Abuse of Liberty

For I do not want you to be 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. I Corinthians 10:1-5

Continuing in the doctrines of liberty and love, Paul now warns against license. We have examples from the Exodus generation, who came out of Egypt voluntarily (eagerly!) with Moses. “baptized into” means identified with. Those Israelites were identified with Moses’ faith and mission through the cloud and the sea, as Christians are identified with Jesus in the rite of immersion. In water baptism, the water represents the plan of God. By going into and under the water, the believer is demonstrating his identification with (becoming one with) God’s plan. The Jews were following Moses into God’s plan for a new nation which would bear God’s name and represent Him in the world, and from whom would come the Messiah. God’s plan for Jesus was His identification with our sins, represented by the water. For us who have believed in Jesus’ finished work, the water represents Jesus Himself. We are identified with His death, burial and resurrection and have received in ourselves His perfect righteousness.

Having done that, they were led into new territory where God made perfect provision for all their needs. They were given supernatural food and drink (manna and fresh water) from Christ Himself (Exodus 13-14). Ah, but they were humans. Weaklings. Whiners. Impatient for the glory they anticipated as they fled Egypt. They rebelled against Moses and against God, and were disciplined, some died the sin unto death. Why? See Exodus 32, Numbers 11-25.

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 twenty-three thousand 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. I Corinthians 10:6-10

The disappointed Jews, seeking instant gratification, immediately reverted to the idolatry they had learned in Egypt. What to do if you’re craving Egypt’s menu and all you are offered is manna? Why, build yourself an idol and fornicate before it. That’ll fix everything! They had already forgotten the slavery and oppression. All they wanted was food and fun. Well, yeah, Moses, Pharaoh was bad, but this is a major inconvenience! Unfamiliar territory scares us. All Pharaoh did was work us for nothing and slaughter our babies. You expect us to be responsible and patient. We can’t handle it. Gratitude is not our strong suit.

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. I Corinthians 10:11-13

This history is given to us so that we can learn from it. We who are saved out of the devil’s world system are in unfamiliar territory at first. We may have a little trouble navigating a new way of life. These Corinthian Gentiles certainly seemed to need a lot of help adjusting. Here’s the thing, though: we are a new creation. God has brought us out of the world and He is providing for us. Be patient. Be responsible. Wait for His blessing. He is actually waiting for us to develop capacity for blessing. Stop whining and bring your bucket.

Let’s not be smug, brethren, thinking we are immune to the world. Verse 12 warns against over-confidence. That’s one I know well. The most humbled I’ve ever been was from finding myself in a vulnerable position I thought could never happen to me. Be careful what you say you’d never do. The devil is listening and he loves that game. And don’t think your testings are irresistible. There’s no such thing. Everyone has really difficult testings at times, but God’s never going to leave us hanging out to dry. He may not make the temptation disappear, but He will give you a means to handle it with grace. That’s part of our testimony: handling it with grace. The Corinthians had been saved out of the most evil idolatry. The Lord didn’t remove them from the environment. They had to learn to live as Christians among those same demonic practices. That was their calling. They must not, however, continue the evil practices. That would neutralize their testimony, hinder their growth, and shame the Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he? I Corinthians 14-22

To partake in any religious feast means to fellowship with the one being worshipped at that feast; be it the Lord's Supper, the Old Testament temple ritual or a pagan feast. The notion that we as Christians can participate in demonic cultural practices and not be hurt by it is foolhardy. We don't challenge idolatry. We flee idolatry. Righteousness does not blend with evil. God doesn’t tolerate evil in His people. The idol is nothing, the meat is nothing, but the sacrifices are offered to demons. It is demons that those idols represent. Anything done in those ceremonies is inspired by and dedicated to the demon. Our Lord will not tolerate that. We must separate from the evil in order to have fellowship with our Lord.