{"id":3788,"date":"2021-06-26T17:32:29","date_gmt":"2021-06-26T17:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/?p=3788"},"modified":"2021-06-26T17:32:29","modified_gmt":"2021-06-26T17:32:29","slug":"god-is-faithful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2021\/06\/26\/god-is-faithful\/","title":{"rendered":"God Is Faithful"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Trinity 9| 1 Corinthians 10: (1-5) 6-13| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| August 9, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-audio\"><audio controls src=\"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/2020TRINITYLUTHERNCHURCH0816202015081.mp3\"><\/audio><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br>10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed<br>through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same<br>spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that<br>followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they<br>were overthrown in the wilderness.<br>6 Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7 Do not be<br>idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, \u201cThe people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to<br>play.\u201d 8 We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in<br>a single day. 9 We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10<br>nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to<br>them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has<br>come. 12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has<br>overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your<br>ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.<br>God is the same forever. He does not change. And although people do change, we all remain<br>members of the same human race. And we share a common condition. We are sinners, who have fallen<br>short of the glory of God. St. Paul says, \u201cNo temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.\u201d<br>So, although each of us suffers from our own particular temptations and sins, nothing that afflicts us is<br>unique. Nothing\u2019s new under the sun. What tempts us; the sins into which we fall; they\u2019ve tempted and<br>caused to fall Christians before us.<br>And this is why it is so important to read and become familiar with the Holy Scriptures. The<br>Bible describes how our God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever deals with his people, who<br>are very much in the same spiritual situation as we are now. St. Paul says these things were written for our<br>instruction or admonition. So, it behooves us to read what was written and learn about ourselves.<br>St. Paul reminds us that our fathers in the faith, the people of Israel, were all baptized into Moses<br>in the cloud and in the sea, that they all ate the same spiritual meat and drank the same spiritual drink, that<br>they drank from the spiritual rock, which followed them, which was the same Christ we worship today!<br>They worshipped the same God. They followed the same Christ. Notice even the similarity to the<br>Sacraments we have today. They were baptized into the cloud, which was the very presence of God and<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>into the sea, just as we are baptized not only into water, but in the name of God. They ate and drank<br>spiritual meat and drink from Christ, just as we eat and drink the body and blood of the same Christ for<br>spiritual sustenance. Yet, what does St. Paul say? \u201cNevertheless, with most of them God was displeased,<br>for they were overthrown in the wilderness.\u201d<br>What does this teach us? It teaches us that Baptism and the Lord\u2019s Supper do not save us if we do<br>not have faith! They were all baptized! Yet, they were not all saved! But doesn\u2019t baptism save? Indeed, it<br>does! But only through faith. If you reject Christ, Baptism is of no benefit to you. Doesn\u2019t the Lord\u2019s<br>Supper work forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation? Indeed, it does! Yet, only those who believe the<br>promise of Christ eat and drink worthily!<br>St. Paul used the example of the children of Israel in the wilderness to warn the Christians in<br>Corinth not to despise their Baptism and not to abuse the Lord\u2019s Supper. And from what we can read<br>from 1 Corinthians, this is exactly what the Christians in Corinth were doing; living as if their bodies<br>were not the temple of the Holy Spirit, who began his dwelling in them at their Baptism, and treating the<br>Lord\u2019s Supper like a common dinner party, even participating in pagan sacrifices in direct contradiction to<br>the Communion into which they participated in the Sacrament.<br>And this lesson is as important for us to learn today as it was for the Corinthian Christians. Are<br>we not prone to treat Baptism like a superstitious magic spell, which imparts salvation even if we don\u2019t<br>continue in the faith? \u201cGet the child done.\u201d is actually uttered by Christians in reference to bringing a<br>child to the saving waters of Baptism! Yet, Baptism is not a once and done event. Baptism is placing a<br>new-born Christian in to the safety of the Christain Church to be nurtured and to grow in faith. And the<br>Lord\u2019s Supper is God\u2019s food for the faithful, not for those who continue in sin without repentance, or for<br>those who do not believe in Christ.<br>We must not be idolaters as some of them were. Here St. Paul references Exodus chapter 32,<br>where the children of Israel, impatient with Moses\u2019 delay on top of Mount Sinai, worshipped a golden<br>calf, crediting it for their deliverance from Egypt! God punished them for their idol worship. The<br>Corinthians likewise were tempted with idolatry. They lived in a culture that worshipped many false gods<br>and Christians would often be pressured by social norms to participate in sacrifices to idols. And this<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>lesson is relevant to us today. It may be uncommon to be invited to eat meat sacrificed to idols, but<br>idolatry is to fear, love or trust in anything above God. And that is a temptation that persists among us<br>today. We trust in money more than God. We love our pleasures, more than God. We fear rejection from<br>our family and friends more than rejection from God. Take heed of this idolatry. Your fathers were<br>baptized into Moses and idolatry destroyed them. Do not let your idolatry throw away your Baptism.