Wednesday, September 23, 2009

1 Corinthians 10

In the first verses of this chapter, we are told clearly that the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Savior. That the children of Israel were baptized as they had been commanded by Moses.

Verse 13 is both informative and contains a wonderful promise. There are some things in life that are wrong. No amount of arguing or rationalization can change it. And there is no temptation that we suffer concerning those wrongs that is more unusual, or stronger than those suffered by anyone else. Everyone basically faces the same temptations in life. What is important is that we don't seek them out, and if they find us, it is a matter of how well face them. The promise is, when we are tempted, the Lord always provides a way to escape the temptation. We will be warned in our hearts it is wrong and an alternative path to follow will always be offered if we are smart enough to recognize its presence, and strong enough to follow it and walk away from the temptation. Each time we do, we are stronger and our confidence in ourselves is strengthened.

Paul admonishes the saints in Corinth that they should be unified. They all partake of the same sacrament and should be the same in their faith. But they can't, as he says in verse 21, partake of the sacrament and at the same time partake of the things in the world that are wrong or sinful.

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