Or you come to worship and you're overwhelmed and doubting assails you. You're wavering in your faith and you hear a sermon of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And you go on to endure. God has given you the escape. He has strengthened you for endurance. Or it's something you read in the Word, or some encouragement from a brother, some conviction by the Holy Spirit of God. God in all these and in various ways, other ways, God gives you the escape. by enabling you to endure in the midst, in the face of such opposition. It's not the removal of the temptation or trial. It's the strength to endure in the midst of it. Now that might be discouraging for some of you because you wish so badly that it could be over, that your fight with a particular sin might dissipate. Well, God might do that. He's sovereign after all. And if he knows that that's the only thing that would be best for you, you can be absolutely confident he will do that. But here the Apostle Paul is saying, when you are going through these trials, know that the escape is the strength to endure it in the midst of them. And so you see what Paul is doing here. We're under attack from our enemies, the world, the flesh, and Satan. And what Paul does not do is thrust you upon yourself and say, why don't you just try harder? Fight more wisely? Don't be so lazy and lethargic. That's not what Paul does. He, first of all, points you to the faithfulness of God, not your own fortitude. God is faithful, he says. Look to that. Let your confidence rest in the faithfulness of God. He will sustain you. He will strengthen you. He will keep you to the end. In fact, Paul says this in a couple other places of Scripture. Let me just point out to you what he says in 1 Thessalonians 5. Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful. He will surely do it. You see what Paul's saying. Don't be discouraged. God will sanctify you. He'll sanctify you completely. Why? Because he's faithful. That's why. He will certainly do it. And what Paul says to the Corinthians in chapter 10, he has said to them already at the beginning of his letter. In chapter one, verse eight, he's talking about the Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end. Guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, God is faithful by whom you were called into the fellowship of his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. God is faithful. My dear brother or sister, do not lose heart. Do not be discouraged. Look to the faithfulness of God. He will keep you and sustain you and sanctify you. And then I said I was going to just deal quickly with the two versus that bracket. And this is the third point. So the first is the attack, the second is the assurance, the third thing is the attitude that we ought to have. Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. That is, Paul is saying that in the midst of this battle that we are in, what we ought not to be is cocky. We ought not to have this bring it on bravado as if we can withstand in our own strength. No, we need to come to grips with our own weakness and susceptibility to failure and the power and the schemes of our enemy and be humble before God. That's actually why prayer is so appropriate in the midst of these circumstances. Why do we pray? Because we recognize our own impotence and our propensity to failure and in the inevitability of sin if we are thrust upon our own resources. And so Paul says, have this attitude. Take heed, be careful, be on your guard, and never be so self-confident to think that you could never fall. It's the attitude of humility that we're called to have. And then finally, the fourth thing that Paul says, and that's in verse 14, that's a call to action. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. You're not to be passive in the Christian faith or in the Christian fight. You're to be active. You're to understand the schemes and strategies of the enemy. You're to come up with your own counter-strategies. You know where you'll be most likely tempted or when you'll be most likely tempted. You know that if you're traveling in business and you have a hotel room alone, you know the temptations that come along with that. And so you need to develop counter-strategies, counter-attacks against our enemy. That's what Paul is saying. Flee from idolatry. Do everything within your power to resist the devil, to fight against all of his strategies against you. Develop close relationships with trusted brothers and sisters who will encourage you, hold you accountable, challenge you, but also console you in the fight. Be faithful in reading the Word of God to fortify yourself against the schemes of the enemy and to understand all the resources that are yours in Jesus Christ. And above all, look to Jesus Christ and His cross. Why? For two reasons. You look to the cross of Christ first to help you understand with more sensitivity the sheer ugliness and seriousness of sin. And look to the cross so that you might know the sweet forgiveness that is there for sinners in Jesus Christ so that you might be motivated to resist the devil and flee from idolatry and to give yourselves without reservation and service to your Commander-in-Chief, the Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful. He will keep you. Now of course it's always tempting to think that God is faithful so that I don't need to be faithful. He'll take care of it all. No. God is faithful, so you must be faithful. God is faithful. So that you will be faithful. God is faithful. So you wish to be faithful. So that as God gives you grace, you might faithfully fight against our enemies with success. Let me just end with what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 10, and it so encapsulates what I'm trying to say here. Paul says there that he's the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle because he persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am. And his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them. Though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. That's what Paul's saying here in 1 Corinthians 10 as well. Work hard, but know that it is not you working hard. It's the grace of God working in you, because God is faithful. Let's pray together. Our God, we confess that we are so weak that we cannot stand on our own for a moment, and our sworn enemies, the devil, the world, and our own flesh never stop attacking us. And so, Lord, uphold us and make us strong by the power of your Holy Spirit, so that we may not be defeated in this spiritual fight, but may firmly resist our enemies until we finally win the complete victory. And we pray this in Jesus' name.