<br>We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in<br>a single day. Here St. Paul references the episode at the Baal of Peor as recorded in Numbers 25. The<br>unfaithful prophet Baalam enticed the Israelites to embrace cult prostitutes from Moab. In his anger God<br>killed thousands of them in a single day, until pious Phinehas in his zeal killed the most brazen offender<br>and put an end to the plague. The Corinthian Christians needed to be reminded of God\u2019s wrath against<br>sexual immorality. They had been rescued from the perversions of the pagan Greeks when they were<br>washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit in Baptism (1<br>Corinthians 6:11). Yet, the Satanic world in which they lived continued to pull these infant Christians to<br>tolerate the worst forms of fornication.<br>And we currently live in a culture that likely surpasses the ancient Greeks in perversity. And we\u2019d<br>be na\u00efve to believe that the church is passing through unscathed. Are your views on marriage formed by<br>how the world behaves or by how God teaches us in his word? Do you promote with your words and<br>actions fornication and adultery? See God\u2019s wrath against this sin. Those who participated in the same<br>Christ fell away because of fornication.<br>Some of Israel tested Christ and grumbled against God, and God destroyed them with snakes and<br>with the angel of death. This is the sin of covetousness: not being content with what God has given you<br>and desiring what he has not given you. Covetousness is rooted in unbelief, because when you covet you<br>are not trusting in God\u2019s promise to provide for you. Israel tested Christ in this way. We too are guilty of<br>this testing of God, grumbling and complaining for what we don\u2019t have. Our generation has it easier than<br>any other generation in the history of the world. We have more food than we should eat. We have more<br>stuff than we need. Yet, we still grumble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Christians often think that keeping the faith is simply holding on to the basic doctrine of the<br>Christian faith, and as long as you believe that there is one God and that Jesus died on the cross, then you<br>won\u2019t lose your faith. (This is known as mere historical faith: knowing the facts, but not truly trusting in<br>God). But Satan often doesn\u2019t attack the chief doctrine of our faith head on. Rather, he tempts us into<br>other sins. If he constantly attacked our faith in one God and in Jesus as our Savior, we would put up<br>guards against him. Rather, Satan attacks from the side. He entices us away from the faith by first<br>drawing us into other sins. He won\u2019t tell you to deny God upfront, but rather to also love other gods like<br>money and power and worldly acceptance. He won\u2019t deny that Jesus is Lord, but he\u2019ll still entice you into<br>sexual immorality or simply to think that it really isn\u2019t a big deal. Christians can be guilty of being the<br>worst complainers and malcontents. They think they honor God, while not realizing that their complaints<br>and grumbling about money, against their neighbor, against their boss, and so forth are really complaints<br>against God, who provides for them and bids them to love their neighbor.<br>This is why St. Paul warns, \u201cAnyone who thinks that he stands, take heed lest he fall.\u201d Don\u2019t take<br>for granted your faith in Christ, but rather beware of temptations that destroy faith. Too often Christians<br>think that they can remain Christians by their own strength, merit, and works. They become proud that<br>they will always be Christians no matter what. But as Scripture shows us and as our own experience tells<br>us, Christians can fall away.<br>But how can you prevent yourself from falling? Who has the strength to resist temptation? And<br>can anyone have certainty of salvation? To answer this, you must look away from yourself and to Christ<br>Jesus. He is the way of escape from temptation. And he is your refuge when your own sins assail you.<br>The reason so many of Israel fell in the wilderness is because they forgot Christ. Their Baptism into the<br>sea and their eating of spiritual food did them no good, because they did not look to Christ their Savior,<br>their God.<br>Can you have certainty of salvation? Yes, indeed! In Christ alone! Only in Christ Jesus do you<br>find certainty of your salvation. Jesus says, \u201cMy sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. I<br>give them eternal life and no one will snatch them out of my hand.\u201d This is a sure promise. Does Jesus<br>lie? Certainly not! If you think you stand, take heed that you stand on Christ Jesus, or you will certainly<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>fall! It is Jesus, his forgiveness and salvation, which will strengthen you in temptation\u2019s hour. And it is<br>Jesus who will restore you again when you come to him with a penitent heart.<br>God does not change. He always remains the same. And his promise of salvation in Christ cannot<br>be voided or altered. The mercy he has shown to the saints in the Bible instructs us of this great truth. God<br>forgave David, who committed adultery and murder. He forgave Peter, who denied Christ three times.<br>Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, even the worst sinners. We are cut out of the same cloth<br>as all sinners. And we are saved by the same Jesus.<br>When we look at Scripture, we see how God punishes those who reject Christ by falling away<br>into sin. Yet, also throughout Scripture we see a God who does not deal with us according to our sins, but<br>according to his own mercy (Psalm 103:10). St. Paul writes to the Romans, \u201cFor whatever was written in<br>former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the<br>Scriptures we might have hope.\u201d (Romans 15:4) The goal of the entire Scriptures, even when it shows the<br>wrath of God, is to draw us toward the one who is our hope.<br>My hope is built on nothing less<br>Than Jesus\u2019 blood and righteousness.<br>No merit of mine own I claim,<br>But wholly lean on Jesus\u2019 name.<br>On Christ, the Solid Rock I stand;<br>All other ground is sinking sand. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trinity 9| 1 Corinthians 10: (1-5) 6-13| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| August 9, 2020 10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passedthrough the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/2021\/06\/26\/god-is-faithful\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17,7,69],"tags":[377,250,212],"class_list":["post-3788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-sermons","category-sermons-by-historical-lectionary","category-sermonsbyrevjamespreus","category-trinity-9","tag-1-corinthians-10","tag-james-preus","tag-trinity-9"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3788"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3790,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3788\/revisions\/3790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christforus.org\/NewSite\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}